Hi there 🙂 How do you feel about the topic: names or no names in emails?
Do you hate it when you’re asked for your name before signing up for something? Or do you find it impersonal to receive emails addressed to nobody?
I can tell you how I feel about it, but I would love to get your opinion. Because my feelings here are irrelevant.
Anyway, I’m on lists, where the sender writes either “hi there” or “hi gang” in their mails to me, and I feel it so impersonal. “Hi there” is slightly better than “hi gang”, because at least I feel like the person is sending to only one person (or I can make believe) with the first, whereas “hi gang” implies that I’m just one little tiny gnome among thousands in the latter case. I HATE it! Quite honestly, I get offended each time I receive the “hi gang” letters.
Then I calm down, of course 😉
I know that other people hate to have to give away their name or even first name to a stranger. They might do it anyway, or they just leave the opt-in form, or they fill in something like “uglynoob”, and everytime I write to them, I write “Hi Uglynoob”. That’s no pretty way to address somebody 😉
Please vote below to tell me your true feelings about this. Not what you want to do yourself, if you are building a list, but how you would like to be treated, when you join somebody’s list.
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Having spent half my life using computers, I am not the least bit impressed by having one fill in my name in robotic fashion and I don’t consider it personal at all. Likewise, since I am involved in recruiting referrals for many websites, I see no reason to shield my name from online exposure. I will give it to just about anyone who asks. Handing out my email address is another matter, they need to earn that (like you did).
Hi Warren,
Thank you so much for your comment. And especially for your confidence 🙂
Britt,
I voted that I don’t care because it really depends on what I’m receiving and who’s asking. There are lists I sign up for that I really want to get messages from regularly. It’s nice to have my name on those.
Then there’s the ones that I’d like to see what they have to say or offer, but until I see that, along with how many “sales” emails I’m going to get from them at which point I’ll unsubscribe, I don’t necessarily care if they use my name (and some I haven’t given my real name to anyway because I don’t know them yet).
I like your point of view, Debi 🙂
I miss Your mails in danish. I’m not so god in English.
Aw, Saida :´) I remember you… and I’m sorry. A few years ago, I wanted to write the same text in Danish and English, but it bores me to translate, so I never got it done. And now, when I think of something to write about, I always think about my English blogs. I guess I’ve been living away from Denmark too long. My Danish is not even good anymore. I have to look up so many words in the dictionary, because I cannot remember how to spell them. Weird… So I’m sorry, Saida. I wish I could do more for you.
Because I usually use a different email address when I am signing up for new things , I don’t like having to add my name.
Also because the mail is automated, having my name doesn’t make it feel more personal. The “Hi Gang” opener would definitely annoy me.
For me, it isn’t the opening message that makes the message feel personal, it is the content.
When I started, before the curtain was pulled back, I thought it was cool that my name was used in the greeting.
I’ve come a long way since then. Recently a newsletter owner sent out an apology. She said the names had gotten mixed up somehow in her database. She was greeting people with the wrong name.
I had to go back and look because I hadn’t even noticed. I was too interested in reading the body of her email to see the greeting.
Hi Minna – Oh, dear, what a story about the mixed up names 😀 I hope AWeber will never do that kind of things.
Britt,
I would prefer being addressed by name, but if I know the person either with or without is fine.
If I join a new list, and I don’t know the person, I would prefer not having to give my real name but then I don’t want to be addressed as “hi gang” either. LOL
– Bonnie
Hi Bonnie, I’m glad we agree 🙂 A couple of times I’ve used other names, when I was asked, like “Bumbritt” and “Warriorbritt”, so I knew where I’d signed up.
But the “hi gang” gets on my nerves every time 😉 Well, it’s memorable 😀