Sentori email marketing blog

An email service called Shortmail launched earlier this year which takes a refreshingly different approach to what email can be. The service limits incoming and outgoing emails to a maximum of 500 characters in an attempt to make email more like other popular short-form communication channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and SMS.

Could you, as a marketer, produce a compelling marketing email in fewer than 500 characters? Maybe. But could you do it without the benefit of HTML, images, or attachments? That’s the challenge you would face if you tried to email someone using an @shortmail.com email address.

Step beyond the above parameters and your email will never reach the recipient’s inbox. Ouch!

Should you care about Shortmail?

I think that the reality of Shortmail is that it’s a new private and personal inbox. Marketing emails and newsletters will be completely neutered by the strict limitations of the system. People will not use Shortmail as their primary email address: they won’t be doing business with it, making purchases with it, or signing up for your newsletters with it.

As a marketer, it's well worth being equiped with the knowledge of what Shortmail is all about. If an @shortmail.com address turns up in your data, you can be pretty sure that the individual has a better email address for your email newsletter. Maybe drop them a quick note (under 500 characters!) and ask them!

A little aside...

What I like about Shortmail is that their whole approach is based upon a love of email and they have some great ideas about how to make it better – emphasising relationships, conversations, and trying to minimise inbox overload.

I might not agree entirely with their approach – if I’ve ever emailed you, you’ll know I love to waffle – but I think it’s excellent that they’re pursuing their idea. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on them.