Send Me Follow Up Emails All You Like But Please Cut The BS

I recently played around with a number of third party newsletter and auto-responder providers, trying to pick the best one to go with!

While most offer a similar service for similar prices, two stood out for vastly different reasons.

One I will identify, simply because they did a great job of convincing me that they had the goods.

They sent several follow up emails on how to use the system, as well as some great pointers on email marketing generally.

That company was Aweber.

By the time I signed up, I was familiar with the system, and I’ve continued to get training emails since.

The other provider sent a couple of emails at the start of their free trial.

Then nothing for about 23 days.

Five days before the end of the trial, I received an email stating how much they had enjoyed working with me, and how much they would like to see me become a ‘premium partner’.

The truth is, that I had hardly been back there at all.

I didn’t like their set up, and their training was almost non existent.

Though I received an email from them daily for the final five days of the trial, I saw nothing that would make me want to spend my time or money with them.

What I objected to was the false sincerity of how much they enjoyed working with me, which was pretty much a lie, simply because they hadn’t done so.

A Better Way

While different people have different ideas about what email marketing is and isn’t, because of the amount of email whizzing around cyberspace we need to be careful how we operate.

The clowns who constantly send me emails about cialis, viagra, adderal, vicodin and the rest certainly don’t rate as legitimate email marketers.

(Thanks for caring about my health folks, but I rarely ever even see your emails, let alone read them.)

This is for legitimate email marketers who go to the trouble of using permission marketing, having a double opt in and easy unsubscribe system.

Use headlines that will attract my attention.

For instance, Clayton Makepeace got me yesterday with his ‘Dead Puppies For Sale’ headline.

I read part of his article and then clicked through to his website to read the rest.

Keep It Interesting

I receive hundreds of emails daily, many courtesy of the viagra/cialis crowd, others from clients, family, friends and newsletters that I have subscribed to.

If an email gets my interest with the headline and first paragraph, you’ve got me.

Otherwise I trash it, or, maybe come back and read it later.

And if I work like that I’d be guessing that most other people do too!

Be Honest and Sincere

But for heaven’s sake don’t over do the sincerity bit!

I still shake my head at the email I received from that supposed email marketing professional.

While I am sure that the writer meant well, I grew up in a rural area, and lived on the land for a bit.

I know what bs looks and smells like, and avoid stepping in it when I see it.

So if I see bs in YOUR email, I’ll treat it the same way! 😉