I recently attended a conference and met a bunch of powerful, experienced business people. When I met Edith (that’s not her name), she gave the impression of an experienced professional and I looked forward to continuing the conversation with her after the event.
I just received Edith’s e-zine.
I know for a fact that I didn’t sign up for her e-zine. Edith had to have added me to the list — without my permission. Now I’m looking at Edith sideways.
I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm but, this one act to ‘get the word out’ has left a bad taste in my mouth.
Here’s the rule: When meeting people at events never, ever add them to any of your lists – e-zines or otherwise. Don’t email them jokes of the day. Don’t forward prayers or other ‘chain mail’ or ’superstitious’ email. It is perfectly fine to use keep-in-touch e-email. That is, sending the person a link to a story or blog post that you think is straight up their alley and will directly help them in their business. NOTE: This should not be done through a list service but rather via a personalized e-mail.
I wish this could go without saying but alas, sadly even some of the most seasoned professionals make this mistake.
Here’s the exception: The only way you can add someone to your list is if the following conversation occurs – and even then, be judicious!
Lena: Well, it was nice meeting you, Edith.
Edith: Nice meeting you too!
Lena: I want to keep up with what you’re up to…can you add me to your list when you get back to the office?
Edith: Sure. You do mean our e-zine, The Edith Gazette, yes?
Lena: Yes, that sounds good. It’ll tell me what your company is up to right?
Edith: Oh for sure – along with some helpful tips about how to use widgets, too.
Lena: Sounds good! Take care.
Edith: Will do. Take care!
Edith should then go back to the office send me a personal note to make sure I still want to be added to the list and only when she gets the second OK, should she add me to the list.
Unfortunately, this is not what happened in reality in my interaction with Edith. *sigh*
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 11:03 am and is filed under Internet Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Leave a Reply
