Tech Marketing Blog

With relevant content, timely delivery, and smart call to action, an email program can drive lead generation for tech marketers.

I have written about this previously and still believe email marketing efforts can be effective. It seems to me that more and more tech marketers continue to rely on this vehicle as its sole lead generation effort. Specifically in a struggling economy the cost to implement and an email campaign is very attractive when considering the potential of high rewards.

But there are some basics that every tech marketer should be reminded of to ensure their email actions don’t destroy their company brand. A website I frequent Brand Central Station has outlined Three Most Widely-held Misconceptions About Email Marketing. It’s worth the quick read.

Three email misconceptions:

1. You can increase revenue by increasing frequency with little or no negative consequences.
Negative consequences to be considered:

• Lower long-term revenue as recipients become less engaged
• Higher cost of list maintenance and subscriber acquisition as unsubs increase
• Deliverability issues as a result of higher spam complaints
• And worst of all, damage to brand equity

2. Good email creative isn’t different from direct mail or banner ads.

While there are certain universal marketing tactics that can be applied equally to email, print and television channels,  consumers engage with email in very specific and measurable ways. Understanding the limitations of email and the inbox environment like preview panes, disabled images and the nuances of various email readers such as Outlook 2007, is critical to successful messaging.

3. It only takes an hour to prepare and send an email campaign – AKA “how hard can it be?”

From a marketing perspective, one of the most attractive things about the email channel is the ability to react quickly to shifting marketing goals and turn around campaigns in a short amount of time. And while I have seen truly miraculous turnaround times, effective email campaigns still require strategic and tactical planning, copywriting, designing and coding. Writing effective copy, designing for the inbox environment and coding with an understanding of the many email readers out there are all tasks requiring a high degree of skill and specialized knowledge that only comes with experience. Theoretically you can prep and send a message to your subscribers in under an hour, but odds are it won’t be worth the cost of sending the mailing.

Tech marketers need to set their strategy for email marketing efforts and flight their schedules to ensure they have true impact without long term implications.