Bill Kearney

Does new mean death of old?

There's a buzz going on about lately claiming that e-mail is dead and that weblogs and/or RSS are a better alternative.

This is bunk. Flat out wrong. Totally incorrect. Absolute nonsense. Claptrap. Or in other words, don't you believe it.

There's a part of me that wants to say you can't call e-mail marketing dead if it was never alive. But I'm not quite that cynical.

It would appear a great many efforts that have failed in their attempts to use e-mail marketing. This doesn't mean the medium was at fault. A lot of TV, radio and even newspaper campaigns have failed to garner the results expected. Yet nobody's running around chanting of their demise.

Think of it this way, does the existence of television mean radio is dead? Hardly. Likewise can be said for various forms of online activities. I'm reminded of the old saying "if your advertising campaign didn't work you obvious didn't do enough advertising."

Weblogs and RSS are just another form of delivery for your message. Just as you wouldn't use only one form of traditional media to spread your message, you shouldn't think there's only 'one true way' to communicate your message electronically.

Suffice to say, take a hard look at who's trying to promote the idea that one form of delivery is somehow better than existing ones....

Yep, it's the people bent on selling you on the new tools and techniques. Do not be deluded into thinking e-mail is dead and that weblogs are it's replacement. They're complementary; something you should be using in parallel.

But here's an important concept to think about: authenticity. How authentic is the message you deliver to your audience? How likely, on consuming that message, are they to come away with a feeling that you're the source of on-going value and leadership?

Stew on that for a bit.

For if you can't answer it in the affirmative then you better get a grip before you even go close to creating a weblog.

There's a lot more to this story, I'll pick up on it later this week.

Oh and I'd like to send a big link o' thanks to Ellen McCarthy for mentioning me in her Washington Post article Making Blogs more than just whats for Dinner. Being quoted as part of an online article is always great. Made even better because it's in the printed edition too!