E-Mail Blasts vs. Partner Email: What Are You Sending?

by George Konetes | Aug 18, 2015 | Digital

Just a few years ago, all talk of email marketing fell in the bucket of “E-mail blasts.” This term was used very broadly, and at times has taken on an unsavory perception. The Partner Email of today should never be confused with general E-Mail blasts, the difference is game changing.

Just Send Out an E-Blast!

The term “E-Mail Blast” is far reaching, everyone has heard of it, and the name quickly gives you an idea as to its meaning. Most of the time, this term refers to a person sending an advertising email to a large list of names that they have bought, rented, or somehow collected. The idea is to sell, get signups, raise money, or somehow get a message out.

The issue is, most of the time, the audience did not ask for your email, does not know you, and is more likely to mark you as spam than read your message. Often this approach goes against modern best practices and can even incur serious consequences from the email sending services.

A Different Way to Send Email

Partner Email on the other hand is a newer term but a long standing principle. Instead of buying a list of email addresses, you form a partnership with someone who has a healthy ongoing email newsletter or service. This partner then sends your message, couched in their email branding, to their audience.

It is easy to think this is the same thing, but partner email is drastically different. And the reason is, credibility. If you scraped my email off the web, added me to some random list, and then started emailing me, I’m instantly suspicious. I did not ask for your email, I do not know you, and even if the content interests me, I want out before I have a chance to think about it.

But with Partner Email, I have a trusted source, a friend, someone whose content I want to receive sending me a message about another product, service, or cause that they feel is of interest to me.

It is All About the Partner

Take it to the next level, and find a partner whose audience is used to receiving messages similar to your own, resonates with causes like yours, and regularly check their email to receive more. Having your message sent to these users, packaged with the blessing of the trusted list sender, gives your email a lot of credibility. email The better and more relevant the partner (whom is usually paid a fee for their partnership) the better the response to your message.