The reason I’m focused on telling you about this particular piece of trash is because I know that web traffic — particularly Google traffic — is a top priority for everyone on the web.

Incredible good things can happen to the growth of your business just by being in one of the top three spots. And because of that, sometimes the radar goes off kilter a bit and we get sucked into things we shouldn’t. This is one of those things.

This message is a solicitation for search optimization services (SEO). Reputable SEO firms don’t do cold emails to solicit business. They don’t have too. Always remember that. If you want SEO help for your business, do your research and pick a firm that’s a good match for you.

OK, so just for grins, how about we pick this email apart and identify all the things that are wrong with it. Take a quick read and we’ll talk about that below.

Here we go…

• Improper greeting (no name, in all caps)
• Bob Smith (seriously??) How many Bob Smiths are there in the world?
• Improper grammar and word usage (doesn’t appear to be a native english writer)
• They want a long relationship based on two sentences of poorly written snippets of what they do? Don’t think so.
• No website, generic email address from a free service provider.

What else can you find wrong with this?

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1. Email is sent to you, but is personalized for someone else. Mail from Joe Lunghamer Chevrolet has been landing in my email box for a few months now and I’ve been automatically deleting it. The other day I finally found an opt out link — I hope it works. There are some big problems with this email. First is that it was sent to my email address and I never opted in. And I’m not their customer either. I haven’t owned a Chevy for I don’t know how long — maybe never — and this dealership is located in Waterford, Michigan. I live in Florida. Plus this email is addressed to “Dear Gene.”

Here’s an email marketing tip for you: Allow double opt in so your email customers can agree to getting email from you. And make sure you give them a clear option for opting out. (I use Aweber which requires both double opt in and an unsubscribe link on every email.)

2. Email announcing an event is sent two minutes before it starts. I kid you not. I had signed up for Oprah’s new network (OWN) announcements out of curiosity. This email announcing the premier of the new series, “Your OWN Show,” was sent to me two minutes before the show began.

Here’s an email marketing tip for you. Don’t assume your email customers are sitting at their computers waiting for you. That’s pretty naive. Emails that arrive at the last minute serve you, not your customers. (To be fair, OWN isn’t the only last minute announcement email I’ve received lately. They are getting more and more common.)

What kind of mistakes are you seeing in your email in box? Please share in the comments.

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Sadly, all I ended up with was disappointment — along with a bunch of other OnStar customers.

When I clicked through on the email, it took me to OnStar’s Facebook page where it played the video below featuring the neat new features. But when I looked at their Facebook wall, I saw the real truth. You can see it too if you look below the video.

Here’s a screen grab from their Facebook page. There are many unhappy customers because this new app only works with 2011 models. (Sorry for the blur!) They would have been much better off if they had segmented their email list and only sent it to people who have new cars. You should segment your email list too. It will help you serve the right customer at the right time with the right solution.

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Based on what I’ve been seeing in my email box, there are a lot of you who didn’t “get the memo” on this topic. During this month, I have received no less than ten email newsletters that have the subject:

July 2009 Newsletter

Yes, at least ten newsletters from different companies had that subject line. Not good. And worse than that, who cares? A boring title like that doesn’t entice me to open the mail and find out what you have to tell me.

Make the subject interesting so I want to open the mail and read what you have to say. Convio has a good post about what makes an email subject line successful. In a nutshell:

- Tell the reader what’s inside.
- Don’t use the same subject line for each issue.
- Don’t include your company name or date.

Always remember to look at your client / prospect communications from their perspective. If you do, it will help you spice things up a bit and get you more opens — which is one of the objectives in the first place.

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I created an exclusive report for those folks and decided it would work best if sent about seven days after their initial subscription. I figured at some later date I would send out the invitation to the people who were already on my list. Great plan, huh?

Not quite.

Purely by accident I discovered that when you add a message into the mix of autoresponders, if the time is past it will automatically send to your subscribers. Oops.

No harm done to my list of subscribers, I’m sure. But it was a big surprise that I’ll be prepared for in the future. I use Aweber for my service, so consider yourself forwarned. I’m not sure how other services handle this type of change, but it’s worth checking into if you decide to add or modify messages.

Have you had this happen to you? What service do you use? Got any special tips to share?

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