A new low is reached in email subject lines

avoid going anywhere near that kind of blatant lie in a desparate attempt to draw people to open.

that would be my suggestion. I got that email as well and it still sits unopened.

Same deal for me. Immediately unsubscribed.

LOL.

thank god, we only have to "Click, To Clean" our crap filters...
otherwise things could get messy

oh, in regards to the email...

This is a good reminder of the technique of using what's currently
happening in the media to your advantage and to use in your email marketing,

however,..

this is the poor example to use... (what NOT to do) lol. You just have to switch yours
to a more positive mind frame etc.

James Schramko, that gave me chuckle.

Once I received this email:

that's what I replied:

he replied:


me:
he:

I think that's the point. As long as those subject lines and messages create sales they will be used. But I will not stop telling those marketers when I'm pissed.

Yes. Oprah should woop that dudes ass.

Here are some techiques:

If you don't want to join a list but they 'force' you to (say to get a download for a product you purchased etc) then:

a) try view source
b) use 10 Minute Mail
c) use a separate Gmail account

If you want to join the list then use a gmail account that you can check every few days.


Check them every once in a while and get rid of anything that you can live without.

If you are just trying to 'learn' from them or 'keep in the loop' then you may consider using Internet Marketing News Watch as your home page, RSS feeds from blogs or twitter instead.

I think subscribing to 'learn' is a bad excuse. It costs you so much in the long run. Just be yourself and do what you feel is right and that is better than copying others. Most of them suck.


If people send junk nuke it. They want to steal your time and they will milk you until you have nothing left.

Sharon thanks for sharing! I received the same e-mail the other day.

Becky,

Yeah. It's a 'he.' One of the nicest guys in the business, too.

Nice guy or not, that subject line as a teaser is disgusting. Fortunately, it's so extreme that it's unlikely to be copied as much as "bad news" or "Personal from [Marketer]."

This is just stunningly bad.

Before anyone starts with the "If they unsubscribe, they weren't going to buy anything anyway" crap, rethink that. I count 9 people in this thread (so far) who've bought stuff from me and who find this cause for an immediate unsubscribe.

If you absolutely MUST piss off your customers, do it with an uncomfortable truth. Those, at least, offer some value. Lying to them and then saying, "Yeah, I lied to you. I had to, to get your attention," is so wrong in so many ways...

What message do your customers get from that? That you're willing to lie to them? That you're desperate? What do they infer from those things?

Gawd, what a nasty way to get attention.


Paul

Michael, He didn't suddenly become a bad person. As a human being, he's still the same as before. I have a strong hunch that, if you met him, you and he would get along famously. Seriously.

Yes, this was a nasty subject line. Yes, it will cost them in terms of reputation, as it should.

Don't confuse doing something dumb with being evil. If you start down that road, you'll end up places you don't want to be.


Paul

I unsubscribed as well.

I am also unsubscribing from a subject lines that say...

"Personal"

Just an FYI...while no names have been mentioned in this thread, from a
couple of the posts made here, I was able to figure out who this person is.

And if clueless me can do it, anybody can.

Point is, let's be careful about what we say.

There is the "technical" part of rule 1 of this forum and then there is the
spirit of the rule, which to me, appears to have been broken.

I am in no way condoning what this person did by sending out that email (I
would have unsubbed myself) but I do feel the spirit of the rule has been
slightly violated in this thread.

Just my opinion for what it's worth.

I agree with everyone else....I think I've unsubscribed from at least 10 well known marketer's lists in the last week or so, just because of this crap.
Blatantly commercial spamming is all it boils down too....cross promoting each other's junk. Nothing of value included in their emails except their affiliate links.....die guru die....I was keeping them for a swipe file, but who wants to copy or use as a reference something so offensive...not I.

Anyway, my email box is looking much better for it, some of these clowns were emailing 2 and 3 times a day pumping the same product (only 3 left, going fast, get it now, gone soon, etc.)..morons.

I GOT the same email yesterday trashed and unsubscribed i dont under stand people some times stuff like that isnt funny but im not going to lie i seen hospital and clicked immediately i didnt even look at the name. stupid marketing trick.

Hi Warriors,

I guess with so many of you unsubscribing, you didn't get the follow up
to that one... I hadn't opened the first one and opened the follow up first!
(for those wondering why I didn't un-subscribe before getting the 2nd email )

it went like this:

******************************************
subject: "ignore the last email (oops)"
******************************************
"This is just a quick note about that "hospital" email you
received late last night.

Boy am I embarrassed.

That email was *not* intended for you.

I know many of you were confused by it.

That email didn't make much sense, did it?

That's because the email was *only* intended for members
of my membership site xxxxxxxxx.

xxxxxxxxxx members know me very well and know that
(name on first email) and I often joke around, make personal
digs at each other, etc.

It's just good clean fun. Nothing more.

Anyway, that's what happened... I do apologize.

There was no clever marketing ulterior motive or subject
line trickery behind this I can assure you (even though some
of you might still be skeptical).
***********************************************

I guess more people then he bargained for un-subscribed!

Regards, Pete

wow, that's just horrible.

what about:

[name] loses his balls in a ski accident?

or

[name] caught smoking pot with michael phelps?

or

[name] takes a dump on the White House lawn... Obama cleans up...


...

would those go over better? ;-)

Would this be an acceptable headline ?



Harvey

Crap, I'm not on any lists either.

I'd love to see the email.

Cmon, somebody PM a homeboy!

I got the email, read a few lines, and unsubscribed. It was a cheap and nasty trick to use that subject heading. The irony is that the person concerned had built a reputation for his ability to attract subscribers! In one stupid moment he's trashed his reputation.

Ivan

I feel the need to comment on this topic, because I see two trends that annoy me:

First, I don't understand why people make these pathetic attempts to get their e-mail open. If your subscriber cares about what you have to say, it's probably because they already respect your opinion and will open your e-mails no matter what the subject line is.

If they don't care, a stupid subject line won't help. It's a much better long term solution to become trustworthy and have people open your email because it's from you than to trick people into opening it with some outrageous subject line. If you have to do the latter, chances are your relationship with your list needs improvement.

That said, I see a bunch of comments along the line of "I liked this guy and his stuff but I'm unsubscribing bla bla bla". Why? If his newsletter provides useful information, why kneecap yourself? Shoot him off an email to let him know he's an idiot and carry on. Especially if this is a one-time deal. People make mistakes sometimes.

Doug, In the words of the infamous Lobo, "Bite me, fanboy." I don't kiss anyone's butt, friend or otherwise.

Recognizing that a person can be good, and still do something tacky and unwise, is hardly "brown nosing." Most people figure that out by the time they hit 17 or so, and make an embarrassing mistake of their own.

Hearing both sides of a story is generally something folks learn around that time, too.

Michael,

If you knew him, you'd know the tone that goes with the line. When I read that it was a joke, I believed it, based on the way a lot of us used to razz each other on conference calls and teleseminars. No-one ever needed to explain the jokes.

It was worse in person, but you can do that when there's no audience.


Paul

Shannon

It was "selling" a contest. Yes, and I'm not going to try and tell anyone how they should feel about or act on that. Not my business. And, as I've said repeatedly, I still don't like the choice of subject lines. Not even a little bit.

The other half of the issue is the intent. As I said, I believe him when he says it was supposed to be a joke. It's in character with how he jokes with his friends, and that is something I have direct personal experience with.

What you choose to do with the info is a matter of personal choice, and not anything anyone can debate. It's your preference. I'm simply pointing out that it's not nearly as cut and dried as it first appeared.


Paul

You know just sometimes those emails can be on the up and up.

I've done it myself, tested my link before sending out then the gremlins have hit. Shame to tar everyone with the same brush

Kim

Yes of course I have

I just wanted to make sure people knew there are some genuine plonkers out there lol

This is a fascinating thread.

I didn't get the original email, have no idea who sent it, can't be bothered to try to guess and don't really want to know. After all, I'm not on his list so it is none of my business.

What IS my business though is effective communication with my own list. And from that point of view the thread is a very useful education.

What I take from all this are the following points that I'll be sure to remember for the future:

1. Subject lines of emails are a very emotive subject.

2. Never forget that your sense of humor a) probably doesn't translate to the written word very well, b) is unlikely to be shared by your readers and c) can easily offend.

3. You are only as popular as the last acceptable message you sent out.

4. Readers are always looking for an excuse to unsubscribe - your job is to not give it to them today.

5. Acting in haste often generates unwanted knee-jerk responses.

6. If you screw up, admit it loudly, quickly and truly apologetically. Don't make excuses or you'll just add looking like a weasel to your offence.

7. The lines you should never cross have been drawn with good reason.

8. Do a ton of good things and nobody will comment. Do an ounce of bad and the sky will fall on you.

9. Never look, act, behave or appear to be desperate.

10. Don't tell lies - even in jest. It is the fastest way to lose friends, subscribers and customers.

11. Subject lines are over-rated. If you need tricks to get your emails opened, there is something wrong with your emails. A good ezines or newsletter is one that readers look forward to regardless of the subject line. Work on improving the quality of your output before you resort to tricks. Two recent newsletters that I received were opened and read within minutes of their arrival - not because of the subject lines, but because of who they came from and what I've come to expect from them. Their subject lines were: '[TalkBiz] Two things. Both quick' (in fact, everything after the closing square bracket was superfluous) and 'ClickBank Guide: Issue 91'. Paul and Harvey grab attention because of who they are and what they can offer - not with silly tricks.

Martin

Hi Michael,

The war-makers are resting (and not 'arguing in their spare time').

Right, Paul?

Really? By whose decree?

That aside, there is a distinction between excuse and explanation. It might be useful to you to look up both words and note the differences.


Paul

Why would a nation still admire a president who lied about sex?