Think Big, Act Small Interview: Lean Email Marketing for Startups
Welcome to the (first) Think Big, Act Small virtual interview, part of what we hope to be a long trail of easy read, easy-to-execute resources via interviews from leading experts in the startup community.
Today’s topic is email marketing - one of the longest standing (and effective) digital communication tools for smart marketers. Our honorary interviewee is Constant Contact, in-of-itself a legacy within the startup community, having pioneered email alongside the likes of Exact Target, Vertical Response, and StrongMail.
Besides being a pioneer, Constant Contact is an innovator that continuously provides practical, relevant and affordable email marketing. Read on for real-world insights on lean email marketing tactics that drive turnkey results for startups.
Interviewer: Michelle Fitzgerald
Interviewee: Ron Cates
Email: Managing the 1:1 Conversation
Email (marketing) is the conduit to your best friend(s). While marketers are prompted to focus on many things days, email continues to hold a unique place in the marketing toolkit.
I often find myself wondering if one day I’ll say “email, no longer relevant”. But at least for now, email stands by through thick and thin of digital marketing trends.
Why? Why not move more eggs into the hip Social Media basket. tried-true Paid Search or ever-present-ever-needed SEO?
You could, but you’d be missing out on a very important dynamic that’s critical to maintaining a relationship with your best friend (a.k.a. your best customer) – a 1:1 dialogue.
Social Media – no 1:1. It’s messaging tailored to a niche, though valuable, user set within your greater following/friend circle.
Paid Search – no 1:1. The content of xyz message/promotion simply can’t be tailored beyond a selection of specific search terms or a user’s location.
SEO – no 1:1. While incredibly valuable to ensuring your “findability” score is high, this is an organic, carefully cultivated effort to ensure your site resonates with mass users.
Email – yes, there’s a 1:1 relationship. Why? Because there exists a powerful capability to tailor messaging to what users ask for (explicit/shared information) and what you might know about their behavior on your website (implicit/explicit shared information).
There’s also flexibility within email platforms for iteration throughout the lifecyle of your customer, based on shifts in their interests and/or purchase behavior. How well and how often you apply this information to your email creative will alter 1:1 messaging streams.
