Illustration by Michael Sloan/The i Spot

Illustration by Michael Sloan/The i Spot

The rate at which people have been signing on to social media in the last decade had many marketers wondering if it might replace email altogether as a way to engage with customers. But Jeff Kupietzky (MBA 1998), CEO of PowerInbox, says it’s too soon to call it quits on email—far from it, in fact. PowerInbox, which manages targeted ads within subscriber-based newsletters for publishers like Crain Communications and the Seattle Times, has enjoyed 7,500 percent growth in the last three years. Here, he takes our questions about the continuing reign of email and how to put it to use in any industry.

How is email monetization different from web optimization?

Email monetization places pay-per-click ads directly into emails that are sent by publishers, and advertisers pay only for the subscribers who click. With web optimization and cookies, there’s no way to know exactly who is visiting your site, especially when devices and browsers are shared by multiple users, such as among family members, for example. Email accounts are very rarely shared, so publishers can collect and understand much more precise data about the person behind that email address. And advertisers can leverage that clarity about the audience to target ads more precisely.

Your clients are largely publishers, but how broadly can you apply these insights?

Really anyone who sends a newsletter is a publisher, and the benefits of newsletter advertising can be extended to many industries: hotels or airlines can embed ads for attractions near featured destinations or travel accessories, entertainment venues can embed ads for local restaurants and bars, retailers could insert ads for complementary services, and the list goes on. Even B2B companies can take advantage of this opportunity by inserting ads that are relevant to their subscribers or potential customers.

Is email better for reaching certain demographics?

Our recent survey found that nearly 60 percent of adults subscribe to some kind of email newsletter: At 65 percent, Millennials are actually the most likely to subscribe, but even 46 percent of Baby Boomers subscribe to newsletters. It’s the primary channel that people want to use for communication from brands.

And because email is tied to a specific individual, it’s able to evolve into a unique identifier around which we can build a richer, more accurate profile for users of any age. That allows us to personalize messages more precisely, which is exactly what consumers want. They get irritated by offers that clearly aren’t for them—like the 30-something who is served up an AARP ad.

What do people get wrong about email?

That it’s dead, or that young people have moved away from it in favor of social media. Young people see the flaws inherent in social media when it comes to privacy, data protection, and fraud. In our opinion, email is much safer. It puts clients in control of their distribution and lets them own the audience relationship, rather than being at the mercy of a third-party platform. In an environment where engagement is critical, owning that relationship is vital for survival.

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