While checking my email I had a sequence of events that I thought would be great to share as a "when a good plan goes bad" story.
Here's the play by play:
- I receive an email from a marketing company. Well written with a great message. I thought to myself "Huh, I normally don't open unsolicited mail, but the subject line spoke to me. When I opened it up, it was a marketing service I would actually use. But then of course, I was quickly distracted by a more important message and moved on with my day.
- A couple days later I got a "Follow Up: (same subject line)" email. I opened it up and the copy was great! The message yet again spoke to me. I'm sold! But something was missing... no link to their website. No problem, I'm a smart guy, I can just use the domain from the person's email address.
- Head off to the website to learn more about the company. Looks good! International presence, great web presentation, and then I clicked the blog <dramatic music>
- First post "Test Post 1", second post, "Example Blog Entry"... about 7 in total. I'm gone.
So what did they do right?
- They spent a lot time on copy. The message great!
- The list was targeted - I really did want what they were selling.
- They sent a follow up message, which again had great copy.
- Their website presented really well. It was well thought out and looked like a bit of planning was involved.
What did they do wrong?
- Website didn't have relevant dated copy so it looked like they didn't stay active as a company.
- The website had Lorum Ipsem and test data.
- Zero social media integration. Third party responses via Facebook or Twitter would have given me more confidence in the company.
So close - they almost had me sold. If only they kept up on their marketing collateral on their website.
-Nate
