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Warriors, please get me back into email responders

by Eoin
19 replies
I had Mailchimp autoresponders set up. The list had 3,000 people over 9 months. People got a free ebook for signing on.

Visits from email accounted for 43% of my new subscriptions.

And then Mailchimp asked me to delete the list because of a high level of spam complaints.

Warriors, please help me work out what went so bad, and how I can get back in the game.

The free ebook was "how to learn a particular language online". It's a specific language. From what I could tell, the emails were highly relevant to the subscribers. But obviously enough of them thought the contrary.

Some factors, from I could work out:
  • Getting autoresponders was also mixed in with manual mailouts when I had news. Perhaps people got sick of it if they got both an autoresponder and a manual mailout within days or hours.
  • Despite double opt-in, perhaps it was not obvious enough that you were signing up to the mailing list.
  • One of my manual mailouts was quite identical to a previous one ("I'm doing the same webinar again in case you missed the first one"). That second webinar mailout got a particularly high spam rate.
  • Perhaps asking for their first name at subscription would have helped to personalise email, helping somewhat with targetting.
  • The "From" name had my first name plus the name of the site. I though that was a reasonable compromise.
  • The unsubscribe link was at the very top of each email.
  • The emails were in HTML (with text alternative version), matching closely to the site's template. Perhaps using just plain email would make them look less automated.
Warriors, please help me get back in the emailing game.
#back #email #mailchimp #responders #warriors
  • Profile picture of the author James Campbell
    First rule for internet marketers who want to promote affiliate products:

    Do not use mailchimp.
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    • Profile picture of the author iamsuccor
      Originally Posted by James Campbell View Post

      First rule for internet marketers who want to promote affiliate products:

      Do not use mailchimp.
      Would you please elaborate on why not to use mailchimp? Is is more of a problem with how it's used, how it's set up, is it a bad program, or does it just have a bad reputation for some reason? :confused:
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      • Profile picture of the author James Campbell
        Originally Posted by iamsuccor View Post

        Would you please elaborate on why not to use mailchimp? Is is more of a problem with how it's used, how it's set up, is it a bad program, or does it just have a bad reputation for some reason? :confused:
        Do a search on this forum or read their TOS for yourself.

        They are not marketing friendly, especially affiliate marketing.

        James
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by iamsuccor View Post

        Would you please elaborate on why not to use mailchimp?
        Take a look through other threads here about Mailchimp.

        Many Warriors have built up lists at Mailchimp and lost them suddenly, for not having read/understood the terms of service.

        Some report that they've had their accounts closed down "in the night" and then subsequently been unable even to get a reply to an inquiry about it (Mailchimp later commenting that "customer support is only for people who are still customers").

        All the following are prohibited there (terms of service, section 11f):-

        • Illegal goods or services
        • Escort and dating services
        • Pharmaceutical products
        • Work from home, Internet Lead-gen, Make money on online opportunities, etc.
        • Online trading, day trading tips, or stock market related content
        • Gambling services, products or gambling education
        • Multi-level marketing
        • Affiliate marketing
        • Credit repair, get-out-of-debt content
        • Mortgages and/or Loans
        • Real estate prospecting or listing
        • Nutritional Supplements, Herbal Supplements or Vitamin Supplements
        • Pornography or nudity in content
        • Adult novelty items or references in content
        • List brokers or List rental services
        • Marketing or sending commercial email without proper permission
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          They say that the large print giveth, and the fine print taketh away.

          You, my friend, just got bit by the fine print.

          You've already identified a couple of practices that could get you a bunch of spam complaints, regardless of which service you use.

          > Sending nearly identical mailings in close proximity is one.

          > Not making it abundantly clear from the beginning that requesting the freebie also subscribes to an ongoing mailing list.

          Add in the fact that people trust the spam button more than they do opt-out links in emails, and the fact that many regard the spam button as equivalent to the delete button, and the table is set for troubles.

          Switching services may give you a fresh start, but you'll never outrun spam complaints completely.
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  • Profile picture of the author MarketItAll
    Yea your best bet would be to go with a different auto-responder either aweber or getresponse. And just try to avoid high spam keywords and send out only useful content with some promotions mixed in.
    Signature
    $1,500,000 in 14 months - OMG Machines ---> I went from $0 to $1,000,000 in under 9 MONTHS.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bish
    Have you lost your whole list?, if you have a copy can't you feed it into aweber?
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  • Profile picture of the author Eoin
    Sure, I downloaded the list for the sake of backup. Even then, I would prefer to start from new rather than trying to mail a list that hasn't worked out.

    Setting up on Aweber without improving my approach, I presume I'll just end up with the same problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bish
      Originally Posted by Eoin View Post

      Sure, I downloaded the list for the sake of backup. Even then, I would prefer to start from new rather than trying to mail a list that hasn't worked out.

      Setting up on Aweber without improving my approach, I presume I'll just end up with the same problem.
      If you already have a 3k list surely it makes sense to try and use it or re-organise it rather than start from scratch. As long as you don't constantly spam you won't have a problem with Aweber.
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  • Profile picture of the author briancassingena
    I recommend Imnica Mail, for two reasons - they are well priced, and they are not mailchimp.
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    Copywriting For Non-Copywriters: FREE 30-Day Journey
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  • Profile picture of the author theplugindude
    Use constant contact or icontact.
    They allow you to directly upload a new list and doesnt ask them to confirm.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ruby Rynne
    If you absolutely must use a free autoresponder service, try List Wire - The world's best FREE Autoresponder! (ultra IM friendly)
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Ruby Rynne View Post

      (ultra IM friendly)
      Hmmmmm ... maybe; maybe not. Opinions will differ.

      If you call having a clickable link in all your outgoing emails which readily shows everyone receiving them that you're using a free service that advertises in that way "IM friendly". How professional does that look? :confused:

      And one might also want to consider the little matter of how secure a proposition it is giving the custody of one's business's single most important asset to a free service without a longstanding track-record. Is this really a sensible business management decision?

      Deliverability is everything. Aweber costs $1 for the first month and then $19 per month. If you can't cover $20 in two months, you don't actually have a business at all.

      "Changing autoresponders in future" is bad news (for several reasons). Many people (even many enthusiastic list-builders) think it's better to start without one, temporarily, than it is to start with a free one.
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      • Profile picture of the author Eoin
        Thanks all. Looks like it will be Aweber or Constant Contact, and then just keep on truckin'.

        In fairness to Mailchimp, it wasn't the smallprint that got me. They tell you straight up that spam complaints need to be less than 0.1%. That's one in 1,000. Some of my campaigns got even 6 complaints out of 800 people. You live and learn, but there's definitely no science to it. The hardest thing I found at Mailchimp is once you start going down, you can't learn, since messing up with even one more mailing will get your account suspended. They were lenient, asked that I only delete that specific list, and were always responsive.

        Edit: this was also not an affiliate marketing list.
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      • Profile picture of the author Gary_The_Ace
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Hmmmmm ... maybe; maybe not. Opinions will differ.

        If you call having a clickable link in all your outgoing emails which readily shows everyone receiving them that you're using a free service that advertises in that way "IM friendly". How professional does that look? :confused:

        And one might also want to consider the little matter of how secure a proposition it is giving the custody of one's business's single most important asset to a free service without a longstanding track-record. Is this really a sensible business management decision?

        Deliverability is everything. Aweber costs $1 for the first month and then $19 per month. If you can't cover $20 in two months, you don't actually have a business at all.

        "Changing autoresponders in future" is bad news (for several reasons). Many people (even many enthusiastic list-builders) think it's better to start without one, temporarily, than it is to start with a free one.
        And once again we have Alexa chiming in with something negative about List Wire... shocking.

        I've said my piece on List Wire a million times already... if you can afford to pay for an autoresponder, go right ahead, but if you're looking for something free... we're here for you.

        -Gary
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        If you have an automated webinar in the IM, biz opp, or make money space, and if it already converts to cold, and/or paid traffic... I want to send free traffic, and free leads to you registration page, every single day, until it stops converting. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS NOW.

        P.P.S. Viral Marketing Doesn't Work ... Tell Everyone You Know! ;)
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        • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
          Gary,
          And once again we have Alexa chiming in with something negative about List Wire... shocking.
          Actually, she said something about a category of services. And while not everyone agrees with her points, they're worth considering. Just as yours are.

          She mentioned Mailchimp earlier, but they're not the same company, eh?


          Paul
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          .
          Stop by Paul's Pub - my little hangout on Facebook.

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  • Profile picture of the author Dwight Anthony
    Aweber is more respected as an autoresponder that works to curb spam complaints.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      If you call having a clickable link in all your outgoing emails which readily shows everyone receiving them that you're using a free service that advertises in that way "IM friendly". How professional does that look? :confused:
      I don't know how professional it looks, but I'd say adding advertising to every message is definitely "IM friendly"...

      One could make similar arguments for any third-party service provider, as far as control of business assets go.

      There are several aspects of using self-hosted AR that make third-party providers the best choice for most marketers.

      While your way may be the best long-term, I think it's better to make do, eyes wide open, than to do nothing at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidfstyles
    Personally I use Aweber and have very low spam complaints... even with a list of 40k+ subscribers. What I'd suggest is to send solid and relevant content to your list as much as you can so they actually look forward to receiving your emails. The other awesome thing about Aweber is the 'Spam Assassin' tool that lets you see how spamy your email is before sending it.

    Hope that helps,

    David.
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