I’m not going to get too worked up over this one, but since one arrived yesterday and just now in my inbox, I really need to get this off my chest.

The subject line for this guy’s email is one of those “you just made a commission” mailings. Since we actively promote several services and products for other people, along with many of our own, this message must be opened, right? Checking to see if it is legitimate is just good business practice.

However, you just know as you are taking those few seconds out of your own life to open the darn thing that it is totally bogus (but again you must check it just to be sure).

By wasting moments of my life, this does not endear me to this particular marketer. In fact, I find it downright insulting and annoying that he tries to pass off a “PayPal-type” subject line as one of his own.

Smarten up! I’ve got the guy’s name burned into my brain now and from this point forward all his stuff will go right into the trash (assuming I don’t just take yet more moments out of my life to open and unsubscribe myself first).

Yes we would all love to have every bit of mail we send opened, read, and acted upon by others. But nothing can possibly be gained by annoying people to the point that unsubscribing is their only recourse.

Choose your words wisely. The right combination, and the whole world is reading. Choose incorrectly and…

So I ask you, does this type of marketing bother you, or am I just being overly sensitive? Is the guy “clever” or “annoying”? And how would you handle it?