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What ever happened to CONTENT in email marketing?

by ChiefinTX
20 replies
Something I have noticed (from WSO sellers especially) is that once you get on their list, every email received is a pitch for a product. Most often another Warrior's product, and sometimes another one of their own products. But, it's always a pitch.. and a very weak one in most cases. A short paragraph or two recommending the product, "get it NOW," "it's a no brainer," blah, blah, blah... Sad..

Whatever happened to providing insight, comments, perspectives on various trends, or tips on cool 'finds' out there on the World Wide Web?

Whatever happened to Content, Content, Pitch, Content in email marketing..

Yes, I know I can 'unsubscribe' AND I DO... It's just disappointing that no one provides more than just a pitch in every email.. Again, I say sad...

A good example of a content provider in email, in my opinion, is Andy Jenkins. He may have a "link" in the email, but in almost every email he provides some great information on the various forms of marketing, etc.. BEFORE THE LINK...

OK, now that I have 'dissed' quite a few WSO sellers for lack of content in emails (sorry.. there are some fine products and real nice people :-), ..now I would like to ask for anyone's recommendation in this respect:

Are you on someone's email list that provides GREAT content? Even content WITHOUT a pitch for a product on more than a few occasions?

Post it here and I'll check it out.

For now, off to unsubscribe from a few lists.
#content #email #happened #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Paul Myers Talk Biz News always provides great content. Then there's Martin Avis, and I also write a content based newsletter.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

    Whatever happened to Content, Content, Pitch, Content in email marketing..
    My opinion is that we basically stopped saying "stay in touch with your customers" and started saying "THE MONEY'S IN THE LIST."
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author blillard
    Now you know exactly how not to treat your list. I to agree that it is less and less content being offered and more pitches. The ones that do that I just get off their list.
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    • Profile picture of the author TopKat22
      Originally Posted by blillard View Post

      Now you know exactly how not to treat your list. I to agree that it is less and less content being offered and more pitches. The ones that do that I just get off their list.
      I agree. That is exactly how I learned what NOT to do to my lists.

      I have been unsubcribing to lists, unfriending people on facebook and unfollowing people on twitter that only promote, promote, promote.

      I try to give to people what I want from people and add value.

      BTW, I also let the people know why I unsubscribed when given the opportunity.

      :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

    Whatever happened to Content, Content, Pitch, Content in email marketing..
    People started learning from the misinformation of others: they got the point that email marketing makes sales, but they overlooked all the stuff about "building relationships", "establishing credibility", "trust" and "the strength of the recommendations".

    They pay attention only to the easy parts and the "taking action parts", ignoring the "theory parts" and the underlying purpose and logic, with the inevitable result that what they're trying to do has been corrupted and doesn't work.

    It's no different from any other aspect of internet marketing, in that regard.

    People do the same with SEO (they hear "numbers of backlinks" and "page ranks" and that's all they repeat: they ignore "quality" and "relevance", so they're misinforming others and what they say and do doesn't actually work).

    People do the same with article marketing, too (they hear "article directories" and "click-through rate" and "backlinks" and that's all they repeat: they ignore "relevance" and "highly targeted traffic", so they're misinforming others and what they say and do doesn't actually work).

    Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

    Yes, I know I can 'unsubscribe' AND I DO...
    Same here. :rolleyes: :p

    Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

    Are you on someone's email list that provides GREAT content?
    Yes - TalkBiz News, mentioned above.
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  • Profile picture of the author kennethtang
    Paul Myers, hands down. Plus Marlon Sanders. And Michael Campbell. Don't know much about and not much of a fan of anyone else. I'm a Net marketing dinosaur these days. My head hurts when I hear social media, my ears ring when I hear "offline marketing" and my teeth shudders when I hear "mobile marketing" LOL.

    Anyways, if you can go with only one, go with Paul and Marlon. I know, bad logic and math ;-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    We don't all market that way...

    ...and you don't have to remind the ones that do

    I will often try to get them to my blog as most people don't seem to have time (or desire) to read a lot of text in an email...
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    • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
      Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

      Whatever happened to Content, Content, Pitch, Content in email marketing..
      truth? That method does not always work best.

      Nobody likes to hear this though.

      Case in point:

      I have 2 lists, each built several years ago (over the course of 1 yr).

      They both had over 2k opt-ins and were built from the same squeeze page and traffic, I just rotated between the 2 lists that people were subscribed to.

      One list I was very heavy on the content with, the other was just promo's.

      I made more money from the heavy promo list up front, and make just as much from it today (even though it has had a lot more unsub's over the years).

      If a warrior were on that "no content" list, they would probably have come here and said stuff like "this is an example of how NOT to run your list", when in reality they had been part of a split test, and it had in fact worked out quite well.

      Test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test..... see first hand what works best for your situation.

      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      They pay attention only to the easy parts and the "taking action parts", ignoring the "theory parts" and the underlying purpose and logic, with the inevitable result that what they're trying to do has been corrupted and doesn't work.

      It's no different from any other aspect of internet marketing, in that regard.
      while I agree immensely with this observation regarding a lot of IM'ers (seriously, I think it is the single biggest reason some succeed when others fail), in my experience it is not always the case with how one runs their list(s).
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      -Jason

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      • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
        Originally Posted by jasonl70 View Post

        truth? That method does not always work best.

        Nobody likes to hear this though.

        Case in point:

        I have 2 lists, each built several years ago (over the course of 1 yr).

        They both had over 2k opt-ins and were built from the same squeeze page and traffic, I just rotated between the 2 lists that people were subscribed to.

        One list I was very heavy on the content with, the other was just promo's.

        I made more money from the heavy promo list up front, and make just as much from it today (even though it has had a lot more unsub's over the years).

        If a warrior were on that "no content" list, they would probably have come here and said stuff like "this is an example of how NOT to run your list", when in reality they had been part of a split test, and it had in fact worked out quite well.

        Test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test..... see first hand what works best for your situation.
        Another approach to test is to send content and a
        related offer in the same e-mail.

        However, instead of just any ol' content - give away
        content that people enjoy and that also moves them
        towards the sale.

        The strategic use of giving away content that sells is
        something that few infomarketers learn - so they end
        up giving away the farm and not selling much either.

        Testing your approaches is key though to find out what
        works for YOUR list and YOUR style.

        Dedicated to mutual success,

        Shaun
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        • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
          Originally Posted by Shaun OReilly View Post

          Another approach to test is to send content and a
          related offer in the same e-mail.

          However, instead of just any ol' content - give away
          content that people enjoy and that also moves them
          towards the sale.
          This is actually the method I settled on with that niche It's not heavy content though (ie, a long email) - I keep it to a few paragraphs max, related to the product's topic, and ususally have something along the lines of "if you like this info, you might be also be interested in this: my-link dot com".
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          -Jason

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  • Profile picture of the author ChiefinTX
    Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check out those folks today.. Appreciate the feedback. I was wondering if I was the only one that noticed this as I hadn't heard or seen much of a discussion on it (although admittedly I haven't made an exhaustive search for it).

    And, yes, I most definitely will NOT just send a short email recommending a WSO, and then another one, and another, then another, etc., etc... (with ZERO content offered along the way)..

    I see it kind of like an addiction: Create a WSO yourself... Build a list through the sale of it, then you get a chance to recommend a fellow Warrior's WSO... cha-ching! Every time you send a ZERO content email recommending a WSO, money shows up... I suspect that is a hard habit to break!! LOL... understandably.. I mean, if people are buying the stuff up, how can someone like me say "it's sad the way your treat your list." They can just claim "it's working."

    interesting..
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    • Profile picture of the author kennethtang
      Originally Posted by ChiefinTX View Post

      And, yes, I most definitely will NOT just send a short email recommending a WSO, and then another one, and another, then another, etc., etc... (with ZERO content offered along the way)..

      I see it kind of like an addiction: Create a WSO yourself... Build a list through the sale of it, then you get a chance to recommend a fellow Warrior's WSO... cha-ching! Every time you send a ZERO content email recommending a WSO, money shows up... I suspect that is a hard habit to break!! LOL... understandably.. I mean, if people are buying the stuff up, how can someone like me say "it's sad the way your treat your list." They can just claim "it's working."

      interesting..
      Yep interesting. Been on a lot of new warriors' list...and unsubbed. They were doing exactly what you described, which I noticed a while ago. Acting a bit like "leeches" if you please.

      If you ("you" as in the generic) here's a simple procedure I recommend: http://www.warriorforum.com/blogs/ke...ior-forum.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Tomos Wyn
    Most don't give two hoots about providing content to the subscribers and building up a relationship with them. They only see them as a source of income.

    I have some emails from some WSO's and most of the time they go straight to my spam box.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    My IM/MMO/Biz Opp newsletter is more like a fun hobby for me and not what pays the bills. Therefore I can give more quality content because it's a labor of love so to speak. However, the emails that get the most total sales are usually short with the focus on building some quick interest/anticipation/excitement and getting the click.
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    • Profile picture of the author GettingBetterAtIt
      Being new to the board and buying 2-3 WSO I see exactly what your talking about. I'm getting 2-3 emails a day with a simple text msg that basically says watch this linked video its the hottest thing ever.

      No reason why its hot, no context within a marketing strategy etc.

      No wonder that average person is loathe to give-up their email address.
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  • Profile picture of the author pennington33
    I love to email market but far the content goes most of it really is bad content. When it comes to email marketing i try to put a lot of thought into my campaign
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  • Profile picture of the author tpw
    If you buy from the right sellers, then it is no problem finding CONTENT in your email box.
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    Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
    Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author Coby
      Originally Posted by tpw View Post

      If you buy from the right sellers, then it is no problem finding CONTENT in your email box.
      Yup, you might even be able to keep someone like Bill on it

      On a serious note - I think it's more of finding a relationship...

      I personally offer a lot of content to my list - but I've also noticed that sometimes the content emails get more unsubs than a promo...

      Even though I don't send an offer everyday - I still send an email almost every day and some people will just not like you no matter what you do...
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    The last thing I want on my list is a bunch of people who want free content...

    If you want content go to my blog or join one of my membership sites, the list is a marketing tool. So market to it

    Here is how this list thing works...

    The people who like what you do stay, the people who dont like what you do unsubscribe, and thats exactly how it should be.

    Most people dont want to read long ass emails with a load of content in, they want short and to the point.

    Folks here have mentioned Pauls newsletter, and i will be the last person to diss Paul I like him. But I hate his newsletters, content rich they maybe but there like war and peace

    Short bio in the email with enough info and curiosity built in to make me go click a link to read or find out more is what I want. I stay by the way because I like him even though i rarely read his emails past the first 2 paragraphs

    Then i scan the whole email looking for links to click

    By the way I'm pretty sure Paul doesnt care much if the people on his list like what he has to say, he writes like he does because paul likes writing it that way. And his attitude would be this is what i do stay or leave your choice

    Your list, your choice of material.

    Their subscription, their choice to unsubscribe
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    • Profile picture of the author kennethtang
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post


      Folks here have mentioned Pauls newsletter, and i will be the last person to diss Paul I like him. But I hate his newsletters, content rich they maybe but their like war and peace
      LOL!


      Short bio in the email with enough info and curiosity built in to make me go click a link to read or find out more is what I want.
      That works, too.


      By the way I'm pretty sure Paul doesnt care much if the people on his list like what he has to say, he writes like he does because paul likes writing it that way. And his attitude would be this is what i do stay or leave your choice
      Yep. That's part of the reason I like him ;-)
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