MindComet

It Says “Do NOT Reply”

How often do you get emails with a reply-to email address starting with “donotreply”?  Or “something@donotreply.com”  Well, if you’re like me you get them quite often.  It’s somewhat rude and offensive how some companies believe they can contact you but they feel you’re not worthy enough to contact them in return.  The nerve! 

Well, for one programmer based out of Seattle, WA, this has been a blessing… since he owns the domain “donotreply.com”.  On a daily basis his inbox is littered with emails from random customers of Fortune 500 companies, banks (which include sensitive account information), governmental departments and the like (spammers too, naturally).

They have a blog here, that documents all of their more interesting cases. Its certainly worth a read.

To all companies that use this practice: STOP IT.  Otherwise, you may see your company listed on donotreply’s blog.  Not good for your Human Resources or Customer Service departments alike.

Thanks to MailChimp for pointing this out.

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 26, 2008

P-I-N-K-B-E-R-R-Y, Pinkberry!

I’ll admit, Im a little bit of a celebrity gossip junky.  I recently began noticing celebs snacking on Pinkberry’s frozen yogurt and other products.  Unfortunately it hasn’t hit Orlando yet so I decided to sign up for their email to provide me with some level of gratification that all these celebs seem to be getting from eating it.  Upon visiting the site, I immediately want some, especially if you have your head phones on - there’s this really basic and catchy song all about making you want to try Pinkberry. 

There sign up process starts off great by simply asking for your email address and then taking you to a second page asking you to fill out your interests and physical address if desired (maybe they’ll somehow send me a sample).  I’m pretty sure I checked all four options for what type of newsletters Im interested in receiving just because I want to see what their emails look like.  Thus far I have received a few Pinkberry Groupie emails which have very tiny content (hardly readable without squinting) and these mouthwatering images that take over and do a fantastic job of really making you want to try this so called delicious and healthy alternative dessert not caring what there message says.  I took the time to read the message and their images pretty much portray what their message says but its there if you are looking to read something.


I’ve also received a slew of Store Openings emails however for no locations near me.  I provided my physical address upon signing up so I would have thought they would segment the location based emails by certain regional store location openings opposed to just sending to the whole group.  Although these emails provide me hope that a Pinkberry will open up soon in my area all they really make me want is some “P-I-N-K-B-E-R-R-Y - Pinkberry, Pinkberry for me!“

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 26, 2008

Do YOU Believe in Harvey Dent?

If you’re a film nerd like myself, you’re most likely foaming at the mouth (both literally and figuratively) for The Dark Knight.  The amount of advertising hasn’t really hit it’s stride yet, since the film’s release is still a few months away, but a lot of quote - unquote “viral” marketing has begun—most notably with the “I Believe In Harvey Dent” campaign.  This faux-political campaign is taking queues from our current presidential candidates chock-full of phone messages, billboards and even a bus tour.  But this isn’t a high-profile “campaign” with a lot of donors behind it, no no…  It’s more or less a local campaign, which in my book, equates to a crappy look and identity.  Here’s a look at the campaign’s email which announced the deployment of the bus.

As you can tell, it’s nothing to write home about.  It even has spacing issues… it makes me wonder if they’re intentional…

At any rate, sign up for the Harvey Dent email campaign here

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 13, 2008

Back to the Basics

I enjoy getting the Daily Candy emails not only because of the interesting sites and products they share but because of the emails simplicity especially “The Weekend Guide”.  It follows the “Who, What, When, Where and Why format” and that’s just what I love about it.  I can scan the email for what the product is, where to go to get more info about it and why I should check it out.  Keep in mind, if you are familiar with the Daily Candy and their sense of humor, you can see that they definitely add in their two cents to each and every email which is what keeps me coming back time and time again.  I haven’t purchased anything from their emails or even clicked through all that often however I believe its their simplistic approach that keeps me opening their emails. With that, is my open worth anything to them with the exception that Im now blogging about them?

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 13, 2008

Yahoo! Sets the Record Straight on Bounce and Bulk Folder Influxes

If you manage your own email campaigns and you’ve noticed your Yahoo! bounces rates to be higher than usual, then there’s good news coming your way.  Reach out to their Postmaster team and explain your current issues.  There are 3 different forms to fill out, depending on your persisting problems…  There’s the Delivery Issues Form, the ISP Issues Form, and the Bulk Senders Form.

Find more info from Yahoo!‘s Mail Developer Blog.

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 12, 2008

Personalization No No

I received my first email today from the pop up sign up email form I was talking about the other day.  They used my name in the email 13 times!  Every paragraph either started with my name or ended with my name.  It’s great if your email platform has the capabilities of personalizing your messages but its not great if you abuse the function. 

I was reading Emma’s Top Ten Email Trends today where her 6th trend fits here.  The message should be more personalized than just Dear Name, however that doesn’t mean you should stick the person’s name where ever possible within the email copy.  One easy way of doing this is by leveraging additional personal preference information or data stored in your CRM about your customers.  Provide them with content relevant to their interests and your customers will read the content within your emails opposed to counting how many times their (my) name was used.  And just for the record, the used my last name twice .  Lastly - why did they have to use my name, 13 times, isn’t that bad luck?

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 06, 2008

Pop Up Sign Up

Would you sign up for an email if it came across as a pop up on the website you were visiting?  A site was brought to my attention today as their way of getting users to sign up is by sending a pop up across the page.  Annoying, just a little.  I did have to sign up though to see what their messaging is like. 

I can’t imagine why the company used this method to attract new customers considering how many people cringe when they hear the word “pop up”.  However it may work for them for all I know.  Would you try it even though pop up ads are against standard advertising best practices?

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 04, 2008