Inside the Inbox of… Jamie Bradnam

In a series we’re calling ‘Inside the Inbox of…’ we’re asking industry leaders to let us delve into their most private of places… their emails!

Today we’re exploring the inbox of Jamie Bradnam, Senior Communications Officer at The Content Group.

INBOX STATUS:

64 unread (mainly because I’m currently on leave – normally I don’t have anything under 20) 
5 drafts
19 flagged (this is my to-do list) 

1) Which email conversation has sparked your interest recently? 

I’ve recently been in contact with an analytics guru in Canberra. I’ve been trying to find someone in this space for a while and it turns out he was right under my nose! 

2) What’s the top priority in your inbox at the moment? 

That would be addressing a number of pre-training course questions that have been sent through to me ahead of a social media training session I will be running for a Government department next week. The one thing I find about social media capabilities is that there is such a wide knowledge gap, so I prefer clients send me a number of questions that they’re facing to ensure we cover everything they need. 

3) Who are you emailing that inspires you? 

I have a mate that works as the General Manager of AFL Europe. He gets to travel around the continent from Cornwall to Croatia and promote footy to the unconverted. It’s as bad as it sounds. We’re always bouncing ideas off each other about potential opportunities or business ventures. One day I believe we’ll come up something huge! 

4) What newsletters are you signed up to? 

Where do I start? I sign-up to as many marketing and analytics lists as possible and then decide what I want to read when it comes in. On a global level I am signed up to Co-Create Weekly, Seth Godin, Content Marketing Institute, Convince and Convert, Noah Kagin, Jon Loomer, Social Media Examiner and Copyblogger. 

On a local Australian level I am signed up to Mumbrella, King Content, Margin Media, Mahlab Media, Flying Solo, Sports Geek, the Blog Tyrant, blogging guru Jeff Bullas and of course, Brandalism. (boom!)

On a personal level Cricket Australia send brilliant emails and I’m a member of the Canberra Raiders so I always enjoy reading those if I get the time. 

5) Which kind of emails gets instantly deleted? 

SEO sales companies! They drive me crazy. Any company that has seen that we advertise on Google Adwords and therefore assume we don’t know anything about SEO. As I’m the person in charge of our SEO it offends me. 

6) Which kinds of email do you most love to receive?

An expanding part of my role is social media and digital training. I really enjoy it. So whenever I get a sign-up to my monthly courses or a request to run an in-house course I get excited. 
The other one I really enjoy is called Death to Stock Photos. Each month they send me a batch of new high quality photos that we can use on our blogs for free. They’re very professional photos and I think its because I only receive them once a month that I get excited. 

7) What do you think you’ll be discussing over email in six months time? 

I hope that it will be about helping clients take a more analytical approach to their digital presence. Everyone now understands the importance of their website, their email list and social media presence, but too many people only look at the bottom line. I want to help people understand how the content marketing pipeline works. 

8) How long does it usually take you to respond? 

I’m very anal about this. I always like to reply on the day of the email where possible. Even if it’s just to let them know that I’ve received their email and that I’ll get back to them. I then flag it and work through the flags as I get the time. 

9) When do you stop replying to emails? 

A lot less than my wife would like! I don’t really stop, but I check them less on weekends, particularly when I’m busy. 

10) Finally, you have a chance to change the world with just one email – who’s that getting sent to and why? 

Wow. That’s big. I would probably email my friend at AFL Europe mentioned above to organise a Skype session because one day we will change the world.