How to turn your worst e-mail gaffes into gold

Mistakes. We all make them and no one wants to admit to them.
We're all faced with the question, how do we recover after we
make the occasional slip-up? When it comes to e-mail marketing
there's a huge debate over whether to 'fess up or to make like
an ostrich and stick our heads in the sand. I'll offer my solution
in four words: Own up to it.

You'll earn respect from your peers and you'll gain more credibility
in the process. That is, if you handle it correctly. Here's what I
did to recover from a major mistake when I published a recent issue
of my e-mail newsletter.

The scenario: I wanted to write an article about avoiding typos.
So I did. It was a good article on how to squeeze the most out of
your spellcheck software before sending something off to another
set of eyes for final proofing.

The mistake: I wrote the introductory paragraph to the newsletter
in which the article would appear and I went back to rewrite it.
Not once, not twice but three times. And I did this after my whole
routine of spellchecking, getting others to proofread and then
re-reading it myself. Only one word was misspelled and it was one
word too many. I didn¹t know of the slip-up until two of my subscribers
let me know what happened. By then, it was too late to change it.
The entire list had my dire mistake. As a copywriter, I should know
how to spell the word "speaking."

The solution: I sent out a follow-up e-mail and turned my mistake
into a credibility-building lesson. In the follow-up e-mail I told
readers how they could avoid the same mistake I did. I owned up to
the mistake, told the readers how to avoid it in their practices and
thanked them for continuing to be loyal readers. The subject line of
the e-mail was "Copy Quickie" and here's what I wrote:

==========
Jill,

I have a quick piece of information to add on to this month's
" Copywriting Secrets." In the introduction to this month's newsletter
I wrote "Speakging of questions, a reader from Coral Gables . . ." I
misspelled "speaking." How embarrassing!

And this in an issue where I extol the virtues of zapping typos.

Let's turn this snafu into something special.

If I can do it, anyone can do it. Here's how to avoid it.

Set a re-write limit. That's right. Tell yourself you'll only re-write
your copy two or three times. (More than that and you could be asking
for the rather unfortunate mistake I just made.)

If you're like me you add small bits of info just before deadline to
give your copy extra oomph. Sit on your hands if you have to, but don't
add anything at the last minute.

By using the technique I just mentioned even the most skillfully hidden
typos will come into the blazing sunlight - before you hit send!

Thanks for reading. And have a great week.

Lisa Sparks
Integrity Writing, Inc.
==========

The result: I received a flood of e-mails from clients, prospects
and friends congratulating me on having the "guts" to send out the
follow-up message. I received requests to write more articles and my
business kept chugging along without fail. Yes, I had two unsubscribes.
And yes I saw an uptick in subscriptions in the weeks afterwards. I
chalk that up to the ebb and flow of any e-mail marketing campaign and
not to my unfortunate misstep.

Bottom line: Own up to your mistake. If you notice it and other readers
notice it, then most likely everyone else on your list has seen it, too.
No sense in hiding. Turn the mistake into a lesson for your audience.
That way, they see that you're looking out for them and you're not afraid
to put your credibility on the line to spare them the trouble of going
through the same mistake you just made.

(c) Lisa Sparks 2003

About the Author

Lisa Sparks, President and Founder of Integrity Writing, Inc, specializes
in writing business newsletters, brochures, advertisements, articles, sales
letters and press releases for leading companies in the United States and
abroad. Sign up for her monthly writing tips at
http://www.integritywriting.com/