A reader sent me a very disappointing email today.
They wrote:
Mailchimp is ripping you off or you are wasting my time. I just got your Newsletter in my email on 10/17/22. There is a BIG problem, virtually all of the sales and ads are for specials that expired DAYS AGO! What the heck?!? If you want to make money on your blog, try providing USEFUL information. I will be unsubscribing because this is a joke!
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Here is a link to ToolGuyd’s newsletter signup form.
(I used to be able to set the “newsletter” option as pre-selected, but for whatever reason that’s not possible anymore.)
It’s up to readers to select subscription options. You can sign up for all of them if you wish.
There are 3 newsletter options – Daily Updates, Weekly Updates, and Newsletter.
Daily Automatic Updates: These are automatic emails that go out daily at 11am ET when there’s new content.
If a deal of the day or short-term deal post goes live after that, I will do my best to manually push another email to ensure everyone sees it in a timely manner.
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Weekly Automatic Updates: These are automatic emails that go out weekly at 11am ET every Monday.
Newsletter: These are customized emails for different reasons, such as a Black Friday deals reminder or summary. Manual emails are rare, because I can usually put the same information in a post that daily or weekly subscribers will see all the same.
If you are interested in timely tool deal alerts, the best subscription options are “daily automatic updates.” The “newsletter” option is also recommended, but I don’t send those out regularly enough. The daily newsletter would include the same, and more.
I looked at the reader’s subscription profile, in case there was an actual problem.
Well, it looks like they signed up for weekly updates, and that’s exactly what they received – a Monday morning weekly update.
I do get it – someone found ToolGuyd, signed up for deals, and then a whole lot of expired deal post headlines landed in their inbox. I’d be frustrated and disappointed too.
I’m sorry that the subscriber is so upset, but the phrase personal accountability comes to mind. I don’t like getting yelled at for others’ mistakes.
I apologize to everyone if it’s unclear (is it?), but daily emails are going to be sent out daily, and weekly emails are going to be sent out weekly.
Weekly emails will occasionally have expired deal headlines, and there’s nothing I can do about that.
I ask this genuinely – is this in any way my mistake? Can I do anything better? I really don’t think so, but am open to public opinion.
Newsletter frequency is something subscribers can always modify. There’s a link at the bottom of every email. The way things are done now, changing the settings requires a click of that link to start the process.
I also often get yelled at by people who come across deals after they expired. Look at my recent deal post history – I add dates to deals of the day to clearly depict end-dates.
For whatever reason, news feed and “discovery” service algorithms ignore all this. Some of my deal posts are picked up and displayed to potential visitors’ news feeds, most aren’t. I can tell when they are, by the amount of “why are you sending me expired deal notices” complaints I receive.
With email settings – that’s in your control, and I trust regulars will chime in if they think there’s a way I can improve the clarity and differentiation between “daily” and “weekly” automatic newsletter options.
As for news feeds, that’s in nobody’s control and I share in everyone’s frustrations. It doesn’t benefit anyone for potential visitors to see deal posts a week late.
If you want timely deal alerts, you must sign up for the daily automatic newsletter option. There’s also a secret option – a deals-only RSS feed for those who know what to do with it.
Will
People are dump, keep up the good work
Stuart
Everyone makes mistakes. Bad attitudes are less forgivable, but I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.
TonyT
Yes, you do. I think most of us would be way less polite 🙂
Stuart
I try not to reciprocate rude or antagonistic comments, although I will sometimes match tone and attitude in email or over the phone.
Going back as long as I can remember, I have always considered that every comment I write is a conversation with everyone.
You never know who is reading a post or its comments.
e.g.:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-m18-fuel-cordless-miter-saw-prerelease/#comment-792637%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-cordless-nailers-hands-on/#comment-792350%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/milwaukee-cordless-nailers/#comment-771301%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I have also found that being polite quickly defuses a lot of arguments. Some people are more willing to listen and interact with civility if I don’t scream back, while others are incorrigible.
Rob H
Not your fault. People opt in for emails and they need to understand their choices.
If I were going to try to sign up for deal alerts, I would do so on slickdeals.com or similar site. They allow you to customize deal alerts for specific categories or items.
You host a tool blog and try to share deals when you come across them. Your site is not dedicated to deals like slickdeals is. I don’t go there to find out tool news and if I find a deal listed on your page I just consider it a happy coincidence, but I don’t come here specifically for that reason, I visit for tool news.
Berg
Is there a way to offer email subscriptions to only posts under certain tags? If folks want timely notifications for deals but don’t care to be emailed daily about other types of posts that might be solution worth trying to set up. As it is it’s a little ridiculous to be mad about a late notification when you sign up for weekly emails.
Stuart
Yes, and no.
I can create newsletters for any and every category, tag, or brand, as long as there’s a feed. But, I don’t want to – it’d be a mess to deal with.
You look up RSS feeds for any category, tag, or brand, just by adding “feed” after the core URL. For example:
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/brand/milwaukee/feed%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/category/tool-deals/feed%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/tag/multi-tools/feed%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Pop that into your RSS reader or service, and customize as you like. There’s also a comments feed – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/comments/feed%3C/a%3E .
AP
Thanks for everything you do! Whenever I sign up for something like this I pick every option and then eventually tweak it to my liking. Variables exist in everything and sometimes things happen that are out of our control. You’re doing amazing work and I’ve lost count how many times toolguyd has helped me. I appreciate it!
Chris I
If you’re getting a daily email, there’s zero reason to get others.
For precisely this post’s purpose.
MM
I don’t think you did anything wrong here. They signed up for weekly summaries and they got exactly that, a weekly summary. The sad reality is that in today’s world of “flash sales” and similar, deals come and go in a matter of hours, or even minutes sometimes if we’re talking a limited edition knife or multi-tool release. A weekly summary is clearly going to miss out on at least some of those deals.
I suppose one thing you could do is remove any mention of expired deals from summary emails? But as I said already, I don’t think you did anything wrong here, they seem to have received exactly what they signed up for.
Stuart
There’s no way to do that. I can create a deals-only email, but not one that includes everything but. It’s also automatic; even if there was a way, I wouldn’t keep track of everything that should and should not be included on a weekly basis.
Some deals are flash sales, others are ongoing promotions.
David+A.
I visit the web site on my phone almost daily. No emails at all, my inbox is stuffed. Am now occasionally seeing Toolguyd in my FB feed. The way it is works for me, a homeowner lo level DIY guy.
Stuart
The problem with Facebook is that you would have to specifically look at the ToolGuyd page to see very update.
Facebook changed things a long time ago to where only a small percentage of followers will see any given new post, automatic or not, unless I pay them for advertising, which I’m not willing to do.
Geoff
I agree with prior posters: I don’t think this is your fault. The ranty, all-caps complaining of the subscriber is also unproductive and immature, especially when concerning such a minor issue.
One thing you might consider is clarifying in the initial weekly sign-up form that updates will sometimes contain deals or other content that has now expired.
Stuart
Thanks, I’ll consider that. I should have had welcome emails a long time ago – it’s been on my to-do list for a while.
Chris I
The dude was a troll. Just another faceless anonymous keyboard warrior.
Dan
Thanks for the tip about the deals-only RSS feed!
It seems like you really have two buckets of content:
– Timely notifications about deals
– Timeless (or at least less timely) articles, updates, and discussions
If I were an email subscriber I would want the option of:
1. Receiving same-day emails of deal posts
2. Receiving a weekly list of top articles _without_ deal posts
What _I_ will do is use IFTTT to send me a push notification via Pushbullet every time you publish a deals post and check the regular RSS feed for everything else on an ad hoc basis.
Stuart
Not all deals are flash sales.
I could set up a deals-only newsletter, but there are complications. Some weeks will have multiple deal posts, and sometimes there won’t be any for a month or two.
Huge organizations can maintain multiple subscriber lists. Here, 3 seemed like a good balance – 2 automatic options and 1 manual that I should be utilizing more. I might have sent a total of 2 manual newsletters in the past 2-3 years.
Maybe I’ll create a deals newsletter for the holiday. It’s something to think about.
Doresoom
Not your fault at all. Maybe some readers would benefit from a bold *select the Daily option if you are interested in deals* reminder if they have trouble with critical thinking?
Also, I had noticed and really appreciate your habit of adding the date to the title of time sensitive deal posts.
Jp
It’s ok to tell people to go kick rocks. I bet there will be some moments of reflection by that individual but there’s never a guarantee that the thoughts will be deep enough.
PB4UGO
I really enjoy all the time, energy, and effort you put into Toolguyd. It’s a fantastic resource and the comments are excellent as well! You provide a FREE service, which we all benefit from!! If someone is upset because they got an email with expired deals, THEY can take the time to find useful deals for themselves!
You have nothing to apologize for! Thank you for doing what you do!
That persons sounds like they’d get upset at “free coffee Friday” at Cumberlands because he has to pay for his Coke.
Popgun42
Keep up the good work…
Stuart
Thank you, I appreciate it!
JoeM
Only reason I don’t have your newsletter set up, is because I have at least 4 US suppliers for my projects who spam the living snot out of my E-Mail already, and your, frankly more interesting, newsletter would get lost among them.
My Jewellery Supplier? Minimum 5 E-Mails a day, reminding me of the daily sale. I’ve discussed it with them, and they can’t reduce the frequency. According to them. I am remarkably close to cancelling that E-Mail with them… the problem being you need to be signed up to be part of their VIP rewards program… Which is how I get to line things up so that I get my supplies at nearly nothing.
You have 3 clearly defined tiers. User picked wrong. PEBKAC. Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair. Simple as that. User Classification: ID10T, Assign No Further Resources To Them. Need I go on?
I have a strict policy these days, that goes against everything we’re taught about being politically or socially civilized: Never Apologize for Doing Your Job. It’s obnoxious, it wastes time, and doesn’t help anyone. Therefore, it is the opposite of being polite. It’s rude, and demeans the expert or service agent involved. It’s dehumanizing, and that’s not okay. So stop apologizing for doing your job. Simply move on, make any corrections that are real, ignore the ones that are the user’s fault, and have a happy, happy day.
Stuart
I am a firm believer in second chances, but I also don’t reward bad behavior.
JoeM
Second Changes are fun, I believe my favourite Triple Changer Transformer was Astrotrain, if not Blitzwing… I think there was one called Sandstorm as well that had my heart for a while… Though I believe you mean Second “Chances” to which I say… Nothing precludes you from granting said chances.
Just saying… If you did nothing wrong… Don’t be polite about it, just simply say “I can see you signed up for the Weekly, not Daily E-Mails. In order to get fresh deals, you’ll only find those on the daily Newsletter. If that is too much, it is your choice to not get valid deals in the Newsletter. It will simply contain the week’s top articles.” and go on with your day. ID10T class User contained… Do you need more coffee? Now seems like a nice time for your next cup. You deserve it. Root Hath Spoken Well.
User truly rude in an unforgivable way? “You have Reached the Account of Root. According to the rules of decency upheld on our server, you will now be blocked for violating a superior account. Welcome to being Blocked. Bow Before Me, For I Am Root.”
Coffee? Got Whipped Cream in the fridge? maybe in a spray can? Coffee becomes Latte real quick (and fun) for putting up with that level of PEBKAC from someone. You deserve a treat. Go ahead and Whipped Cream your Coffee… and maybe your Nostrils to make the family laugh and have a bit of fun while you’re at it? I dunno, whatever floats your boat in this case.
You did nothing wrong. Therefore, whatever you,as Root, do in reaction to this, is the correct action. Simple as that.
Stacey Jones
Well, FWIW, there’s a few ways I can think of dealing with this:
A) Remove deals from all but the daily newsletter, and so advise potential subscribers
B) Remove deals from all newsletters and create an on-demand newsletter just for deals
C) Leave everything the way it is and just warn on all but the daily newsletter subscriber page that you likely will get expired deals
You can’t cure stupid. Keep up the good work!
Stuart
A) That’s simply not possible.
B) That’s simply not possible.
C) I could, but deals are a very minor part of content most of the year.
In talking with this person via email, it seems they expected a roundup of deals for the upcoming week, which is an unrealistic expectations.
In 14 years, nobody else has ever complained about the newsletter not being forward-looking.
The auto newsletter is meant to keep readers up-to-date on content they might have missed. The way it all works usually becomes obvious with the first email delivery.
JR Ramos
No fault of yours. Perhaps the subscriber was new to the site and expected those emails to detail upcoming sales, something akin to store flyers that usually give advance notice of deals that run for a reasonable/longer amount of time than many of the quick flash sales we see.
Some people get pretty edgy over petty things. “I’ll show you! Rant-and-click.” Silly.
Harry
you have a newsletter?
I just visit daily after work.
Anton
Separate RSS feed is a cool option.
I live in another half of globe and can’t take advantage of all those cool deals, so I’ll still keep reading main RSS feed just to know what’s out there in the wild.
Thanks for your work. Haters gonna hate.
Yadda
Communication is always difficult. Successful communication means when I say “red” you hear and understand I mean “red”. You don’t think apple, fire engine, or stop sign. Mass communications comprehension will never be 100%. You are hitting way above league average. Keep up the good work
KG
I’m signed up for all 3. Frankly, I don’t see much point in the weekly as my only recollection of interacting with that is the following thought pricess:
“I just read those in this morning’s daily and/or a daily email from the last couple days (or I know it’s in there. Delete.”
Truly, I’m not sure what value that one provides for a subscriber who’s at least semi-engaged. What use case isn’t covered by either one or both of the newsletter and daily lists? Out another way, if I’m on daily and before, why should I NOT drop the weekly roundup?
KG
Forgot to add that I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Personal responsibility all the way and good job keeping it civil.
My previous post was largely a thought exercise in wondering if the potential confusion of the weekly email is offset by any distinct value that list provides. Maybe you’re offering more than you need to
Stuart
Weekly is for anyone who wants to catch up all at once.
Daily and weekly is somewhat redundant – I would expect most people to prefer one over the other.
AlexK
Every morning I sit down with my coffee and oatmeal and read toolguyd. In the last month or so, thanks to seeing your post for tool deals on this site, I’ve gotten the super sawsall and fuel 7 1/4 circular for $150 each, adjusting for the included 6ah high output batteries that was the special deal.
I also check the site when I get home, and occasionally if I have time, during the day.
I might sign up for the emails someday, but if I do and there is some perceived problem, I’ll do the same thing as I do when I’m building something and it’s not working out as expected. I’ll problem solve and correct it or try to have the other person correct it. If I don’t like a response I’m given, I’ll move on.
Jay V
Sir can this be on an app format for iOS ?
Stuart
Not at this time.
You can use Apple Shortcuts to set a Home Screen button that opens the ToolGuyd homepage – or any page you’d like. It’s then always a tap away.
PW
Really don’t understand someone writing a screaming email because they didn’t like a newsletter. If you don’t like a newsletter, unsubscribe.
For me, toolguyd is part of my morning coffee reading routine. I didn’t even know there was a newsletter, but now that I know that I still won’t subscribe: my inbox is flooded with coupons and offers and it would just get lost.
I like the occasional post with a notable or discussion worthy deal. I find the holiday season posts really valuable, it’s useful to have someone comb through and bubble up the best stuff.
Wouldn’t let a newsletter crank get under your skin.
Adam Wilson
When I first came here I signed up for daily and weekly, not knowing if they were the same. Quickly changed my subscription to daily and dropped the weekly. It’s pretty self explanatory. Thanks for all the awesome [daily] content and keep up the great work!!
Chris I
I seriously HATE what the internet is turning human culture into.
Andrew
As a deal hunter that has been using deal finding sites for close to 2 decades now (I feel old typing that), you have to know that good deals sell out fast.
That being said, you always find people that have no idea what it takes to hunt down deals and wonder why they miss out on all the good pricing. The user either has to deal with daily emails clogging their inbox (and deal with overloading info fatigue), or be happy they’re around to catch the latest deals.
928'er
Hi Stuart. I get both the daily and weekly updates. Sine I read the daily, the weekly is redundant for me and I end up just deleting it. I’ve been poking around the site and I can’t seem to find a way to unsubscribe for the weekly email. A little help please.
Stuart
There are links at the very bottom of every newsletter: “unsubscribe from this list” and “update subscription preferences.” You’ll want “update subscription preferences.” It will then send you an email with a link. Clicking that link will take you to a version of the signup form where you can check or uncheck any of the boxes.
Or you can email me and I can do this in the back-end. I can make changes on my end, I just need exact instructions sent from the to-be-affected email address.
928'er
Yeah, I’ve been looking for something like that. Maybe I’m just dense, but I’ve clicked on every box at bottom of the newsletter and I’m not seeing a link for either option. Might be a quirk of the Firefox browser..? Not a big deal, but I’d like to clean up my inbox.
Stuart
That’s very strange. I wonder if your email client is cutting things off, but I haven’t heard of that happening before. That would be a problem, as CAB-SPAM compliance requires these links to be easily accessible.
There’s a link at the top of every email – “View this email in your browser.” That should give you the full view, independent of any email cut-off behaviors.
I checked, and the subscription option links DO show up as expected when the page is open via Firefox and other browsers.
Either way, I was able to update your settings through my admin panel.
928'er
Thanks Stuart.
Using the “open in browser” option does show the “unsubscribe” and “update subscription” options. They do not show up, however, if I just click on the email link to open the newsletter. Curious…
Stuart
You’re welcome! For anyone else reading, I can always adjust subscription settings, I just need to have requests in writing from the affected email.
That’s strange. It could be an automatic signature-truncation thing – I’ve seen that in some email clients, but not for newsletters. I use gmail, and some extra-long retail newsletters will have a “click to view the entire message” link, where it will open in a browser window. I haven’t seen this in my ToolGuyd test emails – I see the full email with subscription option links at the bottom.
Dust
Put a short note next to each saying:
Daily – most up to date deals
Weekly – most deals will be expired
Monthly- deals most likely will be expired
Stuart
ToolGuyd is not a deals site, and most weeks and some months there are no deal posts at all.