Email Marketing and Auto-Responders: The Day I Got Dumped By An Auto-Responder

Author : Joan Pasay
I am really depressed today. An old e-newsletter flame that dumped me many months ago sent me an email out of the blue. I hadn't received any emails from this old flame in months. I did not even think I was still on the list. Receiving that e-newsletter conjured up feelings of betrayal and hurt that I thought I had resolved after dozens of sessions with my therapist. And to make matters worse, the email newsletter was trying to get me to buy some product, from another company, that my old flame was 'recommending.' My flame did not even have the decency to send me an email newsletter about how things were going in his neck of the woods. I still can't believe any of this is happening.My therapist says that journaling about my problems will bring clarity and understanding. I hope she's right. I guess the best place for me to start is to outline how this sordid affair ever began in the first place. If I get emotional, please forgive me. I really cared for my old flame and my heart is still a little tender. I just don't understand how any of this happened. I never signed up for the pain and tears my old flame left me with. I never signed up for being dumped by an auto-responder email newsletter. But let's go back eight months so I can tell you how this auto-responder and I first met.Back in May, a friend of mine told me about a great self-development book she was reading. She couldn't stop talking about it; every time I saw my friend she talked and talked about the book. She kept on telling me I would really like it. After days and days of hearing about the book I went online and bought it. What do you know, my friend was right! I really liked the book. Within the first few chapters I was putting the methods into practice and seeing great results.After reading about a quarter of the book I wanted to know more about the author and his company so I followed the URL on the back of the book to the author's website. There was a ton of information about the book as well as highlights of courses and seminars that were being offered at different locations around the world. It seemed that the company was offering seminar versions of what was covered in the book for those who either had ADD or were short on time and where unable to read the 400-plus-page book. I didn't really pay much attention to all the information about the courses and seminars since I already had the book and didn't mind the lengthy read. I did notice an e-newsletter signup box on the homepage, though. "Why not?" I thought. Maybe I would find out more ways to apply the principles in the book.Soon I was receiving e-newsletters every Wednesday. I was right! Each email newsletter outlined different methods from the book. There were lots of real life application examples and testimonials from people who had also applied the principles. Oh sure, there were ads mentioning the courses and seminars, but I didn't mind. Within a few weeks I was looking forward to getting my weekly e-zine. It was official. This e-newsletter and I were going steady.A few weeks later, Wednesday came and I didn't get an email newsletter from my flame. I was perplexed. Those weekly e-zines were really helping me as I studied the book. I did not want to miss any of the valuable information so I went back to the website and signed up again. Just like when I signed up the first time, the signup form asked me for my name. I was already signed up under the name Joan and wanted to see if my original signup was still out there. I knew the only way I could track my signups was to choose another name. I picked an alternate name, went ahead and signed up, and eagerly awaited the next e-newsletter.Soon I was back on track and receiving the weekly e-zine. I could tell my second signup had worked because my alternate name was being used. It was kind of funny and I wondered if anyone ever looked at the names on that email newsletter list. I guess I will never know, but at least it gave me a bit of a giggle every time I open my weekly e-newsletters and read the opening salutation of 'Dear Squidlips.'A few weeks after my Squidlips signup, I started to get strange feelings of déjà vu as I was reading my weekly newsletter. Had I seen this email before? I located my book folder in my email client and looked through all the email newsletters I had received from this company. I could not believe it. These e-newsletters were set up on an auto-responder service! My weekly Dear Squidlips emails had started back at the beginning of a series of email messages. I WAS having déjà vu; I was reading emails I had already received!Now my knickers were in a twist. This was not a weekly e-zine! This was a series of promo messages! What was the deal? I had experienced flings with auto-responders before. I knew the drill. I had been on 'five day e-courses' and known all along that the messages were sitting in some database waiting for me to signup. I knew when I subscribed it would trigger a series of messages to get delivered to me in a certain sequence. Heck, I even used email auto-responders with my own business. What I had not expected was to get into an auto-responder fling when I signed up for a weekly e-newsletter. I thought this email newsletter and I had made a commitment. I thought we were going steady.After a sleepless night of tears and accepting that I was having a relationship with a database, I decided to stay on the list. Weekly e-newsletters kept on coming addressed to Squidlips. After a while I forgot about the auto-responder factor and started to enjoy the content in the auto-responder e-zines. Deep down I knew I was having a fling but I didn't care. I was still reading the 400-plus-page book and I thought the articles in the e-newsletters really enhanced my reading.Months went by. This was getting to be quite the auto-responder fling! Email message after email message appeared week after week addressed to Squidlips. But then, one day the tone of the email newsletter seemed a little different. The email message basically said I was being dumped. Well, it didn't say the word 'dumped.' It said since I had not bought anything that the newsletters were promoting, this would be the last e-newsletter I would be receiving. Translation: "We have tried and tried to get you to buy a course or seminar and we don't know any other way to convince you to buy something and we have given up, so get lost…loser." By the time I finished reading the e-zine I was in tears. It was probably my own fault, but I had grown attached to these emails and I really looked forward to getting them.For days I was in a funk. I cried, ripped the down feathers out of my designer pillows, and got really depressed. Day after day I visited deeper and deeper recesses of my being that I did not even know existed. The depression grew worse and worse. I wondered if that auto-responder e-zine, or whatever it was, knew I had paid $40 for their book. I laid awake, night after night, asking the Universe why this company had a weekly e-newsletter signup form in their homepage that was really a series of canned emails tailored to promote their products. Weeks went by and the confusion remained. Would I ever recover from being dumped by this auto-responder?When I was able to leave the house without fainting, I booked a few sessions with my therapist. Maybe she could help me realized why I was so hurt. It took a lot of deep breathing, but I soon found the root cause of my pain. At first it was hard for me to wrap my head around the truth, but I think my depression was triggered by this company 'unsubscribing me' from their e-newsletter list. I thought the way this opt-in email newsletter stuff worked was that I got to do the dumping. I thought I got to 'unsubscribe' when I wanted the love affair to be over.In the past my auto-responder affairs have ended and my life went on without much longing for the arms of my absent email lover. I admit for a few days I would miss getting the emails, but let's face it, when the affair started I knew it would be no different than the summer I had that hot and heavy romance with Melvin from Cleveland. All summer I knew come Labor Day, Melvin would leave his grandmother's house (which happened to be across the street from mine), go back to Cleveland, and I would never see him again. I knew most likely he wouldn't even write me. We didn't care what was going to happen when school started; Melvin and I smooched every minute of every day and made the most of that summer.Most of my auto-responder email affairs have been exactly the same as my summer with Melvin. Hot and heavy for a while, lots of frequent in-your-face contact, and then nothing. Sometimes some of my auto-responder lovers have encouraged me to signup for their regular email list because they wanted to continue our relationship with something more formal and real-time. Some just stop emailing and I never heard from them again. Regardless, I knew from the beginning that the email relationship was a 'Melvin'; I knew the email relationship was a short-term fling.It had been months since this all happened and I thought I was over my old e-newsletter flame. That auto-responder that masqueraded as a going steady e-newsletter relationship was tucked away in my past. I really thought the flame had been snuffed out months ago. I remembered that last email; how could I forget it? The company had been clear and had had no qualms about telling me I was being un-subscribed for lack of purchase. But then, as I mentioned at this beginning of this journal entry, out of the blue, I got a lone message from the company. I'll admit my heart sang a bit when I saw the email message sitting in my in-box. I thought the company had experienced a change of heart and really did love me. I thought my email flame wanted me back.I was wrong. The email was worse than my last Dear Squidlips email (that should have read 'Dear John'). I guess the company thought they would try to get me to buy something from a company they were 'recommending' since they had not experienced any luck with me buying something from them.I'm happy to report that earlier today, I un-subscribed myself from their newsletter list. I didn't want to get my heart broken again so I took matters into my own hands and dumped the company from my in-box. When I un-subscribed from the list, I was asked why I was leaving. I was happy to answer the question:"Summer was great, Melvin, but school is about to start and you need to go back to Cleveland."Brought to you by the -- Email Marketing Club:
The only place on the Internet where Email Marketing is FUN!Join now and receive a gift - guaranteed to increase your status with your friends, co-workers and boss. Click below:
http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/email_marketing_clubCheck out our popular ebook Email Marketing Made Easy &
one on one expert Email Marketing coaching at http://www.EmailMarketingMadeEasy.comEarn good karma, forward this article to everyone you know who has an email address.Copyright Joan Pasay - 2005
Category : Business:Autoresponders

For Sale By Owner Listings

Author : Tim O'Keefe
Selling your home on your own, without a Realtor, is becoming less and less popular. This is surprising, considering that home values have skyrocketed and commissions have risen along with them.The money to be saved can be significant enough to attempt to sell your home on your own. Especially when the market has historically low interest rates and high demand in most areas of the country.To sell your home on your own however, you are missing the most significant marketing tool available to you. The Realtor's Multiple Lisitngs Service (MLS).70% of all home buyers start out on the web. So it is crucial for you to be in the MLS. But, the challenge has always been that to be in the MLS you have to sign with a Realtor at 6% of your sales price.So if your home is worth $399,000. You would spend 6% on your sales commissions. Not to mention your title, escrow and other expenses.So if you sell your house on your own you can save at least $23,940 ($399,000 x 6%).But let's get realistic. Most buyers work with a Realtor.
So you will be spending at least 2% to 3% for the buyers commission.I say you will be spending because even if the buyer is paying the agent as a buyers broker, that will still reflect a lower offer to that takes into consideration the commission. So you are paying for the commission indirectly-yes?Additionally, you will find that you will have a much better reach into your marketplace by being in the MLS.So how do you do this? Well depending on your State you can list your home for a flat fee as low as $500. But, you get listed in the MLS with zero service.But, you get the reach of all the buyers brokers that subscribe to the MLS and you still save 2% - 3% of the price.Estate Sale By Owner Listings
List on the MLS for less than $500.
Category : Finance:Real-Estate-FSBO

Long Lasting Love Relationships

Author : Terje Ellingsen
Dating and establishing love relationships can be compared to choosing a vehicle. You pick out the make, model, year, color and features that you believe are best for you. After driving your vehicle for a couple of months, you realize that perhaps you should have purchased a larger car, or that maybe the leather seats would have been better, or on hot sunny days, the sunroof would have been nice. However, it is now too late so you choose to keep your car and accept the decision you made. It is the same for a marriage or couple relationship. Not everything will be perfect and there will be major obstacles to overcome but you have made your decision and now you choose to make it work no matter which marriage troubles you are experiencing.Dating and marriage is different than it was thirty years ago. Today, more than 50% of all marriages fail for one reason or another. Just thinking about that makes “commitments” and marriage vows seem scary. It seems that when relationships are faced with challenges, people quit trying. Dating is more like a marathon, trying to date as many people as possible, instead of taking time to get to know someone on a deeper level. For married couples, divorce is not biased. Whether married for thirty years or eight months, the outcome can be the same.The fact is that relationships, whether dating or married, are hard. Things do not always go perfectly, fighting does occur, and it takes a 100% commitment from both parties to make it a success. Often when people break off a relationship, they feel as though something is missing. The “spark” has gone, leaving one or both people feeling inadequate and unfulfilled.
However, even though the odds are not very good, it has been proven by many people that healthy and long-lasting relationships are definitely possible. Look at Paul Newman and Joanne Woodard, Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman, or Nancy and Ronald Regan. What secrets do and did they possess? The answer is: work hard at the relationship. They made a decision of choosing to love their mate rather than relying on the “warm and fuzzy” feelings, which everyone knows will fade. By making love a choice, you are making a decision that even in the bad times, you stick it out.There are hundreds of things you can do to build, strengthen, and enhance your relationship. You can find lots of relationship self help resources online. Remember, little steps taken every day will add up to big successes.Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website 1st-Self_Improvement.net. Terje is a Sociologist who enjoys contributing to the personal growth and happiness of others. He tries to accomplish this by writing about personal development issues from his own experience and knowledge. For example, self help resources and how to enhance your relationship.
Category : Forums

Auto Loans After Bankruptcy - How Does a Bankruptcy Affect Your Approval?

Author : Carrie Reeder
A recent bankruptcy will not disqualify you from obtaining an auto loan. In fact, opening a new line of credit shortly after a bankruptcy helps re-establish your credit and improve your credit history. Bankruptcy allows a fresh start. Initially, lenders may be hesitant to lend you money. However, after you have established a good payment history with new creditors, other creditors will take notice and become more willing to offer lower interest rates.Sub Prime Lender ApprovalAlthough a bankruptcy will not prevent you from qualifying for an auto loan, it will make it difficult to obtain a low interest rate. The interest rate plays a huge role in determining your monthly payments. On average, individuals with good or fair credit receive an interest rate of 5 or 6 percent. Individuals who have filed a recent bankruptcy can expect to pay a few points higher. A higher interest rate can increase monthly payments up to $150. Because traditional auto lenders are unwilling to negotiate low rates with recently bankrupt individuals, sub prime lenders are your best alternative.Improve Credit HistoryAuto loans after bankruptcy are ideal for rebuilding credit. However, if you do not want to pay a high interest rate on the auto loan, put off obtaining a new car and apply for a new credit card or line of credit. The interest rate received on these types of credit will also be higher. By paying the balance on the new line of credit each month, you will not incur huge finance fees, and your credit report will reflect a good payment history with new creditors. If possible, try and open at least three to four new lines of credit. After you have had the new credit accounts for 12 â€" 24 months, now is the time to apply for an auto loan. Your credit history and score will have likely improved, thus auto lenders will have confidence in your ability to repay the loan.Shop Around for the Best RateRequest quotes from several auto loan brokers. Applying for a quote online is quick and convenient. Submit applicable information such as employment history, income, and desired loan amount. The auto loan lenders will obtain your credit report and negotiate the best rate with various auto lenders.View our recommended Bad Credit Car Loan Companies here at:
Recommended Bad Credit
Auto Lenders.Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan
Guide, an informational website about various types of loans.
Category : Networks

One Way Links: Powerful SEO Strategy

Author : Nicolas Arrighi
One way links are links that direct users to your website from another place on the internet. They are the type of link that you do not necessarily need to return. Reciprocal links are links that you place on your site in return for incoming links to your site. Permanent one way links are much better, and will get your site higher link popularity than reciprocal links.There are two very popular methods for getting permanent one way links that will send traffic to your website. They include:Writing Articles – How this works is that you write an article, at the bottom or in the content, you place a link to your website. Then, you submit the article to an article submission service that will make your content available for free or for a cost. The user of you content must then put the entire article on their site, with your link. And, you have one more permanent one way link to your website for every person who uses your content.Submitting to Directories - Submitting your website URL to web directories is a very time consuming and boring process, where you give the title and description of the site, in addition to the URL for your site. The directory will then add your site and give you another incoming link. Directory submission is a good technique for getting permanent one way links.Because the two ways that are most often used to increase the number of incoming links are both time consuming and boring, it is better to ask for the help of a professional who knows what to do to get you permanent one way links.Using someone who has experience writing articles and submitting to directories in order to build one way links is better than doing these things yourself. Why? Because first you don't have time to waste and second you could generate bad incoming links if you d not submit your articles or directory listings in the right way.Nicolas Arrighi is the CEO of www.linking-service.com He offers different valuable services to increase your link popularity with quality one way links.
Category : Business:Traffic-Building

Beginning in Videography

Author : Jim Wagner
If you're looking to get into videography and video editing as a hobby, the options can be daunting. Here is a small question and response that may help you get started in this fun and rewarding hobby.What type of camera do you recommend?Response: For a beginner, a Canon single CCD camera will suit you well. It has a cost range of $500 to $700. Canon is well respected at all levels of video camera quality and has probably the best quality for the price at the low end.If you want to start out with something more professional, you may want to look into the Canon GL2 which is a low end 3 CCD (1/4" each) camera running about $1500. This camera is great for an enthusiastic hobbyist or a beginning special events videographer.If you're looking to make some money on the side (or as a career) with your camera doing special events such as wedding videography, you may want to look into the Sony VX2100, a high-end consumer 3 CCD (1/3" each) camcorder, running at a price between $2100 and $3000, check out prices here. The high definition capable version of the same camera is called the Sony HDR / Fx1 and goes for $3700 at all major retailers.What is CCD?CCDs are imaging chips. CCD stands for charge-coupled device and is a light sensative circuit which stores an electrical charge representing each tiny part of an image. The difference between low and high end video cameras is usually determined by the number of CCDs (one or three), and the size of the CCD. In video cameras the number of CCDs determines the clarity of the picture in low lighting (most indoor) situations. The size of the CCD is directly linked to the amount of "color bleeding" present in the video.It is also interesting to note that for video cameras, unlike photography cameras, the size of the pixels is far more important than the number of pixels. Fewer pixels that are larger make a better video camera. It is also interesting to note that as you go from low-end to high-end cameras, you will be getting fewer "extras" on your camera such as the ability to take "still photography".Next question: What video editing software would you recommend?Response: Pinnacle Studio 9 has many great features for beginning in photoediting. It runs between $70 and $90 at major retail stores. It gives many options and is very user friendly. If you're looking for some more advanced options in lighting, transitions, and sound editing, you may want to consider the more professional editing software Pinacle Liquid Editions for around $600.This article may also be found at http://www.researchtechs.com/videoediting.htmAbout The AuthorJim WagnerContributor to www.ResearchTechs.comEnjoys anything Tech.Majoring in Computer Science.jim@researchtechs.com
Category : Business:Video-Streaming

Parents — The No Child Left Behind Law Won't Do Much For Your Child

Author : Joel Turtel
Past experience with federal education programs predicts that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act will also fail parents whose children are doing poorly in school. The federal government has spent over $120 billion on Title 1 programs for low-income students since 1965. Yet the literacy rates for these children today are appalling, and the achievement gap between low-income children and their peers has not closed.If the U.S. Department of Education wants to give real choice to parents, they should not be tinkering with a failed government-controlled school system that, by its very nature, strangles free choice and competition.Americans have been blessed with a system that gives them almost unlimited choices in their daily lives for almost four hundred yearsâ€"it’s called the free market. If parents could pay for their kids’ education in a totally unregulated, fiercely competitive education free market, free from government controls, parents would have all the school choice in the world. This education free market would also give their kids a superb, low-cost education.Yet too often, government officials with their bureaucratic mentality, distrust the free market, the same free market that brings them their cars, clothes, computers, electricity, and fresh food. The No Child Left Behind Act adds yet another layer of federal regulations to the already strangling layers of local and state government regulations on education.If the federal government truly wants to give parents more school choice, they should be working to remove local and state controls over education, not adding to those controls with the No Child Left Behind law and other regulations. That is like trying to cure a person dying of arsenic poisoning by giving him more arsenic.Naturally, government education officials can’t understand the fact that government control of education is not the solution, it is the problem.Over the past fifty years, federal, state, and city governments have spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to “fix” the public schools. They have failed, time and again. For example, in July, 2005, the Congress-mandated National Assessment of Education Progress showed that high-school students’ dismal reading skills have not improved since 1999.High-school drop-out rates in inner-city, low-income minority areas range from 30 percent to over 50 percent. High-school dropouts are far more likely to end up in prison during their lifetimes. A U.S. Bureau of Justice report estimates that approximately 47 percent of drug offenders and 75 percent of state prison inmates are high-school dropouts. Dropouts are also about three times more likely than high-school graduates to end up on welfare.These are not just appalling statistics. These numbers represent millions of bright, eager chidren whose lives can be ruined by public schools that fail them.Trying to repair the public-school system is futile, precisely because it is a compulsory, government-controlled monopoly. Trying to fix this system with vouchers, charter schools, or the No Child Left Behind Law is like trying to cure cancer with a band-aid.Parents should not pin their hopes on any government-sponsored school-choice alternative. Vouchers, charter schools, and the No Child Left Behind Act are simply too little, too late. Also, powerful, entrenched special-interest groups in the public-school establishment fight school choice because they benefit from parents’ and children’s subservience to the system.Parents should not expect the public schools in their neighborhoods to improve. If you want to give your children a decent education and a chance at life, you must take their future into your own hands, now. It is useless to hope that the public-school system has the will or ability to reform itself. It is a waste of your time, and your children’s precious time, to deal with, plead with, or complain to public-school authorities or employees who benefit by the system.Instead, do as the citizen-slaves of communist East Berlin did when they fled to freedom in West Berlinâ€"vote with your feet. Consider writing-off the public-school system. Consider taking your children out of these schools, permanently. You and your children remain victims of the public-school system only by your own consent. The power to withdraw your consent is a power that public-school authorities can’t stop. Withdraw your consent and refuse to be a victim any longer.There are many other education resources that parents can use right now to give their kids a quality, low-cost education. These resources include the new Internet private schools, Internet tutors, low-cost, learn-to-read and learn-math books in libraries and bookstores, computer learning software, and home-schooling. I discuss all these great new education options in my book, “Public Schools, Public Menace.”Joel Turtel is the author of “Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: lbooksusa@aol.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.Article Copyrighted © 2005 by Joel Turtel.
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel’s email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
Category : Podcasts