Email Marketing & Automation

No, Email Is NOT Dead!

I noticed this tweet from Chuck Gose yesterday. It referenced an article on the New York Times website called Email: Press Delete. Every so often, we all see these types of articles that make the cry that email is dead! and suggest that we should look at the habits of the younger generation to see how we will communicate in the future. Chuck thought this was tiresome and stated that email is not going away and I tend to agree.

I disagree with Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook’s chief operating officer referenced in the article) because no one seems to talk about how communication habits change as we age. The typical argument behind the email is dead! bandwagon is that the younger generation does not use email because they are on Facebook instead. While that may be true, let’s fast-forward five years. That 17-year-old is probably not on email as much as on Facebook. However, what happens when that same person is now 22 and is looking for a job after graduating from college? How will she communicate with potential employers? Probably email. What is one of the first things she will receive when she lands a job? Probably a company email account.

We’re also forgetting how tightly email is still integrated into the authentication process on various websites. How do you log into Facebook? With your email account. Many websites use email as a username, requiring an email address to register. Email is still the universal inbox for many people and will remain so.

Will the next generation communicate differently than today’s professionals? Absolutely. Will they stop using email and conduct all business over Facebook? I doubt it. Email is still a fast, efficient, proven technology. Great email marketing firms like Indy’s ExactTarget know this and are seeing fantastic results from utilizing email as a marketing medium. Our email newsletter is a significant component of our communication strategy.

Let’s stop jumping on the email is dead! bandwagon and instead learn better ways to use it effectively. I would love your comments below.

Michael Reynolds

I’ve been an entrepreneur for over two decades and have built and sold multiple businesses, including a digital marketing agency, a software company, and other service businesses. As a result of my business background, I often help my clients with similar challenges, including starting a business, or building and optimizing a business.

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