Email Marketing Tips: Don’t Use Email Marketing Badly

I try to keep only relevant email coming into my work inbox. Work is too hectic to be deleting another LivingSocial or west elm blast out of my work email every 5 seconds. (Don’t get me wrong I drool over their deals and furniture all the time when I have a weak moment)

My personal email can build up to 300 irrelevant emails over a long weekend and that in itself is a headache weeding through the trash. I have a hard time unsubscribing because sometimes I want to daydream about TravelZoo’s top 20 cheap Caribbean getaways. Sometimes I need the discounted massage off of Groupon. And Occasionally Soma gets me with their countless pairs of underwear that are free if I only buy 5 pair… So I allow my personal email to be a bit of a catch all.

But send me one wrong email to my business address and I start to get perturbed. After all a large part of my business is teaching email marketing and proper etiquette when building a list. I teach about the frequency of the message, the package it come in, and how to build relevant campaigns to build rapport with potential clients.

Recently, out of the blue, I started receiving emails from what I would consider to be a relevant and above board website in my industry. If I ever signed up to receive their emails I’ve never received a single one in the last 5 years until about 11 business days ago.  Over the past 2 weeks I have now received 11 emails from them and sometimes twice a day! That is TOOOOOOOO much.

This is the email I sent them. I wonder if I will hear a response:

Dear XXXXXXX,

So here is my question… somehow I started getting your eblast emails on the 23rd of October. I don’t recall signing up for anything. However I’ve always liked your website and I didn’t immediately count it as unsolicited email. I know long ago I was friends with someone who worked for you. And you are relevant to my business. All great things! HOWEVER in the last 11 business days I’ve received 11 emails from you. And some were twice in one day!

Again I appreciate what you do, you are relevant to my business, but since my business is Online Sales Training and Marketing with a focus on teaching people how to follow up with leads and put together email drip campaigns, I have to let you know this is entirely too much email! You are diluting your relevance and becoming white noise along with all the other brands that send out a million emails such as shopping sites, and other junk mail distributors.

I went to your unsubscribe link to see if you have a spot where I could adjust the frequency at which I’m receiving your emails. But no luck. *sad frown-y face.* Please feel free to contact me for some consulting on email marketing I’d love to assist you! Also think about finding a way to allow people to adjust the frequency of the types of eblasts they receive.  I can’t tell from looking at your email marketing pieces what system you use to send them. It may be custom and if it is that is great news! You should be able to do exactly what I’m thinking. I can tell it’s not the big Constant Contact or Mail Chimp.

I’d love some feedback from you on how to adjust the flow of your emails so I can still benefit from the wonderful knowledge you have in the industry but not get them everyday and sometimes twice a day!

Thanks so much for your attention to this email I look forward to hearing from you,
Leah