Just a short while ago my attention was caught by a guest post called ‘Don’t tell me I’m wasting my time‘ by Marjorie Clayman at Convince and Convert, a great blog owned by Jay Baer. The post is about people putting in critique for writing about topics covered earlier, in terms like these (quote from the post):
See, a lot of people have chided me for covering “the same ole stuff.” For covering the basics. For reviewing, again, some Twitter or blogging best practices. “We already know this!” they mutter. “You’re just creating an echo chamber of what has already been said,” others say.
The reason this caught my attention is that I’ve found that newbie email marketers are not treated well in some cases – they are either seen as lazy, a timesink or just plain annoying. Who are they to think they can talk and discuss on your level of proficiency in your area of expertise?
Well don’t forget one day you were a newbie too, in this case in email marketing: the first time you made your html/css email template, sent your email campaign, nervous about stats and response. You have been handed tips by veterans too to get you on the right track, give inspiration and think different.
The art of good email marketing is not a simple one, though. The path to knowledge and in-depth expertise can be long and frustrating: but just because of that it can be quite rewarding when you get to a certain point too. But knowledge not shared is worth nothing. Share the wealth of expertise, make everyone better: get the new people up to par and welcome them. They are the future you, after all.
In this case I’d like to welcome everyone just joining the email marketing industry. It’s tough, it’s fun and there’s a great community here, in my humble opinion.
Case in point: getting a cool email geek tshirt (and stubby cooler) sent by a fellow email marketer across the globe. In this case from Ros Hodgekiss over at Campaign Monitor:
And a lovely note which made my day:
This was because I saw a picture of Ros wearing this shirt and I asked whether I could order one. Not necessary in this case, as you can see.
For the new guys: welcome and read up. Head over to Mark Brownlow’s excellent email advertising’s basics article, and also this post about basic email marketing skills on this blog.
For the veterans: thanks for reading, and if you see a newbie stumble: don’t laugh, but help them. It will be worth it.
