Here’s a topic that will strike a chord with anyone who’s actually building a list (and that should be all of you BTW).

(You can get some free tips on List Building on the relevant Reaper lens here.)

Anyway,  it’s been raised quite a bit recently and is something that a most Internet Marketers don’t like discussing. Because it’s a bit negative… it can be a bit unpleasant… it can be downright destructive… if you let it be.

So, you’ve set up your campaign… you have a nice bonus offering in place to get people to sign up to your list… you have a nice non-spammy e-mail series set up… naturally you are hoping those on your list will become buyers of whatever you are promoting. That’s the whole idea, right?

Now, not everyone subscribes to your list… not everyone buys… some people unsubscibe… some people will even take the trouble of calling you rude names and flagging you as a spammer!

This is what happens when you have a list. Regardless of the niche you are in…

Here’s what Tiffany Dow had to say about the subject on a recent post on her blog. (If you have not heard of Tiffany, I’ll be very surprised but, if not, check the lady out. She’s a top notch marketer and one of the good guys.)

——————————-

Another Freebie Seeker Bites the Dust

Let’s say you’re on a list of mine. You’re a subscriber. When you first sign up to one of my lists, you will get something in return. It may be:

-a free chapter of my eBook as a preview

-a free report

-the opportunity to buy cheap lenses or PLR before anyone else

-the chance to learn something from someone else and supplement your own knowledge

Today I got the following unsubscribe message from someone on one of my lists:

“I subscribed to receive a free chapter to get an idea if the ebook might interest me.  I did not expect to receive so many soliciting emails and I don’t like it. I would have ordered the book, but I’m now upset about so many sales pitches, that I’m not going to now.”

Fair enough. Everyone has a different threshold for communications of any kind. But there’s a lesson I want to teach you in all of this.

You will never please everyone 100% of the time.

Since April 1, I have sent that particular list a total of 5 “promotional” emails. Other emails she got were educational in nature. So that’s a little less than 1 email of a promotional nature per week.

To me, it’s not a lot. To some, it’s far more than they can handle. I unsubscribe when I get daily or 3 x a week promotional emails – UNLESS – keyword to notice here – there is valuable stuff coming at me in between, which so many marketers do NOT do.

I used to feel sick to my stomach when I’d get an email like the one above. I would tear up even, wondering why I was such a failure as a marketer. Then I learned that it wasn’t ME, it was THEM.

It was her own permission settings that mattered here, not my marketing strategy. I was giving value – both upfront and in emails sprinkled in between. I had given this prospect a LOT for free, actually – including, and this is important – my personal recommendation for products I feel would truly help her.

I understand the cynicism. Most marketers promote based on an incestuous nature – who’s in bed with who. “You promote me, I’ll promote you. No, I don’t need a review copy.”

I don’t play that dirty game. I’ve had ghostwriting clients whose business I didn’t want to lose ask me to promote another of their products that I didn’t write, and I flat out said, “No.”

I turned down a girl’s JV proposal today who asked me to promote what I consider a spammy Squidoo backlink builder. She meant well, I’m sure.  I would have earned $25 per sale and being the original “Squidoo Queen” – people trust my judgment on Squidoo! But I didn’t do it.

I don’t recommend unless I would use it myself, end of story.

The lady who unsubscribed used a tone of voice that she believed would surely make me rethink my marketing strategy. But in reality, all she did was make me feel sorry for her. Because you see, she doesn’t “get it” yet.

This is truly sad to me because the list she was subscribed to was for Building an eBook Empire – she needed to learn how to build a list of prospects who hadn’t bought yet and convert them into buyers.  She even admitted she liked the first chapter so much she was going to buy the eBook.

To be honest with you, I don’t believe her. I believe she was a freebie seeker who didn’t like spending money on info products and didn’t like it when my free valuable emails were interrupted by a message that she might want to look into buying something. Her “I’m offended” needle was tilted far too much to the right in overdrive. She needs to cool down and look at this rationally. I’m not building a list of prospects to be a free mentor forever – the goal is to get them to become a customer. D’uh!

She won’t have that chance to learn from me now – and what she doesn’t know is that she’s the exception, not the rule. Most prospects love the free chapter, email me grateful as hell about my recommendations, and build loyalty to me for my advice I give freely via email when someone has a question.

Once you get going, don’t let any of your unsubscribe emails get under your skin. Evaluate your strategy and if it works out well most of the time and you don’t feel you’re in the wrong, don’t let someone with a different mindset change you!

Tiff”

——————————-

I’m on Tiffany’s list and I have posted a response to that post on Tiffany’s blog (along with 50+ other people). I won’t make this post overlong by reprinting my response here.

I’ll just add here that if this happens to you… do not let it deflect you!

Tiffany is not crying in her beer here or looking for sympathy… the message is simple… don’t let other people dictate your marketing strategy.

This is a business… YOU are in business… nobody works for nothing.

So (and the real reason for this post)… No Need To Run… And Hide…

ANY excuse to put that one up! :)

Related Posts

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •