Twitter Follower vs Email Subscriber.. How do we understand both types of individual from a marketing angle?

It would depend on the type of messaging, the product and your targeted demographic. The effectiveness is different for each, and the demographics for the users varies by platform. Twitter skews younger, and is more effective for just-in-time communications. I haven’t done any research lately as to the usage of tweet aggregators among twitter users, but that would be key to measuring the effectiveness of communication; understanding how recipients are receiving your messaging and what filters are being applied. Just because someone opts to follow you, it doesn’t mean they actually look at your Tweets. Your open rate in e-mail is tied to your subject line. Unless you are ending up in their junk mail box, you are probably going to get more bang for your buck with e-mail than Twitter.

I think I would take a different approach with Twitter and email. In email, I would be more of a “just the facts, ma’am” kind of person. Lead with what the news is in a very straight forward way.

With Twitter (which I don’t use), I would spin it differently—more about humor and excitement. I don’t know what your product is, but if I did, I’d give you an example of what I mean.

In Twitter, you’re trying to stand out in a constantly moving stream—probably an overwhelming stream of information. People are just surfing it and only see things as the wave crashes up and catches their notice. You have to stand out in a place where every other marketer is trying to stand out, too. So you constantly have to be different.

Email is more of a still moment. You’re floating in a pond, and you want to catch a glimpse of a frog or other animal on the lilypads. Your attention is diffuse, but attentive. That’s where a person is looking for something substantive and meaningful. So the facts catch their eye instead of a flash in the pan.

I don’t know. I’m just making this shit up. Please don’t pay any attention to it. I would hate to help a marketer. Interesting issue, though.

I don’t like using new things, so I haven’t tried Twitter or any of those or Facebook type things.

With Twitter you can’t expand upon your theme after the 139 or so characters.
You have a headline or slogan or tease but nothing after that.

And isn’t email easier to track?

@anartist, that’s a good point. You can track your open rates with e-mail. You can track retweets with Twitter, which would be like tracking forwarded messages with e-mail.