Tag Archives: spam

At least the Egyptian ones were useful

So here’s the deal…I have posted my speaking demo/commercial both on Google Video and on You Tube thinking that the viral nature of the beast might result in a speaking gig somehere….or at the very least, a visit to my website.

Imagine my delight and thoughts of how the viral system works when I get a call yesterday morning…
“Saw your video on YouTube and I thought we might be able to work together”

We spoke for about 15 minutes…He seemed impressed with my credentials…He said his organization needed help with “marketing”. I asked for information about his business so I could send him a speaking proposal. He said he would send me an email with the info and a link to his website.

I get the email today.

Pyramid Scheme.

Apparently, my future lies in the world of “speaking” to people to get them to “market” the health-giving juice of this tropical plant.

Now, there are scams all over the internet. There always has been. We should all be able to retire on the Nigerian money by now.

Here’s the lesson for marketers and anyone involved in trying to make an honest buck on the internet:: As we head into this new OPEN world of “web2.0”, beware.

The innovators and early adopters who had compuserve email accounts in the early 90’s thought that email was world-changing. And it was. However, by the time the majority of people had email accounts, spam had taken hold. It made it less useful and has almost ruined the original vision.

The spammers and schemers followed us into email and they’re now following us into blogs, wikis, viral video, etc….faster than they did into email. By the time the majority of people catch up to web2.0, will the original vision we’re talking about today be distorted by the crap? Will it be as useful as we’re building it to be?

Today’s Stupid Marketer

Here’s the text of an email I got today…(name has been changed to XXX to protect the stupid)

The Indianapolis RV Show is just around the corner and if you are going to be an exhibitor you will need something to hand out to your prospective customers. XXX Press wants to help you do that by offering great prices on quality print collateral.

Here are a few examples:
1,000 Business Cards for $55 – Full color, UV coated with 14 pt. Paper Stock
1,000 Postcards for $150 – Full color, UV coated with 14 pt. Paper Stock
1,000 Brochures for $335 – Full color, two sided 100# Gloss Text

If you are interested in any of these offers or if you are looking for something a little different please contact us through one of the methods below.
XXX
XXX’s address in Dallas TX
XXX’s phone and fax and email
Note: This is the first and last time XXX Press will ever send you an email. However, If you would like to opt out please reply to this email with REMOVE ME in the subject line.(emphasis added)

Couple of thoughts:

1) The Indy RV Show? To be frank, it hadn’t crossed my mind to attend. In fact, I’ve never heard of it. Good job randomly picking me out of the 6 billion people on the planet to send the email to.

2) My favorite part (as evidenced by the bold) is the fact that even though this is the FIRST and the LAST email I will receive from this bright printing company….I will need to opt-out of this list I never opt-ed into.

This isn’t just spam…it showcases the entire problem of why businesses fail when it comes to e-marketing. Here is a business who has absolutely no idea how to market on the internet….but apparently does know how to buy useless lists, type an email, and hit send. In a few days, the owner of the printer will scoff and say that email marketing doesn’t work.

Mmmm…I wonder why.

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