A common sense guide to email marketing

In the last few days, I have spent some time clearing unwanted email from my inbox.

This got me thinking about email marketing.

I understand that without marketing you are unlikely to get anywhere in business and we do market via our weekly email update (every Wednesday evening – UK time) from this you can get access to a free training course on management and a whole range of other relevant  FREE information.

We get very few unsubscribes – so we must be doing something right.

But this type of update is generally in the minority.

It seems that every time I request a quote for car insurance, check out home or travel insurance, read or click anywhere – I seem to be added to list of people who are sent “newsletters” – which in reality are catalogues with items for sale. What value do I get from that! so why would I read them?

It’s a known fact that people hate to be sold to. (When was the last time you went to buy something and DIDN’T shy away from the sales person who was “hunting” you down.

It’s not hard to see that from the marketers point of view, as a previous customer, I am more likely to buy from them again. But from my point of view – I don’t have time to spend, looking through a catalogue of irrelevancy that may or may not be what I want.

Then there are the marketing strategists who just; collect, buy or or obtain large amounts of email addresses add them to a list and broadcast them. I am but a number. I know there is a healthy trade in names and email addresses.

(Here’s a tip – Sign up to buy something but call yourself Miss instead of Mrs or deliberately mis-spell your name just to see where your details end up)

With these I do get an option to unsubscribe -

“If you want to unsubscribe just click on the following link:  UNSUBSCRIBE”

But why should I unsubscribe to something that I never subscribed to in the first place?

These always seem to come from some sort of automated email sender with a “noreply” as the sender. So replying isn’t likely to do me any good.

So to anyone considering adding me to your “list”

Firstly, please don’t.

Secondly, However you dress it up (and legal eagles will probably tell you that it isn’t technically spam), you are probably breaching the terms of your internet service provider.

Thirdly,If you really want me to take your newsletters seriously,  I  would strongly advise you start by building up my trust. Show me your expertise. Give me something of value.

This isn’t a marketing blog but please feel free to share it with those people who keep sending you their ‘Offers’

(Oh and for anyone who wants a definition of spam – a good one is here)