The #1 Way to Annoy the Heck Out of Your Email Subscribers

I recently started eating fewer carbs and following a ketogenic diet. It’s a pretty radical change for me.

And I’m not going to lie. The biggest thing I miss is….pizza.

Pizza used to be my favorite food. I would eat it every day if I could.

But regular pizza crust is definitely on the “no” list for low carbers, so I had to either give it up completely, or find a low-carb substitute.

I have been fiddling around with different online recipes for pizza crusts, but all of the crusts I made at home just tasted gross to me.

So I recently discovered a pre-made, low-carb pizza crust you can buy online. The product reviews on the company’s website are great, so I ordered a few of the crusts to test them out.

What does this have to do with online marketing, you ask?

Here’s how it ties in: This company made a critical error in their email marketing strategy, right after I placed my order, and it was so blatant and flat-out annoying that I decided to feature them in a “What Not to Do with Your Email Marketing” blog post.

Here’s What the Low-Carb Pizza Company Did Next

I had just placed my order, and was excited to receive my pizza crusts.

At this point, I’m a warm audience member for this company, and I’d love to get to know them better and receive more information about what they do and how they make their low-carb products.

About a day after I placed my order, I got this email from the pizza crust company:

Then two days later, I got this email:

Are you starting to see a pattern? Have you spotted the mistake yet?

One more, just for good measure.

Here’s the email I received 3 days after my order:

See the problem yet?

The Mistake This Company Made, and Why It Annoyed Me Enough to Write an Entire Blog Post About It

The biggest problem isn’t that they sent me three emails in short succession after I placed my order. That’s fine – I understand that the first few days after a customer buys from you is a great time to reach out and try to get them to purchase more items.

The problem is that these emails were all about selling. It’s all about them (the company), not about their target audience member (me).

During those first few days, when I was excited about the company and its products, and I was looking forward to getting interesting information, they sent me a sales pitch. And another one. And another one.

After the third sales email, I unsubscribed.

I didn’t want to get bombarded with constant sales messages. I get enough of those emails already, just like everyone else in the world.

This company lost a subscriber when they made this critical error, and because I unsubscribed, they gave up the ability to follow up with me, build a relationship, and stay at the top of my mind next time I want to order more low-carb products.

Here’s What This Company Could Have Done Instead

Wondering what they could have done instead?

They could have sent me useful content.

Useful content – like blog posts, videos, or podcast episodes – is the kind of content that gives me real-world information that improves my life in some way.

This is the kind of content that consistently builds relationships with potential buyers, increases authority in their industry, and brings in more revenue.

And there was a LOT of opportunity for this company to get it right with their email marketing strategy.

Low-carb diets and keto diets have become quite popular recently. Because this company’s products are specifically marketed as low carb (and great for the ketogenic diet), their marketers had a fantastic opportunity to create and send all kinds of helpful info that would have helped me in my journey.

This company could have included any of the following in their follow-up emails to me:

• Articles and blog posts about the low-carb way of eating.
• Recipes for low-carb pizza and flatbread sandwiches.
• More information about the science of low-carb eating.
• Advice on dealing with cravings, holiday eating, or pressure from family members.
• Links to useful podcasts about the ketogenic diet.
• Recommendations for books, videos, or magazines.

They also could have easily followed up with me after my order arrived, to see if I liked their product or ask me if I had any questions.

If this company had sent me anything useful in their first few emails, they would have kept me as a subscriber.

Instead, they sent me three sales pitches, in a (futile) effort to get me to buy more products before I’d even had the chance to even taste my first order.

Do You Make This Mistake?

I know people get really upset when their subscribers leave their mailing lists.

As a copywriter, I tell my clients not to worry about numbers, and I always explain that people who unsubscribe aren’t their target audience members, anyway.

But in this case, I do want you to take a minute and evaluate what you’re sending out to your email list, especially right after people buy from you or sign up for your list.

Are you sending constant sales pitches and discount offers?

Or are you sending useful content that your subscriber will find interesting and helpful?

If all you’re doing is selling, selling, selling, it’s quite likely your emails are doing more harm than good. It’s time to re-evaluate your strategy.

If you want to make a change for 2019, consider creating content that will help you build a long-term, trusted relationship with your new subscriber.

Because in the long run, that relationship is all that really matters.

And if you annoy your customer so much that they unsubscribe after only three emails, you’ve missed the mark – and lost the opportunity to connect with someone who could potentially buy from you again and again.

Having trouble writing emails that connect? I can help.