I am writing in response to Ken Magill’s article (“AIM Panel: Marketers Get an ‘F’ Online So Far,” June 24).
Seth Godin has some novel ideas. He gives marketers on the Internet an “F” because they have not completely adopted his ideas. Godin says many companies have been reluctant to adopt a true permission model because so-called interruption marketing is what made them the companies they are today.
There is a practice in business. I know it’s a silly one. It’s called “continuing to do what keeps you in business.” Marketers will continue to do what is successful; i.e., what is keeping their companies in business and profitable. I guess maybe marketers should reconsider that shameless tactic.
I think Godin would be happiest if no marketer were ever allowed to send a single e-mail to anyone unless he had full permission beforehand to send that specific e-mail. They’d have to have lots of file cabinets filled with signed contracts in triplicate from each potential recipient, who had responded to the expensive direct mailing giving their signed permission to receive that one single e-mail. Sounds really profitable to me. I’ll get started on that right away.
Then Godin goes on to say that 99 percent of all opt-in e-mail lists are worthless garbage. If someone wants you to rent the list, it’s probably not worth renting. Wow, that’s enlightening!
I guess that means the 25,000 responses I have gotten (not click-throughs but responses) to my e-mail campaigns in the past 14 months, gotten from mailing to rented opt-in lists, are really bogus responses. And the actual millions of dollars made from selling to those leads are really bogus millions of dollars.
I’m glad he set me straight on that. I would hate to make the mistake of spending that bogus money.
Lastly, Godin used this forum to promote his new record label, Payola Records. He says, “The company is called Payola Records because my goal is not to be played on radio stations.”
Boy, I’ll tell you. We are so lucky to have such priceless business acumen at our fingertips from Seth Godin. Am I right?
John Eberhard, President, Realwebmarketing.net, Los Angeles
