Catch of the day

Snap judgments may be preventing you from sweet opportunities (oh snap!)

by Jade Makana, Corporate Storyteller and Friend of Unsolicited Emails

Bear with me here. As a bona fide social media maven, I spend many hours trolling the blogosphere, and there’s one thing you can count on: the abject loathing of spam is a hot topic.  Enraged comments abound such as “If I didn’t ask for it, I don’t want it” and “I do NOT appreciate receiving unsolicited emails, omg, wtf!” and “Don’t mess with me, Madam Marketer! I know Spam when I see it!” But I’m here to challenge the status quo and say why spam is actually awesome.

NOTE: Don’t stop reading! Hear me out! You can still be a hater if you want, just be an educated hater; that’s all I ask.

Unsolicited Emails: Hateful pests or hidden gems?

Let’s examine these spam-related complaints one by one:

“If I didn’t ask for it, I don’t want it.” Hmmm, ok. So when your monthly Sephora newsletter sends you a coupon for a free mini-mascara as a bonus gift, that’s spam? You didn’t explicitly ask for it, did you? Does that mean you don’t want it?

“I do not appreciate receiving unsolicited emails.” Right. So if your friend sends you an email newsletter about the best sunscreens because they know you are headed to a Mexican vacation, do you not appreciate that because you did not explicitly say “Hey, friend, please email me any Mexico-themed online material you come across?” Methinks not.

“I know it when I see it…” Do you really? Or do you delete every third-party offer you receive without even giving it a chance to see if it might provide value to your life?

Of course, spam is a philosophical preference in many ways and there is no hard-and-fast right or wrong view. But through the examples I’ve given above, my goal is to persuade you that perhaps the most popular snap-definitions of spam might be a bit narrow, even ignorant. If you really think it through, you probably have received and enjoyed many unsolicited emails in your life through forwards, guest posts, referrals, special offers and more. To take it one step further, how many great offers and information have you NOT gotten the benefit of because you automatically send unknown emails to junk?

Now for a speed dating metaphor

In my opinion, unsolicited emails aka “spam”  have the potential to provide either maximum value or minimal harm. It’s like speed dating. Yes, you didn’t explicitly select the “offers”, but someone out there who knows your basic preferences thought you would make a great match. If they are right, you find out about something cool you never knew about and wouldn’t have found on your own. If they’re wrong, it only takes a minute of suffering to opt-out.

There are always going to be people who, in life and in email marketing, prefer to set their own course. This is perfectly fine. You’re welcome to your opinion, I just hope you’ll make it an educated one.

 

My definition of Spam

Last but not least, I’d like to posit my own definition of spam, the not-awesome kind: really, really annoying marketing offers that rub me the wrong way. These could include: overly-frequent emails, overly-salesy offers, overly-dry newsletters, or any combination of the above. And here’s some food for thought: They could just as easily come from a newsletter you subscribed for as one you did not. Oooooooh…..

email marketing, list marketing, Marketing, spam