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Let’s be honest: most marketing emails never get read. With the average professional sending and receiving nearly 150 emails a day, getting noticed in the inbox is a long shot. For busy buyers, ignoring irrelevant messages isn’t just a habit — it’s survival.
Still, many entrepreneurs treat email as their go-to channel for relationship building, brand promotion and lead generation. But the landscape has changed. Buyers are self-directed, content-fatigued and increasingly numb to outreach that doesn’t add value. If your marketing hinges on the perfect subject line, you’re already behind.
To grow your business today, you need more than email — you need pull.
Related: 4 Content Secrets from World-Class SaaS Companies That Any Business Can Apply
From push to pull
Email is a push tactic. You send a message — solicited or not — and hope it hits the right person at the right moment. Sometimes it works. But more often, it interrupts rather than engages.
Content marketing works differently. It’s a pull strategy. You create something valuable — an article, video or guide — and let your audience come to you when they’re ready. They discover your content on their terms, in their timeline, with real intent.
If your goal is to build trust, credibility and long-term interest, that distinction matters.
What content marketing does better than email
Email has limits. It reaches those you already know. It disappears within a day. And it’s rarely shared or reused.
Content, by contrast, builds momentum. A well-optimized blog post can surface in search results for months. A compelling video can get reshared across platforms. A strong point of view can open doors to podcast invites, speaking gigs and partnerships.
Content gives your message reach and staying power. It doesn’t just deliver once — it works repeatedly, across formats, audiences and buying stages.
The real role of email now
Email isn’t dead. But its job has changed. The most effective marketers today use email to amplify content, not replace it. They send a quick note that links to a deeper idea. They use email as a prompt, not a pitc