In the world of email marketing, the success of our work lies entirely in the eye of the beholder. 

To one customer, receiving a weekly email with the latest travel deals to Orlando might be an absolute godsend — her company’s headquarters is in Orlando, and she constantly seeks the cheapest airfare for business travel. But to another customer, one who took his family on a one-time vacation to Orlando three winters ago, that same message may be viewed as unnecessary, and possibly annoying. 

For this reason, we must email responsibly.

Email marketing as we once knew it has evolved. Our control of the customer conversation has decreased, the balance of power has shifted, and our job today is as much about listening as it is about broadcasting. 

But that is not to say that the email channel is any less effective than it once was — in fact, email marketing is doing better today than ever before.

The challenge before us, therefore, is not how to email more often or simply send email to more addresses.

Our challenge is to effectively engage our customers with emails that are responsible, honest, and helpful.

To email responsibly is to respect your customers’ needs and use the information they give you wisely. This means handling their private customer data securely and honestly. It means using the data you collect to send them more relevant content than ever before. In some cases it may even mean mailing at different hours of the day, or at a different frequency. It also means that marketers should be aware of the latest industry news and technological innovations to better serve your customers in the future. Responsibility means taking ownership over your actions, committing to serving your customers as best as possible, and finding solutions to tomorrow’s challenges today.

Responsibility is the future of email marketing. 

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