What My Kids Taught Me About Email Marketing

As email marketers, we’re focused on nurturing human relationships in our work. But sometimes we get so caught up in chasing trends and the latest AI model that we forget about the person in our strategies.

In mid-October, my wife and I welcomed our second child into the world. Paternity leave forced me to take a step away from the hustle-and-bustle of work, which granted some clarity into parallels between raising children and email marketing.

Here’s what my two-under-two children taught me about how to be a better email marketer.

Be Patient

For months now, I’ve been trying to get our son to make the “hee-haw” noise a donkey makes. But every attempt just yields more silence while he learns other words and animal noises. So I invested in the long game, knowing eventually he’ll get there on his terms.

Think of something you do today that comes easy and naturally to you. Remember the first time you did that? Or tried to do it? It probably took you ten times longer to do then as it does now.

The technological growth of the modern world over the last 60 years has made us want everything instantly. And when we can’t get that immediate payoff, we get upset, frustrated, and want to reach through our computer monitors to get what we want and get it now.

But when you learn to play the long game, it allows you time to see the bigger picture. As Kath Pay’s blog about when to stop collecting reporting data on an email show, the long tail of email can have an impact on a customer months later when they are ready for it, on their terms.

Show, Don’t Tell

When our son was trying to ride a rocking horse on his own, I tried telling him what he needed to do, pointing in specific directions to the horse, his hands, and his feet. But what really worked was moving his body for him, lifting his leg over the horse to sit down in the saddle, putting his hands on the handles, and moving his body back and forth to start the rocking motion.

In marketing, we’re always telling people what action we want them to take. Click here! Shop now! Order today! What we should be doing is showing them why they should be doing that action. Show how the product or service benefits them. Use interactive elements to create a more hands-on experience as they explore your offerings. Give them the confidence to take the action we as marketers want them to take. That brings us to my next point.

Reinforce the Behavior You Like

Right now, we’re at the phase where our son copies our words and actions. We noticed it about a month ago when out of the blue he carried his plate from the living room into the kitchen and tried to put it in the sink. It was a great moment to watch. But even more fun was the chance for us to get him to help out more. Now he’s helping to carry things around the house, putting things away, and learning behaviors that will build a good foundation for his future growth.

But far too common these days, we aren’t giving the customer any positive reinforcement for the action they just took. We’re focused on getting people to make a purchase, bombarding them with review requests, and then immediately hounding them for another purchase. We’re focused too much on how the actions benefit us instead of how they benefited the customer.

So thank your customers and give them something small as a token of your gratitude. It’ll only strengthen that relationship, leading to future purchases.

Know When to Play and When to be Serious

One of my favorite things is finding fun in everyday moments, usually with dad jokes. Something you learn quickly as a new father is when and where “a real zinger” is appropriate. The delivery room in the middle of a birth is not one of those “appropriate” places…or so I’ve been told.

Messaging should always reflect your brand’s identity, but sometimes you need to bend that rule to provide levity for your audience. Regardless of industry, your audience is full of human beings. And everyone likes to be entertained. There’s an entire industry around it.

We’re presented with several opportunities for showcasing brand personality each year around certain holidays, even made-up holidays. Take advantage of these opportunities to surprise and delight your audience while making your brand feel more human.

Sometimes You Have to Let Them Cry It Out

My daughter usually cries for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep after feeding. At first, that sound can make you question everything. Is she okay? Should I go hold her? But I’ve learned that a little patience can go a long way. She settles down on her own without me rushing in to disrupt her.

I found this situation similar to how we should handle unsubscribes. They’re just a natural part of any email program and not necessarily a problem that requires immediate attention. You should just keep an ear out to gauge the intensity, as a meltdown could indicate something else is going on that requires your intervention.

Embrace the Chaos

As my son started to get older, my feet began to notice something: a lot of toys and other household things strewn about the floor. They always seemed strategically placed within a walking path, forcing me to adapt my walking pattern like jumping around puddles on a sidewalk.

Sometimes you must adapt to the situation around you. That’s been the lesson of the last 5 years. A global pandemic, struggling economic conditions, Apple MPP, Generative AI advancements — all of these forced us to change in one way or another. Those who haven’t adapted eventually find themselves far behind their competitors, struggling to avoid stepping on every Lego brick in their way.

If It Stinks, Clean It Up

Sometimes issues can go unnoticed until they start to stink up the place. Remember that episode from the ‘90’s show Dinosaurs where the father, Earl, complains about the wallpaper starting to peel because of the smell emanating from the baby’s diaper? He tries to ignore it at first, but the stink just keeps growing, eventually causing bigger problems and forcing him to change the diaper.

In what areas in your email program are you smelling something unpleasant? An underperforming campaign, a stale design, an outdated message? They might seem minor now but if left to stew, these small issues could lead to lower engagement and even deliverability issues.

It’s important to check on key components regularly to make sure those small stinkers don’t turn into big blow outs. Trust me, those aren’t fun to clean up.

In Closing

As the technology we use grows more and more, it’s more important than ever to always keep our shared humanity in mind. People are more than just customer id numbers. They have unique lives. And we’re fortunate enough to be able to do business with them along the way.

Sometimes you need to take a step back, look deep into your daily life, and you’ll learn a lot about marketing.

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash