"Frankly I'm Shocked At You!"

29 replies
What do you think of that headline in an email? I've seen it a few times and it does nothing for me. They might as well say " Hey Idiot! I sent you an email. Didn't you read it?"

What do you think? Is it good email marketing?

Brian
#email headers #email marketing #email subject #frankly im shocked at you
  • Profile picture of the author Pat Ordenes
    same here...
    I was looking at my inbox actually, and to be honest, the headlines that attract me the most are the ones that promise good, solid info...
    now, if only they all delivered.
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    • Profile picture of the author Bcrewse1
      One thing I can tell you for sure is when I get "You've Just Received A Payment" type of headline or ANY type that is deceiving, that sender gets immediately put into my spam
      folder forever.
      People who need that kind of attention grabbing headline must be pushing pure crap.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marty S
      I just went through my numerous email addresses and deleted hundreds of GURU emails, including this one, without ever finding the time or desire in reading them. Particularly now, that so many of them are touting each others' product launches and I just know I am going to get the REAL scoop in this forum if I miss anything (product) really good.

      The few emails that I decided to keep for reading were traffic or SEO lessons that I signed up for. The title might be something like "Traffic Travis SEO lesson 3" I know I am going to get some good content there and I appreciate these emails because there is always potential to learn something else that may be brand new, I am potentially unaware of.

      If I buy something from a GURU it is because I signed up for a free valuable course from them and the product was clearly described and not over-hyped. Once they start sending me their affiliate hype/crap, it becomes part of the ignore/delete bundles.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kim Davis
    I don't pay attention to headlines in emails; part of the reason being is that I get so many emails I don't have the time to look at them. I know from being on this end of the Internet that they are all trying to sell something regardless of the headline. I delete them all.
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnny
    I might open the email.
    If it is a B.S., I will unsubscribe or report as spam.
    Signature

    ________________________________________

    >>> Johnny <<<

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  • Profile picture of the author traces2757
    Unless it's from a friend and I'm sure that the email is really directed at me (therefore probably a joke), I won't open it. Headlines like that from people who don't even know me, and are obviously not talking to 'me', insult my intelligence. I realize that a lot of people will say that they work and therefore that's why people send them, and that's fine. They don't work on me, though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hackbridge
    I can't believe I thought I was the only one getting these type of emails

    I keep promising myself to delete all of the stupid emails I keep getting. Twitter's going to read "Deleting emails from inbox" for a while.

    Brian
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  • Profile picture of the author Raydal
    Originally Posted by Hackbridge View Post

    What do you think of that headline in an email? I've seen it a few times and it does nothing for me. They might as well say " Hey Idiot! I sent you an email. Didn't you read it?"

    What do you think? Is it good email marketing?

    Brian
    Hi Brian,

    What people here think about this headline means NOTHING except
    they are in your target market. So many marketers make the
    mistake of asking other marketers what they think about this or that
    strategy when you should be testing with your market.

    And this is the not the generic "well test it" answer.

    My point is that when you are familiar with a strategy then it
    loses it's effect. And the same reason why so many people are
    "SHOCKED" that offline businesses will pay $XXXX for doing
    such a "simple thing".

    Simple for member of this forum but not for them.

    So if you came here and asked, "Would you pay $1,000 to move
    a wordpress blog?" The answer would be 'No', but the answers
    would not help you with your offline marketing.

    The bottom line is that headline works!

    Whether it works with Warriors is another question, because they
    have seen it so often.

    -Ray Edwards
    Signature
    The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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    • Profile picture of the author yesacpow
      I hardly have time for email. I only open those from some of the "special"
      list that I am on.

      Checking emails is a big waste of time and detraction for me. It can take up a lot of time which will make me less productive!
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      FREE Step-By-Step Blueprint To Make $1000/Month With YouTube - Even Without Being On Camera!
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    • Profile picture of the author TheCren
      I don't really pay much attention to what the headline says as much as the name in the "From" field. I always open up the first couple of emails from a list I recently subscribed to, and if they don't deliver I stop opening or unsubscribe altogether. On the other hand, if it's from someone who's proven himself/herself to me, then I open regardless of the subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author JustVisiting
    The first few times I opened the emails. After that, I became desensitized and now delete any email with this headline without so much as a second thought.
    Signature
    "...If at first you don't succeed; call it Version 1.0"
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  • Profile picture of the author Diana Lane
    It just brings out the 'Airplane' in me.

    "Stand back - there's nothing to be shocked at. And STOP calling me Frankly!"
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  • Profile picture of the author Hackbridge
    I think that the headline is twofold. One is that yes it is a marketing strategy, and perhaps it does work? But once is enough.

    Secondly, don't marketers know that they are not the only people sending out emails with this type of headline? It's like the launches that happen every so often that you get a dozen emails about it from different 'gurus' promoting it for their mates!. The worse ones are those who don't change the 'standard' email.

    What I'm trying to say in one respect is that we are not stupid and gullible to want to buy every single thing that is promoted, and especially with that type of headline. It may be a marketing stategy but it ain't "New under the sun" and marketers should know better.

    Brian
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  • Profile picture of the author bobcath
    I now have only half a dozen or so 'regular list emails', unsubscribed from the rest. As for the headlines, Just wait til you read my next post, don't even consider missing it, millions have made millions with this advice!

    Bobby
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  • Profile picture of the author winebuddy
    I'm with Raydal - we see it all the time and it has no effect on us - we are "jaded"

    If there was a way to get you back to where you were before you started marketing online, then those headlines would work on you.

    It's like Mark Twain when he said "As a boy, I loved to look at the ripples in the river and the way the sun danced on the water's surface. As a riverboat pilot, those same ripples tell me where underwater trees are, where the sand bars are, and what dangers lurk unseen".

    As we grow accustomed to anything, we start seeing it as a tool and not a thing of beauty or persuasion.

    But those same things continue to work for marketers every hour of every day.
    Signature
    "Knowledge is NOT power... ACTION on Knowledge is power"
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  • Profile picture of the author lilydab
    Looks like lots of us get emails like this,I keep a seperate email for all the important stuff,so I don't have to waste a lot of time.
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  • Profile picture of the author iw
    I received similar email - headings too from different senders! Honestly, I was a bit annoyed at it when i first saw it in my mail box. I was like...what do you mean by You're Shocked At Me?

    I guess that is just getting around with psychology effect of getting attention.

    On the other hand, i think it will lose it's effectiveness when it's over use. People got tired seeing similar headings all over the place, then report as spam, then delete, then unsubscribed, then......
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  • Profile picture of the author DougBarger
    Yeah, anything that looks as if they are trying to "get over" or doing anything other
    than humbly requesting my help gets ignored.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    I have a basic rule of thumb. If the email subject line does not tell me the subject of the email - I don't bother reading it unless I am really, really bored.

    Other really pathetic subject lines:-
    Bad news
    You're too late
    Last chance
    Did you see this?
    Nearly all gone!
    My server crashed!
    OMG I don't believe it!
    Marketer Brown has gone insane!
    Look what I can do!
    Signature

    You might not like what I say - but I believe it.
    Build it, make money, then build some more
    Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!

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  • Profile picture of the author nichepros
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author halfpoint
      Originally Posted by nichepros View Post

      I unsubscribe, report them as spam and contact their ISP.
      You opted in to recieve their emails. How can you possibly consider reporting them for spam?
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      • Profile picture of the author nichepros
        Banned
        [DELETED]
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        • Profile picture of the author Glenn Leader
          Originally Posted by nichepros View Post

          Becuase I didnt opt in to their list to receive spam.
          SPAM is unsolicited commercial email. If you signed up,
          you can't accuse them of spam. Your easiest option is
          simply to unsubscribe, and use your antispam software to
          block future contacts.

          HTH

          Glenn
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          • Profile picture of the author Diana Lane
            Originally Posted by Glenn Leader View Post

            SPAM is unsolicited commercial email. If you signed up,
            you can't accuse them of spam. Your easiest option is
            simply to unsubscribe, and use your antispam software to
            block future contacts.

            HTH

            Glenn
            Agreed. If I spent my time reporting listowners to ISPs for spammy-looking e-mails when I'd actually opted in to receive them, then I'd never get anything else done.

            Frankly I am shocked - okay, slightly surprised - that another marketer would think this to be acceptable. One man's tacky-looking subject line is another one's 'must read' (evidently - if they didn't work then people wouldn't keep sending them), and every marketer knows that you're not going to please all of the people all of the time. If you're not one of the 'pleased' people, unsubscribe and move on.

            If you can't unsubscribe because you never subscribed in the first place, that's the time to report to ISPs.
            Signature

            Plot short fiction, long fiction, even outline non-fiction * Edit the question prompts to suit your genre * Easily export text and image files for use with your word processor or Scrivener.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
    Originally Posted by Hackbridge View Post

    What do you think of that headline in an email? I've seen it a few times and it does nothing for me. They might as well say " Hey Idiot! I sent you an email. Didn't you read it?"

    What do you think? Is it good email marketing?

    Brian
    Brian,
    Bit like the 'bad news' emails that have been used recently by many. I guess they must offer some return as marketers wouldn't use such headlines.

    Rich
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  • Profile picture of the author Glenn Leader
    Originally Posted by janina View Post

    never get messeges like that...
    Oh you will, you will. Just stick around and grab a few freebies.
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