the smelly armpit of email marketing

The other day my husband, kids and I were driving home from a trip to the Jersey shore.

(That’s we we New Jersey folks call the beachy coastline in my home state. Since I once had a client from the island of Jersey, it felt important to clarify.)

Because we were visiting friends in New York - the state, not The City - we had to take a route we usually avoid.

The dreaded Turnpike.

Not only is it super confusing with all of the criss-crossing roads and highways running through it, it’s the reason my home state has a reputation for being grimy, industrial, and smelly.

Between the oil refineries, chemical plants, and smokestacks that are visible from the highway just south of New York City, if this all if ever see of New Jersey, of course you would think it’s a smelly wasteland.

By comparison, the Garden State Parkway, the other major highway that runs the length of the state and the one we normally take, is quite lovely. (As far as U.S. highways go.)

Trees! Grass! Wild pollinators! 🐝

Unfortunately, the Turnpike is what many people picture when they think of New Jersey, and why it's been dubbed the "Armpit of America".

But anyone who grew up there or has spent any time in the state knows it’s not representative of a state that actually contains beautiful beaches, lush farmland and forests, and quaint towns.

It’s kind of like how so many of us are taught to approach email marketing.

So many people talk about the "funnel" - one set path where every subscriber is expected to travel to reach the same destination.

The email funnel is the New Jersey Turnpike of email marketing: efficient in theory, but often a smelly, unpleasant experience that gives the whole industry a bad reputation.

And it’s not even how email marketing actually works, especially for credentials professionals marketing their businesses.

As credentialed professionals, you'd never dream of putting every client on the exact same path. You take their background, needs, and timing into account and guide them accordingly. You know that what works for one person might be completely wrong for another.

Just like my trip home, there are often multiple possible routes. Assuming everyone is going to take the same exact path means you might lose them along a grimy, industrial highway when they could have taken the scenic (albeit slower) route instead.

Most professionals I work with already know a funnel-only approach won’t fit their business, but they’re not sure how to translate their nuanced client work into email systems.

That's where I come in: I help you design and build subscriber journeys that respect choice and still move people forward.

If your email system feels more like the Turnpike than the Parkway, we can design and build an approach that honors your clients’ different needs and destinations - just like you do in your practice.

Take it one step at a time,
​Bev​​

113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205