Innovating Email List Marketing

I know what you are thinking. List marketing is like sushi because sushi is the best food in the world and list marketing is the best marketing method in the world (way better than PPC). Case closed. Well, while this is a fair assumption, there are many more finite ways in which list marketing presents itself as the sushi of the marketing world. To find out how, read on.

There’s just something about “handcrafted”

Sushi is the practice of taking rather pedestrian slabs of fish-tuna, salmon, mackerel, etc-and slicing and dicing them up in measured and precise ways. When the right mix of precision and artistry is applied, these unremarkable slabs emerge into pretty rows of sexy little fish morsels. This handcrafting directly results in the ooh-ahh factor of sushi, which at the end of the day is just plain ole fish, re-shaped. In other words, the secret is in the slicing. The same thing can be said of list marketing. List marketing takes passels of outwardly unremarkable data (email addresses, buying habits, age) and allows you to slice and dice it up into the perfect gleaming specimen: a handcrafted, targeted list for your campaign. The more expertise and instinct you pore into handcrafting your data, the more ooh-ahh factor your next marketing campaign will have.

For a perfect marketing campaign, add sea water

We don’t need to tell you that the tastiness of sushi relies mainly on freshness. There is nothing better than putting that salty, cold, soy sauce drizzled California roll into your mouth. But if it’s lukewarm and you can tell its been sitting on the counter for a few hours-bleh! Gross. People don’t always put the same premium on freshness in list marketing, but the metaphor couldn’t be more apt. The more rigorously a list is updated, the fresher the data. Fresh data is crucial because it lets a marketer know the subscriber demographics are still up-to-date and relevant-therefore your campaign is still relevant to them. A year ago, Mary may have been all over baby food ads, but now that her wee one is on solids, there’s no point in sending her the campaign that performed so well on her in the past. People change, move, grow up, switch careers, and their marketing campaigns need to change with them. Fresh data allows marketers to stay up-to-date on subscribers’ interests now, and target their marketing campaigns accordingly.  List owners, craft and tend your lists with love, and the customers will crave your records. Marketers, apply the strictest standards to the lists you rent, just as you would critically eye the expiration date on a box of grocery store sushi.

Is your marketing campaign unmistakable?

When you eat sushi, every single bite that you take reinforces that you are eating sushi. This is largely due to the trifecta of condiments that accompany sushi: fragrant ginger, eye-stinging wasabi, and salty soy sauce. These toppings enrich the basic template of sushi with rich aromas, unusual flavors, and intriguing textures. The best list marketing campaigns do the same. When it comes to list marketing, top your campaigns off with a trifecta of styling elements that make your brand unmistakable. Great copywriting is your wasabi, elegant art is your ginger, and seamless functionality is your soy sauce. Just as sushi would be a dull bedfellow without these synonymous toppings, your email newsletter is bound to be dreary without this spicy trifecta. When you bite into a stinging wasabi roll, every bite reinforces “Now that is sushi.”  Reinforce that clarity of messaging in your own third-party email newsletters through distinctive, deliberate, and spicy branding elements. Don’t let them forget for one minute where they are or what unique things you have to offer. Subscribers will be addicted to your unmistakable style in no time.

Elevate an email into an experience (to be shared)

Let’s be honest, sushi is as much about the fun of pouring little vials and mixing concoctions as it is eating-and let’s not forget the chopsticks. The interactive factors elevate a mere meal into an actual experience-its social, customizable, and engaged. Sushi invites you to participate and makes it ok to play with your food-it’s fun! List marketing can offer the same interaction factor to its leads. Let new subscribers pick their flavor-aka which editions they subscribe to-let them comment, fill out polls, mix and match features, and generally customize their newsletter template. All these little hands-on touches draw a subscriber into the experience and let them play with their marketing. This gives the feeling of control and a customized, fun-filled experience that new subscribers crave, and recommend to their friends. Add interactivity and your converted leads will be telling friends “You have to try this!” in no time.

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best practices, email marketing, list marketing, marketing campaign