Every once in a while something happens that makes me laugh, sometimes in a “that’s funny” way and sometimes in a “that’s weird” way.
I am the first to admit that I love software, I love coming up with ideas and I love proving the idea works. I am not so hot on the actual marketing side of things.
If I am selling it then it must be good and people should just buy because I ask them to..
Which apparently isn’t the way it works!
Luckily enough Stewart Alexander who is my partner in the Comment Hut project has been dragging me kicking and screaming into the marketing side of things. This means I am dealing more and more with people who don’t know me and who I don’t know.
We sent out a email to our list of people who have signed up for and downloaded Comment Hut Lite over the last year, we haven’t emailed them for a while as Stewart has been on a nice long holiday to Jamaica and I seem to be spending every waking minute looking after Elizabeth.
The responses to the email have made me feel warm and fuzzy , offended and then just caused me to laugh out loud at peoples responses.
Some people emailed me asking how the family are, what am I working on next and other normal questions.
Some people emailed me saying they were getting out of IM as they have never managed to make any money.
One person emailed me a long email telling me how stupid I was as no one would ever email me back (this is the one that made me laugh in a “thats weird” kind of way).
It has served to reassure me that the people on my lists are just that, People. They are not faceless numbers to be sold to, they are real people and as such every one if different.
It is hard not to get upset when someone sends me something offensive, but I am trying to stop taking that so personally.
I wonder if people would speak to me face to face the way they seem quite to via email?
All in all I think email marketing is a real art, but life would be easier if everyone realized that everything I release is A1 and they should just buy it without being asked!
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March 13th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
No, they probably wouldn’t talk to you that way face to face. Email is a bit liberating in that you don’t have to face the person you are talking to. But then again, people do seem to be getting ruder. Wonder what is causing that?
March 18th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Only one hate mail?! That’s awesome! It took me, literally, about a year to get used to it. I spent that year sending out a mailing - about something nice, like a software update, then getting hate mail (among many positive messages too), reading it to my husband and asking them why on earth people were so stupid/rude/mean. I finally got over it, and I do laugh now. No, they wouldn’t talk to you that way in person.