Dana VanDen Heuvel: Email lists still hold their value

August 9, 2005

Email lists still hold their value

I'm a little further into the book The Virtual Handshake, and I came across a chapter on Email Lists. Hmm, I thought. What the hell is a chapter on email lists doing in this book on using "cutting edge" online social networking tools & techniques?

Well, quite a bit when you really think about it. Tools like LinkedIn and others are still based on email, and for those of us that are in moderated email discussion lists, we still find ways to connect with others 'outside the list' and form our own discussion lists on topics that are mutually interesting.

I think about what I do when I get a lead on a job that people in my network might want to know about it. Sure, I'll blog about it, but if I really want to get to someone, I'll send out a group email and let a select group of folks know that there's something they might be interested in. Likewise, I enjoy seeing emails from trusted folks on topics that interest me. It's personal, it's relevant, it's timely. Hmmm, just like blogs and RSS feeds.

Teten & Allen list a few reasons why 'personal email lists' are still highly valued:

1. Lists can increase your visibility among clients, friends, advisors and others with whom you're on an "email me good news anytime" basis

2. The list reaches those who may have a high likelyhood of being interested in what you have to say

3. You can (lightly) market yourself to the list (within reason...and you'd better have some social capital and "given" to your list before you EVER think of "taking")

Moreover, email to colleagues invokes a sort of reciprocity that blogs and other 'indirect' forms of communcation can't match. I almost always get replies from folks to whom I've sent articles, job leads and important links. Call me old fashioned, but I like getting a ping back when someone liked something that I sent...