Is it just me, or does everyone's email folders seem extra full these days? I can't seem to keep up with the emails from every site I've ever bought anything from or any charity I've ever given to. (Charities require a whole other blog post.) Even if I only bought something once 10 years ago, I still get emails. They have subject lines like: "Hurry, we only have 1,000,000 left!" or "You won't want to miss this sale! It won't happen again ... until tomorrow!" So rather than just delete them, I've been taking the time to unsubscribe from just about every email trying to get money out of me.
Ordering online is a Catch-22. You love the convenience. It's quick. You don't have to go anywhere. You don't have to talk to anyone (my favorite part) and it's never closed. But then they want you to register. They want you to create an account. "Let us save your info, that way you won't have to re-enter it when you order again in 20 years!" Be afraid. Be very, very afraid. Always check out as a guest. Always.
Look, I'm a marketer by trade. I get it, email is a quick, inexpensive way to keep in touch and remind people you're out there. If your customer doesn't want to read it, they don't have to. No big deal. But don't these sites ever purge their lists? Don't they know I haven't ordered flowers from them in six years? Isn't it better to have an active, engaged list of quality customers rather than a list based on sheer numbers? I know, it's a crazy idea. What was I thinking?
Find out what's happening in Odenton-Severnfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
So where was I going with all this? Oh yeah. I've been clicking on the "unsubscribe" link rather than just deleting. And I love it when there's a little message like, "We're so sorry to see you go! Please come back. We'll do anything!!!!!!!" Maybe my in-box will be less full, but it's about the quality of the message, not the quantity of the messages that counts.
