Do you get the same emails that your customers, clients, and prospects are receiving from you? Do you know first-hand what the experience is like for the people on your email list?
You should.
I’ll tell you two important reasons why you should be on your own email list and receiving — and reading — the same emails that your list gets in just a minute. But first, let me tell you about the 41 emails I recently received from an ecommerce site within just a 12-hour period and why I unsubscribed from their list …
(I also shared this story on my Facebook page. Here’s the recording of that LIVE Video broadcast if you’d rather watch than read.)
41 of the Same Email in 12 Hours
That’s not a typo. I received the exact same email 41 times within 12 hours from a certain ecommerce site that sells discounted baseball gear.
Now, obviously, this happened due to a glitch somewhere in their email system. No marketer in their right mind would mail the same email 41 times in 12 hours. That’s a sure-fire way to annoy your subscribers and get them to unsubscribe from your email list.
I know, because that’s exactly what I did. I unsubscribed.
Because of what I do, I know that they didn’t mean to send this email out 41 times. I know that something happened.
I unsubscribed because they ignored it. They didn’t reach out to tell me that something happened, that they were working to fix it … that they were sorry for the inconvenience.
If I had received that email I could have forgiven the 41 others.
But I didn’t. They didn’t send that one.
And because they didn’t, they lost me. (Along with many other people just like me, I’m sure.)
Which brings us to …
Reason #1 to be on your own email list: If You Receive the Same Emails as Your List, You Can React When Something Goes Wrong
If someone from that discounted baseball gear ecommerce site had been getting the same emails I did, they would have known right away that something was happening. And they could have reacted appropriately.
They could have sent that apology email and retained me as a subscriber.
When something goes wrong, you have to communicate with your audience. You have to let them know what’s going on. And you have to apologize if the thing that went wrong is inconveniencing them in any way.
Think about when your favorite TV channel is off the air due to “technical difficulties.” You keep checking back every so often to see if they’ve resolved the issues. Usually they tell you that they’re experiencing technical difficulties … either on the TV screen or nowadays via social media. They’ve told you that something happened but it’s not permanent. They’ll fix the issue, and you can eventually watch your favorite shows again.
When something goes wrong with your email marketing, you need to know about it so you can tell your subscribers that you’re having “technical difficulties.” Reassure them that it’s not normal, tell them you’re working to fix it … tell them you’re sorry for the inconvenience.
This really does go a long way.
Reason #2 to be on your own email list: If You Receive the Same Emails as Your List, You Can Discuss the Content
This is especially important when you’re not the person writing or sending the emails to your list. For example, if you’re in direct sales (like Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Park Lane Jewelry, and many other like this) the parent company often sends emails to your customers on your behalf. This is an awesome resource that the company provides.
But …
It can backfire and make you look unprofessional, disconnected, and simply unprepared if you don’t know what’s in those emails when someone tries to talk to you about it!
The same thing is true if you’ve outsourced your email marketing or delegated it to someone on your staff. Don’t get me wrong … there is absolutely nothing wrong with outsourcing or delegating! It’s a sound business practice.
But …
If you don’t know what’s in the emails being sent on your behalf, you look unprofessional, disconnected, and unprepared when someone calls you to discuss that content!
The Solution is Easy …
Make sure you are on your own email list. Make sure that you get the same emails that your customers, clients, and prospects do … at the same time that they do.
And read your emails!
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