Comments on: Apologies to Newsletter Subscribers [and What to Do When You Stuff Up On Your Blog]

By: Rajaie AlKorani

Rajaie AlKorani — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:13:51 +0000

A couple of days ago I started a thread on a well known forum that didn’t make a lot of people too happy with me.
So a friend of mine gave me advice that I should apologize with a post; so I did, and it brought in great results.
Many of the users angry at me forgave me and even apologized back for being a bit harsh :-)

By: Tech blog

Tech blog — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:11:26 +0000

Good job! I really liked the way you turned a negative experience in a psotive blog. I also recently deleted a lot of posts from my blog accidentally and i think I should do the same thing and have an article about it!

By: Marina Martin

Marina Martin — Sun, 25 May 2008 22:16:19 +0000

Darren, I think you handled the situation very well. We all make mistakes, and on the whole this was a pretty harmless one. It’s not like you accidentally double-charged 1,000 people’s credit cards or something. A non-spam email is easy enough to deal with.

I had been meaning to sign up for the DPS newsletter/blog because my pitiful digital photography skills almost resulted in my boyfriend not agreeing to get our new house (he’s abroad for work and only had access to my photos). Once he saw it in person he had a good laugh as my pictures apparently led him to believe the large, completely remodeled house was more of a dingy shack.

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:49:29 +0000

Life happens, and as long as it was an honest mistake, and you admit and move forward, most people will be ok.
Good call Darren to apologize right away and let others learn from a mistake.

By: Lee

Lee — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:11:01 +0000

Glad to see this stuff happens to the pros to! LOL. Great informative article. Thanks

By: jen at semantically driven

jen at semantically driven — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:39:54 +0000

I did something very similar at work the other day. An email that was supposed to go only to me as a test went to 1000 people or so. I immediately did an apology email because I know that sticking your head in the sand is not the option.

People were really good about it. A few wanted further information about stuff, and some said we all make mistakes and thanks for letting us know.

My boss and all my immediate colleagues know about it and I don’t think I’ve done any lasting damage. I have also learned from this mistake.

By: Luis

Luis — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:36:05 +0000

Damn it, I didn’t receive the newsletter. Can I compliant. I’m subscribing right now.

By: Kelvin Kao

Kelvin Kao — Fri, 23 May 2008 23:36:27 +0000

Thanks to your mistake, I looked up and learned what “stuff up” means. It’s like last time another Aussie blogger Craig Harper replied to my comment and said “your shout” and I had to look it up, hehe.

By: Ginkgo100

Ginkgo100 — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:55:54 +0000

Another way to promote a blog post is to use Australian slang that Americans don’t know. It makes us read the post to try to figure out what “stuff up” means! Just teasing a little, Darren. I always find the difference in English slang in different parts of the world interesting.

By: Anima

Anima — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:48:58 +0000

Well this open honest post just pushed me over the edge – I finally checked out your digital photography blog and signed up. I’m excited to get reading and learning. Thanks!

By: Eric Go

Eric Go — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:44:37 +0000

Admitting a mistake is very important. Since it is the only way that allows you to move on.

Otherwise, when you do not admin, it prolongs the issue.

By: Muscle Post

Muscle Post — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:17:36 +0000

It’s always best to admit your mistakes and be honest and sincere. This helps your credibility and also establishes you as a person of good character.

Blogging would not be nearly as popular if people were insincere and spammed all the time, so when mistakes like this happen, the way you handled it is the best way. Classy and apologetic, and people will understand.

By: Make Money Talks

Make Money Talks — Fri, 23 May 2008 11:34:10 +0000

So mistake gone good for you :)
I agree, if you make mistake then you should tell about that and not hide.

By: blog4net

blog4net — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:40:35 +0000

What you did is right in toto and you did that because you know that honesty and integrity are your foundation.

with those two things any one can shape himself what he wants to be, especially his internet presence.

i appreciate your timely response and you have not lagged behind of what is expected from you.

comiing to the anger of some people, dont take it to your heart.

waiting for your announcement of problogger newsletter.

well, i am not among those that got the wrong letter :-)

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:38:31 +0000

Had a case of this at my day job. A user with his own domain was tracking all of his mail by using specific addresses each time he registered. So when he got spammed he knew it was from us! What had happened was that one of our 3rd party suppliers (whom are customers know we pass details to) had leaked the email address.

The chap was understanding enough after a personal investigation and apology, but not before he had sounded off on his blog :(. No one likes spam but I do wonder if people need to get SO angry about it!

Spam can be managed with the right tools, personally its nolonger something that bothers me at all. Like Darren, I use well defined email rules to manage incoming mail from different sources. Spam is a fact of life and with some simple housekeeping you need never worry about it!

And I liked that people replied to say they were greatful for the mistake! Let us know if you get a subscription spike on the DP blog after this post!

By: Turn Clicks Into Customers

Turn Clicks Into Customers — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:26:26 +0000

Good article. Good points. Better than ignoring your readers. They will also feel more important if you contact them and tell them about the problem.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:23:44 +0000

I didn’t really think anything of it. I am not so interested in photography but I love the DPS blog. Does everyone want to take better pictures? Surprised also that people actually got angry about it???

By: Manpreet Singh

Manpreet Singh — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:02:04 +0000

No Probs Friend..To err is human

By: Tess

Tess — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:23:43 +0000

This is such a great example of an apology. Well done. (And I, too, am going to hop over to take a look at subscribing to the photography newsletter!)

By: Ryan McLean

Ryan McLean — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:44:13 +0000

Do you find you make much money from your newsletters?
A post on how to monetize newsletters would be a great asset darren