Why Email Marketing Isn't Effective Anymore

Over the last 2 years I have noticed a significant decrease in the measurable results marketers are seeing in their emails. Open rates have trailed off, and click through rates have also declined. Of course, to produce the same or more leads, most marketers are just sending more email but not addressing the underlying issues. There are several reasons why email isn't effective any more:

1. The rise of social media and a new generation. Today's under 25 crowd uses Text and IM long before they use email; they get information more organically - Twitter, Facebook, Chat; information is more interactive and conversation based. As my friend Aaron Kahlow likes to say - email is like the telegraph and social media is the telephone; how do you think your firm can have a more meaningful conversation?

2. List quality and permission; the average list turns over 25% per year and very few organizations have routing data cleansing and enrichment programs in place. Additionally, the majority of marketers still use an opt-out strategy vs. opt-in or double opt-in. The end result is that marketers have huge lists that are inaccurate, not segmented, and not built on permission. This leads to poor return on investment.

3. Noise and Filters; the average executive today receives over 150 emails per day. In addition to ISP and corporate spam filters, many executives have additional filters on their inbox and they also engage in polite 'unsubscribe' - meaning they just delete your email upon receipt instead of actually unsubscribing. The result - your emails are getting lost in a sea of noise and screening mechanisms. Instead of trying to figure out how to differentiate, marketers just send more hoping that will cure the problem.

Email can still be a viable tool in your arsenal, but to make it more effective, take the following steps:

1. Implement a subscription management system that allows your users to determine what they receive, how they receive it and when they receive it

2. Implement routine data cleansing and enrichment programs. The best marketers constantly refine their lists. It is not the size of your list but the quality.

3. Make your emails more relevant - subject matter and content along with a targeted list will always yield a better result

4. Use multiple channels - don't rely on email only. Use social media and offline tactics to build a demand generation ecosystem

Follow the above steps and you can start to gain more effectiveness from your email programs.