Why is email still important when open rates have declined?

Email remains either the most important or close to the most important marketing channel for any creative business, despite declining open rates and inbox saturation. The key difference between email and social media is control and ownership. With email, you control the rules and own the list—you can send whatever you want, whenever you want, in any quantity you want. In contrast, on social media you must conform to their rules, the algorithm decides if anything gets seen, and they can throttle, shadow ban, or hide your posts at any time. Email gives you direct access to your audience without a middleman controlling visibility. Data consistently shows that email works and drives revenue for creative businesses.

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Asked by synthesized from teaching · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2025-10-03