False, Vulgar Titles Getting Out Of Hand?

We lost two comedic stars recently, Robin Williams and Joan Rivers.
Both are recognized as greats in their own way. Rivers pushed the envelope
and made a carrier out of it. I respect her hard work and accomplishment
but I don't like her genre of jokes. I don't think that you are "funny" if you have
to be "vulgar" to be funny. Robins didn't have to "go there" to make his
audience laugh.

It's the same in the marketing world. Some marketers think that to get
attention they must shock you--(and yes it works) but I don't see that
as "real" marketing. Anyone can get attention by breaking the rules of
"normal" decorum. It's easy to get attention by running on the field
naked before a packed stadium. But it takes real talent to get attention
while being "conservative".

Speaking of another comedian, I always appreciated the way that
Bill Cosby never used curse words in his comedy. His acts are
"family friendly" and The Cosby Show was top rated in its day.

But to each his own I guess.

-Ray Edwards

Bill Cosby, definitely had it right, I saw that email too and would have unsubbed, had there been a link to do that in one go.

I limit the amount of lists I'm on, so only the best few email marketers actually get read on my computer. The rest get unsubscribed or sent to spam. You always have one of those options available to you.

Shock and Awe copywriters.

Being turned out by the droves. It is a lack of real ability, but, if they get some results, they can hang out the copywriter shingle and make some bux.

On the other hand, it is a vulgar world we live in.

The time of courtesy and civility have passed the masses over, it is up to the individual now.

gjabiz

PS. 20 years ago I wrote a pamphlet called Your Civility Rights, perhaps I should revise it and offer it for free as a courtesy to the rich jerks of the world (and the poor ones too).

In my personal opinion dirty jokes/plays on words like that are what a writer uses when they have nothing of substance to say.

You want me on your list, don't say anything you can't say in front of your Grandmother...

As Zig Ziglar said, “You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”

I'll thank people to keep it clean, vulgar just means that you're reaching for an audience that doesn't include me.

So if you want me to unsub from your list, you know what to do...

I'm always a day late!

Just simply ignore and move on. Unsubscribe and you're done! Everyone has their own angle and if it works for them then all the more power to them.... but they may find their unsubscribe rates rising as well. Testing, testing to see what works.

I still don't understand how it's 2014 and people are still getting "offended" by words.

In my opinion, there is a place for that kind of headline.

It is with the senders who have provided enough value and built up enough good will to take a bit of a shocking approach to get my attention for something uniquely appropriate to that kind of headline.

They generally will acknowledge (in the copy) that this is not for everyone, and maybe even apologize for using such a trick to get my attention. But then they will dazzle me with the justification for doing so, and leave me feeling like it was entirely justified.

In other words, most people are utterly unqualified or not talented enough to pull it off.

But, I wouldn't say "never".

Vulgarity suggests the user is coarse and unrefined. It brings to my mind a person's lack of education, social graces, dignity, and respect for others' feelings. Vulgarity is not taught in the classroom to my knowledge.

So when I see vulgarity in print or online it suggests, IMO, that the user is either unrefined himself or he is faking his vulgarity to somehow make a statement or invoke a response, neither of which sheds positive light on the person.

Those who choose to be vulgar choose to limit their audience, certainly an alternative for any marketer, but you have to shake your head wondering why someone would choose to limit their prospects when it is not necessary.

Vulgar words are often black listed and trigger spam filters which is another way of limiting the field of prospects.

Sure, there will always be those who say "get off your high horse" or "wake up to today's world" and castigate those who have moral or religious standards against vulgarity. No one is suggesting you change your ways.

But it seems evident to me from the majority of the responses in this thread that there are plenty of people offended by or that dislike vulgarity to the point that using it seems pointless when there are so many other better marketing strategies.

Steve

I don't mind it when marketers use the occasional curse word to get their point across or make a slightly off-color joke from time to time, but sending an e-mail with the term "jacking off" in the headline is crude and uncouth.

When I read the original post, it instantly struck me as someone who was trying to draw attention to his headline by being edgy, but missed the mark by a longshot. It might increase the open the rate a bit, but I'd be willing to bet a number of those opens would be from people like me who would open it out of morbid curiousity, but wouldn't buy from the e-mail and more than likely would be leaving the list shortly thereafter.

In response to the people who defend this type of stuff as being part of life in 2014...That may be your take on it, but there are still a large number of people who don't like it and will be offended by it. Is it really good business to send an e-mail that risks alienating a good portion of your list?

it all depends on the market you are serving, you really have to have a good understanding of who your audience is.

If you were in the pick up artist niche you could say a lot of things that you wouldn't say to a christian based audience. So just keep your audience in mind when creating content.