I am honored, excited and, to be honest, a little bit nervous about being tapped to chair the 2020 Email Innovations Summit in Las Vegas, a joint production from Rising Media and Only Influencers.
Read on to learn more about my approach to programming the Summit, what you can expect when you attend, where to apply to speak at the event, and how you can save up to $550 on your Summit registration. Viva Las Vegas!
First, many thanks to Bill McCloskey, the founder of Only Influencers who is retiring early next year, and Matthew Finlay, the CEO of Rising Media. I am so looking forward to working with Matthew and his team to maintain and grow this amazing event. Bill’s are big shoes to fill, but with help from my industry friends I know I can do it. Read the Press Release
As I began to think about how to approach this remarkable opportunity and huge responsibility, I decided to break it down into more manageable bites.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ’email’ as:
- a means or system for transmitting messages electronically (as between computers on a network)
- messages sent and received electronically through an email system
Email was invented by Ray Tomlinson, an American computer programmer who sent the first email message on the ARPANET system (the precursor to the Internet) in 1971. But email didn’t come into mainstream use as a marketing channel until the mid-1990s, when the World Wide Web made the Internet more accessible to the general public.
The Email Innovations Summit is focused on email marketing, using the email channel to communicate with customers and prospects to meet your organization’s bottom line goals. Email is recognized as having a higher ROI than any other marketing channel, online or offline. But in most organizations email marketing still isn’t reaching its full potential.
Innovations
Merriam-Webster offers two definitions for ‘innovation’:
- the introduction of something new
- a new idea, method or device
Innovation is an interesting word. An innovation isn’t quite an invention, which is defined as something that was not previously in existence. An innovation is usually an iteration of something that already exists, a fine-tuning, a better way to do something that’s already being done.
The Email Innovations Summit is focused on innovations in email. When they think of innovation many people think of technology. We will certainly have sessions on artificial intelligence, machine learning and other technical innovations.
But we’ll also cover non-technical innovations, those that involve thought, approach, processes and the like. They often aren’t as bright and shiny as technology, but if they can improve the performance of your email marketing program, you’ll learn about them at the Summit.
Many innovations are born of challenges, and some of the biggest challenges the email industry is facing today are from regulations. So we’ll cover those too, but from a practical ‘how do you innovate to comply and thrive under these new regulations,’ rather than a straight ‘here is what the new regulations say’ angle.
Summit
Going back to our friends at Merriam-Webster, a ‘summit’ is:
- Top, apex, peak
- the topmost level attainable
- the highest level of officials
- a conference of highest-level officials
Those are the definitions when ‘summit’ is used as a noun; it can also be used as a verb, as in
- to participate in a summit conference
- to climb to the summit
I was a little disappointed in the Merriam-Webster definitions of ‘summit’; to me a summit is about growth. It’s the exhilaration you feel when you’re hiking with friends and you’ve made it to the top of the mountain, despite the blister on your heel and the pain in your knee and the strong desire you had to turn around an hour ago. And it’s so beautiful that you’re all just speechless, but even in the silence you are all profoundly connected for this moment.
The Email Innovations Summit has always helped attendees expand their knowledge, grow their networks and broaden their way of thinking about email marketing. It’s as true for people who have been in the industry for years as it is for those who are new to our community.
Even though email is almost 50 years old and email marketing is about 25 years old, there is still innovation going on in the industry. It’s moving at a pretty fast clip, and the Email Innovations Summit is the best way to not just keep up, but to stay ahead.
Innovating your organization’s email program will improve your company’s bottom line; it will also set you up for that promotion, that next job opportunity or just that ’email rock star’ status you know you want. This conference will give you the tools you need to get there.
So I hope to see you in Las Vegas next year, June 1 to 3, 2020 at Caesar’s Palace, for the Email Innovations Summit. Read on for where to submit speaker proposals and how to save up to $550 on your registration.
The call for speakers is now open and we’d love to have you share with out attendees how you’re innovating your own email program.
And even if you’re not up for speaking, we’d love to have you join us! As I mentioned, you’ll save up to $550 when you register before December 6, 2019. Let us save you a seat!
Viva Las Vegas!
