Beware, lest they mark thee spammer
I received an email in one of my inboxes yesterday. Now, usually, I mark mails from unknown addresses as spam, and send it to file 13 immediately.
I didn't know this email address, but I opened the message for some reason, before simply pushing the red button that sends all spam into the black spam abyss. It was sent to me from Falcon Crest Manor House, a supposedly spectacular Guest House situated in KZN.
But, a few things bothered me about the email...
Problem one: terrible heading font
The first thing that struck me was the terrible heading font used in the email. I'm sure it would look nicer if it was a bit bigger, but as it was, it made for a hard read.
Problem two: no contact person
This is the second thing that bothered me about the email. The email is not ended off with a person's name. It provides an email address (one of those info@ email addresses), and a telephone number, but no name.
Why is this a problem? Well, we're living in a day and age where South Africa is waking up to possibilities on the internet. People seem to be moving away from the idea that a website is a nice-to-have, and not really necessary.
This email smells like Viagra.
Problem three: the site is incomplete!
O woe are we! This is so sad! The South African mentality of 'oh sure a website would be ok I guess but not really that necessary' is food for mourning, and along comes this email and makes me want to tear my wetsuit! The link to the site is proudly displayed in the footer of the message. I mean, it's HUGE. You'd expect the site to work, not so?
Expect again, cos this one doesn't.
Conclusion: the end
Ok ok, it's not the end. This is simply a warning (suggestion, proposition?) to all people sending out email messages. Make sure you have the permission of the people you're sending the email to, and that you may in fact send them the mail. Make sure the email is understandable. Make sure the email is marked with a contact name and contact details. Make sure your web site is complete before embarking on a marketing campaign.
Thanks for listening.
01.05.2008. 11:38
