Email ain’t what it used to be. In fact, email ain’t what it was last month.
Right now there is a tremendous revolution in the way email is sent, received and perceived. Things are happening so fast that my friend John Glube has had to update his email report almost daily.
[You need to grab a complementary copy of John’s cutting edge report-it takes out the hype and gives you the straight facts. You can grab your copy here: http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/emailupdate ]
Here is a quick look at how things have gotten to where they are, what changes to expect and how you can profit from them.
I. It’s not just the “bad guys” who caused the problem
Sometimes we tend to think it was the “off-shore” peddlers trying to increase the size of various body parts who caused the problem with email. They contributed to it, but they didn’t play the “starring role” we often want to give them. In fact, the problems with email started (and continue) a little closer to home. Here’s why:
Joe starts an internet business. Joe sets up his website and starts his own email list. He gets a few subscribers, sends them a well though-out email and receives several orders for his “Inflatable Cat Bed” product. (Obviously no one had told Joe cats have claws.)
Joe is happy and everything is great at AirBeds4Cats.com.
Pretty soon Joe gets a brainstorm: If he made a few sales from one email, if he sends another he will make even MORE sales. He sends another email, then another. Joe never bothers to think his recipients may not WANT all these ads, all he is thinking about is the huge profits he hopes will come in.
When no one is buying from Joe’s emails he doesn’t stop to ask why, he simply sends even MORE emails. After all, it worked before.
Now, multiply Joe by tens of thousands and you get an idea of where much of the problem lies.
II. The solution is not going to be “more permission.”
I read every “terms and conditions” page I sign up for online.
I lie about other things as well.
One cry I hear pretty consistently from publishers is “I can prove that every person on my list opted in.”
Big deal.
These same people who gave you permission are the same people who accuse you of sending them spam. Human nature is such that if a particular email is annoying and you give someone an easy way (like a button) to get rid of it, they will. They just want to be done with the annoyance and they really don’t care if they gave you permission or not.
I recently received an AOL TOS violation “love letter” when someone clicked on the “This Is Spam” button from the double-opt-in verification. You can’t win this game simply with logical argument. Human nature knows no logic.
Right now many people are advocating setting up more stringent “terms and conditions” to comply with the ever varying laws. This is a good idea, but it isn’t going to save email as a long-term marketing tool. No matter how much permission you get from your potential subscribers, they won’t care, remember or even own up to it.
It’s just human nature, you might as well accept it.
In my next article on this topic I will look at possible solutions to keep marketing messages flowing to your prospects.
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Kevin Bidwell is owner of
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