Flow Research Collective Spam Email Red Flags

Flow Research Collective looks like the real deal. For example, they have a real site and social media pages. So why are they spamming people?

Flow Research Collective: Introduction

On the surface, Flow Research Collective (www.getflowresearch.com) looks like a legit organization. They have a real website and real social media pages. And, according to their home page, they’ve been featured in Time, CNN, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, and TED. Those are some serious publications and media outlets. Rock on.

How did this ostensibly legit organization get on my radar? They spammed me. Here’s the email:

Hey Carolyn,

I’ve been tasked with reaching out to high-level leaders and your name came up.

I know your time is extremely valuable so I’ll be brief.

If we could help you increase your productivity by around 73%…

Help you reach peak performance like some of the most high performing leaders in the world…

And ultimately help you regain space & time in your personal life…

Would you be open to a quick chat?

Let me know what day/time works best for you.

Flow Research Collective Red Flag Alert

Let’s do a deeper dive into that email. Here are 5 red flags:

1. The subject line asks “Do you know Steven?” Steven is then never mentioned in the body of the email. Presumably the Steven in question is Steven Kotler, who’s listed first on the website’s Team page. It’s not clear. What is clear is that this sort of subject line is a bait-and-switch tactic that legit organizations usually frown upon.
2. I never requested or opted in to receiving this email. How did they get my email? This ostensibly legit organization probably purchased a mailing list. Spamming people using addresses from purchased mailing lists is a shady practice.
3. The email includes no opt-out link. Shadier still.
4. In the email, Monica notes that “my name came up.” I imagine that it did. It came up as one of many emails in the mailing list they purchased.
5. Monica Wood appears nowhere on the company’s website. That may mean she works for an outsourced shady “get more leads now!” marketing agency that hires low-paid “customer success managers” who send email blasts and make front-line lead capture calls. Or Monica Wood is a made-up person who doesn’t exist. (The company’s About/Team site page seems to include all company employees, including people who fill such roles as customer service representative, executive assistant, and intern. Monica’s absence on the page strongly suggests she’s not an employee.)

Who Are You – Your Brand Matters

Let’s say you have an amazing business idea. You’re passionate about that idea, and you know you’re the real damn deal. You start a company, hire a team, launch a site, communicate the value and benefits you offer, and sell, sell, sell.

All good. All good, that is, until you launch the 5-step spam plan above. I’m hyper-inclined to think any company that uses 5-step spam plan tactics is all kinds of desperate and — worse — icky.

(I’m not alone here. More to the point, the unfortunate people won over by these kinds of unscrupulous tactics are low-hanging fruit who are ripe for the picking and who often ultimately regret parting with their hard-won cash.)

Your brand matters. A company that’s supposedly honorable and upstanding but clearly shady in their marketing is a shady company.

Fast Wins + Zero Fluff = Game Changer

I have a lot more to say on this topic (and roughly 1,492 other important marketing-related topics). I’m pulling back the marketing veil to empower small businesses to survive and thrive — no shady marketing required.

You can get periodic marketing tips you can use to eliminate random acts of marketing, improve your marketing aim, and fire on all cylinders. All fast-win informational goodness that you can put into action straightaway. Zero BS. Sign up to get on the list.

(For reference, this is how you build a list organically without following the 5-step sullied-brand spam plan.)