Sounds weird doesn’t it? Well, hear me out on this one. Many wouldn’t ever associate the idea of e-mail marketing and passion but that could actually be a mistake that many Internet marketers are making. I admit that this was not something I even considered until I ran across an interesting article on e-mail marketing over at DMNews. Oh by the way, don’t discount traditional direct marketing sources when looking for information about the Internet. They get direct marketing and often the Internet is as direct as it can get in marketing circles.

Back to the concept. The article talked about a company, YouSendIt, that was using e-mail to sell its service but not by saying “Hey, you can get a discount today.” No, instead the company tapped into a passionate subject that would be closely related to the service it offers. Here is some of that article for you.

Marketers don’t need to have the most exciting products to reach consumers, as long as they tie those offerings to consumers’ passion points. For instance, just in time for Earth Day, April 22, online file-sending service YouSendIt is using e-mail to promote its services as environmentally conscious.

The campaign’s goal is to help consumers reduce their use of printers, shipping services and DVDs – thereby cutting down their carbon footprints – by sending files over the Internet using YouSendIt’s service. The company distributed e-mails on April 12 encouraging consumers to pledge to use its services instead of physical materials to eliminate 12 million copies. The campaign’s tagline is “Join us to make a difference.”

There’s more to this, such as the tie-ins to social media etc. but let’s take a look at your e-mail marketing efforts and what you are or are not taking advantage of. For instance, if you sell outdoor exercise and activity gear are you selling the product (10% off if you come in today!”) or are you selling the lifestyle (we help you stay in shape and connected to nature by supplying your outdoor activity needs).

There is a major difference in these approaches. Maybe some people respond to straight sales talk but many are now blind to it because it is just overwhelming in the online space. People do, however, see, identify and then support things that speak to their passions. People will buy on emotion as much as they will on logic. Look at the financial markets after all. Logic often is not even in the room when it comes to those decisions for many folks. They buy on gut and the idea that they are right.

So how are you reaching your customers this way? Are you consistently helping them recognize through e-mail and search that you can supply what they need to live their passion? Whether it’s household items (How does someone feel when they have a beautiful carpet vs. buy now because it is on sale?).

I think it would be a good idea for you to step back and decide what passions does your product fulfill for your customer base. As a result, you may find that your marketing to those passions develops passionate customers and more revenue as well. Not a bad combination, right?

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