The Bashers Just Don't Get It..

by John Taylor

Posted: 15 years ago 16 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Yes, it's true I'm an Internet Marketer and I send
my subscribers promotional emails.

I use all sorts of list building techniques including:

Multiple opt-in forms within my sales copy and on
my blogs.
Offering valuable products as "ethical" bribes.
Tell-a-Friend scripts
Ad swaps with other ezine publishers
Listings in ezine directories
Co-Registration
Article marketing with links to squeeze pages
Unblockable pop-ups
Forum marketing
Twitter
Social marketing
Viral marketing

I use autoresponders to deliver a sequence of messages to
new subscribers and I promote my own products and other
people's products as an affiliate.

I have very clear objectives for each of my email lists. Some
of my lists are nothing more than a series of follow up messages
delivered by autoresponder with the express intention of
converting more subscribers into customers.

I run a couple of ezines and I usually broadcast when I have
something relevant to the theme of the ezine.

Let me explain something that a lot of people don't get..

In the right circumstances, it's OK to:

Send promotion after promotion after promotion to your list
Recommend other people's products as an affiliate

Why?

There are a lot of niche markets in which there are large numbers
of Information Junkies. These guys are rabid in seeking information
on their chosen topic. They are desperate to get the latest news
about new products, They're completely irrational and they're
hungry.

These people are fanatical about golf, gardening, football, stamp
collecting, gadgets, etc.

They are receptive to offers, in fact they complain when you're
not the first person to tell them about new products!

When you market to these people you're entering into a win-win
relationship.. you provide exactly what they want and they provide
you with income for taking the time to research the information.

Get it?

John

#bashers

R Hagel

15 years ago

Hey John,

I get emails from Amazon.com on a regular basis. Most of them are along the lines of, "Since you've purchased books on XYZ before, we thought you'd you want to know about this new book..."

As far as I can recall, I don't think there's ever been any "content" in those newsletters. They're purely promotional. And I love 'em, because they keep me up to date on what books are coming out on my favorite topics.

Cheers,
Becky

P.S. Of course if I ever get sick of Amazon trying to suck my wallet dry,

the solution is pretty easy: Click... unsubscribe.

Thanks
2 replies

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Jeremy Kelsall 15 years ago

John,

I honestly don't think that some people will ever get it.
They get all up in arms about the fact that people are
sending them e-mails trying to sell them things, when
they knew that was to happen when they got on the list.

Why would someone go through the trouble of compiling a list
if they weren't going to market to it?

The fact that people get so upset over this is nothing short
of ridiculous. They had no problem at all accepting the free report
or some type of free information in many cases to get on a list,
but are too damn lazy to unsubscribe when they grew tired of
getting e-mails from a particular marketer. Instead, they would rather
spend their time guru bashing and making posts on forums.

*****ATTENTION EVERYONE --- CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION****

If you opt into a list, nine times out of 10 that person is going to
market products to you in an attempt to make money.
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- bgmacaw 15 years ago
  
  In the IM niche you tend to see so many people doing it so badly that it does become tiresome, much like how someone who hasn't made a cent online has a blog that tells you how to make money online. Outside this narrow world though there's a lot of money to be had by a wide variety of techniques.
  
  I'm pretty picky about lists I subscribe to though and I'm pretty strict on filtering them to low priority or junk folders in my email. I only have 3 that make the cut to get into my main mailbox.
  
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Sticky Articles

15 years ago

Originally Posted by R Hagel

the solution is pretty easy: Click... unsubscribe.

I agree those Amazon emails are great. I found myself unconciously grabbing my credit card and buying from those recommendations and happy about it at the end of the day.

Thanks

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jasondinner

15 years ago

Originally Posted by John Taylor

Let me explain something that a lot of people don't get..

In the right circumstances, it's OK to:

Send promotion after promotion after promotion to your list
Recommend other people's products as an affiliate

Why?

There are a lot of niche markets in which there are latge numbers
of Information Junkies. These guys are rabid in seeking information
on their chosen topic. They are desperate to get the latest news
about new products, They're completely irrational and they're
hungry.

These people are fanatical about golf, gardening, football, stamp
collecting, gadgets, etc.

They are receptive to offers, in fact they complain when you're
not the first person to tell them about new products!

When you market to these people you're entering into a win-win
relationship.. you provide exactly what they want and they provide
you with income for taking the time to research the information.

Get it?

John

The same could be said about internet marketers, opportunities seekers, and people
who want to make money from home.

And I cater to that crowd.

I can't control who takes action and who won't.

And to be frank, as long as what I'm promoting do what they say and are legitimate ways to
create an income on line or to help that process somehow, it's the responsibility of the
buyer to execute self control as a consumer.

Thanks

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TLTheLiberator 15 years ago

There's nothing wrong with sending emails to the folks on your list.

That's why they subscribed in the first place so that we can keep them informed, entertained etc.

And most people love to be made aware of outstanding related offers also.

If you don't like the quality of the emails you can always un-subscribe with just a click.

But as an marketer you're supposed to email until they un-subscribe.

TL
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Scott Burton 15 years ago

I don't feel that I am a 'basher', but I do think that it is fair to say, if you tell me in the first place that the purpose of the list I'm signing up for is for coaching, or lessons, then please, have some coaching or lessons in there.

If I sign up for your 14 day ecourse, and every message I receive from you is basically like this:
Day 1. Buy this product. I'm not giving you any information for free.
Day 2. Buy this next product.
Day 3. Buy this product.
Day 4 . . .

On the other hand, if you give me something of at least minimal value in the ecourse, and then offer to sell me more information, at least you've given me something in your ecourse.

For example, if you're showing how to build a website, tell me something about how to do it. Don't make your ecourse just a "Buy these programs and these books" autoresponder.
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ArthurRose Banned 15 years ago

[DELETED]

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- Wakunahum 15 years ago
  
  I don't see why people would want to waste their time or brainpower on getting upset over something as petty as an email. (Aren't there so many more important things in life?)
  
  Unsubscribe then block the address. Now you are done with the "problem" forever without having to think about it again.
  
  Thanks
  
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Easy Cash 15 years ago

Isn't the issue about how many times you send a sales email?

For example - if you send 10 emails a week - does each one sell some new product?

Or

If you send 10 emails a week - do 9 include good information that help your subscribers with no sales spin and the other one is a sales email selling a product?

Really - it comes down to relationship building and there are plenty of gurus out there sending sales emails for EVERY email they send - just flogging the next load of crap so it is easy to see why IM gets a bad name and people look at it and think - scam.
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Anna Johnson

15 years ago

Good discussion here. Not sure the bashers are all 'bashing' the same thing but I think this is a legitimate complaint:

What I can't stand is for a marketer to tell me to sign up for his "newsletter" to get more tips on whatever the topic is but then there is not a single tip in the emails, just promos.

Sure, it's easy to do something about "newsletters' like this: unsubscribe. But these are also fair game for criticism.

What has been fascinating to me is how high the click-through rate is on the ads we run in our almost-daily newsletter. We run 4-5 real stories, as well as 3 ads and at least a couple of classified ads. I'm getting the strong impression that a good portion of our readers get our newsletter for the ads!

Which is not all that surprising when I think of all the publications I've subscribed to over the years. Whether it's my passion for marketing, law, business, movies, running, etc I have generally loved reading the ads as much as the articles!

Thanks
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John Taylor

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Anna Johnson

What has been fascinating to me is how high the click-through rate is on the ads we run in our almost-daily newsletter. We run 4-5 real stories, as well as 3 ads and at least a couple of classified ads. I'm getting the strong impression that a good portion of our readers get our newsletter for the ads!

Anna,

The experienced and successful list builders amongst
us will probably confirm that through their own test
data.

I know from my own testing that my unsubscibe rate
doesn't fluctuate much whether I broadcast pure ads,
pure content or a blend of ads with content.

John

Thanks

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Mangozoom 15 years ago

I just got over 30% click thru on an email I did to my FB list of 1500 plus subscribers.

This is for a music niche I work in and as you say ... certain markets just cant enough information.

John
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chris_surfrider 15 years ago

Very true

I often get less unsubs on pure promos than I do with my ultimate best info provided for free.

I think what matters most is what your subscribers perceive as your INTENT.

It's okay if they think you're out to make a profit - so long as there's an exchange of value. There's never a problem with that.

It becomes a problem when the subscriber sees that they're just getting the short end of the stick.

This goes back to WHY they joined in the first place, what you promised, and the tone you set in your emails.

But the bottom-line is that if you're not selling to your list, you are wasting your time and likely THEIRS as well, in most cases.

Your subscribers will buy a lot of stuff in your market, anyway.

Might as well be through you.

-Chris
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rondo 15 years ago

It's also about positioning. You need to give some thought as to what type of list you are building in the first place.

If you want a list that simply promotes day in day out, design it that way.
If you want to build a warm and fuzzy relationship list, design it that way.
If you want a list which is somewhere in between, design it that way.
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- Sonni 15 years ago
  
  Yes, the subscriber knows they will be sent stuff, but there has to be a limit to the stuff. And the stuff needs to also be helpful not just selling this that and the kitchen sink.
  
  If they use wisdom and are not bombarding me I'm good. But if they bug me all the time I don't like it. I did get one I didn't like on Valentine's Day trying to capitalize on it saying a lot of stuff on the order of if you're sad and lonely blah blah blah then you need blah blah blah I was pretty much disgusted by this.
  
  What if a person were sad and lonely isn't this a blatant attempt to play on one's fragile emotional state? To me it was going too far.
  Sonni
  
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The Bashers Just Don't Get It..

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