Why We Tolerate Emails

Open your Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. and you will find emails upon emails. Some days, we are just swimming in emails.

This is especially true around different holidays, when promotions are in full swing!

How is one to keep up?

I wonder if we calculated how many minutes/hours a day we spend on our emails, if we would be more cautious about wasting precious time.

While shopping, we are persuaded to give out our emails to receive emailed receipts, and because we do this, we are then added to their promotional list, in which we are opted in to emails.

Now, this is not a bad thing. Actually, in my opinion, this is a way for those who have a career in business, marketing, advertising, or fashion to keep track of what their competitors are offering.

I'm not just keeping tabs on companies that I like and could see myself working for in the future, but I am comparing their tactic of email to their competitors.

I receive emails from way too many companies. With working in the past for companies that really focused on customer engagement, I got really good at adding customers emails to our databases. This lead me to being more open while shopping, as 100 percent of the time, I would give my email at the checkout.

I like to make a connection at the checkout, and so should you!

Not only is it nice to receive emailed receipts, but it is also nice to feel like an appreciated customer. Chances are that if you are shopping at a certain store, you are interested in what they have to offer, so what is the harm in being able to receive promotions?

I do think about how there is an unsubscribe button at the bottom of most emails, and to make my life easier, I could unsubscribe to every email that I would not like to receive.

However, I would then not be seeing marketing and advertising tactics, and that, in my opinion, puts you behind in a creative field.

You not only, as a brand or company, want to stand out, and make your offerings your own, but you also do not want to run the risk of copying what others are already providing. You may think you are creative, but what if someone else is already providing something that you considered creative?

Two companies that I receive emails from, Francesca's and Altared State, are very similar, in my opinion. However, they each are unique in their offerings, so this makes the promotional emails different. They both have different backgrounds in company history, and what they stand for, and therefore, they are targeting different markets. However, they offer similar products, so it is interesting to compare their advertising tactics.

There are companies who are uninspiring, and emails, for them, are just on the back burner. They are just sent to appear in consumers mailboxes.

Some companies send emails every day, multiple times a day... basically... aching for revenue.

Those are the types of emails I would unsubscribe from, if I was wanting less clutter.

However, the companies that are producing thought-provoking, creative, colorful, meaningful, and eye-catching emails are the ones that are coming out ahead of the rest.

For example, I receive emails from "Of a Kind," in which they also send out newsletters updating their subscribers on their findings of new products/recipes/lifestyle components that make it feel more personal. I also receive emails from "The North Face," in which they are always talking about the environment, the outdoors, and how their product can withstand the elements. This evokes trust, and also continues to show their love and passion for the brand behind email.

Now, I know some of you think email is a nuisance, but hear me out, this is just a way for companies to remind you of all that they have to offer, and you can unsubscribe at any point. But after hearing what I had to say, I hope you will look at your emails a little bit differently.

Keep your inbox clean, and your mind at rest with respect for all of the creative minds behind the emails..