I just received a blatant spam email message from a well-known Internet Marketer 😯 ...
Let me define "blatant spam" -
The email message was completely unrelated to anything I might have signed up to receive from this person or any of his websites. I dont just mean it was about a product I wouldnt be interested in. I mean that it was for a product in a totally different niche altogether.
In addition to being spam, I felt this marketer took advantage of his relationship with me as a subscriber. He basically just blasted out a promotional email like you would throw spaghetti at a wall - hoping some of it might stick.
But what really blew my mind was that there was NO unsubscribe link. Wow. In fact, there was nothing in the email message besides the "advertisement". No clue of which of his sites/lists this email was associated with, no address for the publisher, etc. It was an obvious violation of the CAN-SPAM Act...
With the market as volatile as it is right now, I couldnt help but question why someone who had invested so much in their status would take such a risk.
Violating the Can-Spam Act itself is a huge risk to take. But on a more personal level, losing subscribers and customer loyalty is not something any Internet Marketer should want to risk with the market in the state that it's in...
The Internet Marketing niche is very obviously in a major flux right now. Unsubscribe rates are at an all-time high. With the 'Gurus' being under such public scrutiny... why on earth would someone take that kind of risk?
Technorati Tags: spam, email, unsolicited email, can-spam, internet marketing
About Lynn Terry
I've been noticing this kind of thing more and more. What's worse, I tend to get the same spam multiple times if I've signed up to multiple "courses" offered by that person. In fact, it's rare I see anything related to what I originally signed up for anymore. It's like they used a niche topic as a front just to collect names.
I imagine their conversion rates look pretty ugly, as do their unsubscription rates! (When they actually include the link that is).
What I referred to in the original post was so far unrelated it wasnt even funny. Just to give you an idea, imagine you signed up to learn about knitting and you got an email about a special on dog food. WAY out in left field.
But tonight I got one more like you were describing, Kara. I had signed up for a free course on Topic A, and just got an email promoting something from Topic Z. Completely unrelated to the information I requested.
This has GOT to stop...
My reply to the publisher:
I am subscribed to this list because I requested more information about *** from your ***.com website.
The content of the message below is completely unrelated to what I originally requested.
The email you sent to me before this was a promotion for the RJ event. Also unrelated. I am unsubscribing from this list. Please let me know if you ever decide to go back on topic.
Thanks,
Lynn Terry
I just received ANOTHER mailing from a list that did NOT have an unsubscribe link at the bottom.
Do these guys know something I dont? Why would you risk a CANSPAM violation?? In case nobody is watching the news lately, they are really cracking down on spammers.
Lynn,
I think more and more marketers (especially the gurus) are trying to push some type of "envelope" that shouldn't be pushed - trying to break a sales "barrier" if you will.
I have recently unsubscribed from many different marketing lists because they are "way off" subject. That list could possibly be the most valuable thing any marketer could possess...
Alienating yourself from your own list could be the biggest mistake any marketer would make...
Which just further shows to many marketers just value the almighty buck and not their readers...
Maybe CANspam will start actually cracking down.
On that note - that just makes me taking care of my customers and readers to my lists so much easier 🙂
Great Blog Post Lynn 🙂