Email Marketing - The Juliet of Your Campaign

There’s a lot of back and forth on whether email marketing is a dead marketing practice. Let’s be real here – no marketing technique is ever really dead. Sometimes they simply play “Juliet” – marketers say the practice is dead, you should never use it again, and that it’s simply a waste of your time. But in reality, the technique is just taking a break. Email marketing is one of the most prominent of these today.

More People Checking Emails Immediately

Image via Flickr by Jim Pennucci

According to Pew Internet Research, about 52 percent of cell phone users send or receive emails on their phones. Since about 91 percent of adults in America own a cell phone, there are a huge number of people emailing on their phones.

People are likely to open and at least scan emails on their cell phones. Because of this, email marketing allows you to get your name and information in front of more customers than ever before. With people checking their phones, tablets, and computers for new emails, interesting and helpful email marketing campaigns are more likely to be successful.

More Options for Email Campaigns

Sending an email out to your customers is a great way to remind them that you are in business and want to work with them. Today, there are tons of options for what to send in your emails. Consider some of the options you have:

• Information on sales
• New products and business information
• Blog posts and other informational articles
• Social media information
• Special benefits to customers (recurring customers get discounts, etc.)

It’s a good idea to make sure that the emails you send out are mobile-compatible. This will allow for easy viewing, no matter what device your customers view the email on.

More Ways to Capture Email

If email marketing is dead, why are marketers still consistently working to get email addresses? Depending on the blog, company, and marketer, visitors may be offered a number of different reasons to give their email address. For example, offerings may include:

• Membership – Membership is usually used for signing in to an online retail store, but could also be used for forums and other web based businesses.
• Ebook – Many blogs, gurus, and even retail shops today offer a free ebook in exchange for your email address.
• Frequent Updates – Retail shops and blogs use the draw of regular updates as a way to get your email address. In addition, this is an option for service-based companies.
• Discounts – Retail stores and service industries will offer discounts or coupons for those who provide an email address.

More Companies Doing Email Campaigns

There are more businesses starting online all the time. Each of these want to keep track of their customers in an easy, concise way. Because of this, you will see that more companies are doing email campaigns than ever before. Nearly anyone who takes a look at their email will see several, if not dozens, of new emails every day from companies who have received their email address as part of the company’s marketing campaign.

It’s time for marketers and analysts to stop saying that email marketing is dead. It was dormant for a while, but as we try to find new, better ways to get products and information out to customers, email marketing is making a huge comeback.

Bloggers, Bloggers Everywhere

I’m not going to lie, I’ve been doing this blogging thing for a long time. Back in the days of LiveJournal, I was one of the many typing out my life story. I didn’t realize until much later that blogging could be used for purposes other than my woes and wishes. It’s interesting to look at the way that blogging has evolved to be something more than just a personal journal to become a marketing tool, fundraiser option, and more.

The Mommy Blogger

Image via Flickr by Thomas Widmann

I think Mommy Bloggers are awesome. There is a lot of hard work and sacrifice that they have endured, and deal with on a daily basis. On top of this, they are able to keep up with regular posts to their blogs. There are several different types of Mommy Bloggers, from those who started their blogs to share info about their families to those who started their blogs looking for a little extra cash. You also have those who only write on their blogs, as well as bloggers who ask for guest posts, offer contests, and more.

Mommy blogging has become such a popular genre that there are conferences all over catering to those who make it big. What does it mean to make it big in the Mommy Blogging world? Get followers. The more people you have following your blog, commenting, and simply visiting your site, the more likely you are to be considered a big blog in the community.

The Personal Blogger

Image via Flickr by Anna Hirsch

The Personal Blogger and the Mommy Blogger are similar. However, the distinction is that the Personal Blogger isn’t necessarily a parent. They’re blogging for themselves. They put a lot of personal information out there. Personal Bloggers are in the mindset that I was back when in the days before blogging got big. They are using their own section of the Internet to release their stress and put down their story. A lot of “professional bloggers” look down on the Personal Blogger, unfortunately. We all have experiences that are insightful and helpful to others, and Personal Bloggers offer a way for people to connect on this level.

The Guru Blogger

Image via Flickr by Wade Armstrong

Guru Bloggers take their knowledge and put it into every post. Everything they write about is very specific. They are experts in their fields (or in some cases, they think they are experts). The Guru Blogger has a goal to help you understand the information they have to offer. It’s become kind of an “in” thing to say you’re a Guru Blogger, because come on now – who doesn’t want to know everything about their passion. Unfortunately, some Gurus don’t know as much as they’d like you to think, and some are simply pointing you in the wrong direction.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Guru Bloggers. I think that they start with the right intention, but eventually it gets warped. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. However, for the most part, if someone is calling themselves a Guru it’s likely they’re trying to get Internet points.

The Marketing Blogger

Image via Flickr by Red Mum

Nearly every big company today has a blog. Even many small companies decide that this is a smart way to go for their marketing campaigns. They’re not wrong. Blogs are a great marketing strategy, when used in conjunction with other marketing techniques. The writers for these companies are Marketing Bloggers.

Marketing Bloggers are writing for companies they work for, or in many cases for companies they contract with. These bloggers are coming up with great topics for the company, updating the website, and responding to comments. Marketing Bloggers will frequently come up with new marketing techniques for the company, and usually have a background in marketing in general.

Have you ever gone to a company’s website to look up information about the product or services offered? How about to research customer service issues? Frequently Asked Questions, Support Articles, and information about the company itself are all written by the Marketing Blogger.

The Topical Blogger

Image via Flickr by Beck

There are a lot of things to discuss, argue about, and review out there. Topical Bloggers take all of this and run. If you search around the Internet a little bit, you’ll quickly stumble on blogs about every topic known to man. Food, politics, religion, books, and more all have a prominent place online. Topical Bloggers rarely, if ever, write outside of their stated genre. In addition, many of these are actual experts in their fields. If you stumble on a foodie blog written by a chef, you’re likely to get some great information, right?

So, where do I fit in? Take a helping of the Topical Blogger and add a dash of Marketing, and you’re probably getting close. If you blog, where do you fall?

New Beginnings

It's important to have a niche when you're blogging, selling something, or really doing much of anything online. I know this, and I've known this for several years. I've always had a hard time deciding on a niche for myself. I could write about writing - it's something I know well. I could write about parenting. There is a lot I could do, but what do I want to do?

I love marketing. And I love writing. So, I'm going to put the two together. There are tons of marketing blogs and gurus out there, but that's ok. I'm not trying to say I know everything, because I don't. Things are always changing in the marketing world. But I do know enough. And what I don't know, I am happy and excited to learn.

So, with this post I have made the decision. I am going to focus on business and marketing. I am also making a goal to practice what I preach. It's harder than most give credit for. I know that updating your blog multiple times a week is crucial for marketing purposes, so I'm going to do that. Look forward to more marketing and business posts in the near future!