Email marketing has one of the longest lifespans in digital marketing. The very first email marketing campaign appeared in the late 1970s, but by the late 1990s it had spiralled out of control. This was the era of spam, endless unsolicited emails that damaged trust, clogged inboxes and hurt businesses rather than helping them grow.

In the early 2000s, governments began passing anti-spam legislation, holding businesses accountable for the messages they sent. While this improved user experience, it also gave email marketing a bad reputation. For many, especially those over 40, the word “email” became synonymous with “annoying.”

However, with audio professionals and music technology enthusiasts, our source of information predominantly came from publications such as Keyboard Magazine, Electronic Musician, and Sound on Sound. Early adopters in email marketing in the pro audio and music technology industry did not start until the late 90s or early 2000s.

These days things have changed, especially with the rise of subscriber lists and opt-in marketing. Instead of inbox clutter, people could now choose to hear from businesses. That shift created the foundation for email as we know it today: a powerful, permission-based communication channel. As musicians and pro audio industry professionals used forums and social media, such as MySpace, to communicate what was new, brands decided to capture the online audience by offering them the opportunity to opt into a subscription list rather than communicating with them over forums.

So is email marketing still relevant in today’s digital landscape? The answer is simple: yes.

The Evolution of Email

As email technology evolved, so did the way businesses communicated with subscribers. Smartphones made email portable, accessible anywhere, anytime. That shift created both opportunity and challenge:

• Opportunity: Businesses gained access to rich data and metrics about audience behaviour, from which gear demos they watched to which plugin tutorials they clicked on.
• Challenge: Subscribers found it easier than ever to ignore, delete or unsubscribe. Especially with so many brands vying for their attention.

Both outcomes are valuable because they tell you what’s working, what isn’t and how your audience perceives your communication. Your most valuable asset is your audience, regardless if they are Bedroom Producers or Industry Professionals.

Done right, email marketing helps businesses deliver a clear value proposition: showing subscribers the benefits of your product or service and why your brand leads in the market. Success comes down to how well you communicate your message and how intentionally you measure results.

The Metrics That Matter

Metrics are at the heart of email marketing. They aren’t just numbers; they’re insights into how your audience engages with you.

Take a product launch teaser campaign, for example. You send subscribers an early look at your new plugin, microphone, or digital audio workstation (DAW) and the chance to pre-order. Key metrics might include:

• Landing page visits: How many subscribers clicked through to learn more about the new software features or hardware specs.
• Guide downloads: How many engaged deeper by accessing supporting content like a “Getting Started with Your New Synth” manual or an in-depth white paper on the microphone’s capsule design.
• Video views: How many clicked to watch a product demo by a producer or a trailer with a talking head from your lead engineer.

The most valuable metric in this mix is the Click-to-Open Rate (CTOR). CTOR measures the number of unique clicks divided by the number of unique opens. It’s the ultimate measure of your email content’s quality because it tells you what percentage of people who actually opened your email were motivated enough to click a link.

From CTOR, you can dig deeper into:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): How many clicked links like your landing page, download, or video.
• Conversion Rate: How many took the ultimate action (e.g., pre-ordering the Limited Edition VST).

Other supporting metrics are crucial for the long-term health of your email list. They are vital for maintaining your sender reputation. Major email providers like Gmail and Outlook closely monitor these signals. A high bounce rate or a sudden spike in spam reports, even from your own subscribers, can cause your emails to be filtered into the junk folder or blocked entirely. Managing a healthy, engaged subscriber list is the key to ensuring your messages consistently land in the inbox.

Integrating Email with Other Marketing Channels

Email doesn’t live in isolation. It works best when integrated with your broader marketing ecosystem. For example, imagine this two-step sequence:

1. A product announcement email for your new audio interface with a preorder link.
2. A follow-up reminder email highlighting limited availability and a supporting video showcasing the interface in a professional studio setting.

By tweaking messaging, testing new visuals or linking to different videos, you can measure engagement and refine your approach. Did one video drive more YouTube subscribers? Did another email increase CTR? Those results guide not only your email strategy, but also your product demo and social media video strategy.

Email is also a natural partner for social media. You can:

• Share subscriber stories or user-created patches and presets in your emails, then amplify them on social.
• Run A/B tests on subscriber segments (e.g., music producers vs. live sound engineers) and repurpose what works into posts.
• Use social campaigns to grow your email list through polls, sign-ups or targeted ads.

This cross-channel approach strengthens your overall marketing and ensures consistent messaging across platforms.

Why Email Still Matters

Email remains a cornerstone of modern marketing because it helps businesses:

• Stay top of funnel and front of mind.
• Provide context along the customer journey, from a new musician discovering your brand to a veteran engineer troubleshooting a mix issue.
• Test and refine content effectiveness, like seeing if an email featuring a product demo video outperforms one with a studio gear review.
• Measure whether your audience is truly engaged.
• Improve other channels like video and social with email-driven insights. For example, by using data on which plugin tutorials were most clicked to inform your next YouTube video series.

Unsubscribes aren’t failures as they’re insights too. Asking subscribers why they left (or even just noting their silence) helps you understand who’s truly engaged and who isn’t. 

Is email marketing still important in the modern digital marketing age? Absolutely. It remains one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience, measure real impact, and drive results across your marketing ecosystem. At Cadence Solutions, we see email not as “old-fashioned,” but as an evolving, data-driven tool. The businesses that thrive are those who treat email as a conversation, purposeful, measurable and integrated.

If you haven’t built an email strategy yet, or if your current one isn’t performing, Cadence Solutions can help. Our three-phase process builds campaigns that align with your goals and create harmony across your digital marketing.

Get in touch today to plan your next email campaign.