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(Controversial) The Thinking Behind Sending Email Pitches DAILY.

by Allen Lewis
19 replies
One of the email marketing models that I have seen that breaks all the rules looks like this:

1. Marketer gets lots of traffic and builds a big, ever growing list.

2. He then starts sending out DAILY email product pitches. Every once in a while, he sends out content.

As can you see, this model goes against the grain. Many experts tell us not to send more than 2 emails a week. And even if we DO want to send out daily, there should be a 50:50 ratio of content emails and pure pitches.

I think the thought process behind sending out daily pitches looks like this:

1. The marketer is not interested in dilly dallying about and building relationships, he is looking at separating the buyers from the free loaders, on a daily basis. In a way, it's no different from buying PPC traffic and directing straight to a sales page. What he wants is hassle-free, low maintenance buyers, nothing else.

2. People who stay subscribed tend to read ALL their emails. A percentage of people will stay subscribed and start ignoring the emails because they have become too common place. But those with a habit of reading ALL their emails will open even the daily pitches if they decide to stay subscribed. People stay on for various reasons, including the free content that DOES arrive once in a while.

3. The marketer is not interested in getting high-paying clients, the sort that would demand more attention. He is not interested in consulting or using his time to coach others. He is more keen on getting the buyers who will pay $7, $27, $77 over and over again. Plus, the dozens or hundreds of new leads he gets everyday far outnumbers the number of people who unsubscribe.

What do you think?

Is this simply a product pitch fest model? Or is it a profitable model that, gasp, requires some testing, perhaps in a different niche or using a pen name?

Allen
#daily #email #pitches #sending #thinking
  • Profile picture of the author CurtisN
    I think it's a pure numbers game. Some people who are known as gurus have huge lists and (I disagree with #2) people who stay subscribed only read the emails when they feel like it. So when these so-called gurus blast out their emails every day or whenever a big launch comes around,they know that a certain percentage will respond, therefore making them $X per email.

    I am on a few guru lists which have not given any free content ever. It's just pitches every time. While they're annoying sometimes, other times, you just kind of skip over them without paying attention to them.

    You're right: they want low-maintenance buyers. It is a profitable pitch fest model. I believe that this model works best in the IM niche because that's the way that people are used to doing things and that's what some people expect. This is what works for some people which is why it hasn't changed.

    What ticks me off is that these "gurus" are known as gurus simply because doing pitch fests works for them. They are known as experts simply because people still open their emails. We have to think about what they talk about and what they actually know. They always talk about big lists, big profits, separating freebie-seekers from buyers, profit funnels, but when it comes down to it, all they know how to do is to email their list to make gigantic piles of cash while their staff (whom they hired using their massive profits from email marketing) take care of the rest. [/rant] lol...

    Curtis
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  • Profile picture of the author Charlie Parker
    It takes a lot to get me to unsubscribe from a marketers list.

    And a lot of the times I don't have time for content, I often open emails and just look straight for the link to see whats being pitched, then click the link and check the site.

    And if there is no link at all, I might just go back to my inbox and not read a word of the email.

    It does depend on who sent the email and if the subject was interesting enough to intice me to read.

    But I'm sure theres others like me, who stay subscribed to everyones lists, read little of what they send but DO check out the offers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zach Booker
    I think giving away too much free content can devalue what you do end up trying to sell, your list should never get TOO accustomed to getting everything for free.

    I personally, like Charlie Parker, don't really read all the free content but I do appreciate the effort the list owners put into making it(and when i'm thinking of purchasing from that person I remember that), I think what every list owner should strive for is giving a sense of value to their subscribers.

    Some people want to be sold too, they want to buy the latest thing. Thus why the model the OP mentioned works so well.

    It comes down to what you think is 'ethical'. I personally strive to make everyone on my list feel as if they are very valued, in the hopes that they will buy from me instead of the 'guru'.

    I think we are seeing a big shift though, people in the IM and MMO market are getting smarter and you are seeing little know people with small lists getting more sales than the big guru's in the JV contests.

    It all depends on your style of promotion.

    Zach
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  • Profile picture of the author thegamecat
    I ended up creating a bit of a storm here some time ago after getting bombarded by Filsaime. The general concensus is that after a short period of time the emails become worthless - then at some stage after that you give in and will acknowledge some of them - they almost become part of your daily email routine. It's fascinating stuff but I believe they work and a well thoughtout daily email strategy can be highly effective.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    wondering how long it will take before this thread get's flooded with "I hate when they do that - i just unsubscribe" comments (which miss the entire point)... and the forum marketers who want to convince others that their lists are full of great content
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  • Profile picture of the author Dmitry
    Most experts are morons, who have never done anything significant so they end up teaching to make money. Don't listen - have faith in your intuition, in your creativity, follow YOUR path, do YOUR thing, see what happens. You will never come up with anything new if you just follow advise... especially from "experts" (I'm sure you already know my opinion on experts).

    And to comment directly on the thread - you forget that most of their leads are "get rich quick wannabes" who are ready to buy every new product on the block that promises the dream. Pretty much like the weight-loss market. They do know it's an illusion, it's just such a darn good illusion that they refuse to accept it. Some do and eventually they either quit or make it big.
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    Whats the one and only reason for building a list in the first place?
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  • Profile picture of the author dndoseller
    If I like a guy and think the marketer has something to offer I do not mind daily emails. Good example is I get emails from Comment Kahuna constantly but I love their software and the emails have some real good tips.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    I email daily currently but very seldom promote affiliate offers -
    so I go against the grain of what you are saying here.

    Look at Clayton Makepeace if you want to see a marketer
    who emails daily and does a killer job of it... while doing almost
    zero promotion of other marketer's products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Molano
    Allen, that looks like Mike's model and it obviously works. He consistently pitches offers and rarely free content (unless it's a list swap). But he doesn't stick to low ticket items, he promotes the most expensive out there as well.

    Then again, we are talking about a list in the millions of subscribers and he gets many more every day. Mike generates massive amounts of traffic and that makes up for the subscriber loss.

    It's a perfectly profitable model if you can keep it up and as you said, it separates the freebie hunters from the regular buyers. In addition, all things promoted are pretty good, or at least decent.

    Not my way of doing things, but it definitely works.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    Here's a strange thing.

    One person whose list I am on sends me at least ten pitches a day. They are all low cost items and cover a wide range of products and services.

    So what's strange? As much as I hate being pitched all the time, I KNOW that this is all this guy is going to do, I know that what he promotes will have value and quality and his subject line tells me if I want to see more information - so I READ ALL OF HIS SUBJECT LINES AND PROBABLY OPEN TWO EMAILS A DAY.

    Well known marketers pitch in such a way that the subject line tells you nothing and is often counter productive (for example "You might be too late!" or "Bad News" or "This really rocks!" which all cause me to hit 'delete' thinking "So what?")
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  • Profile picture of the author tomah
    It depends whether you want to create raving fans or just customers.

    You have to decide on that alone.

    AT
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Puddy
    Originally Posted by Allen Lewis View Post

    3. The marketer is not interested in getting high-paying clients, the sort that would demand more attention. He is not interested in consulting or using his time to coach others. He is more keen on getting the buyers who will pay $7, $27, $77 over and over again. Plus, the dozens or hundreds of new leads he gets everyday far outnumbers the number of people who unsubscribe.

    Allen
    Actually this is entirely the opposite to what you think the $5 $10 people demand far more attention than high ticket buyers. Low ticket buyers are the whiners and think they own you because they spent $10

    High ticket buyers are much more pleasant to work with
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    • Profile picture of the author Dellco
      Frequent email pitches are one main reason why I've unsubscribed from most lists.
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      • Profile picture of the author Ram
        You may hate it -- but it works.

        That's because people are lazy -- I'm speaking in generalities here. They say they want to learn, but they don't. So content bores them. What they want is a magic doo-dah that will instantly make them successful, rich and attractive.

        And they like to buy. They like to spend money. Especially if they think the next big thing is that magic doo-dah.

        So you will always have a lot of people on your list -- if it is of any size -- who want to know about the new products, want to know about the repackaged PLR, want to know about ... whatever the hell it is you are selling. And a percentage will buy, over and over.

        Keep growing the list, keep sending the offers. The number of people who stay subscribed and read every pitch and buy from time to time will grow. It is, indeed, a numbers game.

        Some may not want to do business that way. Fine. But there is nothing wrong with it. It's just one way to approach the business.
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        • Profile picture of the author jmidas
          That is the quickest model to use if the want me to run as fast as I can to the unsubscribe link.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ram
            Originally Posted by jmidas View Post

            That is the quickest model to use if the want me to run as fast as I can to the unsubscribe link.

            This is not meant to be personal, but whether or not you run to unsubscribe is unimportant.

            Enough will remain, and open and buy. And more will be added to the funnel all the time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Roy Carter
      Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

      Actually this is entirely the opposite to what you think the $5 $10 people demand far more attention than high ticket buyers. Low ticket buyers are the whiners and think they own you because they spent $10

      High ticket buyers are much more pleasant to work with
      So true Robert. I've got mentoring clients that have invested a decent amount of money and often it is the case that a membership club client paying $27.00 per month may be more demanding and needy than someone who has invested several thousand dollars.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    for those who say they would unsub:

    1) then you are not the target market
    2) you are in the minority.

    I have an opt-in page that I used to build 2 lists from. 1 list I hammered every day with pitches, the other sends 1 heavy content email every 5 days with much less promoting and hardselling.

    Yes, the first list had twice the unsubscribe rate (30% vs 15%, single opt-in).. but that still leaves a lot of people who stay on, and that list made me more money then the other (and it has a higher CTR). Truth be told, it does appear it simply filtered out some non-buyers.

    Why potentially save one sale at the expense of 2 or 3? It simply makes no sense. And I say "potential" sale, because the odds are that sale was to the same person who would have purchased regardless of which list they were on.

    Why cater to the high-maintenance 15% who will rarely, if ever, buy (a lot whom unsub as soon as you send a promo to anyways)? Every time I send out a promotion to my heavy-content list, the unsubs grow.

    Most of my lists I do NOT hammer like that.. but frankly I think it was a bad business decision, as it is apparent that I am catering to the entirely wrong subset of my subscribers.
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