A well phrased rebuttal to a recent blog entry over at Midem.net

The original article can be read here.

Below is a comment, emailed to us from a client:

The average email marketing campaign has an open rate of (generously) 30-40%. I agree that the email list is important, but in this day and age it’s also important to have a strategy outside of an email database (social networks, PR involvement, artist actively pushing traffic at shows and in interviews)

I respect the success of Amanda Palmer, but also realize that she has ~400,000 followers on twitter… she was extremely active pushing followers to buy her album. And extremely active in promoting her digital presence in interviews and public appearances.

It’s a coordinated effort, not just email. I think that’s really important to remember. Email is a dying marketing tool, because the use of that channel has become extremely watered down by other brands trying to accomplish the same thing as the artist.

If you’re looking to put together a coordinated effort, utilizing all that the web has to offer look to a professional marketing firm dealing with artists and entertainment to direct your campaign. (might I suggest a company we went with http://www.strategicblend.com)

An offer that includes analytics, demographic information, and a full out assault on getting the message out to your fanbase.

I’m certainly not saying email isn’t important, but it has to be a cog in the machine, it isn’t the machine itself.

I couldn’t agree with this more.  Furthermore, it’s important to understand that digital campaigns have to be sincere to the artist.  I really appreciate Emily White (the author of the original blog)’s comment that “It is crucial that the artist has input in the mailer.” The artist must be involved, be active, and be plugged in.  If you aren’t working with an artist that is willing to promote themselves digitally, don’t invest a great deal of your marketing efforts on the digital facet of your strategy… period!

If you’re going to utilize a digital strategy, make sure it’s comprehensive!  We’ll be happy to help

The Billboard Site

There’s the Billboard site, it’s informational, doesn’t really ask you to do anything, but tries to convey information in a concise and direct manner.  Sometimes it will walk you through the ins and outs of a product service.  It doesn’t pressure you to act immediately, but hopes to leave an impression, like driving by a billboard on the highway.  Their hope is the imagery and information stay with you long enough to a) visit their establishment, b) tell someone else about their business, or c) make you aware of their business so that you think of them next time you’re in need of their products/services.  Think of it as a multi-page ad in a magazine.  These sites should always gather an email address of those that are interested in the product, and give the brand an opportunity to reconnect with interested visitors.

The Sales Site

Most Billboard sites think they are Sales sites, but they fail at one crucial juncture.  To transform the user visit into a transaction.  The sales site drives you to action, it describes the product, but asks you to buy, or sign up, or act at every turn.  These sites, if poorly designed can seem overbearing and pushy at times.  A well designed sales site can be a great revenue stream (and sometimes the ONLY revenue stream) for an organization.  Well crafted messaging and product description are critical, where to place sales pitches are important as well, but most important is turning a casual visitor into a customer.

The Content Site

This site is heavy on, you guessed it, content.   The main purpose of this page is to inform consistently with new and relative content each post.  Much like this blog that you’re reading right now.  We rarely ask you to act and purchase anything, we occasionally call out our services, but the inherent reason you’re here is to read our ramblings, get some ideas, and potentially put them into practice.

The Issue with these Three Site Types:

Most sites want to do ALL of this stuff.  They want to thoroughly inform you of their product, hopefully get you to spread the good word about what it is they do.  Not only do they want you informed, but they’d LOVE for you to make a purchase of some sort.  They want action, follow through, and they want to know who you are so they can reach out to you and keep you coming back for more.  Moreover than just selling you on something, they want to PROVE to you have a great deal of knowledge in their craft.  They want to tell you how to use their products/services and build a rapport through consistent updates of content.

When you try to put all of this stuff on one site, it can become distracting and confusing.  I could call out hundreds of sites that have been constructed asking you to “check out my band” and also “buy this album” and also “check out our blog” and also “look at our tour dates”, etc.   These are all great aspirations, but what is MOST important to you.  What do you want featured?   Is it most important for people to know about you and what you’re doing?  If that’s the case then the blog/journal is your vehicle for your brand.

The primary focus of your site can be a vehicle to promote other aspects of your business (i.e. you can promote your product/service at the end of your blog, read a little further and you’ll see this in action).

Similarly you can use the promotion or sale of a product/service to reach out to your customer base and let them know about your content.  Every site should incorporate a method of capturing email addresses, building a list to reach back out to loyal customers.  When you begin producing enough content to garner followers, it may be a good time to reach out to this customer base via email and let them know there is a new way to keep up with your business.

As you can see, setting up this type of site is not impossible, but the concern becomes content layout.  9 times out of 10 this type of site becomes a disaster area.  There is no streamlined layout to tell the user, “hey, check this out first.”  It’s no surprise that most sites want to have it all.  To do that effectively you’ll need a great plan, a better sitemap, and seamless execution.

If you’re interested in our assistance in building a Billboard, Sales, or Content site, please let us know. (ah-ha, there’s a call to action)

Moreover, if you’re looking to “have it all,” we’ve mastered the art of focusing on one element of your business and connecting those pieces to the other (equally important) pieces.  Focusing on what your most viable hook might be, and then continuing the product/service experience with the other elements of your site.   If you’re in this boat…please let us know, we’d love to make your web presence a viable revenue stream, and create a great experience for your site visitors.

With that in mind, setting up a positive experience can be summed up in three steps:  Expectation, Communication, and Implementation.

Expectation:

Setting up expectation is possibly the most important of the three.  What will you be providing, and more importantly, what WON’T you be providing?  What’s an expected timeline for implementation of each individual step?  The idea here is to go through your entire process, ensuring the client doesn’t have any expectations that are unrealistic.  In addition to the explanation of your process, make sure to follow up with the client to see if they have needs that your services may not be able to meet, advise them, and suggest solutions.  This will ensure that there won’t be any unmet objectives at the end of the project.

Communication
As many of you know, things don’t always go as planned.  Timelines are skewed, dogs eat homework, employees get sick… whatever the excuse, we don’t ALWAYS meet our objectives.  This can cause a great deal of anxiety for both parties.  The most important lesson that can be learned from anything you read here is this, get ahead of your stumbles. The more lead time you can give a client that things may not go as planned, or that you may miss a deadline, the more coordinated your business will seem.  Whenever possible, determine new deadlines or other objectives within the process that can be completed.  (It’s times like these when a flow chart of the project comes in handy).  If ever the question pops up “should we tell the client”…. the answer is almost always “yes”.  Over-communicate if necessary, but make sure everyone stays on the same page, and on the same team.

Implementation
This simply comes down to implementing the game plan.  Do what you said you’d do!  If you’ve effectively set up expectations, and communicated with the client throughout the process, implementation can be the easiest of the challenges.  It probably goes without saying, but always do your best work, if the project can be improved by a little more TLC, give it.  Never walk away from a project with the mentality that “it could have been a better solution IF”.  Communicate the solutions with the client, and if they fit the objectives, make the project all it can be.

We’ve made it our goal at Strategic Blend to overachieve every opportunity we get.  As we continue to grow our business, we will always strive to meet expectations, effectively communicate the common goals, and implement them in a timely fashion to reach the greatest outcome possible.

That being said, I DO think we put a bit too much emphasis on the idea that Vilfredo Pareto was thinking that we’d try to apply his mathematical theory (and Chris Anderson’s amazing book on the economic practice of the theory) to every crappy, inferior, and out of date product we produce.

Marketing to the “long end of the tail” is much more about specifically marketing to a small niche, where you focus on that niche, cater discreetly to that niche, and become a sole source for that niche.

More frequently, I’ve been seeing companies (even companies already serving a specific niche) develop, produce, and sell inferior products, and when criticized they claim The Long Tail. I’m of the opinion that’s a faulty crutch to prop up a crappy product. The true theory of the Tail is knowing and marketing specifically to a niche that you are well studied on, and know their needs… the theory is NOT a wasteland of misfit and faulty products.

The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. I hear a great deal of Long Tail talk in the music industry… Well, more than 10 million of the 13 million tracks available on the internet failed to find a single buyer last year (really!).  Sometimes what is created is just inferior product, and while the creator might think they’re niche marketing, they’re really just clouding the landscape with more inferiority.

The Long Tail theory should only be applied to quality products that truly serve your desired niche. I’ll hop off my soap box at this point and consider this a lesson learned, at least by me… and hopefully some of you out there. Know what you are, know what you’re not, and most importantly… KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Using statistics and mathematics shouldn’t be used to explain away complaints.

After years of working in the digital space to gain recognition for brands, I’m finally seeing the brands (artists / labels / etc) themselves taking an active interest in building an online strategy. This, however, is where a divide begins.

Just HAVING an online strategy in and of itself will not universally move the dial. A focus strictly on the digital space is savvy, and, in this day and age, necessary, but I’ve been seeing that something is missing.

Once you’ve concocted your online strategy, how are you plugging it in to your OVERALL strategy? If your digital marketing campaign that gained thousands of hits don’t translate into the REAL WORLD (where, as far as I know, we all still dwell), what have you really accomplished. A TRUE digital strategy is one that not only successfully drives traffic and generates ONLINE sales, but also one that gets butts in seats and WORD OF MOUTH advertising.

What is a HIT if not a human being taking the time to look in your direction? You have to capture the individual, not just the traffic!

Don’t let your digital efforts live solely online. Mention them on radio visits, from the stage, at holiday parties, or conventions. You’re just as likely to gain a follower of your brand by telling them of your digital campaign in the physical world.

Don’t let there be a disconnect! Marketing strategy is marketing strategy is marketing strategy, online or off. Make sure you’re connecting the dots and let the physical world help your virtual campaign, and vice versa.