Are you subscribed to too many mailing lists ...? Here's how you can tell ...

31 replies
Hi Warriors,

I suspect a lot of us are subscribed to too many mailing lists.

Are you one of them?

And if you're not sure, how do you tell?

Simple ...

Be completely objective about this one and ask yourself if you're overwhelmed by information from 30, 40 or even 70++ sources or gurus (you name it).

Put another way, is all this email reading taking precious time away from you taking action?

To put things into perspective, I've got a close friend who's been sucking information ravenously over the last 24 months or more and I'm definitely sure he's knows much more than the average IMer here and yet, he's still hardly breaking $50/month (can you believe this?)

One of the principles I keep sharing with friends is this ...

POSITIONING!

Start taking action and be a producer rather than a consumer.

Start being the player on the field rather than a watcher.

Closely related to my original point, it's my belief that we should be hungry for action rather than hungry for info.

Often times the truth is that we don't need to know THAT MUCH in order to move forward and proceed.

Ok, enough said.

Hope this aids some of you ahead of 2010.

Have a good one fellas!

P.S. Be on a low info diet and keep IT simple!
#lists #mailing #subscribed
  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    I am on none but a few I have purchased from... I do not signup for no opt-in list... So I would say .. Nope I am not subscribed to too many mailing list.

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    I'm the poster boy of being on way too many lists. I'll bet I'm on more of them than any other Warrior. I think I need help. Seriously. But I genuinely enjoy a lot of them. Tony Shepherd puts out great emails, for example.

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author Avdo
    I'm subscribed on too many I think..but I'm never overhelmed with infos!
    I simply ignore everything when I'm in my creation phase..

    When I do have some "time to waste", I do read some emails, but not every email offcourse, I choose by the sender, and then by the headline.. Sometimes I discover a lot of good things from those emails I actualy do read
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    • Profile picture of the author KarlWarren
      Originally Posted by Avdo View Post

      When I do have some "time to waste"
      You have inspired my new motto...

      When I do not have time to waste, I do not waste time

      Excellent work.
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      • Profile picture of the author johnknow
        Ok, maybe I shouldn't sign up for so many lists. I have 4 email accounts strictly for lists and in any single day I'll get a bit over 100 email's a day on each addy. But dang it, FREE STUFF, I can't resist free stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author snyder7
    I am not on too many. I'm on Jeremy Kellsal's and Bryan Zimmerman's plus a couple of health niches.

    However I do get tons of emails from some other stuff because stupid that I am, I made the mistake of clicking yes on an optin form that had listed a ton of different stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kelvin Chan
    Great inputs guys ... very interesting.

    What about the rest of you?
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Hitson
    Hey Kelvin,


    I am on 2 lists. Those are for software updates.

    I do not sign up for peoples lists.
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    "Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody"
    -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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    • Profile picture of the author LJNetworking
      I am on way too many lists. I have thought about cleaning house, but occasionally each list provides some value to me.
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  • Profile picture of the author grandstar
    I hardly open my list mails. My problem is I like visiting this forum.

    Time to delete this forum????????????????????????
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  • Profile picture of the author Damien Roche
    Wow, people still sign up to email lists? ahahaa it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever been on a mailing list where I wasn't bombarded with offer after offer.

    Also, I don't think I've ever been on a list which offered *UNIQUE* and original content that I couldn't find elsewhere. After all, that is the only incentive..? Marketers can barely manage that.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ron Hitson
      Tell me about it.

      I wish they would just say- "Sign up for my sales pitch, because you know it's coming, right?"






      Originally Posted by Damien Roche View Post

      Wow, people still sign up to email lists? ahahaa it's ridiculous. I don't think I've ever been on a mailing list where I wasn't bombarded with offer after offer.

      Also, I don't think I've ever been on a list which offered *UNIQUE* and original content that I couldn't find elsewhere. After all, that is the only incentive..? Marketers can barely manage that.
      Signature
      "Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody"
      -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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    • Profile picture of the author Richnana
      You just hit the email postman on the HEAD!. Lists owners no longer offer any real value they just make offers... which is getting to be a real turn off. No one has an ezine anymore, they just joint venture with other list owners to keep sending and sending.

      My New Year's resolution is to get off of all the lists. And Please don't sign-up for one of those give-a-way events, you will be sorry.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kelvin Chan
    Heh ... over the past few days, I've cleaned up so much on my inbox I'm a lot more productive now.

    The power of low info diet!
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  • Profile picture of the author bravo75
    I have unsubscribed from all mailing lists. Since then, I have actually started to make money
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  • Profile picture of the author meldave
    I couldn't have said it any better myself I totally agree with Avdo!

    Dave
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  • Profile picture of the author markgilbert
    Sounds like an Alcoholics Anonymous group here.... The first step to recovery is admitting you need help! ...lol

    Actually, when I first got started in IM, I signed up for every free report, subscribed to every newsletter I could. I was getting hammered with so many emails and offers daily that I couldn't keep up 12 hours a day. But what it did was give me a first rate education on so many methods and opportunities, that the education was invaluable.

    Now, I'm just subscribed to maybe 20+ with a certain email address where they are all filtered into a mail box. When/if I have time, I go through some of them, scanning for launches, and the newest, latest offer. This keeps me abreast of the market, new twists, launch methods, and ad copy being used, helping me understand trends, while at the same time not mixing it with other emails in my IN box.

    Invaluable stuff, actually! You can never stop learning, or get too much education in this business. And if you're not up on the latest greatest JV offer, you're not abreast with the industry you're trying to make money in. Just make sure you monitor and limit the time spent on this. It doesn't make you money unless you take the gems and put them to use like Kelvin has so eloquently said.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Merriman
    I sign up for many, many lists but thanks to a filter I set up, they all go to a certain label in my Gmail.

    That way I have a huge resource available for me at any time, but it never interrupts my inbox.
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  • Profile picture of the author nturgeon
    I used to be subscribed to many, many mailing lists in the beginning as, much like markgilbert stated above, it was a great way to learn. However, two weeks ago I unsubscribed from most lists as they were all the same and some were even promoting the same products. I've only kept the ones that still teach me new things, provide great unique information or is a required list for software updates.

    I'm still on Kevin Riley's list. Recently, Lisa Parmley has become a favorite of mine for her expertise in SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author StevenK
    It seems that if you want any information, you have to opt-in.

    Yes, too many subscriptions

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Fladlien
      I'm on SEVERAL HUNDRED lists... and I manage them very effectively thanks to a hot tip my friend Marlon Sanders gave me (guy is a genius!).

      what I do is create a gmail account JUST to sign up to autoresponders. Then once a week (and once a week only!) I log in and set aside 45 minutes to go through them. That's it.

      I mostly go through them for market research... and ideas for my new product launches... and to also get a pulse on what other marketers are sending MY target audience and my clients and customers.

      And then (and only then!) will I buy something "cold" if an email gets my attention. So I do my "shopping" once a week.

      One final thing - IF you want to be an internet marketer, but you a repulsed by being on people's lists - then you're going to have a VERY HARD time making it in this game. YOUR mindset is all messed up.

      Be on as many lists as you can PROPERLY MANAGE and HANDLE so it is more of a benefit than a hindrance.

      -Jaosn
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      Co-creator of WP Twin. Perhaps the most expensive yet most reliable wordress cloning tool on the market. We've definitely been used more successfully than all other options :)

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

        One final thing - IF you want to be an internet marketer, but you a repulsed by being on people's lists - then you're going to have a VERY HARD time making it in this game.
        I've been on one marketer's list for over two years. I've watched it "recycle" three times. Every time I get mail from him, I compare this cycle's email to the last few cycles.

        Do you think I learn something from every single email he sends me now?

        You bet your arse I do.
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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 DASHBOY
    Yeh totally agree I have been on far too many lists which wastes your own time. You can spend day after day going through these and before you know it you've got nothing done!

    So now I make sure I have a spare email account for any sign ups that way I only go in to see what the competitions up to.

    Thanks

    Graeme
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  • Profile picture of the author William Gilreath
    Jason thank you for the advice. What you said makes a lot of sense to me. I am going to apply your theory.

    Thanks,
    William
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  • Profile picture of the author rondo
    I'm on about 25 lists.
    I like to know what's going on and what the competition is up to!


    Andrew
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  • Profile picture of the author swood01
    I am on a few list but before I get on a list, I research on Google and learn a little about who's list I will be getting on. You can get some great advertising ideas at times.
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    • Profile picture of the author peter_act
      The "unsubscribe" button is the best thing since sliced bread.

      Incidentally, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by peter_act View Post

        Incidentally, what was the best thing before sliced bread?
        A knife, so you could slice your bread.
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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 wordwizard
        Yes and no. Like Jason, I'm on hundreds of listss, and they clutter up my inbox. But I mostly use them for research and/or ignore them, and/or they're follow-ups from products I bought and I don't want to lose track of some people -- or the updates.

        And research not only on products and selling strategies, but I haven't completely abandoned my old profession, linguistics scholar, and I'm fascinated with how people sell stuff, so I'm using these emails for that research as well.

        Originally Posted by David Merriman View Post

        I sign up for many, many lists but thanks to a filter I set up, they all go to a certain label in my Gmail.

        That way I have a huge resource available for me at any time, but it never interrupts my inbox.
        How DO you filter them so they all go to that special Label? Could you give us some detail? I have no idea how to do that without looking at them (unless, I suppose, I will label each of those email senders... is that what you do?)

        Originally Posted by Jason Fladlien View Post

        I'm on SEVERAL HUNDRED lists... and I manage them very effectively thanks to a hot tip my friend Marlon Sanders gave me (guy is a genius!).

        what I do is create a gmail account JUST to sign up to autoresponders. Then once a week (and once a week only!) I log in and set aside 45 minutes to go through them. That's it.

        I mostly go through them for market research... and ideas for my new product launches... and to also get a pulse on what other marketers are sending MY target audience and my clients and customers.

        And then (and only then!) will I buy something "cold" if an email gets my attention. So I do my "shopping" once a week.

        One final thing - IF you want to be an internet marketer, but you a repulsed by being on people's lists - then you're going to have a VERY HARD time making it in this game. YOUR mindset is all messed up.

        Be on as many lists as you can PROPERLY MANAGE and HANDLE so it is more of a benefit than a hindrance.

        -Jaosn
        Great plan, Jason. Yup, Marlon is brilliant!

        I'm doing something like that, but not consistently enough. I need to set aside ONE inbox for all that stuff and not give out my regular email box anymore.

        What do you do when you buy stuff though? those too come with lots of emails? But then again, you mostly sell products, right?

        Elisabeth
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        • Profile picture of the author Jason Fladlien
          Elisabeth - that's a good point... those I buy things from I then put into the email account my assistant goes through... and then she will forward things to me that she thinks is helpful.

          BTW, one of the best things to do is to sign up for lists OUTSIDE of your niche. Several break throughs I've gotten and applied to internet marketing came from lists that are outside of the niche.

          The other thing - if you know how to manage the lists your on then you'll learn some really great things. Like when you sort by sender, and watch specific email sequences... you'll notice things you'd otherwise miss - since you can see them sequentially.

          Other cool tips - one time when I was scanning through my email list inbox, I noticed one that popped out at me - because it had a mis-spelling in the title. Interesting. So I intentionally sent out an email with a mis-spelling in the headline also - and it got one of the best clickthru rates I've seen. So very occasionally I use that to increase open rates.

          And of course, I buy LOTS of products... so I like having email lists to find things that are good for business. Of course, I also use almost everything I buy, so it's profitable for me to buy

          Lastly - occasionally I'll catch another markter selling solo ezine spots in an email. We jump all over those - I buy them all the time because I've always made a positive ROI from them and gotten some great customers. Again, would've missed that opportunity if I wasn't on their list.

          Plus - when it comes to future joint ventures... one of the best ways to close the deal is to be familiar with them and how they operate their business... if you can go in to your email autoresponder inbox and before talking to them, get a look at the last 20-30 emails they sent out...

          Well let's say I've closed more than one big deal that way.

          -Jason
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          Co-creator of WP Twin. Perhaps the most expensive yet most reliable wordress cloning tool on the market. We've definitely been used more successfully than all other options :)

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          • Profile picture of the author Kelvin Chan
            Originally Posted by Jason Fladlien View Post


            Other cool tips - one time when I was scanning through my email list inbox, I noticed one that popped out at me - because it had a mis-spelling in the title. Interesting. So I intentionally sent out an email with a mis-spelling in the headline also - and it got one of the best clickthru rates I've seen. So very occasionally I use that to increase open rates.
            Great point Jason.

            Most IMers don't realize that misspellings can make them a bundle.

            I personally use a lot of misspelled keywords to drive a rather decent %-age of traffic and sales each and every single month.

            And that's another story altogether.
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