The Four Keys to Power in Email

This week, I gave the keynote speech at the Media Post European Email Insider’s Summit. My topic – why email is the most powerful channel.

Crowning email as the most powerful channel in marketing, in today’s Pinterest, Mobile, SEO, Vessel-filled world of media options is a bold statement. But I still believe it to be true, and here is why.

In order to draw a line in the sand and “name” the most powerful channel in marketing, we must first understand what power is. I’ve broken the elements of power down into four factors:

1. Opinion – You must define who you are and what you are responsible for as a brand. If someone interacts with you – what do you expect to happen?

2. Audience – You need to know who matters to you. The world has over 7 billion people in it. Not every one of them is your target buyer. Create an audience that is meaningful to you.

3. Influence – Your message much be built so soundly that it influences people to take the action you want them to take without it seeming salesy.

4. Persuasion – Just because you have influence (aka a brand position), doesn’t mean that you own the action. You must still present a persuasive argument and convince people to do what you originally wanted them to do.

In order to evaluate how well email stacked up to other channels in this space I built a Power Grid and analyzed the potential impact of various channels across these four key factors. The results can be seen here.

This grid demonstrates that, while every channel has strengths, only email is able to be deliver in all four power categories – this doesn’t suggest that omni-channel marketing shouldn’t be considered, it absolutely should. But it does make a clear point about how flexible and impactful email’s reach can be.

Once you agree on the power of email, the next step is to ensure the four keys to power are integrated into your email messaging strategy, automation initiatives and analysis. Without this, you could lose focus and your emails can get off track.

By leveraging the four keys to power, you will ensure a productive, profitable and positive email experience for all. And your email efforts can be successfully integrated into a larger omni-channel offering.