Chris Anderson, nationally known author of the forward-thinking marketing book, The Longtail, and Editor-in-Chief of my favorite tech magazine, Wired, recently had it up to here with PR and advertising people spamming him hoping for a mention in his influential magazine.
They got a mention alright, but not the kind they were seeking.
“I am now blocking people and companies who send me mass-mailed, indiscriminate press releases and other announcements that I didn’t ask for and show no awareness of my interests…”
“I only want two kinds of email: those from people I know, and those from people who have taken the time to find out what I’m interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that (I love those emails; indeed, that’s why my email address is public).” More here (spammers listed)
He publishes a list of offending (many well known) emailers he’s sick of hearing from “because they can’t be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they’re pitching.”
Chris sort of blew a gasket – but a very educational one – for us.
When contacting others to pitch your product or business, especially influential people, have you “taken the time to find out what I’m interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that?”
Why else would anyone who doesn’t know you, listen to you? Especially when you’re trying to SELL something?
Who said selling was easy?
I have never understood sending mass emails to people who you don’t even know. I get quite a few from people who found my email address on one of my sites and start spamming me. Even if I am interested in what they have or the company they are promoting, I will purposely search google for another affiliate selling the same thing and get it from them instead of the spammer.
I’ve got one person who is pitching me on a company that a friend of mine is in. I’ve told her I’m not interested and if I were, I would join under him not her. She just keeps spamming.
And don’t send mass emails to your entire address book with your hype. If you want to tell your friends something, talk to them like they are your friends, don’t spam your hype to them. Don’t ever take anyone’s email address from their site just to spam it. There are a ton of better (and more ethical) ways to build a list of people who want to hear from you.
When you do these things, people don’t respect you. Your name gets around and your business will suffer.
~Roxanne~
Wow, gutsy guy! I wouldn’t have had the guts to publish all those email addresses.
And nope, I was not on that list. I don’t believe in spamming people. I believe in “what goes around comes around” and I like to keep my name clean.
Y’all have a great weekend!
Ilka ;o)
Kim-This is why I have taken the
“harvesting” my own leads path.
I understand how Chris feels.I
only want e-mails from people I
know too but I wanted to make
sure I respected people’s e-box,
hence the very interesting
harvesting route for me.
Raven,
http://www.mycoopbiz.com/13038147
WHEW! What a list! I was glad NOT to see any of my email addresses on it…..sometimes I get email from what looks like me – but is some spammer using my name & email address to spam others and – ME. I don’t know how they do that – I presume they find one of my websites & do an “info@____”. One guy in FL actually hit a bunch of Shaklee PWS’s posing as a prospect – then SPAMMING all of us to try & sell his leads system – ARGHHHHH! His name, btw, is Ken Gerrick…..so if you see that name in your inbox, I’d delete it ASAP!
Nancy Pugh
http://www.MyHealthyWebsite.com
Bottom Line…
Treat people like people…Not Numbers…
http//www.TestThisEnergyDrink.com
How appropriate that those email addresses will now be harvested by spambots and they’ll get a dose of their own medicine. Unfortunately spammers are adept at spoofing email addresses so an innocent person can get caught in that trap.
Edie Elting
Nussentials
This goes back to the old advice Carnegie gave in his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” You get a lot further with someone by showing that you care about them and their needs and making yourself and your goals secondary.
What a great idea! Now I have something to do with all the pseudo-spam I get. (You know, not the professional spammers, just someone trying to make an easy sell.)
My Spam Blog
Walter Reade (from Wisconsin)