For the majority of my professional life I’ve been signing up for email lists. Whether it be when I make a purchase, or become a fan of a new band…. These email lists were once the “lifeblood” of a brand’s online marketing strategy. The more email addresses you had, the more people you could push to react to your news.

A great deal of brands are still utilizing a push technology to reach their fans/customers. Someone must have failed to mention the bottom dropped out on email open rates in 2007. Globally email open rates are now somewhere in the 10-15% range. However, the technology is still pushed by many major digital marketing companies as the lone way to get your message to the masses.

I may be in a small majority, but I’ve never liked the “email update”. It’s intrusive, I can’t distinguish “I have something to say” with “here’s another lame J-Crew coupon”…. and I’ve certainly gotten to the point where I open and incredibly slim percentage of what is sent my way (around 30 per day).

My question at this stage in the game is why continue to use the same method when that method is proving ineffective? One of my favorite quotes from Gerd Leonhard is “I program my media, my media does not program me”. We don’t need to use a giant email gun to broadcast our message any longer. We need our brand and our content to be “sticky”, meaning that they want to come back for more. Thus, creating a funnel to get them to our information, they have to be willing to come back to your brand.  (Check out Gerd on this one)

Should you not begin to consider a PULL methodology? Should you not wish for your content to be so good that people are compelled to come back? If you’re still wanting some form of push, utilize Syndication via RSS feeds – it will still deliver the same message, but to those who WANT the information. It will also allow users to find your information and learn about the history of your content.

In contrast, pushing emails puts a limit on those that can read your message. It’s going to only be the number that are signed up for the list. Pulling, in contrast, opens your message up to everyone, and (by utilizing RSS) allows them to subscribe.

Most importantly the subscription is their choice, not because they forgot to click a checked box on a form.

If your message is worth reading, they will come…. if you build it (and build it right)… they will come!

This begs the question, how far will the music industry push to be compensated by digitally streaming content?… and more importantly, how long until all these users flee YouTube and move to Vimeo or any other free video hosting service?

So, the music industry is shutting down yet another vehicle of free promotion… One would think they had learned their lesson by now. The floodgates have opened and people will find a way to broadcast whatever content they choose.

Once I purchase the song, should I not have the right to manipulate it in whatever form I choose? If that manipulation includes using at the backing track to my family vacation, I somehow don’t see how I’m exploiting the artist, record company, or anyone else for that matter.

Just maybe I choose a song that no one I know has ever heard of, and they end up loving it and buying the album, or entire catalog… wouldn’t this be good for the industry as a whole?

Wouldn’t the better solution be to find ways to hook in to free marketing and utilize the technological vehicle than shut it down?

Discuss below…

How does your personality translate digitally?

You may be one of millions of great songwriters, musicians, or entertainers, but what is setting you apart? One of the great ways to distinguish your personality “online” is to blog…. just like I’m doing now. You’re end result is to create a perceived relationship with your reader. Hopefully there are those out there that can relate to you and what you write. People that can “feel your pain” or agree with you theories.

I’ve found two wonderful bloggers that I follow regularly because of their position and theory on technology and its implementation in the way I do business, and I think it is applicable here. When developing your digital identity, use these guys as guideposts.

The first is Chris Brogan and specifically, his blog on HOW to write a compelling blog. The second is Gerd Leonhard, the author of Music 2.0, and perpetual thinker on how technology is affecting the music industry. I’d direct you to a specific entry, but you’re better suited just adding him to your RSS feed. On the subject of inventing yourself to the digital community, check this out.

It’s all about participation in what your fans and customers are talking about. Be heard, have a voice, and lead rather than follow.