I’ve probably written about this very topic before, but one of my greatest pet peeves as a marketer being marketed to is inattention to detail when it comes to email subscriber preferences.
The latest one to set me off is the “you are receiving this message because…” message at the bottom of most standard marketing emails. Companies add this for compliance purposes, and perhaps to create a vague sense of control for their subscribers. But rarely is this message ever helpful, or even accurate.
If you are going to indicate to a subscriber why they are getting an email, you better make damn sure the reason is accurate and believable.
All too often, I’ll see vendors buy a list of names (with me on it), and start sending their monthly newsletter out. The subscription message at the bottom of the messages is invariably “you are receiving this message because you subscribed to our newsletter”.
No I didn’t. And you know I didn’t. Don’t treat your subscribers like they’re idiots. Especially when you haven’t earned the right to communicate with them in the first place.
Perhaps “You are receiving this message because we wanted to buy your attention instead of earn it” doesn’t quite have the right ring to it. But if you’re not willing to be honest in your disclosures, it’s probably a good sign that you might not want to send that email at all.