"If I listened to every a-hole that calls in, I'd be finished"
-Howard Stern
People today are easily moved by suggestion (and even moved by those who have absolutely no authority, no expertise, and no relation). Enter this critical reply from a former subscriber who offered his "superior" email advice for me:
"C.W." said:
"You talk too much irrelevant, so edit it down, work, some is good though. Text is to spread out, so fix it pls. Your unsubscribe does not work. or I have to click junk."
This reminds me of a Dan Kennedy print newsletter.
Where Dan talked about this very topic:
That the only critiques that matter are those you SEEK out from experts or paying customers.
There's a whole slew of reasons why the reply guys above advice, is terrible advice -- and the irony writes itself in his own piss poor grammar... But the main reason why NOT to listen to a random email critique like this... well... Howard Stern summed it up really well when a regular listener called in to offer his advice on "bettering" the show.
In which Stern cut him off and said:
"If I listened to every a-hole that called in, I'd be finished. I'd have to close up my doors...
... I didn't get to where I am from taking advice from the masses"
Many people today would be taken back a bit from C.W.'s advice. And they might even CONSIDER it.
And if I make the same mistake...
... I'd be failing to realize that I've sent almost 2,000 email blasts... Managed lists of 50k people and up... and created one of the most responsive email lists in the direct mail industry for Ballpoint Marketing (where every email address is worth $6-$8 per month -- most lists range from $1-$2 per address).
While I don't want to go into the "mechanics" of what's "good" email or not...
... I will say this:
Be careful with social media... be careful with replies like the one above. It can be VERY easy to get caught up (even subconsciously) in their suggestions and implement them. Most of them don't have ANY authority or expertise to give you their opinions.
Whatever you are actively pursuing...
You are probably one of the most qualified in the world (seriously... there's only a fraction of a percentage in the world that are doing what you're doing in the manner that you're doing it)...
So the best opinion and advice comes from your own thinking... Then, you can actively seek out the handful of opinions that matter.
- Paul do Campo
P.S. There's another expertise I'd say I have and I'd say that's in direct mail copy -- I wouldn't say I'm an expert in list compiling or mailing dynamics.
And since you're already an OmniDrip client...
I highly recommend you add direct mail to your follow-up.
It costs little and you add extra channels and more touches.
Replay back and let me know.
