I just got an e-mail series that did little more than annoy me. The first I saw in my inbox from a previously trusted source of writing information. It told me to “look out” for an important announcement on Monday. While it is an obvious marketing tactic, I thought that maybe it would be a good offer considering the source.
So Monday came. So did the “offer”. What was it? An “offer” to sign up for a copywriting class. Big deal. If it was a free offer, an offer for something completely new, or a website launch, it may have warranted the hype.
You have to be careful when using marketing tactics such as “look out for an important announcement” or “teasers” as they are called in the business. A teaser should only really be used for something that your audience is really going to be interested in looking at. Otherwise, you’re just a paid shill and you lose credibility with your readers.
If you’ll pardon me, I’m off to unsubscribe from an e-mail list. My hope is that in posting this that at least one company will realize the damage that an offerless teaser can do and just won’t put it out there.
