There’s a lot of talk on marketing discussion groups about the issue of sending out too many emails.

One area of concern is that of news groups like this one.  In case you hadn’t realised, you get between three and five emails a week, each week via this service.

I try and keep these emails relevant, and because I get a fair number of emails back from readers I can see which emails are read and thought helpful, and which one’s not.

Anyway, I was thinking on this when I got a helpful email from Ticketmaster reminding me that I have a ticket for the Bob Dylan / Mark Knopfler concert next Tuesday in Nottingham.

That’s fair enough.  I haven’t forgotten, but I guess I could have done.

But what then made it so silly was that they went on to tell me that I might also enjoy the upcoming Cliff Richard concert and would I like a ticket?

It was rather like the thing Amazon does when it says, “Other people who bought ‘Theoretical nuclear physics and the issue of gravity’ also bought Noddy in Toytown.”

I am sure that someone bought both – even theoretical physicists have children, nephews and the like, but it just shows you how silly automatic systems can be.

And to stress, I have nothing against Mr C Richard.  Indeed only the other day I listened to “Living Doll”.  But I don’t think very many Dylan/Knopfler fans will also want to go to a C Richard concert.

My point being, yes, irrelevant and badly written news can turn people away from news services, but so can automatic systems that have no one overseeing them.

News services like this do work – and we have set up a number of them for a number of companies – and they generally do perform extremely well in getting the company’s message and image across, and in bringing in customers.  But like everything they need to be handled with care.

If you would like to talk this through or see how such a system could work for you, do give me a call on 01536 399 000.

Otherwise, I just hope you find some of the emails of interest.

Tony Attwood

Hamilton House Mailings Ltd reg number 2444392 VAT 354907535GB.  Phone 01536 399 000.