Email for Creative Business: Old Tech or Lost Art?

Generational exposure to technology often relegates good methods of communication to the dustbin. There was a time when grandma’s letters got barely a passing glance with the rise of Messenger and Blue Mountain. But now, handwritten notes and cards hit harder in the age of passing snaps and soon-forgotten DMs. I collect and revere the love people have shared with me through “snail” mail.

Email might belong to a similar category of sacred communication (yes, lots of folks utilize and even revere their inbox). With good strategy, email can be harnessed for more efficient growth than pen and paper—especially for an artist trying to grow a creative business.

Email Offers Agency

First and foremost, an email address can be collected and used as you desire. Messaging through platforms depends on those platforms existing and being used by your audience.

Anyone still using AIM, MySpace, Foursquare, even Facebook and Snapchat? Email, by contrast, offers consistency and independence from these trends. AIM is no longer a thing, but plenty of people still have an AOL email address.

Email Encourages Creativity

Instagram and TikTok (still in use—but for how long?) are built for visual spectacle and attention, not for meaningful communication. Yes, there are captions, but their formats aren’t designed for depth.

Email, on the other hand, is a media-rich medium built for quality communication. It’s built for words but accommodates broader creativity with design, images, videos, and even sound. Why not use a method of sharing your work with your audience that doesn’t encourage them to move on without thought or feeling?

Building Relationships Through Email

Beyond agency and creativity, email offers other values that make it a smart choice for building meaningful relationships—something your artwork needs and deserves.

Many folks revere their inboxes. If something is there, it’s likely because they’ve chosen for it to be there. We have far less control over what appears in our social media feeds. The email contacts you secure (when done properly) belong to you. Unlike social media handles, email addresses are platform-agnostic and can move with you from one service to another. You can’t take handles off-platform.

Most significantly, email affords a degree of experimentation social media platforms typically don’t allow. A good email service makes it easy to analyze the quality of your communication. It provides data on engagement beyond just “eyeballs”—which is the currency of the attention economy.

Rediscovering the Power of Email for Creatives

If you haven’t blown the dust off your inbox lately, consider how this “relic” might actually be a meaningful tool for your creative business.

Curious how to start building your connection with your audience and using email for creative business growth? Join us for an upcoming marketing coworking session.

Prefer to connect in person? Let’s meet for coffee and talk about how email marketing might be a tool that gets you into the studio more.