Ten Reasons Why Email is Still the Best Form of Commuication - Via Netiquette IQ

Many articles have been written about the demise of email. But the fact remains that it is growing and certainly the most viable electronic communications method for business or formal communications. The article below strongly reinforces this assertion.
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10 Reasons Why Email Is Still Your Best Communication Tool…

Wednesday, May 28, 2014
by Paul Resnikoff

Facebook charging you too much to reach your fans?  Here’s why email is better, cheaper, and longer-lasting than Facebook, social media, and almost every other communication tool out there.

(1) Email isn’t going away in three years.

MySpace let you down.  Facebook is in the process of letting you down.   But email won’t be abandoned in the same way, because it’s a protocol not a controlled platform.

(2) They figured out the spam thing.

Spam used to drain your productivity and raise your stress levels.  But that was before they figured spam out.  Gmail, for example, is managing spam so well you can go an entire month without even thinking about it (or longer).

(3) You don’t have to pay to email your fans.

Facebook says they have to make you pay, otherwise everyone would get overwhelmed.  If Gmail said that, you’d just find another email client to use.

(4) You own your email contacts.

The reason why Facebook can charge you to reach your fans is because they own those relationships, not you.  But nobody can take your well-earned email addresses away from you, especially if they really want to hear from you.

(5) Email isn’t a raging, unmanageable rapid of information overload.

Only a percentage of Twitter posts get read, for obvious reasons.  Facebook posts are almost as bad.  Email suffers from the same issue, but a far larger percentage of email posts actually get read.

(6) People figured out the opt-in/opt-out permissions thing.

We moved on from the sketchy early days.  So if you’re into old school spamming, you’ll get filtered out pretty quickly.  Almost all notes have easy unsubscribe options, and stuff gets flagged quickly.  So if your emailing etiquette is good and you earned your list, then you’ll enjoy significant benefits.

(7) It’s cheap.

If you have a small-but-growing list, it’s basically free.  But Mailchimp lets you send tens of thousands of emails daily for $150 a month.  And they’ve figured out a lot of the spam, bounceback, and permissions issues that come with large lists.

(8) People use it.

Not everyone uses email religiously, or even daily, especially younger people.  But a huge percentage of the population does, including many of your fans.  They will see your email, open it, and maybe do something about it.  

(9) People take action from email.

There’s now lots of hard research showing that email is more effective than Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms at converting fans into action.  They buy more, do more, and react better.  And it’s much easier to alert fans of important information, like upcoming tours and releases, on email.

(10) It’s everywhere.
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In addition to this blog, I have authored the premiere book on Netiquette, "Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to Improve, Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". You can view my profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:
 www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki
 If you would like to listen to experts in all aspects of Netiquette and communication, try my radio show on BlogtalkRadio  and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and  Yahoo.  I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ Rider University and  PSG of Mercer County, NJ.
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