You’ve heard about my very first Bluewire News email where I sent “Dear Adam” out to all 700 subscribers. It was ok for the 3 people called Adam, but not a good look to anyone else.
In spite of that shocker of a start, thankfully most of our early readers stayed with us.
However it wasn’t the worst email I’ve ever sent… that dubious accolade belongs to my infamous Uber email (more on that below…)
Firstly, a few quick lessons from the ‘Dear Adam’ debacle.
1. Don’t get people’s names wrong!
2. If you do, own your mistake and fix it asap.
3. Stop writing about how wonderful you think your company is and focus on your readers!
(*I could only bring myself to screenshot 3 paragraphs for you… as you can see, it’s pretty cringeworthy “me-me-me” copy.)
What was I thinking?
Anyway, luckily I didn’t let that mishap stop us. Every year, tens of thousands of people like you, read our Bluewire News and I love nothing more than writing to you each week, like I have done for over a decade.
I get to interact with you — and you can tell us when we’re on to something good, or tell me off when I get it disastrously WRONG (like my severely misjudged Uber email last year)!Speaking of which…
My infamous “Uber email”… was written in an airport lounge after my first Uber ride. I was thrilled by their service and over-exuberantly I wanted to share this experience with you and fellow Bluewire News readers.
In an error of judgement, I hit send as I boarded the plane in Sydney and an hour later once I landed in Brisbane… my inbox was full.
A few testaments to my copywriting skills
One friend told me my copy sounded like it was written by a Nigerian scammer. Heartwarming stuff for a marketer to hear.
In retrospect, that email was so off-topic compared to my regular web marketing emails, that it confused and offended many readers.
Many readers misconstrued that I was shilling for $10 Uber credits. Some didn’t remember who I was, lots unsubscribed, and many gave me a spray!
I’m certain there wouldn’t be 21,000 Bluewire News readers if my copywriting skills hadn’t improved. We probably wouldn’t even have a business (or any friends) had my Uber emails or “Dear Adams” continued.
My goal in sharing these tales with you is that it’s ok to make mistakes as you go on this web marketing journey.
I’ve learnt to appreciate that it’s not the ‘end of the world’ when things go wrong. In fact they are opportunities to improve, and be to be human. You test things out… you get feedback.. and you improve.
I’ve learnt my lesson and you won’t be getting any more Uber emails (even though I love what they’re about) because I now know you don’t appreciate them. But I will continue to share my mistakes with you because we can all learn.
In the comments, feel free to ‘fess up to something you’ve mucked up in the past. I promise you are not alone.
Toby Jenkins is talking about ‘Business & Olympics’ and ‘Business Partnerships’ and I am talking about social media and digital marketing. We also have Will Blunt on our team too, so if you’d like to see an up and coming speaker, he is your guy.
Always feel free to hit reply and let us know what you are after.
Please click on the most appropriate link and you’ll be taken to the rest of the short survey.
Next week, you are going to get a brand new training video on the Web Strategy Planning Template.
Plus in the interest of sharing, we’ll also release the original design files, so you can very easily edit it, co-brand it and even build on it if you like.
Have a good one,
Adam
Adam Franklin
Co-founder of Bluewire Media
Co-author of Web Marketing That Works
PS. Can you think of one friend who works in digital marketing? Please forward this on to them if you think they’ll find it valuable. They can sign up to the Bluewire News here (and get 33 marketing templates for free.)
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