Designs on Marketing: Let’s Talk About Relationships

“It gave meaning and purpose to the connections I had made at various trade shows and networking events. It gives me an easy and straightforward way of staying in touch.”

Others to consider are Mad Mimi, MPZ Mail and Emma.

Large Lists (5,000+ Contacts)
One of my clients runs an EMS (emergency medical services) school on the East Coast and has an enormous contact list of engaged and active students as well as alumni.

When you manage thousands of contacts, how is it possible to make each person feel special and cater the emails specifically to their needs?

First, please make sure that you create separate lists in any system using tags.

If you are looking for a more robust interface I like to use Salesforce, Hubspot or Jumplead.

Perhaps you are a coding wizard (or maybe you have one on staff). You might want to give Maximizer or Insightly a go.

These interfaces allow you to send email as if it’s directly coming from you rather than a marketing platform. They require much more due diligence and graphic design on your end, but they are worth it if you have a large list and are looking to save money.

My Favorite All-Around
Hands down, my all-around favorite CRM system is Drip.

While it takes a minute to get acquainted with this powerful ecommerce emailing tool, it’s well worth it. Drip allows you to create funnels of data directly from your website into their network.

For example, do you know who on your contact list is already engaged? You can flag them as a potential wedding band sale.

I’m still playing around with this “new kid on the block,” but here’s one fun fact I’ve learned so far: If your list is large enough, you get a dedicated “Success Manager” to help you with onboarding and email campaigns in a weekly video call. This is worth its weight in gold, as far as I’m concerned.

In Conclusion …
While I’ll probably never get a note hand-written with Mr. Sketch markers (you remember these; they’re the scented ones) in the mail again, I do have some serious appreciation for the gifts that technology has given us.

I’m able to see pictures of friends’ new babies in real time, immediately reach out when I hear of someone’s passing and pause to laugh at the latest ridiculous meme. It’s never been easier to stay in touch with those who matter.

In this age of fast and easy communication, I think the best piece of advice I can offer is to treat your contact lists with care.

The more specialized you become with your lists, the more personal the connection will be. You might have thousands of people to talk to, but when your message comes from the heart and is specific to their needs, a connection is made.

It might be small at first, but eventually you start to build your tribe of die-hard fans who wait eagerly for your note in their inbox as they’ve been saving up to buy one of your beautiful creations, and that 20 percent off you just offered via email seals the deal.

A recovering jewelry designer, Jacqueline Stone has a diverse background in finance, marketing, advertising, product development, fine jewelry manufacturing, design and sourcing. Now she serves as the CEO of her own marketing consulting and coaching business, Bubblegum and Duct Tape. Stone can be reached at info@bubblegumandducttape.com.