Marketers often talk about the need to own your customers and not be dependent on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Their point is that social media platforms can change their policies at any point, and you might lose your reach. 

So they suggest moving all your network to an email list that you can message directly without any dependency. 

I respectfully disagree.

I used to think that way too.

But in reality, you own nothing by having an email address in your database. 

It’s like knowing the physical address of a prospect. 

Unless you plan to threaten, blackmail, or extort, it doesn’t mean anything, especially if your only strategy is to hammer them with your spam emails.

We cannot own an email address.

However, we can position ourselves in the minds of our prospects with the amazing content we share and the indispensable value we add to their lives. 

If we do that right, even if all the social media channels stop us from sharing our content, our prospects will come searching for us.

Owning email addresses results in begging, cajoling, and pleading for action.

Owning a position in their minds results in real marketing.