Once upon a time, we all thought email was dead and gone! Social media was talking over and soon inboxes would be full of crickets and trees falling that no one would hear! 

But actually, that is not true! Email is alive and well and a great asset to any marketing strategy. 

Yes… people have crowded inboxes, yes some things will fall into spam, but if you have a focused email strategy, email will be your tool to speak to your biggest fans! 

And this is why… 

1. Email is an opt-in opt-out relationship - By staying on your list, they are telling you "We want to hear about your products, services, and promotions!" So don’t be shy… 
2. You own your list - This is critical because at any moment, FB or Twitter or TikTok could disappear or change their algorithms. However, as long as you have proper email opt-in processes, this is your list and no one can take it away! 
3. Bigger isn’t always better - If you are concerned because you have a tiny list… rest assured, size isn’t always what matters for email lists. Some email lists are small but perfectly targeted to the right demographic. If people constantly open and read your email, and stay… then you are doing what you should be. 
4. Email can help you with your SEO - Help drive your SEO by piquing people’s curiosity and driving them to your website where they can get lost like they are in the middle of an IKEA… Finding all sorts of things they never knew they needed! 

Tips for Success in your Email Program

• Email is not a one-and-done - Constancy is key, so your readers know when and what to expect. Are you publishing bi-weekly or every other day? Are you using tools that ship emails to each individual when they are most likely to read and open something? 
• Test and try new things with email - Emojis in subject lines seem odd, I get it, but have you tried them? All email systems have A/B testing opportunities, but so few are using them. Take some chances and see how people react. Not everything is going to work, but you will learn things about your audience that you never knew! 
• Email is a slow - build branding process - Especially for content-rich email subscriptions, people stay as long as they are engaged and unsubscribe when they are no longer getting what they wanted. 
• Teach, tell, and learn - The more you teach people, the more you tell stories, and the more they learn from you, the better your email engagement will be. And, the more you will learn from their engagement behavior about what they want to see more/less from you. (feel free to ask them questions… 
• Take advantage of marketing automation - If your system has automation tools, try them. Segment your list to bring more tailored content to key prospect groups.
• Use humor - People are starving for more joy in their lives. The more you get them smiling, the more positive their feelings toward your brand will be. Give them the truth, but try to add some humanity, levity, and fun into people’s days.
• Clean your lists, please… If your organization doesn’t know how to keep them clean, hire an outside expert to do a monthly purge! This is vital to the stability of your list going forward. 

And lastly…

• Know the rules -  No buying lists, have a proper opt-in and unsubscribe policies, etc.

Email is an easy, virtually free way to meet your target market exactly where they are.