You’ve heard of Nickelback, right? The famous 4-piece rock band from Canada, whose break-out single ‘How You Remind Me’ was the best-selling rock song of the decade in America in 2001?
Yeah, you’ve heard of Nickelback.
You’ve probably also heard that they are considered a bit of a joke in the music scene. Many people hate Nickelback, changing the radio station as soon as they come on and generally bad-mouthing their music. And honestly, they don’t really deserve it. I know, a divisive opinion! Unlike bad email marketing, which gets just as much hate, and definitely deserves every ounce of it! But what’s the difference?
Why Do People Hate Nickelback?
Personally, I’ve never understood all of the hate Nickelback gets. They’re a slightly above-average, yet very successful rock band. However, I’m married to a semi-professional musician, and he informs me that people in the music scene have their reasons for giving Nickelback some ire. A lot of people see them as ‘manufactured industry plants’, which basically means that they were put together by a record label for the purpose of selling records, and then heavily promoted within the industry. I’m not sure that warrants the level of hate they get, especially as there are countless other bands formed that way, but that’s the big reason. Apparently. So now you know.
Why Do People Hate Email Marketing?
It’s important to point out that people don’t hate email marketing as a thing. They hate bad email marketing. They hate automated, spammy emails with no personalisation that are difficult to unsubscribe from, especially if they didn’t subscribe in the first place. Email marketing is essentially invading someone’s inbox with your messages. It’s a much more intrusive form of marketing than most, and so it’s incredibly important to get the balance right if you want to see results. And sadly, not a lot of people can get that right.
What’s The Difference?
So if both things are hated, what’s the difference? Why do I think that Nickelback isn’t as bad as naff email marketing? Simple.
Nickelback serves a purpose. Bad email marketing doesn’t.
Think about it. People pay attention to Nickelback. They’ve sold over 50 million records since they formed in 1995, played to more than eight million fee-paying fans on their international tours, and hold the record for the best-selling rock song of the decade with ‘How You Remind Me’.
They’ve also very much lent into their reputation in the market. They’re the butt of a lot of jokes, and they participate happily in them. Their music inspires laughter and creativity in brands and fans, and that in itself is worthwhile.
Bad email marketing, in contrast, does not serve a purpose at all. No one pays attention to it. It doesn’t have any fans and it’s not influential, and it doesn’t help anyone to meet their goals. And it makes the people who receive it grumpy. No one enjoys receiving bad email marketing, and when a business doesn’t know how to write an email newsletter, the emails you send are at best, ineffective, and at worst, creating a very negative impression of your brand.
Is All Email Marketing Bad?
Of course not! When done well, email marketing can be great. But that means they need to be enjoyable for the recipient, not just the writers. Your email newsletters should be focused on delivering what your audience really wants, rather than pushing what you want to sell. Think free educational courses, insights, special offers and similar. The more relevant, timely and enjoyable the content, the better your conversion rates will be.
Simple really, right?
If you’re a bit stuck and don’t know where to start, I can help. I don’t talk about it much, but I love working with businesses to create stand-out newsletters that actually get people reading, rather than just hitting delete. In fact, one of my clients won over 3K of new business from one campaign of 3 emails! Want a slice of the action? Click here and drop me a line so we can chat.