The Art of Courtship

Some email marketing practices should always be avoided. "There are a hundred ways to skulk around, to collect email addresses, to write clever privacy policies or to argue about whether opt-out ('you can always unsubscribe!') is a valid way to build a brand," says Seth Godin at his eponymous blog. "None of those schemes work."

To illustrate his point, Godin contrasts some email messages he received in a single week:

• Paul McGowan of PS Audio, sent a highly anticipated newsletter filled with information, reviews and storytelling. "Because I signed up for the newsletter," notes Godin, "I open it. Because he never abuses my trust, I trust him … When it's time to buy the sort of thing he sells, I won't look around much, because I'm already sold." McGowan's approach might not generate instant sales, but he'll see a long-term payoff.
• Another audio company, however, sent a single unsolicited offer twice under different subject lines. Godin suspects the company harvested his address from a source like an old business card. "I get a lot of spam from non-reputable companies," he says, "but it was surprising to get this html ad via email from a company that used to have a good reputation." This is not the impression any business wants to create.

The Po!nt: The second company probably had a ready argument for the legality of its email campaign, but that isn't good enough. "[C]onsumers now have rights too," says Godin. "The right to ignore, to distrust and to choose someone else when it comes time to spend money."

Source: Seth Godin's Blog. Click here for the full post.

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