The true cost to your business of outrageously poor, spammy marketing

I was surprised to get this email yesterday:

Turning expertise into influence – a thought for Wobs LLC

from: rob@brandingbybooksnext.com

Hi there,

I was reviewing Wobs LLC and couldn’t help but think how powerful it would be to transform your insights and methodologies into a professionally crafted book. Consultants like you already have the expertise, imagine packaging that into a tangible asset that not only elevates your authority but also serves as a lead magnet, opening doors to speaking gigs, media features, and premium clients.

Books aren’t just another business card, they’re credibility rockets. We’ve helped others in your space turn their knowledge into bestsellers, but the real magic is in how these books amplify their brand, attract ideal clients, and create legacy impact without the grind of solo authorship.

I’d love to explore if this aligns with your vision. Happy to chat if you’re curious, no pressure, just an idea that could be a game-changer. I really think there’s a great opportunity here to elevate your brand and reach, but if it’s not the right time, just say so and I won’t bother you further.

Cheers,
Bobby
Founder, Branding by Books

The email pitch is relatively well written, putting aside the comma splice in the second sentence. The bestseller claim isn’t credible — self-published books don’t tend to climb the bestseller lists, unless you count dubious claims based on momentarily appearing as a top new book in an Amazon microcategory. But author services tend to do stuff like that.

No, the real problem here is the targeting. Let’s start with the obvious and continue on to the outrageously blindingly obvious:

• WOBS LLC is the name of my company, but I’ve never used it as part of my branding. So there’s no chance he was “reviewing” WOBS LLC. That immediately set off alarm bells.
• I’ve written five books and ghostwrote four more. Several are highlighted on my website and you can see them if you search my name on Amazon. I’m an author, with a legit bestseller credit (BusinessWeek bestseller list for Groundswell), so I’m obviously not interested in a guy selling a service to write and self-publish a book for me.
• The tag-line on my website is “I help nonfiction authors succeed.” If you spent two-thirds of a second visiting it, you’d immediately decided I’d never hire someone else to write for me.
• I wrote books on how to write and how to be a successful author, which are also instantly visible on the front page of my site.

Targeting me with this is the equivalent of pitching singing lessons to Taylor Swift, fitness advice to Tom Brady, or sales strategy to Tony Robbins. Really, dude?

Bobby obviously just bought a list and spammed it with an email featuring a lie in the first sentence.

It’s ludicrously inept “targeting.”

The true cost of ludicrously inept targeting

The nature of emails like this is that one in a thousand pays off. Who cares about the other 999 that miss, like the email that landed in my inbox?

But the spammy marketing equation fails to account for what happens to the people who don’t respond.

• Since I never opted into this email, I can file a spam complaint — and so can the many other people who never opted it. Enough spam complaints and your email domain will become blocked and your emails undeliverable. (I wonder if this is the reason that the email comes from “brandingbybooksnext.com” when Bobby’s actual website is “brandingbybooks.com.”)
• To the extent people take note of the spammy nature of the email, you develop a reputation for being a pest. Many consultants know each other — especially those who would consider writing a book. If someone asks, “Do you know this guy Bobby Goodwin who says he’ll write a book for you?” the answer is not going to be positive.
• You may reach somebody like me who actually writes about this sort of thing. Then my blog post about your practices starts to show up on searches on your name or the name of your company, which is going to damage your reputation.

I want to be clear that I have no idea if Branding by Books has any value. There are lots of writing services like this, and lots of similar self-publishing services. None of the books on Bobby’s list of references on his site appear to have more than 70 reviews on Amazon, and most have far fewer — and nearly all have 100% five-star reviews, which is a red flag. And Bobby himself doesn’t have a book published and visible on Amazon, which is hardly a recommendation.

The only thing I know about Bobby Goodwin and Branding by Books is that they market like a spammer. That’s not a good place to start.

The harder, better way to succeed

This is a tough business to get a foothold in. The way to succeed with it is through referrals. That is, when people wonder if they should write a book, their friend says, “You should talk to this writer, they do an excellent job.”

Here’s an example of how this works. A client of mine is vetting book publicity firms right now. She’s talking to three, all of which were recommended by me. Each of them reviewed her materials and prepared a customized pitch that demonstrated some insight into her particular strengths, challenges, and needs. One of them is going to get her business, but the other two are going to make a positive impression so that when somebody asks her, “Do you know this PR firm?” she’ll be saying good things about them.

Every client I’ve had — nearly a hundred over the last ten years — will say good things about me. Every single one. That takes effort, but it means I don’t have to send emails to people who don’t know me hoping they’ll take a chance on me — and pray they will not write an angry blog post about my lack of respect.

Do whatever it takes to get the first few clients. You might want to start by working in a company that does the kind of work you hope to do to make connections and build skills.

Treat those clients like royalty. If you make a mistake, fix it quickly and for free. And ask them if they know people who might benefit from your work.

That’s the path, not just to getting more clients, but to getting clients that will pay more. It’s how you get off the treadmill and start making real money.

And you won’t have to feel ashamed about your spammy marketing tactics either.