Email Spam

It never ceases to amaze me how many spam emails I receive – every single day.

But what I don’t understand is why I receive some of them.

Let me explain…

When I sign up at a new website, I always create a specific email address that I only use for that site. For example, if the site were called “Make Millions In Seconds” (I just made that up), then I might sign up using an email address called makemillionsinseconds@mydomain.com

I do this to help me filter incoming emails, and generally keep track of them all.

So, here’s the question: how come I receive a ton of emails to address such as the sample one above, as they are only meant to be used for one site (or, in some cases, a number of sites run by one person)?

Are the spammers simply guessing these email addresses? Maybe they’re combining the names of popular websites and marketers with another list of harvested email addresses / domain names? Having said that, it would seem like they guess correctly an awful lot!

Are the site owners selling, renting their customers’ and subscribers’ email addresses? If this were the case, then an awful lot of people are doing this, based on how many spam emails I receive.

Are the companies who run the email and autoresponder services doing the same? I have to say that this seems unlikely, as many of these websites use big names such as Aweber to manage their email lists, and I can’t believe that these companies would risk their business for this sort of unethical practice.

Or is it that too many people and companies are not protecting their data, and it’s just being hacked by spammers with some clever data mining tools?

Of the various options I can think of, this last one seems the most likely, but if you have any better ideas, please leave a comment below.

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The Two Kens Compared

As I’ve said before, I’ve been somewhat active in Internet marketing for many years now, and I’ve come across so many “gurus” and other people during this time that I’ve lost count.

However, I have, over this time, been able to draw several conclusions about what I like about the approach some people take, and consequently, what works and what doesn’t (for me, at least).

By way of example, let’s take a look at the two Kens, as I’ll call them, or Ken Reno and Ken Sar, to give them their full names.

Both of these people seem to be in the camp that believes in sending out emails to their list very frequently, which is not a practice I really like, although Ken Sar exercises much greater restraint than Ken Reno.

Both of them seem to buy up PLR products and instantly promote them to their own lists, and there’s nothing wrong in this – it’s a very viable strategy.

Both of them tend not to charge very much for their products, presumably going after volume, which is also a reasonable tactic, although it does mean they need a steady stream of new material (and, of course, there is no shortage of this in the world of IM).

But where there is a marked difference between these two marketers is in their approach to customer service.

I have bought at least two products from Ken R that simply did not work, and so, naturally, I tried to contact him for a fix. I tried emails, and I tried his support ticket system.

The latter was especially frustrating, because after raising a ticket, it went unanswered for weeks, and the website itself was down for a large part of this time.

When his support site came back online, it told me that the support ticket number I’d been given (by his system) did not exist!

Pissed off, I raised another support ticket to say what had happened, and that I was still awaiting a response to my previous ticket – and exactly the same thing happened – site offline for several days, and then the error message to tell me that my support ticket could not be found.

Needless to say, I have since unsubscribed from his list and will not be buying from him again.

Now, Ken Sar, on the other hand, sells products that do work, and on the few occasions that I’ve needed to ask questions (note, not raise problems but just request clarification on product usage), he has answered my emails promptly, personally and courteously.

Needless to say, I am still on Ken’s list and will continue to buy from him.

They say it’s several times more expensive to get a new customer than to keep your existing ones, so why piss off people who’ve spent money with you, and presumably would do again in future?

The moral of the tale is clear: look after your customers!

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It’s Amazing How Many New Cars Don’t Seem To Have …

… functioning indicators!

You’d have thought that the name gave it away, really, wouldn’t you?

I mean, they’re not called “orange lights that flash for no apparent purpose” or “spare parts”!

They’re called “indicators” for good reason – they’re meant to be used to indicate to other drivers and pedestrians where you intend going.

It’s not a particularly hard concept to grasp, is it?

Traffic is so bad these days in most towns that it’s hard enough to turn out of a side road as it is, without some idiot not bothering to indicate that they’re turning, thereby robbing you of that fleeting opportunity to pull out.

Are people really so wrapped up in their little metal cocoons that they cannot even seen other road users?

Are they so absorbed in (now illegal) mobile phone conversations?

Are the so rapt by their MP3 players?

Are they so engaged in conversation with their passengers?

Or is it to do with the generally decreasing levels of courtesy in modern life (which, you’ll be glad to know, may be be the subject of a future rant)?

And what about using indicators to let other drivers know that they’re about to change lanes?

Well, what about it!?

Are we all meant to be psychic and “know” that this is what the idiot in the next car is going to do?

And what about the so-called “professional” drivers? If this is what these people do all day, every day, for their living, then why not behave in a professional manner and let the rest of us mere amateurs know where they’re about to move their several tons worth of heavy good vehicles?

Another worrying sign is the fact that even learner drivers don’t seem to be taught to use indicators.

An excuse used by some seems to be along the lines of “well, there was nobody around to benefit from it”. Fair enough, you might say? But why go to the trouble of expending brain power on making this decision – why not simply indicate every time as a matter of course, regardless of who else is around?

Indicating shouldn’t be aimed at specific people, but at “to whomever it concerns”. After all, do you actually see everybody who might need to know your intentions?

In my opinion, for what it’s worth, if an accident is caused because somebody didn’t indicate, then they should bear the full responsibility for that accident.

But I’m not just having a go at the drivers, because the road planners must bear some of the responsibility for this.

In particular, I’m referring to those modern excrescences, the “mini-roundabout”.

By definition, they’re so small, and occasionally built, like hydrogen atoms, in pairs, that there is no real opportunity to indicate safely, as the distance between exits is too short.

Well, I think that’s it for this topic.

I will, as they say, be back, with more gripes and whinges!

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What Really P*sses Me Off!

All of us, I suspect, have things that, at best, irritate us, and at worst make us practically explode with anger.

And I’m no different to most – especially during the last ten years of my first marriage when life was a living hell. With hindsight, I’m not really sure how I retained any shred of sanity at all (and there are undoubtedly those, probably including my ex-wife, who thought I didn’t).

Anyway, I digress (just for a change).

Out of all the things that get up my nose, the one thing that I really hate above all else (and I use the word “hate” advisedly, as I feel it’s one of many words that has been diluted over time because of sensationalism and a desire to exaggerate constantly, but it’s definitely apt here) is when Read more…

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Non-Background Background Music

If there’s one thing I really dislike when I’m out at any social function, or even a meal out with family or friends, it’s what people often incorrectly call “background music”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against real background music, but if it’s Read more…

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Don’t Include Me!

Something I’ve really disliked (I almost used “hated”, but this is such a strong emotion and it’s such an overused word that I’ve kept it toned down) for a long, long time is when people say things like “Everybody likes …” or “The nation mourns …”.

Quite frankly, such people, who are usually members of the Press, have no knowledge of what’s in everybody’s minds, and have no right to attempt to speak for “everybody”.

I think my feelings on this really hit home when Read more…

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Sounding Off About Audio Books

On the face of it, audio books (e.g. standard novels read aloud and played using audio cassettes, CDs or maybe even MP3 files) sound like a great idea.

But although they’ve been around for many years now, and are a natural extension of books being read aloud on both radio and television, they don’t seem to have taken off to the extent you might expect.

I fully accept that for certain people, such as the blind and visually-impaired, they probably provide access to literature and entertainment that would otherwise be denied them.

But for those, like me, who are fortunate enough not to suffer from such disabilities, I’ve always found there to be something sadly missing when listening to an audio book.

Read more…

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Customer Service (And The Lack Thereof)

Is it me, or do people just not care any more about customer service?

It never ceases to amaze me when I send an email to a company, asking a few simple questions, how few of them actually take the time and trouble to read and answer every single point.

Some may answer part of my email, while others don’t even address anything I actually raise, preferring instead to respond with some boilerplate BS that is nothing to do with what I really want to know.

As somebody who co-owns a company and who is responsible for almost all of the customer service, via email, live chat and telephone, Read more…

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Back To The Present

Part of the success of entertainment media such as films and TV is that they allow you to escape reality, to become immersed in another world.

This is especially true today, with special effects that would be unbelievable to both actors and audiences just a decade or two ago.

And yet, I’ve always found it difficult to forget that what I’m watching is just an illusion, and that’s because many programmes and movies make mistakes that jar and snap you back to reality.

There are three mistakes, in particular, that always have this effect on me.

Read more…

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Over Six Million In A Year!

I’ve commented before that I don’t like my time being wasted, and yet these days, if you have an email account, you’re likely to be suffering from another huge time-waster, a problem that is so large that some of the brightest boffins on the planet apparently can’t solve it.

I am, of course, talking about Read more…

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