Things are always changing… And Gmail is no exception.
No matter how we set things up… no matter how much we plan… there are going to be things beyond our control – changes we just have to roll with.
For marketers and business owners, one of the best ways to deal with change is to beat the odds… If you have a range of strategies in place, a change to one of them won’t topple your whole operation…
But there is another way – you can rise above.
With the recent changes in Gmail inbox layouts, lots of marketers are in a panic, figuring out how they are going to rework their emails to make it into your “primary” inbox, instead of the “social” or “promotions” inboxes designed to filter just the kind of messages they want to send.
Kind of a catch-22, right?
So instead of trying to figure out ways around the new Gmail inbox, how would a strategic entrepreneur face this challenge?
First, look at what the issue really is. The inbox isn’t the challenge; it’s just a tiny roadblock. The challenge is getting your message to the customer.
Don’t worry about the inbox layout… Instead, focus your efforts on creating such a fantastic email that your customers will make sure they read it, even if it means going out of their way to do so.
This can only be done with pure, unadulterated VALUE!
It’s about providing the best of the best here, not just another email for the filters to catch. You should be trying to pack so much value and useful information in your emails, that your customers would dig them out of their recycle bins and spam folders if they had to…
Create something that your customers don’t want to miss!
I think part of the problem has to do with the ease of email these days… That it doesn’t cost anything to simply click the send button – and since the entrepreneur doesn’t perceive an email sent as valuable (because it didn’t cost anything to send), they don’t provide anything of value in it!
It’s just pitch after pitch, sales link after sales link…
Where’s the value?
At least in the world of direct mail, you have to PAY for each piece you send out, so you’re more likely to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. Far too many people just click “send” on a piece of email marketing without stopping to consider what kind of value it’s really providing…
What reason do people have to read you message?
Maybe if people had to pay to send emails, it would be a little different…
But I digress…
The point is this:
The method is only so important – it’s the message that counts.
And if your customers and prospects come to expect a ton of value from your messages, they’ll go out of their way to make sure they read them – no matter what inbox it lands in.
In your corner,
Charlie
Digital marketing solutions are all the rage these days, but is direct mail marketing still an effective strategy in an increasingly digital world? Find out in our related piece on direct mail marketing.
