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When Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook, he probably didn't consider what a tremendous opportunity this social media website would present for corporations all across the country and even across the globe. In conjunction with Twitter, Blogger, LinkedIn, and more recently, Google+, social media platforms are quickly becoming crucial components of any successful Internet marketing strategy. 

Despite the opportunity offered by these social media websites, reports have shown that many email marketing consultants are failing to take full advantage by connecting professional email marketing with social media marketing for ultimate exposure. If you want to enjoy greater exposure and subsequent success for your own company, consider the following tips for leveraging social media in your professional email marketing campaign. 

Provide Easy Sharing Features

If you want your emails to be shared more often, you can start by simply making your emails easier to share. If you're thinking, "But our emails already include a 'forward to a friend' feature," you are part of a surprisingly large group that is missing out on incredible opportunities for brand exposure through social media. According to a 2010 study by eMarketer, 48 percent of marketers allow email recipients to forward the email to a friend, while just 13 percent offer special features for sharing emails on social networks. A study by MarketingSherpa discovered that the simple addition of social media sharing buttons in a managed email marketing campaign led to a 25 percent increase in reader interaction and dramatic surges in Internet traffic to a company's website. With the promising results of this study and the slow pace of the competition, integrating easy sharing could dramatically enhance your company's professional email marketing campaign. 

Cross Promote

Cross promotion is a highly effective strategy for maximizing exposure. If there is an unusual imbalance of subscribers on your accounts, this likely indicates that your company could be doing a better job at cross promoting. For example, if your company has 16,000 Twitter followers and only 2,000 email subscribers, it's likely that not all of your subscribers are aware of the benefits of subscribing to your email newsletters. Encourage your subscribers on each social media outlet to subscribe to receive emails from your company and stay connected through other social networks. Asking nicely may not work every time, which brings me to my next point: 

Offer Incentives

Despite the fact not every company makes it easy for consumers to share emails on social networks, nearly every business in the country has at least one social networking account. This poses a problem for businesses because tougher competition leads to higher selectivity from consumers when choosing which corporations to follow to prevent cluttering news feeds with promotion after promotion. To successfully encourage more email subscriptions, or to follow you on social networks, you need to be able to answer the tacit question of the consumer, namely, "What's in it for me?" Incentives can include discounts, sweepstakes, freebies and other attention-grabbing benefits of this nature. 

Because trends in both email and social media marketing change at a rapid pace, an email marketing agency is the most effective way to maintain momentum and stay ahead of the competition. With a world of opportunities available through social networking, your professional email marketing campaign could generate more attention than ever before. 

Newsletters have been considerably popular vehicles of information for businesses, clubs, societies, and various organizations since before the Internet was even a concept. Although the advancement of technology could have easily caused newsletters to become obsolete, they survived - or rather, successfully adapted to - the digital age for one very simple reason: both subscribers and organizations continue to find them useful. In accurately describing the power f the newsletter, "useful" is actually a mild characterization of the many benefits that come from this medium. Newsletters grant organizations the opportunity to share current promotions and reviews of previous events in a friendly, journalistic tone. 

Why It Works 

While the underlying purpose of the newsletter is to increase subscriber interest and ultimately generate more business, the conversational nature and structure of newsletters gives companies the opportunity to build a more personal and relaxed relationship with consumers and partners. Although newsletters come with several inherently positive qualities, they have even greater potential than the average professional may be able to recognize and uncover. A newsletter is more than just formatting and content - it is an opportunity to expand your business and improve customer outreach. 

Staying Consistent

The potential for greater success is not something that an opportunistic company would or should take lightly. With managed email marketing by a well-trained and highly experienced email marketing agency, crucial marketing tactics and strategies can be applied to your company's newsletter to ensure a consistent message and maximum appeal to the consumer. Effective email marketing requires more than just creative content and an attractive newsletter design, but requires supervision from an educated and experienced email marketing consultant to integrate specific strategies, tactics and various idiosyncrasies involved in professional email marketing. 

Email marketing practices are not something learned overnight, either. Keeping up with popular marketing trends and monitoring the competition are two highly important elements of a successful managed email marketing campaign. Marketing trends aren't always black and white. In other words, what may be an effective strategy for one industry many not be as effective for another. Often, determining the most effective marketing strategy requires a continuous cycle of trial and error to create a solid set of appropriate tactics. With the fast pace of the Internet marketing sphere, these strategy trends change on a weekly, even daily basis. 

Get Results

Since time is money in the world of business, most companies can't afford to sacrifice the time (let along the effort or expertise) necessary to create effective newsletters on a regular basis. The cost of hiring a highly qualified and well-experienced email marketing consultant at Delivra is affordable and logical for businesses of all sizes due to the impressive return on investment (ROI) that comes with this business decision. The Direct Marketing Association reported that ROI for email marketing at $40.56 for every dollar invested in 2011. Although this figure is projected to decrease slightly in the year 2012, it is expected to still remain highly substantial at $39.40 for every dollar invested. With the promise of high returns and effective, competitive strategy integration, the question you should be asking is: Could my company's newsletter generate a more successful response and greater impact with the benefits of professional marketing? 

Since the advent of social media, Internet marketing has evolved at a rapid pace. These dramatic changes have caused many people to question whether professional email marketing is still a profitable component of the marketing campaign. It's true, email marketing has company in the Internet marketing sphere, but those who disregard its marketing potential will miss out on a consistently performing opportunity despite the increasing success of social media outlets. 

Although social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others give users the opportunity to communicate through messaging features, studies have shown email still retains its popularity. During an earnings call in January 2012, Google claimed to have 350 million active Gmail users. In October 2011, Hotmail claimed an identical user base, while Yahoo! reported a figure relatively close at 310 million users -- and this is just coming from the three major hubs. Studies also show most of these users are checking their email every day, which makes this medium a tremendous marketing opportunity for businesses. 

When it comes to the value of email marketing, most companies don't need much convincing. Data has shown they are already willing to invest large sums toward professional email marketing strategies. Forrester Research has projected companies will spend approximately $1.676 billion on managed email marketing in 2012 and approximately $1.649 billion on social media in the same year. These statistics indicate many companies have equally assigned values to both email marketing and social media marketing. Actually, with email marketing leading by $27 million, it appears this component is considered slightly more important than social media marketing alternatives. 

So, we can see email still has a large user base and is still considered highly valuable by American corporations, but does it pass the test of being effective for generating sales? According to Adrian Mullan of WebProNews, email marketing is not only effective for generating online sales, but offline sales as well. A reported 59 percent of email users claim to have made an offline purchase after receiving an email promotion, which indicates that while one email advertisement may not lead to an immediate sale, it certainly leaves an impression on the buyer. Further research reveals that the average shopper comes into contact with an item nine times before making a purchasing decision. This means each marketing technique plays a key role in encouraging a sale. Leaving email marketing out of the equation can cause this exposure to fall short. 

Unlike social media, managed email marketing through an email marketing agency has a unique value because it ensure a personalized and continuous relationship with the consumer. Maintaining the relationship with current customers is highly important, since studies show acquiring a new customer is eight to ten times more expensive than selling to a current customer. New sales are certainly not to be disregarded, but keeping up with current customers through email has proven to generate repeat sales estimated to be four times more profitable than the first purchase. 

To take full advantage of the many benefits that come from managed email marketing, an experienced and educated email marketing consultant is essential. With proper execution, your company can soon begin to see why email marketing truly does matter. 

The advancement of technology and Internet marketing has been highly beneficial for the photo and video industry for perhaps fairly obvious reasons. With email and social media marketing, professionals in this industry are able to share their work quicker than ever with greater detail. Having a strong email marketing campaign, in an industry where aesthetic quality has the heaviest influence on whether or not a consumer chooses that particular business, is key to enticing the buyer to take advantage of current promotions, discounts and new techniques or services offered by the company. Although there are a number of reasons that might account for the photo and video industry's email marketing success, consider the following top three contributing factors.

1. More Subscribers Open Their Emails

It may seem like a no-brainer, but the success of many professional email marketing campaigns in the photo and video industry is in part due to the high open rate this industry has overall. Studies indicate a 28.93 percent open rate for all emails sent by companies in the photo and video industry, which proves strong interest among the general public. Even ostensibly more popular industries, such as retail and education, rank considerably lower with just 17.8 percent and 16.64 percent, respectively. Greater interest means greater profit for any business, and for the photo and video industry this certainly holds true.

2. More Subscribers Click the Links in Their Emails

Any experienced email marketing consultant will tell you the click-through rate of an email marketing campaign is one of the most important factors for measuring its success. For the photo and video industry in particular, studies reveal a click-through rate of 5.7 percent. For those who aren't well versed in proper measurement of click-through rates, this figure is exactly 2 percentage points above the average of 3.7 percent. The population used to determine an average click-through rate included several other notable industries, including real estate, insurance and legal industries.

3. Fewer Subscribers Complain or Unsubscribe

An irresponsible or inexperienced use of email can lead to abuse by overwhelming the consumer with excess emails in a manner technically classified as spamming. When email is abused in this way, it often results in customer complaints and a surplus of customers unsubscribing to the company. Although this abuse of strategy, should rightfully only affect the company at fault, it can often have a negative effect on the customer's perception of the entire industry. With the photo and video industry, abuse complaint rates and unsubscribe rates remain significantly low, with a measured 0.07 percent of the former and 0.26 percent for the latter.

Although the nature of the photo and video industry likely helps contribute to its email marketing success, a well-trained and experienced consultant can often have the biggest impact on compelling subscribers to open emails and further encourage them to click the link embedded in the email. In addition to these highly important components, managed email marketing also decreases the likelihood of abuse, which can frequently have a detrimental effect on the campaign overall. Since statistics indicate email marketing favors the photo and video industry's, companies who are currently taking advantage of professional email marketing opportunities can continue to expect positive returns in the future.

The construction industry has had a rough few years with a sharp decline of demand resulting from the financial crisis of the late 2000s. Although this crisis posed a substantial setback for the industry, the slow recovery of the economy has led to greater business opportunities and promise for the industry as a whole. The gradual improvement of the economy can take most of the credit for this increased success; however, credit should also partially be attributed to widespread integration of email marketing throughout the construction industry. Compared with other industries- including entertainment, health and fitness, and public relations—the construction industry has generated substantially greater interest and success with their own email marketing campaigns.

A Firm Foundation

Recent studies have reported a 28.7 percent open rate for emails sent by businesses in the construction industry, with an equally impressive click-through rate of 8.01 percent. Put in perspective: the business and finance industry follows far behind with a 15.57 percent open rate and a dismal 2.77 percent click-through rate. The music industry lies even further from this point with a 13.95 percent open rate and a 2.43 percent click-through rate. Based on this information, it's clear the construction industry is benefiting much more from managed email marketing than many other industries.

Understanding What Works

Despite the relatively high open and click-through rates of the construction industry and the general success of email marketing among construction companies, surveys have shown many businesses in this field aren't even aware of how well they are doing in terms of email marketing efficiency. When a group of construction companies were asked what their open rates were for their email campaigns, 51 percent responded they didn't know. An even greater 76 percent reported not to know the company's click-through rates either. This lack of communication and data analysis within the company could be caused by a failure to hire an experienced email marketing consultant to analyze data and manage the campaign in an effective manner. With proper management, the construction industry could potentially generate even more success through the strategy of email marketing.

Building Better ROI

Although the construction industry may need better management to ensure maximum email marketing efficiency, collected data indicates the strategy already comes with a great deal of profit potential for this industry in particular. For construction companies working independently or still struggling to get back on their feet, the prospect of email marketing can be especially appealing due to its high return on investment (ROI). Statistics indicate professional email marketing for the year 2012 is projected to generate an ROI of $39.40 for every dollar spent toward the service. This substantial return is unmatched by any other traditional media or Internet marketing strategy available, which is why it's a preferred choice for various industries.

What sets the construction industry apart from other successful industries is the widespread lack of understanding and appreciation of the tremendous benefits they're receiving from email marketing. This industry may be enjoying a unique success now, but as trends develop and more industries become proficient in managed email marketing tactics and understand the implications of increased ROI that result, the construction industry may get company.

Although email marketing has proven effective across a wide range of different industries, the strategy has recently shown especially notable promise in the restaurant industry in particular. This promise is evidenced partially by a recent study that revealed a 20 percent open rate of all emails sent by restaurants in 2010. This may not sound like an impressive statistic by itself, but when compared with other industries surveyed, it ranks considerably higher. For example, the entertainment industry came in at just a 16 percent open rate, followed even further behind by the medical, dental and healthcare industries, which have a 13 percent open rate.

What Email Offers

Again you might be thinking: What's the big deal if customers are opening more of their emails from restaurant companies? According to Forrester Research, this open rate increase is complemented by a 17 percent revenue increase from each customer in this population. This inference is based on a study conducted by Forrester Research, which revealed that there is a 17 percent increase in purchase value of email subscribers versus non-subscribers. Although opening an email may not necessarily solidify a sale right then and there, it can still have an influence on the customer in the future. A reported 87 percent of consumers in the same Forrester Research study claimed email marketing impacted their future purchasing decisions.

The Proof isn't in the Pudding—it's in the ROI

Investing in managed email marketing is something both small and large restaurants truly can't afford to miss out on because of its proven efficacy in generating more business. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing generates ROI of $57.25 for each dollar spent on the service. Compared with alternative options for online marketing, such as social media marketing, the ROI for email marketing is 150 percent greater. Looking at it from a purely objective point of view, it's difficult to argue with an investment generating such a substantial return.

A Recipe for Success

If the proven efficiency of hiring an email marketing consultant isn't enough of a motive to take advantage of this highly lucrative service, consider the fact that many other restaurants in the industry are already following this recent trend. According to a study by National Restaurant News, an average of seven out of ten restaurants in the industry are actively pursuing an email marketing agency for their own campaigns. This statistic indicates that restaurants which don't incorporate professional email marketing may lose customers to restaurants which are more accessible, and thus could be left behind by the competition.

Intuition Matters

The success seen in the restaurant industry is likely due to the widespread popularity of using Internet resources to find information about a particular restaurant. Studies show that 89 percent of customers always research information about a restaurant online before dining there. The benefit of email marketing is it can bring this information directly to the customer, which increases the customer's convenience and improves the chances they will choose that particular restaurant over another requiring an active search to acquire the same information.

With the prevalence of Internet usage today, it's increasingly important for all kinds of businesses to maintain a presence in the same spheres consumers frequent. Since email is a primary form of communication among so many people, and because of the proven potential of email marketing, the benefits restaurants can enjoy from following this trend are immense.

According to the eMarketer.com, as a percentage of all Internet users, people who listen to podcasts will grow to 17% by 2013, and 50% of primarily online buyers already listen to podcasts. If you're not including podcasts as part of your marketing strategy, you might want to reconsider.

Here's why: Recently, a software company was looking to nurture credibility and trust with prospective buyers, and extend brand loyalty with existing customers. We produced an eight-part podcast series that featured clients telling their success stories in their own words. Each was available as streaming audio as well as an MP3 download. The series was produced with an NPR-like feel. It was promoted via an email marketing campaign, the company's website, social media, and iTunes. The series was heard more than a thousand times. The largest audience segment was contacts that hadn't interacted with the brand in three-months or more.

If you endeavor to produce a podcast series, here are six tips that will maximize your success:

1. Keep it short. Unless your podcast strategy is to sponsor entertainment programs, keep each episode in the 2-3 minute range; 10-minutes at the outside. Keeping the listener's attention for more than five minutes is challenging. My own observations reveal that an average person will listen to five three-minute audio clips in a row, but rarely sits through a single 15-minute clip.

2. Write compelling content. There are a lot of people doing 30- and 60-minute talk-show webcasts. With few exceptions, these tend to pack five-minutes of real content into a 30-minute bag; too much fluff. Instead, write a conversational script of 500 words - the length of this article. Provide actionable advice, insights, or inspiration.

3. Partner with other subject-matter experts. If you find it a challenge to create your own content, share the work with others who provide complementary products and services. In return, these partners get exposure and a chance to build their own brand.

4. Produce a professional sound. Make it a great listening experience - use a quality microphone, eliminate background noises, clicks, throat clearing, mispronunciations, tinny voices and monotones. Add music to accentuate the enthusiasm.

5. Promote it through multiple channels. Distribute this great content through a campaign of email tactics, social media, website, and iTunes. Provide a written transcript on the landing page of each episode. This serves two purposes. First, some people want the written word. Second, the copy does wonders for your organic search marketing.

6. Measure the results. In the campaign brief that you write at the beginning of this, you'll establish goals and objectives. Among them, you'll want to track listenership. Depending on the audio platform you use, you can track the number of listens of each podcast as well as the average length of time spent listening. This can provide input into future subject matter.

Add podcasts to your marketing toolkit. An effective podcast series will invigorate your brand to re-engage dormant contacts, nurture active leads, and build brand loyalty with existing customers.

Guest Blogger | Richard Cunningham

Richard Cunningham is a veteran of corporate marketing with business-to-business companies ranging from start-ups to Global 100. His passion is developing demand generation programs that produce measurable results. Hear him at Rich Cunningham Voice Over.

I work for a directory of mobile developers called MobileDeveloper.net, so right away you must be thinking, “This guy is biased. He sees the world through one lens and it’s attached to an iPhone.”

First of all, I don’t own an iPhone. I do own an iPod Touch, but it’s an old one and doesn’t have a camera so I don’t get to use any of the fun photo apps, which makes me a second-class app store citizen at best.

Secondly, I also manage a directory for web design companies called Xemion, which tempers my enthusiasm for mobile because I see every day how much more important the standard web is and will be for a long time.

And finally, I understand your skepticism. I’m biased in the regard that I’ve been anticipating the onslaught of mobile, but even I feel a tipping point coming this year that I didn’t expect for a while longer.

Enough with the build up, here’s why I believe that’s true.

The Reasons

Reason 1: Google’s mobile operating system, Android, is exploding in popularity

Stat: In December 2010, Android passed Apple iOS in smartphone market share.

While RIM, the makers of the Blackberry, still has the largest smartphone market share, Apple and Android represent the future of mobile computing. Most people would be surprised to learn Android has passed Apple since the iPhone has been the darling of the media and early adopters – which proves my point.

This market is growing in ways that most marketers haven’t noticed and if an upstart mobile platform like Android can grow from almost nothing to beating out the perceived industry leader in less than a year, than it’s time to pay attention.

Reason 2: The iPad is a tablet and it is drastically more successful than almost anyone anticipated

Stat: In Q4 2010, Apple made $4.6 billion off of iPad sales, passing MacBook sales of $3.69 billion.

I want to make this clear - the iPad has bigger revenues than the MacBook, which at a price point that is about half of the average MacBook ($499 compared to $999), means it has sold significantly more units.

This is important because it suggests that mainstream users do want tablet computers. Previous attempts at bringing tablet computing to market have failed to catch on with the masses, causing many pundits and analysts to conclude that users simply did not want a tablet computer.

It turns out, they just didn’t want those tablet computers. They like the iPad though, and it seems probable they’ll start liking Google’s version of a tablet platform as well (see my point above).

In my opinion, the growing popularity of tablets is more important than the popularity of smartphones. A phone is almost never viewed as an acceptable replacement of a laptop. Instead, it’s a “good enough” device driven by the convenience of always having one in your pocket. The tablet, however, replaces a laptop for those people who just browse the internet and read email.

So the question is, how does your marketing change if you know your users are on a tablet instead of a laptop or desktop?

Reason 3: Smartphones and advanced mobile devices are becoming more affordable

Stat: Today, you can buy an iPhone 3GS with a new 2-year contract for just $49

I’m not kidding. You can buy arguably the greatest phone of all time for just $49. I’m almost positive I had a Motorola Razr that cost me more than twice that less than 3 years ago.

If my college economics class managed to teach me anything, it’s that as the price goes down, demand goes up. At this price, demand goes way up.

I’ll grant the skeptics the point that even some of the consumers who can afford the $49, can’t afford the data package that is required to go with it; however, this is still a game changing price.

My Advice for Marketers

If you’ve stuck with me this far, you’re probably wondering what advice I have for small business marketers who believe in the imminent rise of mobile devices. I just have two things you should keep in mind as a busy marketer.

1. Don’t dramatically change your marketing strategy

You probably already suffer from anxiety caused by information overload and I’m not here to add to it. The truth is, I don’t believe 2011 is the year for most marketers to take big leaps in mobile marketing. If I did, I would have titled this post “3 Reasons for Small Business Marketers to Dump Their Entire Marketing Strategy and Incorporate Mobile Now.”

Instead, I’m consulting you to start paying attention to the world of mobile devices, which leads me to my next point…

2. Get your hands on these 3 mobile devices: an iPhone, Android Phone, and iPad

These devices represent the important cross-section of today’s popular mobile devices. (Note: you can substitute an iPod Touch for an iPhone). If you can, try to spend at least 3 days with each of these devices. Incorporate them into your normal daily routine. See what your website looks like on them. View one of your email campaigns with them.

Also, just play with them, because the future isn’t going to be like today just with smaller screens. It’s going to be different in ways people haven’t even thought of yet, and the only way to keep up is to get creative.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t normally find creativity in the same worn path from my homescreen, to my browser, to my email inbox. The Angry Birds game on the other hand...

Brennan Knotts | Xemion & Guest Blogger

Brennan is the Director of Marketing for the Xemion network of sites, a leading online destination for marketing managers and small business owners looking for professional web design firms and mobile developers.

Queue epic movie trailer voice over: Since the dawn of fire, man has been gathering around its warm glow to share tales of adventure and disaster, love and heartache, beer and NASCAR, that hottie at the bar...

When (or perhaps more appropriately, why) did companies stop telling stories?  When did "Three easy payments of $19.95" replace "and they lived happily ever after"? People are, by nature, storytellers.  A kid on the playground tells another story of how strong and cool his dad is.  A coach tells his team a story of yesteryear, when he was on a team that drove for a come-from-behind victory for the state championship.  My wife tells a 45 minute story about, well, something.  I blanked out for a couple of minutes...

Social media has given us the biggest campfire the world has ever known. Hundreds, thousands, millions, can gather around the warm glow of their computer screen and share stories.  Companies have the opportunity to share their story via an email marketing campaign and then share it to their social network and potentially watch it reach millions of social media users. And yet, companies seemingly altogether decided to stop telling their stories.  You can't expect people to care if they don't know your story.  This proves doubly important for all of you in service and non-profit sectors.

Forget the lessons you learned in writing class?  Andy Goodman is here to help.  Check out this issue of Mr. Goodman's Free Range Thinking.  The 10 Immutable Laws of Storytelling will help you get on the way to a strong story: http://www.agoodmanonline.com/pdf/free_range_2007_06.pdf

And try this on for size next.  Break out another bag of marshmallows and let your story turn into a conversation. Don't be afraid if people ask questions, if people want to ask more, or if people want to tell their own stories.  Encourage storytelling on your website, on your Facebook page, blog, in your email marketing efforts, etc.  As long as you keep the story going, you can keep that fire burning.  But if the story stops and everyone leaves the campfire?  Well, at least Smokey the Bear will still be interested.

Guest Blogger | Adam Lowe

Adam Lowe is the Branding Manager for Choices, Inc., a nationally recognized, Indianapolis-based nonprofit serving youth experiencing mental, emotional and behavioral challenges. A graduate of the University of Indianapolis, Adam holds degrees in marketing and information systems and is a self-trained graphic designer.  He has worked with Choices, Inc. for the past six years and has previously worked with the Indianapolis' own Survivor All-Star Rupert Boneham and his Rupert's Kids program. Adam has been recognized for his marketing, branding and design work by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals and the Hoosier chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Twitter: @dudeimbibes | Facebook: www.facebook.com/dudeimbibes

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian professor and media theorist, wrote that "the new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village." From our 21st-century perspective, the truth of those words is readily apparent. But in 1962, when McLuhan wrote them, it was a revolutionary new insight. His coinage of the term "global village" came a full thirty years before the rise of the Internet!

After the publication of his 1964 book Understanding Media, McLuhan became something of a celebrity, sought out through much of the rest of his lifetime to offer commentary about the effects of electronic media on society. He was among the big thinkers in the pop culture of his time--compare to, say, Malcolm Gladwell today--a best-selling author, interviewed on television, and profiled in such varied publications as Newsweek, Life, and Playboy.

Perhaps his most famous turn of phrase, from Understanding Media, was that "the medium is the message." He explains that "each medium, independent of the content it mediates, has its own intrinsic effects which are its unique message." The message of a medium is the "change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs." "The medium is the message," then, is McLuhan's way of saying that the medium itself produces a meaning to society that is more powerful than any single communication delivered through that medium.

McLuhan died in 1980 and thus didn't live to see the mass adoption of email as a communications medium. But he surely would have had opinions about the ways email has changed our world. I'm no professional media theorist, but I'll list a few of my own observations.

• Email made written communication more personal. Unlike the magazines or newspapers I merely consume, or postal mail sent to my address, my email account is fully "mine".   I control it.  I can pick my own email address, secure it with a password known only to me, and share it only with those I choose.   I can edit my words carefully, and publish whenever I like, to anyone I know.
• Email broke down barriers of time and distance. The old AT&T commercials encouraged us to use long-distance phone calls to "reach out and touch someone."  But that ability came with a price, a cost that increased proportionally according to how far away was the person being called.  Phone calls of that day were also synchronous--you had to catch the other party while they were at home and awake.  Postal mail lacked those constraints, but an exchange of letters could take days or weeks.  With email came the ability to communicate with anyone, asynchronously, regardless of their location, with rapid delivery.
• Email made mass communication cheap. So cheap, that measures had to be taken to ensure its continued usefulness as a medium.  The abuses of spammers led to the development of filters, blacklists, and societal norms about "permission-based" email leading to new laws.   This has happened with other media as well.  For example, the technology that made possible automation of telemarketing gave rise to the "do-not-call" registry.   We now expect new media to protect us from harassment while conferring their other benefits.

In my next post, we'll look at what happens when marketers who use email fail to understand the ways that email has changed how we communicate.   What are the perils of focusing on our own messages while ignoring the larger message that is the medium?

Chris Broshears | Product Development