If you’re in marketing – especially in tech – you’ve likely felt the shifting sands beneath your feet lately. One minute your content’s flying high on Google, the next it’s buried. Facebook decides your content isn’t worth surfacing. Your LinkedIn’s reach has dropped. And now, large language models like ChatGPT and Claude are acting more like search engines than ever, cutting the click-through path to your content altogether.
Welcome to 2025. The only constant? Change.
But here’s the thing, while the digital giants scramble to redefine the rules of discovery, the savvy marketers are going back to basics – to email.
Why email is having a renaissance
Today email isn’t just surviving; it’s thriving.
And the evidence is not anecdotal. Email consistently delivers one of the highest returns in marketing – for every $1 you spend, you get an average of $36 back (source).
This is not just because it dodges the algorithm roulette.
It’s because email is direct.
It’s personal.
It’s yours.
As Marina Hyde put it recently in The Rest is Entertainment podcast (Episode: 3rd June Gossip: The New Frontier of The Culture War), email gives you a way to connect directly with people who like what you do – even if they’re not paying customers (yet).
There’s no middleman, no algorithm to navigate, no AI scraping and summarising your value away.
It’s just you and your audience.
And that’s powerful.
In the same episode, co-host, Richard Osman added that email is great because it creates an emotional connection, not just a transactional one. And in an era of information overload, that human element is everything.
Don’t build your content house on rented land
Content marketing guru Joe Pulizzi has long been banging this drum. For years he’s been telling us not to build our content house on rented land.
Or, in other words, if your entire content strategy depends on platforms you don’t own – Meta, Google, LinkedIn – then you’re building a business on someone else’s turf. And they can (and will) change the rules at any moment.
Think about it. You spend months crafting a campaign. The creative sings. Engagement starts strong. Then bam, an algorithm update and it’s like you never existed. That’s not a strategy. That’s gambling.
So, what’s the solution?
Owning your audience.
Building your lists.
Focusing on content hubs you can control – your website, your blog, and especially your email newsletter.
AI won’t replace relationships
With over half of adults in the UK and US now using AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude for search, with many turning to them instead of Google for product research, ideas, and recommendations, organic traffic from search is down by as much as 25% in some sectors – because users are getting their answers without ever clicking through.
This is a threat. But it’s also an opportunity.
Because while AI may streamline discovery, it can’t replicate emotional connection.
It can’t nurture a relationship over time.
That’s your job. And where email is most effective.
A well-written, well-timed email campaign doesn’t just drive clicks. It builds trust. It reminds your audience who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re worth listening to.
Your email list is your safety net
Magazines have used this method for years. It’s the golden rule of all print media: subscribers are your foundation.
Because growing an engaged email list is one of the few assets that gives you predictability in an unpredictable world.
You know who you’re talking to. And you can reach them anytime – (almost) without paying for the privilege.
So, what should you do now?
- Audit your content mix – How much are you relying on channels you don’t own?
- Invest in your newsletter – Make it useful, make it human, and make it regular.
- Build landing pages with value – Give people a reason to sign up.
- Treat email as a relationship tool – Not just a sales engine.
We’re living through a platform reckoning. The marketers who’ll thrive aren’t the ones who chase every new trend. They’re the ones who build resilience by owning their voice, their platform, and their connection with their audience.
Email isn’t just a channel. It’s your lifeline.
Want to turn your email list into your most valuable marketing asset?
We’ll write it. You take the credit.
Let’s talk.
