Why I'll NEVER unsubscribe from your list And why you can't make me

26 replies
Hi List Owner,

It appears that you are annoying a lot of people lately. How do I know this? Because on a weekly bases, ticked off list members come here and malign you for doing what you do, that is, eMail folks who signed up for your lists.

Now don't get me wrong, some of the rants against you are just telling you like it is, you do send out a lot of emails, sometimes once a day and often several times a day. And many times your email has no real value. Or does it?

You see, in all the years I've been subscribing to lists and have gotten on uncountable buyers' lists I can truthfully say I don't recall unsubscribing to even one list.

Now I'm not going to lie to you and say I open every email you send me, but, I will tell you this I do very quickly scan the subject lines that land in my in box. I'll tell you why in a minute, first let me tell you how I do it.

You see, I have a gmail account it's my main account, I never give you a throwaway or junk email account. I have filters so my friends' and family's email go to a special folder.

I sign into my gmail account and immediately click "select all." I quickly scan down the page, if your subject line grabs my attention I uncheck it.

BAM I have another subject line for my swipe file.

If I open your email and you have a great offer I buy it. If it turns out to be junk after I buy it I don't get a refund because you just gave me another GREAT idea for a future product I will create.

All I have to do is create a product that lives up to your sales letter and "swipe" your sales letter.

BAM another great idea, Another Effective sales letter and another email to add to my "effective email" swipe file. Three things for the price of one. If your product was GREAT make it 4 for 4 for the price of one.

So List owners thank you for all your wonderful swipe file building emails, thank you gMail for curating the swipe file for me. (Learned a new word this year, curation.) And Thank you weekly list ranters/unsubcribers for posting here and reminding me to write this post.

George Wright me anytime
#list #make #unsubscribe
  • Profile picture of the author Will Edwards
    Nice work George. However, I just can't stand receiving crap in my inbox, so I will not be taking up this method.

    Will
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586371].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author George Wright
      Originally Posted by Will Edwards View Post

      Nice work George. However, I just can't stand receiving crap in my inbox, so I will not be taking up this method.

      Will
      OK Will, Now you've done it. I'm off to unsubscribe from your list. Wait. Am I on your list?

      George Wright me anytime
      Signature
      "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586381].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
    Very nice share here..

    Exactly what i do on a regular basis..

    I think that us internet marketers should sign up to the maximum of list possible for above mentioned reasons.

    Cheers,

    ~Gary
    Signature
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586391].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Valid point George and that's why I'm on a number of lists I wouldn't usually stay subscribed to. If you subscribe to the right lists it's also an easy way to be notified of great new products that have just been released in your industry. Also handy to be on the lists of your competitors so you can keep an eye on what they are doing.

    For those just getting started though I wouldn't suggest getting on as many lists as possible. It can be the death of the beginner Internet Marketer. When getting started you need as little distractions as possible.

    To those people I say... unsubscribe unsubscribe unsubscribe!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586411].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JMSD
      George

      You are a "glass half full" sort of guy. Great! You clearly make the best use of those emails. But I'm with Will, here, when it comes to beginners to IM having suffered from the same level of distraction and diversions these umpteen "offers" per day produced in the earlier part of my venture into online marketing. It takes knowledge and experience which few newbies have to avoid going after the next shiny toy.

      Because of that, I called a halt and I unsubscribed from all but half a dozen trusted experts who never sent an email which wasn't full of helpful and useful content. But now, I have one account which I use to sign up to offers or when I've purchased something. I also have folders in this account into which I filter all emails and do as George does - use the good ones as swipe files. Delete those that have no value. If I need a catchy headline or a first para intro, I reach for my swipe folder. I never copy but use the good ones to compose something worthwhile. Why re-invent the wheel?

      James
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586495].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Big Al
    I've done this to create swipe material. I can't always spot an email headline I know will work but if something triggers me to open an email... there was obviously something there.

    If I open your email and you have a great offer I buy it. If it turns out to be junk after I buy it I don't get a refund because you just gave me another GREAT idea for a future product I will create.

    All I have to do is create a product that lives up to your sales letter and "swipe" your sales letter.
    This is the best thing I've read all week and an amazing idea!

    Thanks very much...! There goes any niche research for the next.... er... lifetime
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4586922].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
      George, I too rarely, if ever, unsubscribe from a list. I have also gotten some
      great ideas for subject lines, sales copy and products from reading some of
      the stuff that lands in my in box.

      Folks, you can't live in a bubble. The ONLY way to effectively compete in
      the online world is to KNOW what's going on around you.

      Thanks for a really great post George...one that I hope a lot of people here
      take to heart.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4587546].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sal64
    I agree. I have a very select list of people who's list I am on.
    Signature
    Internet Marketing: 20% Internet - 80% Marketing!
    You Won't See The Light Until You Open Your Eyes.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4587568].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webfighter
    I do unsubscribe at times but I too find Gmail extremely helpful when it comes to managing emails. I can manage all my email accounts and google apps emails from one single email, create dozens of filters to sort stuff before it lands in my inbox, have a lot of labels to sort through tons of emails easily and much more.

    I can't even imagine switching back to Yahoo. Gmail definitely has made life so much easier.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4587671].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Chri5123
    Awesome post George - Yes I too follow a similar method it works really well. There are a few things that you can do inside Gmail with your email.

    I think I remember reading how to find good sales copy with your Gmail account from you by spotting ads that Google gives you and then writing a mock email to get a perfect match!

    Awesome stuff!

    Chris Jones
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4587679].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LiftMyRank
    Not a bad idea to look for swipe files, however as others have said the constant spamming gets a little old real quick.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4587686].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author George Wright
      Originally Posted by John Moore View Post

      Not a bad idea to look for swipe files, however as others have said the constant spamming gets a little old real quick.
      Hi John,

      gMail is pretty good with spam. Spam usually goes to the spam folder, where I hardly ever look. If you signed up for a list and the list owner emailed you 100 times a day, it's not spam. Not smart, but, not spam either.

      George Wright
      Signature
      "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4588537].message }}
      • Such an awesome idea, never thought about it before.

        Is it perfectly safe to copy an email, word for word?
        Signature

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4588570].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author George Wright
          Originally Posted by GoodnightSweetRatRace View Post

          Such an awesome idea, never thought about it before.

          Is it perfectly safe to copy an email, word for word?
          No,

          Don't copy. A swipe helps you to get ideas. A swipe file gets your creative juices flowing.

          George Wright
          Signature
          "The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book." Mickey Spillane
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4589275].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
      Originally Posted by John Moore View Post

      Not a bad idea to look for swipe files, however as others have said the constant spamming gets a little old real quick.
      If you're a legitimate subscriber, it's not spam.
      Signature

      Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4616957].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MontelloMarketing
    Actually I think a hybrid of this system and the "unsubscribe instinct" are perfect.

    Use this system to swipe the good subject lines... and give each marketer a grace period to get on your good subject line list. After this period, unsubscribe from their list. Then over time you'll mostly get just the well written, compelling stuff... and little of the non-swipe worthy.
    Signature
    The Montello Group
    Copywriting|Publishing|Training
    Your Premier Conversion Cooperative

    Join Us For Free Conversion Webinars
    CLICK HERE!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4588683].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sardiusjacinth
    You really have a great business mind,In the plain fact that you can recognize an opportunity even in an annoying e-mail. thanks for the info!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4616865].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mac the Knife
    I dig this post so much! I totally understand where Will and others are coming from, but if you can dig through the bs and have the right frame of mind, there is definitely opportunity here. I take this same approach when it comes to the offline world, when networking with knuckleheads. There are plenty of people I meet who to others, seem like a waste of time, but you never know who THEY know and referrals abound from treating the right people the right way. I really appreciate the post George, good stuff!

    Mac the Knife
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4616961].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Christian Chan
    George is wright.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4617414].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ryan David
    I guess you can use it to generate ideas but I doubt syndicate gurus are testing much these days. I think most of these guys are sending their lists on kamikaze missions and hoping for the best
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4617683].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Syamsul Alam
    And of course... click delete button for the checked email.

    Or not?
    Signature
    Signature Here...
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Move your cursor to my link and it will magically turned red when you do it. Try (and click) it!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4618846].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4618953].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kea55
    lol. thats right, you get really good ideas from those "sales letters"
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4625024].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jim X
    Very interesting you should mention this! This is what I did early on without realizing it. I would sign up to people's lists to get the free gift, but I learned so much from the emails they sent me. I figured out what I liked. After a while I was signing up to lists just to get the emails!

    It's gold when you think about it. You've got the opportunity to see what the most successful people are doing to make them so successful. Seize this opportunity people!

    Thanks George,

    James
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4625095].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rach72
    Very cool, now that I actually have a list myself I should start getting back on those lists that I just unsubscribed from ....... Oh wait, I unsubscribed because I never opened their emails - Doh!
    Signature
    For PLR that Kicks Ass and Freelance Writing that'll Rock Your World
    ** New Guide for the Digital Writer**
    101 Writing Tips
    That Separate You From The Pack

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4625222].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    This is why I try to stay on the ten or so best lists I find...

    If the email worked on me then it could work on my subscribers also :p
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4625582].message }}

Trending Topics