Happy 40th, email marketing!
From the Chronicle Republic superstars, we are thrilled to wish email marketing a very happy 40th birthday! There is no doubt in our mind that it has never looked better.
Let us give you a quick run down of the history behind the email marketing practice, and the journey that has led us to email marketing as we know it today.
Early 2018 marked the 40th anniversary of a form of digital marketing that completely changed the game. Gary Thuerk, a marketer from Digital Equipment Corporation, sent a life-changing email on May 3rd 1978, an unsolicited email pitch to 400 business prospects. Despite this alarming many on the basis of a breach of privacy, Thuerk unknowingly paved the way for $13 million in sales for his company. From this day on, email communication grew from a random sales pitch into a key aspect of the digital marketing community.
Here are a few of the key dates that have helped in developing modern email marketing:
1978: Where it all began.
As we have touched on, May 3rd was the day Gary Thuerk unknowingly became a revolutionary founding father in the digital marketing field. Sending his email to 400 unwilling receivers changed the course of history for email marketing and gave way to endless potential for its future.
1993-1996: Hotmail and Yahoo join the gang.
Jumping on board the email express, platforms such as Hotmail, Yahoo, and AOL were developed to provide email access to a wider audience. Beginning the world of frequent online chatting, this step was huge in the progress of this journey.
2003: Making it legal!
It’s official! This year saw the CAN-SPAM Act come into play, where the US Government passed the first law regulating email market. An exciting moment in digital marketing history, framed with the unfortunate context of this being due to an overwhelming amount of spammy emails coming into peoples inboxes. Nonetheless, we have no doubt Elle Woods would have been very excited for us digital marketing nerds out there, happy to be recognised on a legal level.
2010(s): The nitty gritty: Deliverability.
This era of email marketing focused on deliverability, engagements, and strategies such as triggers, dynamic content, strategic segmentation, and newsletters. New coding and design improved that unappealing original email aesthetic and gave us more control on what we could do with the templates we had. This era in the email marketing timeline was significant as it laid the foundation for real-time, interactive emails. How exciting!
2018: Look at us now!
In light of the huge data breaches early this year, changes in the digital world have significantly impacted how people see and receive email marketing. With social media continuing to grow, and the younger demographic moving more toward Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, email marketing needs to keep growing and staying relevant for it to continue on another 40 years.
It is undeniable that email marketing has significantly developed since it’s undesirable discovery in 1978 and will continue to do so into the future. We look forward to seeing the next 40 years of this journey!
Struggling with your digital marketing strategy? Why not reach out to @chroniclerepublic today and we will be in touch.
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Chronicle Republic Communications is a boutique Sydney marketing consultancy for real estate, property and interiors professionals. We specialise in social media, content marketing, email marketing, blogging, search engine optimisation, social media advertising and much more!
If you are looking for social media for real estate, property or interior design our digital marketing experts can help you bring your brand’s story to life.
