Stupid Email Marketing Mistakes You Can Avoid
One of the joys of marketing is to gain ideas and
lessons from other marketers. No one owns a principle, technique, concept or
idea. If you want to become a better marketer simply pay attention to what happens
around you and learn from the triumphs and the failures of others.
Take a few lessons from this email that I received.
Here is the opening paragraph:
-----------
First
Hi to All....And
Second
sorry to mass massage u All,But
Our site XXX is about to launch for helping all the writers and industry profession to become better writers....
------------
Hi to All....And
Second
sorry to mass massage u All,But
Our site XXX is about to launch for helping all the writers and industry profession to become better writers....
------------
My
email address was one of nine addresses listed in the “to” box. I changed the
site name to XXX for two reasons – no need to advertise for them and no need to
embarrass anyone at this time. This is a learning opportunity.
What’s
wrong with that opening? You can probably notice at least a few things. Let’s
list them.
Talk
to Me
The
email wasn’t addressed to me. My name was simply part of a list. Any good
writer and especially a marketing writer recognizes that you must speak to one
person. The reader of your writing must believe that you are talking directly
to him or her.
Don’t
Spam
My
name was part of a list of people who I didn’t know. That means that each of
those recipients has the potential to abuse the list by Spaming the list. That
indiscretion can cause stress to recipients and demonstrates the sender’s lack
of awareness, caring and professionalism.
Personalize
Because
the email was sent to a list my name was not included in the message. Instead
it starts with “Hi to All” which is impersonal. When you send a message you
want to connect with the recipient by using their name. The rule is to
personalize.
Mind
Your Typos
At
first glance five typos jumped out. If you study it again you might discover 12
or more typos and grammatical errors. Before
they try to help others with writing they might want to learn how to write. One
could argue that this person is simply a sales rep and not one of their
writers. That might be true, however, this message represents the company. If
the expert resources can’t help this writer why should you buy the service?
Be
Sincere
There
is an apology for the mass massage (message) which is followed by the word “but”
– which effectively retracts the apology. When a person tells you they are
sorry but… you know they are really saying that they aren’t sorry.
Who
Cares?
Apparently
the reason for the impersonal, offensive and unprofessional nature of this
message is to announce a new website – as if that would be important to any of
the recipients. How many websites are
launched every day? Who cares?
Are
You Talking to Me?
Why
should the recipient care? What is the benefit? Apparently the promise is to
help “all the writers and industry profession (professionals) to become better
writers”
A
few things wrong with this phrase:
It
switches to third person “the writers” which distances it from the recipient.
It
uses the absolute “all the writers” which also does not talk to the recipient.
The
use of “all” also suggests that the target audience isn’t clearly identified.
When
an absolute (all) is used it is usually a lie.
As
marketers we can learn from the triumphs and failures of others. This
particular email contained mistakes that you can avoid.
I
might examine the rest of this email in another post.
George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter
