the worst email marketing gaffe ever

If you say you’ve never screwed up an email blast, you are not in the business, or you are lying. It’s just too easy to mess up and it happens.

BUT…the real test of a marketer’s mettle is deciding how to deal with the mistake. Owning up to a goof can actually be a bonding moment between you and your audience. It makes you human. People love redemption. It attracts attention.

But you have to do it right.

Here’s a story of people doing it very very wrong — and ironically the email involves an email marketing conference.

Yesterday I got the following email, excerpted below:

Subject: VIP Invitation to the Email Insider Summit

Dear Mark

I would like you to be our guest for the 2006 Email Insider Summit. As a Summit VIP, the cost of your airfare, hotel accommodations and conference registration will be paid for by MediaPost.

The Email Insider Summit Advisory Board has identified you as a senior level marketer or agency executive decision maker within your company. You are among a select few to whom we are extending this special VIP opportunity.

The purpose of the Email Insider Summit is to bring the best minds in the industry together to share leading edge information and experience on email marketing in a think-tank environment, while exploring new technology, strategies and tactics for effective campaigns.

Ok, I have to admit I spent an hour all puffed up, thinking, “wow, someone thinks I’m a big shot.” Until the correction email came, a couple of hours later.

Now before you read what these self-styled mavens sent, think about what you would do? Assume, as I think happened, that they blasted an email intended for a couple of dozen people out to thousands of great unwashed, yours truly included?

I have a feeling that whatever you think you would do, it wouldn’t look like this:

Subject: Register Now for the Email Insider Summit

We apologize if you received an email from MediaPost earlier today inviting you as our VIP guest to the Email Insider Summit. That email was intended to be sent to a list of 50 top brand marketers in the industry, that have already agreed to attend the event. The email below is the email that you were intended to receive. If you would like to be a part of the inaugural Email Insider Summit please read below about the summit and how to register. Again we apologize for the confusion and inconvenience that error may have caused you.

Register now for MediaPost’s Email Insider Summit so you can surround yourself with the most-thought provoking minds in the industry as they school you on the new modes of enhancing your email marketing campaigns…

Blah Blah Blah….and it only costs $2500!

That email was intended for great minds, not losers like me — and you. That’s $2500 I’ll never spend on these dweebs.