Introduction
"What helps people, helps business."
Leo Burnett, advertising legend
"Trying to assess the true importance and function of the Net now is like asking the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk if they were aware of the potential of American Airlines Advantage miles."
Bran Ferren, Chief Imagineer, Walt Disney Company
Email marketing is one of the most incredibly powerful yet misunderstood mediums of the marketing world. Nearly all businesses and consumers utilize it, whether it is to send or receive content and offers.
Email marketing is a unique communication platform that blends both art and science while delivering value to the subscriber's inbox. While many companies practice it, few get email marketing right. It is part of our business landscape that requires constant grooming. Change is the only constant.
I've been working in the interactive space for over ten years. During this time, I've seen a great deal of money thrown into questionable business models and unproven companies and executives. I've also seen a lot of really bright people take chances in their careers and launch game-changing companies.
Email emerged as the "killer app" of the Internet age. While there is certainly more competition for buzz and mindshare today, email still is the bread and butter of any online user experience. In telling The Truth About Email Marketing, I had to make a lot of hard decisions about what to include and what not to include. I hope this book provides a range of key email marketing elements that will appeal to and educate a wide audience.
This book should be the kind that sits on your desk and is referenced, earmarked, and highlighted rather than passively read. My aim was for this to be a guide in your email marketing adventure. Whether you are a seasoned professional email marketer or are brand new to the topic, this book is for you.
Now back to the two quotes at the top of this section. They both speak to me in different ways. How they speak to email marketing is revealing as well.
My biggest complaint about email marketers (and often marketing in general) is a fundamental one. Entire strategy and email campaigns are often driven by achieving internal marketing goals, rather than bringing compelling and helpful information to their subscribers who gave them one of the most important things one can provide in an online world: permission. If we remember to focus on the subscribers first, the business goals will follow.
Email marketing has changed, as the Internet has, in a dramatic fashion. And I'm just talking about in the past six months. It's quite challenging to wrap our heads around the impact of email marketing in its short history. There are many levels to how email marketing has changed businesses and consumer habits. Nevertheless, we can clearly demonstrate email's ongoing effectiveness and develop and follow a set of core best practices that will ensure that effectiveness continues into the future. Hopefully, this book can help you along the way in this endeavor.
Just as the Wright brothers had no idea how their invention would impact the future aviation industry, many of you marketing professionals are shaping Internet history.
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