Email doesn’t often make the list of most innovative channels for marketing your products. But despite its detractors, those in the know rest comfortably in the embrace of email’s reliability and industry leading ROI. For those new kids on the block, you might be surprised to know that a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, marketers praised email as a bold new tool for reaching potential customers.

The channel quickly proved itself as an effective way to get products and offers in front of likely buyers. However, with the channel’s rapid rise to prominence, nefarious types surfaced, those who abused email and all its potential. Thus, a rift in the galaxy was formed.

I suppose it’s not quite as dramatic as that, but still, email and Stars Wars have a lot in common. Here’s how it breaks down.

The Galactic Empire

These are your shady data sources. They suck you in with the promise of accurate contact lists that align exactly with your target audience. The best part, though, is the price. They’re cheap, oh so cheap. For the budget conscious marketer, there doesn’t seem to be a better choice.

But these shady sources aren’t all that they appear to be. Their boasts about data quality are just that. They’ll kill your sender score faster than a blow from a lightsaber. Stay away from these data sources at all costs.

The Force

The Force surrounds everything, and is in everything. In email marketing, the Force is your test and measure strategy. It should inform every step you take as an email marketer. Devise a way to test new audiences, new creatives, and new deployment times until you find the combination that works best for your organization. It is the rock on which you can rely – stability amid digital chaos.

R2D2

R2D2 seems like he always knows what’s going on. He’s like your analytics. Make sure you have them working for every campaign. The information that analytics gather helps you track performance across all your major KPIs. They can also inform the development of future strategies based on past campaign outcomes. Analytics also help you identify the individual components of your campaign that are working effectively, and provide guidance into refining those parts of your campaigns that aren’t performing as you’d like.

X-Wing Fighters

These are your creatives. The message, design, and offer that actually reaches your leads. They need to be designed efficiently, carry a compelling and effective message, and deploy to a highly targeted audience. Just like Luke, let an R2 unit ride right along with your X-Wing. This droid will give you the insight you need to continually refine the performance of your creatives.

Tie Fighters and Storm Troopers

These inexorable masses are spam traps. They wait for you to make a mistake, and then swoop in to rain terror and mayhem. Only by aligning yourself with the rebellion can you avoid these spam traps.

The Rebellion

These are your top-tier data sources. Every day they work against the tyrannical tide that is the Galactic Empire. Data providers build these sources through an opt-in mechanism that ensures your marketing reaches an engaged audience. They’re also well maintained lists that are constantly refreshed with accurate data. These lists come complete with a host of selects that allow you to target the audience that is most likely to buy your products and services.

Jedi

They hold onto the old way. These organizations believe in strategic marketing, good data, and technological advancement. They don’t see email as a relic of the past. Rather, they see it as a universal channel that’s constantly evolving to meet the needs of both marketers and customers. These Jedi count Movable Ink, LiveIntent, SendGrid, Sailthru, and many others within their ranks.

There you have it folks, a fun little tour through the email marketing galaxy. Be sure to leave a comment if you found this post fun or informative. We dearly appreciate feedback from our readers!