This was supposed to be a vitriolically angry post, but my cat just snuggled up to me, so I’m a bit placated. You win.
It may seem really weird and antisocial, but this last holiday season, I decided to stay at home and spend it all by myself, on my own. I didn’t want to go out and see people – I just wanted some quiet time and retreat a little.
I’m really happy I did, because it enabled me to meet some amazing people online, and I mean really tremendously amazing people. One in particular (you know I’m talking to you) but that’s something that isn’t meant to be shared – yet.
Aside from having these experiences, I also observed something that disgusted me more than a plate of vomit.
See, I’m subscribed to perhaps 30 or 40 blogs or so. I don’t know. I don’t actually read all of the emails I get from being subscribed, but I always check each of them out, see what it’s about, and if it’s interesting I’ll read it. You know, keeping up to date, see what’s happening.
And I find real gems from time to time. You know the kind: People who say something that touches you, inspires you, or teaches you something. No? Let me know, I’ll send you a list.
What struck me is that already a few days before Christmas the volume of emails went down. During Christmas, hardly any emails. Christmas to New Year? Even Less. Fair enough, people have lives.
Up until yesterday, January 2nd 2011, none of the cool folk put out anything, with a few (worthwhile!) exceptions.
But what didn’t stop was the emails that go like this:
Hi! Sorry to be bothering you during the holidays, but I just HAVE to tell you about this. I guess you too want to go for big next year, and if you do (and of course you do!) then this might be the thing for you. Check it out!
Next, there is a link and when you click it, you go to… a sales page. Of course. An ebook, a course, coaching or whatever.
Really, people? Are you being serious? The only people sending emails to their list during the holidays, are selling something?
I mean, of course you want to sell stuff. So do I. Of course you send promotional emails (I don’t, but that’s more disinterest than anything else). Of course you want people to know, and of course you have people sign up to your newsletter.
But look: I remember when two or four months ago or whatever, I signed up to your blog because someone I really trust and respect recommended you. I checked out your site and while you didn’t really convince me, the recommendation of our mutual friend was enough.
Since then, you’ve sent me NOTHING but emails like the example above. Oh wait, you sent me one or two cool articles? Well sorry, the impact of those was brutally murdered by the further bullshit self promotion you kept sending me.
You know I’m talking to you: You with your float boxes that come up repeatedly, or even worse: float boxes that come up when I move to close the tab. Are you kidding me? Can you even remotely imagine how it makes me feel that you are watching where my cursor goes?
Who the hell do you people think you are? You promised me goodies and cool info, and all that means is sales pitches, even during Christmas? Where you even born with a clue, or did you have it amputated later on in life?
I have no problem deleting the odd email if it contains a sales pitch. If you send me awesome stuff mixed with your product-offer, that’s fine by me. That’s basically implied, right? And if I happen to be looking to buy, you benefit.
But you told me you would help and share etcetera. Are you really telling me that to you that means nothing but selling me your stuff?
You lied to me.
Why?
I demand to know why. I want to know why you feel justified in being one of the trendsetters in yet another form of stuff-it-down-their-throats-marketing. Hello, spam anyone?
Ah, but Martin: if you don’t like spam, just switch on your spam filter and shut up already, right?
No sir. To me you weren’t supposed to be spam. You were recommended by a friend. More importantly, you promised me something.
You broke my trust, and I’d like to see you even care enough to try to win it back.
And if you don’t, I want you to get the fuck off of my internet.
P.s. I assure you that it’s not because this cat keeps clawing at me, but for some reason this post got a little bitchy anyway. Well good. I hope you people share it, and I hope some of the people I was referring to will get to see it. I also hope they’ll learn something but I have little hope. What I do have are friends who don’t behave like this. People like you and me, who really try to help others. So let me close on that note. Thanks.
O.o I love the fire in this! Yes, I’m the Queen of strong opinions…and other things many people consider unpleasant…but when you got something to say I say just say it!
(Wait…what’d I just say?)
You tell ‘em Martin! Love this
Good message for us all. Those of us who are not behaving like this atm will likely be tempted to in the future.
I hope if you see me doing this, you’ll smack me down accordingly.
Hey Martin,
At some moments this bothered me too, the spams. What bothers me most are not the spams themselves, but the lies.
They say it’s free, but it’s not.
They say you won’t need a list, or a website, or this, or that, but you absolutely do… and other elements in the same context.
But there is something I find very funny, whenever I shut a sales letter and it asks me “No!! Please wai..” I have a goooood laugh exterminating it like a bad insect, sadistic about it and proud of it, LOL.
Now, Martin, since it’s not that late, I wish you a wonderful year of 2011 and to obtain everything you desire and wish for this year : )
Friendly,
Karim / SSG
Thanks Karim!
It’s funny you should say that about spam: When I sign up to those lists, I’m told that I’ll get good info and stuff like that.
But then all I get is promotion in my mailbox, so these people are building a list with the pretext of giving away good stuff – and then they spam that list to death. How stupid can they get?
“so these people are building a list with the pretext of giving away good stuff – and then they spam that list to death. How stupid can they get?”
If they get slightly more stupid than that, they could die lol!
Whenever I subscribe, it’s true that I expect interesting information and answers to my questions.
Lately, I met an “Internet Marketing fan” who I thought was like me. I found him in a forum and his messages seemed to be compatible with what he said he was, an Internet Marketing Fan.
I then subscribed to his free but private website, “Internet Marketing Tools”, I thought “wow! this guy is really like me, maybe he already did what I am about to create, a good online resource for internet marketing learners or even specialists!”
Once I subscribed, I was seriously disappointed.
I explained to him right away that his content inside his “Free Internet marketing Tools resource” was totally misleading, he was just selling something as an affiliate for each possible tool someone would need… no content, no methods, no strategy, no information articles, and if you wanted a free ebook or a report you had to purchase that “oh the best product to succeed”! I don’t say that the products he is selling are not good, but come on, I am aware of a good number of perfect products if I wanted to buy, and I would certainly not buy francophone products…
Next I was even more disappointed with his newsletter, I kept the subscription to see what he was going to share…
It was even worse! More and more promotion, so I emailed him, and suggested he shared at least 50% of good, useful content.
But he argued his emails were useful, then not so long I emailed him again, to tell him: sorry, I am unsubscribing to your newsletter, and I gave him all the reasons why plus my suggestions.
The strange thing is that there are a lot of spammers for whom I did not unsubscribe, even people I never asked anything from, but these people where not always misleading, spam me ok but at least provide useful info.
Hehe, seems like you’re the good samaritan for spammers. I never spend time explaining why I’m not satisfied, I just enjoy deleting their emails. Until I finally unsubscribe.
But what you said is really significant:
“he argued his emails were useful”
That’s exactly the problem. This kind of seller thinks that offering a good deal is merit in itself. It’s not. A good deal is nice, but it’s a given in business. If someone wants me to pay attention to them, to care about them, they’d better make an effort to show me that they care about me, otherwise they’ll get no business from me.
“seems like you’re the good samaritan for spammers”
Lol, fortunately I don’t give my reasons everytime, it’s rather pretty rare, but just before the email to the fake IM fan, I sent some detailed observations to a another marketer because I saw he had a good media service to sell, and a high quality one, but he mistakingly narowwed his niche to Internet Marketers, so I felt it was urgent for him to re-widen the scope of his audience/prospects, I sent my email with all my observations, then I quickly learned that he has a team working on the copywriting and product developement, and I was pleased to see that my observations were taken seriously into consideration and implemented to re-focus the scrypt of copywrighting.
And come to think of it, maybe I’ll do it even more often, just to measure how accurate my advice can be : )
Sounds like you may have a business model in the making there…