The Email Wars

Moving into my 14th year in interactive marketing I took some time to look back at some things I have learned. January is always a time of reflection, planning and charting new directions – as well as learning from past lessons/wins/mistakes – and I wanted to share some of these with you.

1. Patience: Nothing that gets rushed works out well. Having the time to plan, create and fine tune always works better.

2. Failure is imminent – Learn from it. Nothing works 100% of the time perfectly. That is one of the beauties of the internet and digital marketing. As soon as something goes live we can learn from it, study it and change it. Learning from mistakes or ideas are the key way to grow and do better.

3. Who is Invested? Not everyone on a project, even a client is 100% invested or committed. It is a hard lesson to learn but even “we” can be our own worst “client” at times. People have so many distractions, commitments and other balls in the air that often it takes someone steering the ship. Heck it can even be an intern to keep the ball in play. Learn to be flexible and understand the commitments everyone involved in a project might have outside of the project. Once you can see all the other factors at play you will have a clearer understanding and be able to do your best job.

4. Push people to do the best work. Often one of the harder things to do. I have an issue with wanting things to be right 99.9% of the time. This requires times when you need to push yourself and your team harder. It is a fine line I have learned at how far some people can go, but in the end it also shows you the people you can count on to be your A team. Not everyone can be Face or Hannibal – but many can be Murdock from time to time. Work on learning who makes up your A team and take extra time/care for those that, with guidance and patience, can move from B.A. Baracus to Mr T. Grow your team, your talent, your knowledge and yourself.

5. Stick to your plans to exceed expectations but listen along the way. This is a key. We often get so caught up in the work that we can lose sight of the fine details that make a campaign work so well. This requires listening the whole way through. Now this can be relevant to your team, your susbscribers, your clients and yourself. Make sure to always solicit feedback from all involved along the way. You will be amazed at what you can learn from listening.

6. Pick the right dance partner. Not all clients/projects are a perfect fit or good fit. The honeymoon period is always such a nice time. But the key to life after the altar is remembering what brought you together. Look at why you “dated” and chose to go down this path together. If you were getting vibes early into the relationship get in tune with those thoughts. It takes two to tango and I plan to dance the night away with whomever I go to the big dance with.

7. Surround yourself passionate people. Work with people that LOVE what they do as much as you do. If you are waking up not looking forward to doing your job then it is time for a change. Align yourself with people that are passionate about what they do. Look for those that want to do great work, celebrate things that might be trivial to others but important to you – and vice-versa. Your team, whether at your work place or client/partners, needs to be as passionate and excited about the day as you are. Learn how to reward, applaud, celebrate, and motivate.

8. Tmatr is the new Tomato. As much as marketing has changed, a lot has stayed the same – people just call it something new (today by dropping a vowel in a word or making up a new word). Sure we have so many new things dropping into the mix every week in digital marketing and the web, but think about marketing as a whole. Although the vehicles might be new, the way that we should use them should not be radically different. Think about how you engage, entertain, interact, reward, celebrate and connect with your audience and customers. The basics of marketing are still the fundamentals that you should be following, storytelling and building long term emotionally connected relationships will continue to win again and again.

9. Disruption wins. Doing the same thing for comforts sake should end. Creating impactful and successful campaigns relies on new ideas and new ways of presenting them. If you have been relying solely on email, search and other mediums for a long time because they have worked, don’t stop, but add in something new. This is the year for you to try new things. Sure it might add more work and some political battles that you need to fight, but don’t let that stop you. You need to be looking for ways in which to reach new audiences that you may have never known have existed. Explore new locations, new technologies, new social media efforts, new commitment to a new thing. Breaking up your own routine can allow you to test and learn.

10. Change is Good – Enough said.

This is your year, as well as mine, to mix it up. I wish you luck.