This week, a client noticed an odd entry in her weekly sign-up report from Constant Contact. She forwarded this screenshot and asked, ‘should I delete this person from my mailing list?’
Q&A: should I delete this person from my mailing list? #EmailMarketing Click To Tweet
Unusual name and address?
One of my goals is to help clients GROW their email marketing lists so I rarely, if EVER, suggest deleting anyone. But in this case, where it looks like someone is using a fake name and address, I think that it IS acceptable to delete them.
Should you allow a competitor to join your mailing list?
If you are sending information about events and/or promoting your products or services, it is probably FINE to allow competitors to join your mailing list. They may NOT be offering the exact same options that you are or may be serving a different community. At some point they may even become a strategic partner and be able to refer clients to you! So as a rule, I say competitors can stay.
But one client had additional concerns. She shared a lot of tips in her mailings and was concerned that the competitor might use and/or take credit for them. In her case, I suggested that it would be acceptable to delete that person from her mailing list. I didn’t want her to start holding back on the quality of her content just so the competitor would not see it!
What do you do when someone on your mailing list gets belligerent?
Another client had a subscriber who used to REPLY to the company mailings, disputing the validity of their statistics and insights. Originally, I had suggested responding to the comments in future mailings, explaining how they arrived at their findings and respectfully addressing the readers concerns. But when the exchanges became increasingly belligerent, I suggested that they remove him from their mailing list. Email marketing can be used in many ways but ultimately, no matter how you are using it, it should be building and nurturing your community.
Do you have any additional examples of people you have deleted from your mailing list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below – thank you!
