Swamped by E-mail,
he finally gets angry

     Last month I wrote an opinion piece I named "Everyone's a prospect to the big E-mailers." I took a few shots at the dumb subject lines on the tons of E-Mail I've started to receive over the past few months, had a little fun, and moved on. But a pal of mine also on AOL phoned me. Said his E-Mail had tripled and he couldn't remember authorizing any of it, and did I have the same problem? And as he was speaking I realized I did. I'm getting stuff I wouldn't subscribe to in a hundred years, and all of a sudden I'm mad about it. I began to pay more attention to the opt out language, and much of it said they sent it because I had asked to be put on their list. Would I ask to attend the University of Phoenix? Would I sign up for a seniors dating service? Do I need a prepaid debit card? So who put my name on all these ridiculous lists? All I can tell you is a lot of them came with an opt out bulletin from AOL right under the opening logo. That makes me suspicious--of AOL Could they have sold my name and address? I'll never know. There's a new opt out procedure, too. You have to give your E-mail address before they remove you. I'm suspicious of that, too. The only answer is to change to a new service, get a new E-mail address, and start over. And I'm damn close to that now.

Will E-mail become
a thing of the past?

     This is a bit of a carryover from my opinion piece on your left. And it's not good news if you're hooked on the easy to buy, easy to write, easy to send charm of E-mail. I'm now seeing stories and columns in the direct marketing publications and newsletters that claim E-mail rental lists are in so much trouble they could become extinct in nothing flat. Like everything else in our society that's overdone, they've antagonized the receivers and could be ruining the reputations of the senders. In early October, according to DM News, the E-mail list industry had it largest decline in 20 years. Business-to-business and business-to-consumer list rentals dropped a combined $23/M. Of course, the economy hasn't exactly cooperated, but E-mail's armor has been breached. Marketing directors take note.

Advertising
is always
one-to-one

     " A common mistake in advertising strategy is attempting to talk to too large a market or to too many people. Many times, when you attempt to talk to a very large group, you wind up talking to no one in particular. Advertising is one-to-one communication. Sometimes you fall into the trap that because your advertising or commercial will be seen by millions, you must say something of interest to all of them. Not so. Each person who sees or hears your advertising reacts to it individually, and usually differently."

     --Don Schultz in Essentials of Advertising Strategy

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