Building an email list - or not!

[lostinspain]

I am looking into growing a business by building an email list of customers, but the younger members of my family are suggesting that email is out of date and claiming that they never use it. A bit of (basic) research on Google suggests that people under 29 are more often using instant messaging instead. So - my question is; is email a dying format in today's 'instant' lifestyle. How would I go about building a list of contacts which could be contacted in real time? My target market are young parents, so I need to get on their wave length (I am a bit older )

Any thoughts?

 

[Xtm_Mike]

Nah they're talking rubbish but it's not one size fits all.

It depends on your market and audience, how engaging your emails are, how engaged your audience is..

Email will work best for some, where as social will work best for others, etc..

There are too many variables to say 'X is dying, it won't work...'

Why not give it a go? Most email marketing services are free, so the only cost to you is time.

I pretty much collect emails where possible, I have a mailing list for all my business interests. It's effortless to collect so why not? Just don't put all eggs in one basket, try social and other mediums to see which works best for you.

 

[lostinspain]

Thanks Mike, sounds sensible advice. As you say, its only my time used in trying.

 

[pelparc]

We have a great response from email newletters. What is your customers age group likely to be? And what instant messaging "fad" are they currently using?
Can you make a online purchase without having an email address? A lot of payment systems do checks on the email address to see if it is a known fraudster so its not a dead method of sending messages.

 

[Mike_Cartwright]

I find that email marketing is a viable strategy and no, I don't think it's dead. We actually get a lot of inquiries daily and email is the best form of communication we have going on. Our leads and prospects usually visit our site, browse through pre-approve plans/samples, fill in a contact form or sign up for our newsletter. It solely depends on how you apply the strategy and whether it's a good fit for your target market.

 

[antropy]

I am looking into growing a business by building an email list of customers, but the younger members of my family are suggesting that email is out of date and claiming that they never use it.

Email is mostly used in the workplace. Personal email is probably not so common these days.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

BOTH. Email is great, but social stuff is also important.

 

[Nochexman]

OldWelshGuy is right: do both!