YOUR E-MAIL AD CAMPAIGN...THE ART OF DECEPTION & DIVERSION

By turn of 2000 Century, e-mail advertising was skyrocketing. Once again, race for Dollar was on. However, no one reminded new advertisers of America's past dealings with advertising arena; no one told these "new centurions" about Oglivy survey, nor Age of Skepticism. No one has mentioned to them "believability" surveys of late '90's. No one, in fact, told new advertisers that regardless of where and how you are advertising, fundamental laws of human interaction, and "rules of advertising," have not changed.

One trend that has emerged is "deception" involved in getting people to actually open an e-mail. Today's advertisers have totally neglected what consumers have been telling ad industry for many years now. Instead, sellers have found it acceptable to use whatever deception necessary to get potential customers to read their e-mail. They use "subject line" in this regard. The emerging trend seems to be to make e-mail "personal" and then when opened, immediately hit consumer with a sales pitch for whatever you're selling. There's nothing personal about e-mail and sender has no interest in you at all.

For some reason, advertisers believe that a "deceptive subject line" followed by a "legitimate sales piece" will sell resulting product/service. The tactic won't make any sales of any significance. You can't sell "half truths." Consumers won't accept them. When customers don't trust ads, they don't trust resulting product or service.

A second emerging trend, many times connected to Trend #1 above, is making it difficult or nearly impossible to be removed from a list. By frustrating "removal process" for consumer and diverting him/her to another site for one last shot at "selling," advertisers have mistakenly been taught they have final upper hand. They don't. The customer always has upper hand. Now customer is convinced deception is in wind.

Technology in advertising is a way of life today. Hitting thousands of potential customers with one e-mail, instead of addressing postcards/letters and attaching stamps, is an entrepreneur's dream. It has, on other hand, unfortunate ability of creating dollar signs in eyes. Dollar signs that many times cloud fact that regardless of advertising "tools" you use, underlying "rules of advertising" will always remain constant. Master advertiser Roy Williams said it best when he said, "Advertising is persuasion through an exchange of confidence. Advertising is not persuasion through trickery."

Both of above tactics directly conflict with what consumers, customer surveys, and history have been telling us with regard to advertising. Using them will be introductory paragraph of your business epitaph.