I recently hit a significant personal milestone. The little red bubble on my phone by the email icon ticked over into six digits. Yes, that’s 100,000 emails in my Gmail inbox that I haven’t opened.

Not only have I not opened them, I haven’t read them, clicked on a link, put them in a folder, starred them or deleted them. I haven’t even considered assigning them to a label or category or colour code. And of course I haven’t replied, forwarded or unsubscribed.

I know that devotees of inbox zero will be aghast and may even be coming out in a rash right now just from a cursory glance at this:

How could I? Does it not annoy me? How can I sleep at night for crying out loud?

The answer is that this number causes me zero consternation. I created my Gmail account in 2004 and if anything, as the red bubble counter ticked up towards 100k in recent weeks I’ve been enjoying the mild anticipation that came with approaching six figures. (Anything counts as a hobby in these unprecedented times you understand.)

  
    And - even if it took just an optimistic three seconds to delete/file/tag each email - I would have  wasted  spent three-and-a-half days of my life just to see a zero on a screen. 
  

Here are three ways to think differently about email as both a (marketing) sender and a human recipient.

1. Email as a way to get and keep brand awareness

Were those 100,000 emails a complete waste of time? Many of them will have been automated, but even those involve some level of human effort to get them set them up and fired into my inbox.

Well no they weren’t – and the reason is because I looked at them all. Because my inbox is personal and there is important stuff in there, I scan the sender name and subject line of every email I receive.

Even if the email you sent me hasn’t been opened or clicked, I have still taken a millisecond or two to see your brand name and what you’ve put in the subject line. In that tiny moment – even if I take no action – there is still a little moment of consideration and brand recognition.

Actual decision-making process of an inbox scanner

What’s happening in the brain of the inbox scanner? Likely a rapid weighing up of a few factors including:

Do I know who you are?
What’s your email about?
Based on what I know about you and what the subject line tells me, is it worth my time to stop scanning and open?

For me, the answer was no over 100,000 times, but I still saw that brand or person and took a moment to connect them with their email subject. There was a small slice of share of mind built up more than 100,000 times over years in some instances.

2. The email inbox as a search engine

If “inbox scanning” is what maintains brand awareness, then it’s using the inbox as a search engine that happens lower down the funnel.

Let’s say one day I decide I need a new lamp. Habitat springs to mind because I get their emails as a regular reminder of their existence and I know they make lamps. I search for “habitat” in my inbox and see they emailed me yesterday and they have a sale on. Next thing you know, I’ve ordered a lamp.

Of course, it’s even better when there’s an exclusive offer for people on the email list like this example from COS. If I needed some minimalist garbs when this arrived or found it through a later inbox search, then this would probably get me spending:

3. The email newsletter subscription is mightier than the click

As Ann Handley points out, your inbox is the last communication channel that’s controlled by you and not an algorithm. It’s personal and it’s intimate.

If you (as a marketer or otherwise) are invited into someone’s inbox, that’s significant – and even more so as retargeting cookies become a thing of the past.

In the examples above I probably didn’t invite these brands in – I either bought something once and now they email me with more things to buy, or I gave them my email address in exchange for a discount code for something I was already going to buy.

So while it’s OK (and to be expected) if your audience doesn’t open your emails if you’re trying to sell them something right off the bat, it’s less OK if you’re genuinely trying to engage them in the long term – and that’s what an email newsletter is for.

Over at Sage Advice, email newsletter subscribers are our most engaged audience and that translates all the way down to dollars and pounds.

In fact, subscribers typically spend three times more than people who just download gated content and that’s because the newsletter delivers something valuable and timely every time. It’s for life, not just for shopping.

So, I have no regrets over the unread emails and nor should you – unless your newsletter is languishing in there of course.

An inbox postscript

Less than two months after hitting 100,000, today my inbox looks like this:

Bring on email one million.

There are two major events that bookend The Great British Summer. Forget summer solstice, Glastonbury or Wimbledon, summer hasn’t begun until Love Island starts on ITV2. And as we all know, it’s well and truly over and you might as well get into your slanket for six months once X Factor starts.

Take note, a look at search demand via Google Trends tells us the UK seasons now look a bit like this:

Google Trends: Summer = Love Island, Winter = X Factor. And between them = NOTHING.

So what is Love island and what's all the fuss about? The "tipping point" fourth season of the Superdrug-sponsored parade of fitties kicks off this year on 4th June. Never seen it? Imagine 20 catalogue models on an all-inclusive holiday and then add a few litres of baby oil and you’re getting close.

The premise is that the aforementioned fitties all “couple up” and the last couple standing wins a load of cash. All under the watchful eye of the British public of course. An audience of 2.4m for the 2017 finale broke records for ITV2, its social media following is huge and last year it captured the attention of everyone from Liam Gallagher to Gary Lineker.

That fascination also earns media coverage in droves and content-creation triggered by Love Island is on the rise. With over three times as many breathless pre-show articles published in May 2018 versus the same month last year and the level of social media engagement keeping pace - we certainly haven't reached peak Love Island yet.

Love Island: Articles published and social media engagements

The data from Buzzsumo also tells us that the most popular Love Island content format is the trusty list post and a closer peek (zoom in please camera 6) reveals it's a pretty lengthy list that the Love Island devotee favours:

Love Island: List articles and engagements

So, acknowledging that insight and blithely casting it aside, let's look at the top seven lessons that a major hit like Love Island can teach us content marketers, whether you're in B2B or baby oil.

1. Escapism is appealing

The British summer rarely conjures up more than a handful of barbecue-worthy days and due to the law of Sod, these will usually happen when you are at work/on a motorway/re-tiling your bathroom. So spending six weeks transporting yourself to a glorious luxury villa populated by Beautiful People who seemingly have no jobs or worldly responsibilities is a highly attractive proposition.

Love Island content tip: Offer a break from the humdrum and the day-to-day grind. What can you create that’s aspirational or desirable or just downright fun?

2. Authenticity wins

One or two couples in the early days of last season chose to deem themselves “the power couples.” They were convinced they were the public’s favourite and therefore not at risk if things came down to a vote. However, when the public did vote they were shocked to discover that the actual audience favourites were those who seemed to a bit more “real.” They were goofy, less confident and showed no signs of having any sort of “game plan.”

Love Island content tip: Keep it real! Can you share something behind the scenes? Can you acknowledge and empathise with what really motivates your audience? Go beyond what should work "on paper." What can you produce that’s less polished but more genuine and in-the-moment?

3. Audience interaction gives you an edge

As any true fan will know, Love Island is best enjoyed with your chosen second screen in hand. There are some top quality gifs posted on the #LoveIsland hashtag and there’s an app where you can access exclusive content, vote for who’s hot or not and “test your Love Island IQ.”

Love Island content tip: Give the power to the people. User-generated content and interaction can ignite your content to reach a much bigger audience and create ideas and angles that you would never have thought of. It also boosts the authenticity factor.

4. Always repurpose and refresh

Love Island sticks to the same tried-and-trusted format: An envy-inducing, blinging villa, muscly and/or bootylicious residents, a wry narrator (more on him later) to inject humour and shock twists and surprise evictions courtesy of Caroline Flack.

It’s the same with the line-up – generally, those taking part are outgoing 20-somethings who like nothing more than parading in a bikini/pair of spray-on tight white jeans all day. But even they have to be kept fresh, so last year saw the introduction of Camilla, a shy “explosive ordnance disposal expert" who rapidly rose to “nation’s sweetheart” status and the swift exit of duds like Harley (sorry Harley) who looked good on paper (chortle) but was, er, a bit dull.

Half of last year's winning couple, Kem, will be co-hosting the new Love Island podcast as the producers seek to leverage cast members who have proven audience appeal to branch into new formats.

Love Island content tip: If you know it’s working, don’t throw it out and start again just for the sake of it! There’s no shame in re-using something that works or repurposing something from your archives. Likewise, if it’s not working stop doing it! We should attach value to the impact we create and not how many pieces of content we produce (or how much time or money we spend on them).

5. Create spin-offs

Love Island is more than a TV show folks. You can join in on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, watch the spin-off “Aftersun” show after every episode, get the app and gamble on loveislandgames.com. And to recreate the villa vibe in your own back garden/at your desk, you can even buy your very own personalised Love Island water bottle.

Love Island content tip: Give your content legs. Is something flying? Great. How can you make the most of the attention you’ve earned? Think different formats, seasonal updates, asking an expert for their opinion, sharing with influencers, running a competition, holding an event or even creating spin-off merchandise you can sell or give away. (A great example of the latter is Adobe’s Hovering Art Director campaign. We all know the type right? There’s great insight there, humour that resonates and a piece of merchandise we all want on our desks.)

6. Know your audience – and deliver for them

I’m guessing I’m not Love Island’s core demographic and neither is Liam Gallagher, but we’re both hooked. You can find most Love Island fans checking for the latest news and sharing content from the show via Facebook on these sites:

But in 2017, the celebrity fanbase the show attracted caused even The Telegraph to jump on the sunkissed bandwagon and ask why everyone was obsessively watching the show. They also call it “the hottest televised sexual health clinic of the year.” Miaow.

Despite the wide range of fans, Love Island knows its core audience are devotees of fake tans, tight white jeans and hair extensions and probably won’t be looking up “melt” (noun) or “dust” (verb) in Urban Dictionary.

Love Island content tip: Know your audience inside out. What language do they use, where do they shop, who do they trust and where do they hang out online? Make sure your personas are real tools and not just a document full of platitudes that sits on a server gathering dust. Resonate with your core audience and they will help you extend your reach to the giddy heights of Gary Lineker, Stormzy and beyond.

7. Inject humour

Love Island’s secret ingredient is someone you never see on the show. Comedian Iain Stirling is the narrator who makes sure the villa melodrama is brought back down to reality with a good dose of dry humour. Without him, much of the knowing “this is all a bit ridiculous but let’s acknowledge that and enjoy it anyway” feel would be lost, along with a good chunk of the audience.

Love Island content tip: Don’t take yourself seriously all the time! It’s OK to have a serious money-making objective and a seemingly “dull” subject and bring it to life with a bit of humour. They key to this though is knowing your audience – see above. Don’t forget that humour is one of the biggest reasons that content gets shared. Want to reach a bigger audience? A mild LOL could get you a long way.

Ready and inspired to create a huge content hit? Good. Just don't forget to sit back and enjoy the rest of the show.