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Open Letter to WSO Creators-Stop the Spam!

by jackheape
52 replies
This is not a WSO (wrong forum anyway). But I buy a lot of them, and mostly they are great stuff. But... I am getting sick and tired of getting deluged by emails from the WSO creators every time a new WSO is offered. You have to sign up for a lot of these to get updates, or even download the WSO. Which is fine. But then, the WSO author puts you on his list and then deluges you with affiliate offers. Offers that I get a dozen or more emails from the other guys whose list I am on and bought from.

Please. STOP DOING THIS! Give your buyers choice if they want to receive offers.

How do others feel about this ? I would like to know.
#creators #creatorsstop #letter #open #spam #stop #wso
  • Profile picture of the author Brendan Vraibel
    Seems like a slippery slope lately. There was a thread about this earlier but I can't seem to find it. The general consensus (which I agree with) was that it's unethical to have a forced opt in after they purchase from you but before they received the product. A lot of people also said that they didn't have a problem with it as long as it was automated. I don't really mind it because I know a lot of WSO creators have their prices so low because they want to use it as a source of lead generation which is a pretty fundamental marketing tactic.

    A simple click and you're unsubscribed anyways.
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by B and B View Post


      A simple click and you're unsubscribed anyways.

      This is true, but the OP mentioned one problem that it wouldn't address: what if there are product updates that you won't get unless you remain subscribed? Yet, you don't want the daily task of deleting emails from all the product creators you've bought from.

      It seems like it would be a good idea to give another opt-out choice: "unsubscribe me from all emails except those directly concerning my original purchase, such as any bonuses you decide to add after the sale, and of course, product updates".
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      • Profile picture of the author jackheape
        Exactly. I have started deleting the ones that are not software, which I have to keep in order to get updates.
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  • Profile picture of the author officer_iron
    Well, it sounds like the lists you are on just aren't doing it right. They need to provide tons of value to their list members, and promote to them just a little bit. Nobody wants to be on a list where all you get is advertisements.
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  • Profile picture of the author Melissa82
    Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

    How do others feel about this ? I would like to know.
    You're asking Internet Marketers to stop marketing?

    You'd have better luck asking a fly to stop flying.
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by Melissa82 View Post

      You're asking Internet Marketers to stop marketing?

      You'd have better luck asking a fly to stop flying.
      I didn't think that's what he was asking-not that they stop marketing, but that they give him the option of not getting pummeled with promotions, yet still let him receive the product updates his purchase entitles him to.

      Not taking the opt-in isn't really all that free of a choice if it means missing part of the value you spent your money to receive.

      It's even less of a free choice if his "option" is to either sign up to the list, or walk away without even getting the download he just paid for, thus losing ALL the value of the purchase. I'm pretty sure the word "opt-in", is derived from "option", and this practice makes a mockery of the word.
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      • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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        • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
          Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

          Earlier this year, we began experimenting with WSO Plus as affiliates, doing some test marketing to our buyers list. After several campaigns and analyzing the results along with customer feedback, we implemented a dual opt-out system easily enough...once we decided to add WSO Plus as a revenue stream.

          Our customers can choose to opt out of receiving 3rd party offers without losing access to product updates and offers on our own products.
          How do you implement it technically?
          By automation: subscribing them to the second list (3rd party offers) in the same time when they get added to the "update" list?
          Or...?
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          • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
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            • Profile picture of the author ShayB
              I never automatically subscribe people to a list. In my products, I have a line in there that says they can sign up for my newsletter if they'd like to and give a link.

              Am I leaving money on the table? Probably. But it's the way I prefer to do business.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Melissa82 View Post

      You're asking Internet Marketers to stop marketing?
      No ... just asking and in fact recommending those trying and failing to be internet marketers to stop spamming.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    This is just good marketing. They have you on a buyers list which is proven to convert better than any other list.

    However there needs to be an opt-out feature. Feel free to use that.
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    • Profile picture of the author jackheape
      Originally Posted by Tim_Carter View Post

      This is just good marketing. They have you on a buyers list which is proven to convert better than any other list.

      However there needs to be an opt-out feature. Feel free to use that.
      I disagree. It IS NOT good marketing. Good marketing is to develop a list and market to it, providing VALUE. Spamming a list with every single offer that comes hope, hoping to make an affiliate buck, is not good marketing. And it costs them a buying customer eventually; like me.
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      • Profile picture of the author WD Mino
        Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

        I disagree. It IS NOT good marketing. Good marketing is to develop a list and market to it, providing VALUE. Spamming a list with every single offer that comes hope, hoping to make an affiliate buck, is not good marketing. And it costs them a buying customer eventually; like me.
        Thanks Jack, I happen to agree with you. People should not be abusing their list but they do. abusing a buyers list shows absolutely no respect for the people who trusted you enough to buy out of the 300 some odd million sites you swim with they chose you. That should be a pretty great motivator to give them a reason to do it again
        -WD
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  • Profile picture of the author GMD
    Banned
    Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

    This is not a WSO (wrong forum anyway). But I buy a lot of them, and mostly they are great stuff. But... I am getting sick and tired of getting deluged by emails from the WSO creators every time a new WSO is offered. You have to sign up for a lot of these to get updates, or even download the WSO. Which is fine. But then, the WSO author puts you on his list and then deluges you with affiliate offers. Offers that I get a dozen or more emails from the other guys whose list I am on and bought from.

    Please. STOP DOING THIS! Give your buyers choice if they want to receive offers.

    How do others feel about this ? I would like to know.
    I'm not going to give my opinion either way on this issue, but I'd at least make a suggestion to you:

    While perhaps inconvenient, I'd use a special email address just for ordering WSOs.

    Don't register with your "primary" but instead get something at Yahoo! or Hotmail or AIM or whatever and when you buy a WSO, register with that email address. That way when the "spam" comes pouring in you can just delete the whole lot or cherry pick what you'd like to see as you see fit -- rather than get that stuff at your primary email address where your forced to painstakingly weed through the important and the garbage.

    But good rant LOL ...I KNOW you're not alone in your concerns!
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Vote with your unsubscribe button - it's the only way these people learn their lesson.

      Originally Posted by GMD View Post

      While perhaps inconvenient, I'd use a special email address just for ordering WSOs.
      The issue with that is when using services like Warrior Plus, the vendor will have you automatically added to their list with the Paypal email address you purchased with. Most people will use a fairly valid email address that they check often for their Paypal account so there in lies the problem.

      Originally Posted by Tim_Carter View Post

      This is just good marketing. They have you on a buyers list which is proven to convert better than any other list.
      I don't necessarily agree with this. I have purchased a lot of WSO's over the past year and the emails I have been smothered with have hardly been anything I would come close to calling 'good marketing'. They are usually from people who just promote every popular WSO that gets released in the hope of making some quick dollars. They show no genuine care about their list it's just a quick money grab for the majority of them... and it shows.

      If THAT'S good marketing then I want to be a bad marketer!
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      • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post



        I don't necessarily agree with this. I have purchased a lot of WSO's over the past year and the emails I have been smothered with have hardly been anything I would come close to calling 'good marketing'. They are usually from people who just promote every popular WSO that gets released in the hope of making some quick dollars. They show no genuine care about their list it's just a quick money grab for the majority of them... and it shows.

        If THAT'S good marketing then I want to be a bad marketer!
        What I meant was it is a good marketing tactic to collect the email. These are buyers so it is hard to argue with that.

        But you are correct. Marketing is what comes next and this is where most people fail.
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      • Profile picture of the author Fraggler
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Vote with your unsubscribe button - it's the only way these people learn their lesson.
        This is fine for info products but when you buy software you would like to be notified of the updates - and that is how the opt-in is sold in the first place.

        I've found most serious software developers won't ruin their buyers' list with over-the-top affiliate offers anyway. They provide tips on how to make the most of the software so when they have the next version ready to go you're keen to buy.

        If they do send out an affiliate promotion it is something that ties in closely with the original software. If you ask me, that's better marketing!
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        • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
          Originally Posted by Fraggler View Post

          This is fine for info products but when you buy software you would like to be notified of the updates - and that is how the opt-in is sold in the first place.

          I've found most serious software developers won't ruin their buyers' list with over-the-top affiliate offers anyway. They provide tips on how to make the most of the software so when they have the next version ready to go you're keen to buy.

          If they do send out an affiliate promotion it is something that ties in closely with the original software. If you ask me, that's better marketing!
          I agree. It is annoying when you buy a software, have to opt in to get updates and then get all the sales messages.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim_Carter
    Originally Posted by WillR View Post



    I don't necessarily agree with this. I have purchased a lot of WSO's over the past year and the emails I have been smothered with have hardly been anything I would come close to calling 'good marketing'. They are usually from people who just promote every popular WSO that gets released in the hope of making some quick dollars. They show no genuine care about their list it's just a quick money grab for the majority of them... and it shows.

    If THAT'S good marketing then I want to be a bad marketer!
    What I meant was it is a good marketing tactic to collect the email. These are buyers so it is hard to argue with that.

    But you are correct. Marketing is what comes next and this is where most people fail.
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    • Profile picture of the author Greg guitar
      Originally Posted by Tim_Carter View Post

      What I meant was it is a good marketing tactic to collect the email. These are buyers so it is hard to argue with that.

      But you are correct. Marketing is what comes next and this is where most people fail.
      Okay, okay-you feel pretty strongly about this-we get it!
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheblogger75
    Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

    This is not a WSO (wrong forum anyway). But I buy a lot of them, and mostly they are great stuff. But... I am getting sick and tired of getting deluged by emails from the WSO creators every time a new WSO is offered. You have to sign up for a lot of these to get updates, or even download the WSO. Which is fine. But then, the WSO author puts you on his list and then deluges you with affiliate offers. Offers that I get a dozen or more emails from the other guys whose list I am on and bought from.

    Please. STOP DOING THIS! Give your buyers choice if they want to receive offers.

    How do others feel about this ? I would like to know.
    I agree 100%. Don't make people sign up to your list if they don't want to. I have purchased a lot of WSO's where you need to sign up to a list to get either the whole downloa dor a part of it.

    As far as I know, it's against PayPal policy to make someone sign up to a list to get the download. Not sure why it continues...

    Give folks a choice. I'd be willing to bet at least 75% would choose to opt-in anyway.

    Better yet, include a free offer in a PDF or a shortcut that people could go to and sign up after they download the WSO. As far as updates for things like software and plugins, that's all the list should be used for.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

    But then, the WSO author puts you on his list and then deluges you with affiliate offers.
    You're buying WSOs from the wrong people. Reputable marketers don't deluge anyone with offers; they carefully select offers that appeal to their list, verify the quality of the offer, then email their list a good reason why they should buy it.

    As anyone who actually does this knows, it is impossible to "deluge" anyone with offers like this, because there simply aren't enough high-quality targeted offers out there.

    There's plenty of complete crap, though, and no shortage of people who will promote any damn thing that might make them a commission.
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    • Profile picture of the author jackheape
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      You're buying WSOs from the wrong people. Reputable marketers don't deluge anyone with offers; they carefully select offers that appeal to their list, verify the quality of the offer, then email their list a good reason why they should buy it.

      As anyone who actually does this knows, it is impossible to "deluge" anyone with offers like this, because there simply aren't enough high-quality targeted offers out there.

      There's plenty of complete crap, though, and no shortage of people who will promote any damn thing that might make them a commission.
      Unfortunately, many of the "top marketers" or gurus on here are just as guilty as the small fry like me. I would guess I get at least 3 to 4 emails a week from some of the big names. All promoting products other than their own. There are a few exceptions, but not many.

      I attended a Warrior workshop last June in N.C., which was marketed as a learning and networking opportunity. It ended up being basically on how to do a WSO and make lots of bucks. Which was ok. I learned a lot. But a common thread discussed there by the presenters was on marketing to their list.
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      • Profile picture of the author BrianMcLeod
        Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

        I attended a Warrior workshop last June in N.C., which was marketed as a learning and networking opportunity. It ended up being basically on how to do a WSO and make lots of bucks. Which was ok. I learned a lot. But a common thread discussed there by the presenters was on marketing to their list.
        Thanks for coming to the last Warrior Event, Jack.

        Glad to hear you learned a lot. Surprised you felt the net takeaway from the weekend was how to make bucks selling WSO's though.

        Maybe we'll see you again in March (open loop).
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

        Unfortunately, many of the "top marketers" or gurus on here are just as guilty as the small fry like me.
        It's not about the size of your list, it's about understanding that your list is PEOPLE, not just a number in your AWeber account you use to get stats.

        There is a very large movement right now pushing the idea of IM being a numbers game. It isn't; never has been. It's a relationship game. The people you're talking about don't get this, and will probably never get it. Unsubscribe and don't buy from them again.
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        • Profile picture of the author XtremeCash
          Vote with the unsuscribe button.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

          There is a very large movement right now pushing the idea of IM being a numbers game. It isn't; never has been. It's a relationship game. The people you're talking about don't get this, and will probably never get it. Unsubscribe and don't buy from them again.
          This ^^^ exactly.

          In almost all aspects of internet marketing, there's a kind of "majority pool" who treat everything on a purely quantitative basis (often because it's what they've been taught by people pretending to be SEO teachers of various kinds who have themselves found that they can make a living only by teaching and promoting services for beginning marketers, because the "techniques" involved don't actually produce any real income any other way).

          These are marketers (or "attempted marketers", one should say) who typically won't still be around in a year's time, but their places will, by then, have been taken by a whole new generation of newcomers, all repeating exactly the same mistakes. The turnover is absolutely huge. At any given moment, they're the majority, but they're not earning a living. (I made plenty of those mistakes, myself, when I started, but managed - partly with a lot of luck - to be one of the minority who learned, improved and survived).
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        • Profile picture of the author sal64
          I agree with this. And the reason you have this movement is because it's an easier concept to sell than build a list and actually build a relationship.

          I'd also add that the reason it's a slippery slope to the casual observer is that the disgruntled minority is usually the loudest.

          Those of us who don't care don't get on here starting threads about how cool the spamming is.

          Once again it comes down to this environment and rightly or wrongly, this is how it currently works.

          You either allow it to distract you, or you exploit it to build your business.

          It seems that the list parctices going on are by those who see the WSO as an oasis for affiliate marketing.

          Let's be honest here... compared to real aff marketing, where else can you find highly targeted traffic like you do here. Even allowing the $40 etc, the cost per lead is pretty good... not to mention the customer value.

          So once again we have a low entry point for a MMO system / method.

          Now here's a tip: most of the offers I have had to opt in to were double opt. Now if I get to the product with having to confirm, then I won't.

          Alternatively, I just ignore emails. For example, I'm no Mike's list after his Ken Strong promo. Unlesss his subject line is of interest, I just delete them. BUT I do stay subscribed because his products rock.

          If some peanut starts sending me affiliate offers, then I automatically unsubscribe. Simple really.

          Sal



          Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

          It's not about the size of your list, it's about understanding that your list is PEOPLE, not just a number in your AWeber account you use to get stats.

          There is a very large movement right now pushing the idea of IM being a numbers game. It isn't; never has been. It's a relationship game. The people you're talking about don't get this, and will probably never get it. Unsubscribe and don't buy from them again.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bryan Mc
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      As anyone who actually does this knows, it is impossible to "deluge" anyone with offers like this, because there simply aren't enough high-quality targeted offers out there.
      Sooo true.

      To actually review something and find it worthwhile is not as easy as it seems. Kudos to everyone that actually cares about what they offer and recommend.
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  • Profile picture of the author PsychoProfits
    This is not going to stop sometime soon. WSOs are becoming so big even the gurus are offering them. I get an affiliate link to a WSO in every other email!
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    • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
      Originally Posted by PsychoProfits View Post

      This is not going to stop sometime soon. WSOs are becoming so big even the gurus are offering them. I get an affiliate link to a WSO in every other email!
      I've notice that recently. Even big dogs that would bash the WF (even though they made their bones here years ago) are now coming back and offering WSO's.

      The color of money solves their disdain for the WF.

      WSO offers have been converting nicely with my list so I'm including more but I don't promote anything willy nilly.

      Like BigMike said, these folks are pissing away something very valuable... a BUYERS list which they're treating like their ad swap/giveaway list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Keeslover
    I'm on a few lists that provide more value (tips, ideas, rants, etc.) than marketing, and those are the lists I stay on. Those who slam me with every new WSO under the sun make me unsubscribe quickly. I give it 2-3 weeks. I know I risk not getting the updates, but it's not worth the hassle.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Tan
    I'd like to think that the WSO creator is trying to help
    their subscribers by informing them of useful or relevant
    products. After all they are marketers...

    If at any one time, you find that they are mailing you too
    often, you can always unsubscribe yourself from their list.

    Personally, I'm more uncomfortable about people who
    do not include any unsubscribe link at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author PPC-Coach
    They're not going to stop doing it because of complaining about it on a thread here.

    Push the unsubscribe button, it's one click, not hard at all!



    (As you know they're doing it because it makes them money)
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom B
    Banned
    These kind of rants remind me of people complaining about jobs going overseas while they shop at Walmart.
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    • Profile picture of the author jackheape
      Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

      These kind of rants remind me of people complaining about jobs going overseas while they shop at Walmart.
      I disagree. I don't see how this is a "rant". My purpose was to establish exactly the dialog that happened, where different people offered their opinions. And hopefully, some WSO marketers would read this thread and think twice about what they are doing.

      As far as your analogy comparing this to Wal-Mart, that is off base. It isn't even close to being analogous to what is being discussed here.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tom B
        Banned
        Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

        I disagree. I don't see how this is a "rant". My purpose was to establish exactly the dialog that happened, where different people offered their opinions. And hopefully, some WSO marketers would read this thread and think twice about what they are doing.
        So you would have no problem paying more for a wso if you didn't get emails sent to you?


        As far as your analogy comparing this to Wal-Mart, that is off base. It isn't even close to being analogous to what is being discussed here.
        I think you're buying the wrong wso products.
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        • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
          Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

          I think you're buying the wrong wso products.
          Perhaps some 'marketers', using that word loosely, think they're marketing to the Worst Suckers Online.

          I'm also of the opinion that WSO vendors should be more careful with their lists. It's getting a little out of hand trying to segregate the emails of those I want to keep subscribed to because of product updates, and those I'm trying to escape from.

          Pretty soon I'll end up escaping from all of them...

          ~Bill
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          • Profile picture of the author Tom B
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Bill Farnham View Post

            Perhaps some 'marketers', using that word loosely, think they're marketing to the Worst Suckers Online.

            I'm also of the opinion that WSO vendors should be more careful with their lists. It's getting a little out of hand trying to segregate the emails of those I want to keep subscribed to because of product updates, and those I'm trying to escape from.

            Pretty soon I'll end up escaping from all of them...

            ~Bill
            I don't remember the last wso I purchased. I normally purchase higher priced items from people I know. I don't mess with the $7 stuff since I know why it is $7 which was the point I was trying to make.

            It is the nature of the deal you are getting into. They sell you something for dirt cheap knowing they will make up for it on the backend.

            No backend profits would mean higher priced products so the buyer needs to decide whether they want to pay more or deal with the alternative.

            Now, it is up to sellers if they want to churn and burn their customers so that list is meaningless long term.

            Let's face it, most sellers are pumping out reports to build lists so they can become affiliates of other wso sellers. That is their sales funnel!

            I am in no position to dictate how many emails or what type of sales funnel they need to set up.

            Hell, maybe they tested building a long term relationship and decided that churning and burning was more profitable .
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            • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
              Originally Posted by Thomas Belknap View Post

              I don't remember the last wso I purchased. I normally purchase higher priced items from people I know. I don't mess with the $7 stuff since I know why it is $7 which was the point I was trying to make.

              It is the nature of the deal you are getting into. They sell you something for dirt cheap knowing they will make up for it on the backend.

              No backend profits would mean higher priced products so the buyer needs to decide whether they want to pay more or deal with the alternative.

              [SNIP]

              Hell, maybe they tested building a long term relationship and decided that churning and burning was more profitable .
              The funny thing is, the last few $10 WSOs I bought flat out rocked. I imagine the sellers could have easily gotten a lot more money for them if the WSO forum hadn't turned in to a 'Dime Sale' format.

              So it appears things are going like this...

              Instead of the sellers placing prices on their products that reflect the value, they settle for an email addy and a Big Mac.

              But then the pay-off for the back-end gets washed out by too many affiliate offers yeilding more Big Mac paydays, and they lose the subscribers before the real game even begins.

              Hopefully, some of them are smart enough to realize competing in a commodity world is a burn out inducing existance. And building a bunch of incestuous lists doesn't do much to help build trust once the customer starts feeling ike a 'mark'.

              It's no wonder so many here have adopted the churn and burn method, because based on a pricing method that trades profits for email addys it's now more about the email addy than the profit.

              But the kicker for me is subscribing to an 'update list' because I actually thought the seller meant it was prudent to stay connected for the sake of us both being on the same page, me with a need, and them with a solution. As my needs get deeper hopefully they'll stay one step ahead with their products.

              But no, if I buy a SEO product, as an example, I'm going to be sent an aff link to Fast Track Twitter ****ter so my 'buyer status' gets duly spread around.

              So it's "Well, that didn't work out", and another unsubscribe finds it's way from my server to Aweber's.

              I buy a lot of stuff online outside the MMO niche and I'm sure glad I don't ever get contaminated offers from the folks I spend big money with. Those venders don't 'play' at internet marketing, they understand the lifetime value of a customer for their digital or physical products is in the thousands of dollars.

              It's sure different than this place...

              ~Bill
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              • Profile picture of the author Tom B
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Bill Farnham View Post


                I buy a lot of stuff online outside the MMO niche and I'm sure glad I don't ever get contaminated offers from the folks I spend big money with. Those venders don't 'play' at internet marketing, they understand the lifetime value of a customer for their digital or physical products is in the thousands of dollars.

                It's sure different than this place...

                ~Bill

                Exactly. This place isn't the real world. It's just a fantasy. :p

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  • Profile picture of the author David Keith
    it would take you under 10 seconds to unsubscribe from each list and be done with the issue from each seller forever.

    look for solutions, not problems. change what you can change. dont try to force others to conform to your way of thinking by complaining.

    the people who need to see this are not even reading it, so it really didnt do much good. use the tools you have available to you to fix the issue...un-subscribe.
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    It' no biggie for me to optin for a WSO. If they send junk, I just unsubscribe... Simplez

    James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    Originally Posted by jackheape View Post

    This is not a WSO (wrong forum anyway). But I buy a lot of them, and mostly they are great stuff. But... I am getting sick and tired of getting deluged by emails from the WSO creators every time a new WSO is offered. You have to sign up for a lot of these to get updates, or even download the WSO. Which is fine. But then, the WSO author puts you on his list and then deluges you with affiliate offers. Offers that I get a dozen or more emails from the other guys whose list I am on and bought from.

    Please. STOP DOING THIS! Give your buyers choice if they want to receive offers.

    How do others feel about this ? I would like to know.
    Hey Jack,

    Unfortunately no amount of ranting will make these guys stop "spamming" you...

    Just utilize the unsub link and live life happier
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  • Profile picture of the author mickmccrory
    Use the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the emails. The majority of those emails offer very little value and spam us all with the same offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author blillard
    It comes with the territory my friend some marketers are good at promoting to their list while others just plain suck and believe that if they hit their list with nothing but offers then they will buy all the time. It sad that it has come this and no on really values the value of a paying customer and want to suck the life out of their wallets. I did a mass unsubscribe this week to all who sent BS and no valuable content or anything. I mean its the holidays not even a greetings lol.

    Just opt out of them and pick carefully who you but from in the near future. Affiliate marketing is not going anywhere nor are those who are abusing it. You just have to adjust and make the changes setup a different email for wso's only or something.
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  • Profile picture of the author Power Solutions
    Yeah the "List" tactics are kind of backfiring for most of the WSO authors, as far as I'm concerned. There's some who just send out offer after offer and every single one is the most amazing thing. Those get my unscribe click after a few days. Some others are being very good and sending out regular software updates. A very select few are being even better like "The Best Spinner" and sending out actual useful advanced tips on how to use the software better. These two types stay on my "whitelist". All the junk crap offer spamming authors are getting hit with the unsubscribe hammer.

    -Tai
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  • Profile picture of the author Professor G
    Some interesting comments have been made. I think it comes down to the fundamentals and one such fundamental that comes to mind is the "marketing concept." This is a very simple term introduced in all Intro to Marketing classes. But, the simplicity is its brilliance. In a nutshell the marketing concept states that the whole company should work together to provide long-term customer satisfaction at a profit.

    Modern marketing doesn't mean being a used car salesman. Rather it means working to understand your customers needs and then providing value and the right solutions to meet those needs.

    The last part of the marketing concept can't be overlooked though - the need for profit. The nature of the WSOs means that this is a list building offer (as pointed out above) and there is a funnel on the backend to make the effort worthwhile. Otherwise, the WSO creators would not be making any profit and it wouldn't make sense to create them going forward.

    However, this doesn't mean that profit needs to come in the next week or in every email. True profit comes from relationships. And, I agree with Shay...sometimes profits aren't measured in dollars but your ability to look in the mirror.

    Thank goodness we have the trusty unsubscribe button to avoid those that don't understand this principle.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    Forced opt-in to download your product is BS and yes, some of these guys are burning out their buyers list which dumb... but it's not really spam.

    if you opt-in or were added to the list as a buyer (since there is now a transactional relationship). You can just opt-out.

    Amazon emails me every days bunch of different things I'm not interested in nor do I want or have I ever ordered.

    Buy a laptop from Best Buy and they'll start emailing you offers for TV's, telephones, Geek Squad services, etc.

    Folks need to manage their buyer's list better as in build a relationship vs. flog them to death but the whole "stop the spam" is a bit dramatic IMO.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hardi Wijaya
    Some people still don't know what is list control
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  • Profile picture of the author jonluk
    Personally, I don't force opt-in anyone.
    If someone wants to hear about updates etc they can sign up with whichever email address THEY want. I won't auto add their paypal email to any list.

    My paypal email address is just that - it's not for marketing to. If I see an email to my PP address that either hasn't come from PP or isn't a receipt then it will get trashed immediately.

    99 times out of 100 I'm happy to receive emails from people whose products I've bought - but I decide which email address they come to, not them.

    Jon
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    • Profile picture of the author Teuto Warrior
      I completely agree with the OP!

      Not being from the US/UK what I don't get is why it is legal at all to send affiliate offers not related to the original product to the customer list!?

      If I buy something online I have a relationship with the seller, yes, and getting updates and more info about that product is ok. But in my opinion that doesn't entitle the seller to send me offers and sales pitches for products not related to the one I bought originally. Are there no legal boundaries/laws to comply to? I'm quite sure spamming customers with irrelevant offers is illegal in my country...
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      • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
        Originally Posted by Arian17 View Post

        what I don't get is why it is legal at all to send affiliate offers not related to the original product to the customer list!?
        As far as the law is concerned, "stuff you sell" is a category of product. If I sell two things, and you buy one of them, the other one is related because I sell that one too.
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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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