Whoops, There Goes My Credit and Accelerating Profits With Emails

This post may contain affiliate links.

Whoops, There Goes My Credit

So, I thought I’d start off this week by mentioning something that I meant to talk about in my last blog but forgot. Anyway, I’ll catch up with that story now.

I mentioned last time that I’d had a short trip down to Melbourne again. Something happened on the way back which was quite disappointing and. to be honest, I was pretty upset about.

A Tale of Three Cities (Well, Airports)

The trip back to Cairns where I live, was in two legs – Melbourne to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Cairns. What happened was, I had just landed in Brisbane and was making my way to the gate where I was due to catch the next flight. Suddenly, I got a text message from my bank. It said that two suspect transactions had just occurred on my credit card, and they were questioning if it was me.

So, logging into the account on my phone, I discover the two transactions the bank was referring to. It definitely wasn’t me. I quickly called my wife and asked if it was her. She said no. So, then I replied to the bank’s message, and they went ahead and cancelled the card, there and then.

No Goodies For Me

There I am stuck at Brisbane airport waiting for my next flight. I’ve got no cash on me and a cancelled credit card which is now as useful as a chocolate teapot, and I can’t go and get myself a coffee or anything. Well, never mind. I’ll just have to suck it up, buttercup as they say.

Once I got home, I had further communication from the bank confirming that the card had been cancelled and a new one had been issued and would be with me within five to seven business days.

I Never Thought I’d Be Impressed With A Bank

I was so impressed with the bank, the way that they picked up on it, on the fact that my account had been compromised, so quickly. And I was presented with an automated bank facility where you could put in the details of which transactions you were questioning. Yes, so I was very impressed with that.

The following Monday was a public holiday, so that would have delayed it slightly. But having said that, just a week later the new card arrived in the mail. The annoying thing was that I then had to go through all the companies that I pay regular payments to using the credit card and change the card details on their websites or ring them up and get them to change it in their systems.

Inconvenient or What

As this had happened to me on a few occasions before, I had compiled a list of all those companies with their contact details that I needed to get in touch with, to let know the new card number. I spent probably two or three hours going through that list, updating all the credit card details in the various regular payments that I have.

It’s disappointing this happened because I had only just memorised the old card number and now, I have a new one to remember. Not to worry, these things happen. I’ll get over it.

Why Can’t They Get A Job?

It’s such a shame that there are so many people out there, dodgy people out there, who can’t be bothered to get a job or whatever for themselves and they have to resort to stealing from other people.

Fortunately, with the banks these days, they’re very good at stopping the payments or reclaiming the amounts that have been stolen from the various merchants and suppliers, etc. Fortunately, in this case there were only two transactions that got through before the alarm was raised. I heard just yesterday that the transactions have now been reimbursed. So, at the end of the day, no harm done except a lot of inconvenience for a lot of people, not just me.

All Fixed Up

It reminds me of a previous occasion when my card was stolen or rather the details of it were used fraudulently. Unfortunately, they managed to get, I think it was about $10,000 Aussie dollars’ worth before I discovered the theft. God bless the bank; they managed to return every penny back. Fantastic!

Virtual Partner Event – April 2024

This week, I didn’t do the week 15 training as planned but did manage to catch up with the April Virtual Partner Event which I was unable attend live.

The subject was about accelerating your profits with email. I’m not at the stage where I will need to send out emails to my subscribers as I don’t have any yet. Although, I have created an email sequence before when we were shown how to set things up for the double opt-in email list capture using a lead magnet.

It’s Good To Keep In Touch

We were reminded about the importance of keeping in touch with the individuals on our contact list and the importance of them opening our emails. If emails are not opened then they don’t get read. If they don’t get read then how can any action be taken? And without action, there’s no traffic generated, which ultimately impacts our pocket.

Having a good email reputation is crucial these days, especially with the new rules that the email service providers have introduced. If one or more emails out of thousand, i.e. 0.1 % end up in a spam folder, you run the risk of having further emails either restricted or not sent at all.

If your emails are being opened, read and acted upon, your provider knows that your content is being appreciated and it all counts towards your reputation.

Be A Good Housekeeper

You should definitely avoid sending emails to non-existent and abandoned addresses and make sure that your email list is cleaned regularly. Getting rid of email addresses that are not responding for a significant amount of time is recommended.

Just Be Yourself

If you’re struggling with knowing what to write, don’t try and pretend to be an expert and make stuff up or worse, use AI to write things for you. Rather, share things that have happened in your life, your business, your work, what you’ve watched on TV, what happened when you were out shopping today, etc. It’s much easier to write about what you’ve done and to be yourself, that way people will relate to you. It might seem boring to you but to someone else it gives an insight into another human being’s existence and it’s different to their life. I hope you realise that I’m paraphrasing here; I’m not trying to be an expert.

Curiosity

There was a very good section about introducing curiosity into your emails. So that the reader is intrigued and will look forward to reading your next email. Using cliffhangers to end your emails is a good way to do this.

And There’s More

There was so much more great advice on the subject, but I will save that for another blog. I will however recount the recommended best practices here.

  • Never buy email lists – it’s like cold calling and the risk of most of them ending up in spam is inevitable.
  • Only email people that have opted into your list.
  • Email daily (ideally) or whatever you are comfortable with.
  • Always have your readers’ best interests at heart.
  • Regularly clean up your email list.

Jury Duty Update

A quick update on the jury duty. I am pleased to say that so far, I have not had to attend court. There are two more weeks to go before I can breathe a massive sigh of relief.

Once again, please leave a comment if you have time. I may not answer them here but I do appreciate receiving them.

Until next time.

Take care.

 

15 thoughts on “Whoops, There Goes My Credit and Accelerating Profits With Emails”

  1. Hey, Andy!
    Wow! Your life has been a bit unpredictable lately. I hope it settles down for you. I’m glad your bank could catch the problem quickly before you lost anything, and glad you made it home.

    I do find it hard to send follow-up emails sometimes. I’ll mention my day, etc. Sometimes, I do question if it’s helpful. I try to realize how much what I’m doing now would have helped me initially, and I hope it’s helpful to my subscribers.

    I suppose that’s just imposter syndrome. Your post is a good reminder my emails are probably helpful to someone. Thank you 🙂
    Nakina

  2. Hey Andy! I have been there, and it is scary to get those notifications from the bank. It angers me that there are people that will prey on those of us that just want to make an honest go at life. Your comment “which is now as useful as a chocolate teapot” made me laugh out loud and I hope you don’t mind if I use it from time-to-time. I love seeing your progress and give me hope as I try my hand at this affiliate marketer venture. Take care, my friend!

  3. Andy, I’m glad to see things are starting to look up for you now. It really irritates me when people work harder to take something that doesn’t belong to them, than they do if they had a real honest job. I see it everyday in the Locksmith world where people take advantage of those in their greatest time of need. On several occasions I have been able to intercept a few cons and really make them mad by calling them out. I see my job as protecting and informing my customers so they can see through the “smoke cloud” these crooks present. I believe this hold true in Affiliate Marketing as well.
    Being HONEST is a MUST and is Greatly appreciated by those we help!

  4. I am so sorry that happened to you. It seems more and more fraud and identity theft have been going on. Just recently, my boyfriend got a letter from the IRS that someone had claimed their job taxes under my boyfriend’s social security number. And with all the data leaks, someone keeps trying to open credit cards in my name. Thankfully, I have frozen my credit. The world is full of scammers and people trying to get by doing shady stuff. The state of the world is not the greatest right now, but thankfully, there are also many amazingly beautiful people with big hearts and hands to lend who are generous and kind; they truly make the world the beautiful place I like to believe it is. Glad your bank had your back!

  5. I’ve been victim of a few of those scams you mentioned. Not a good feeling. I did a you tube video recently outlining the scams inflicted on the elderly. I came to the realization that the scams make people hesitant to get involved with online businesses. That’s why video is so important for the trust factor!

  6. Hi Andy,
    As a previous bank manager, I can assure you of two things: banks have gotten better at verifying and updating customers regarding fraudulent transactions, (the internet helped a great deal) and they’ve also become more diligent in contacting their customers quickly – to avoid them having to write-off a bigger amount than necessary.
    If I may suggest, for the future, have one credit card used for your every day transactions and another for your other types of transactions, (when on vacation, etc..) that way, you can still have your coffee and smile!
    Cheers!

  7. Sarah Goulding

    I’ve been there. It’s a very scary experience. I don’t honestly know how people sleep at night knowing that they have scammed someone. I’m glad your bank helped, that’s a positive.
    Thank you for being honest in your post. I’m sure that will really help someone in the future. I hope this week settled down for you.

  8. Andy,
    I feel your pain regarding having your credit card info compromised. What a chore it is to have to go through and contact EVERYONE that your card is used for and update with a new card. Yes banks are pretty good about catching these fraudulent charges, at least mine was. Thanks for the good tips on emails as I am undertaking that process now.
    Sherri

  9. I love that picture, Andy. Did you take it?

    I’m sorry to hear about your banking issues, but it’s good to know it was sorted.

    This a good reminder of email marketing and good tips.

  10. I recently had some fraudulent charges on my card as well – I got my new card, and the next day left it at a store – we were traveling so had to order another one. Then the very next day I was using my wife’s card at a restaurant and somehow I lost that as well. It was in my jeans pocket, but we didn’t find it for a couple days. Fortunately, we were able to get a temporary card from the bank. All very inconvenient, but very glad banks recognize fraud quickly and refund the money when it does happen.

  11. Wow, Andy… what a drag! I hate to hear that your card was stolen but I’m absolutely relieved that your bank was able to make it right. This is one of those great examples when the bank comes through for us! I definitely agree with you about simply not understanding how there are shady people out there who look solely to take advantage of others. I’ll never ever understand that.
    Thank you for sharing the new email tips that you learned and the best practices for emails! All very helpful! I have a lot of take-aways from this, I appreciate you sharing!

  12. Hi Andy,
    That’s horrible that they got ahold of your bank account and stole from you. I get notifications from my bank all the time because of all the fraud that goes around. Sometimes they’re a little too protective that it becomes a nuisance at times with Mt account. I guess it’s better to be safe than broke.
    Thanks for all the good info on email marketing. I’m moving slowly with mine still, but still moving forward with it. There’s a lot involved when setting up your sequence. What you want to say, how you should say it, and what you want to offer them that has value.
    Thanks for all the great information, and I hope you have a great week!
    Meredith

  13. Andy, that sounds like quite the ordeal with your credit card! It’s reassuring to hear your bank was on top of things quickly, though. The nuisance of updating all those auto-pay accounts is real—as you say, ‘chocolate teapot’ time Here’s to smoother days ahead. Hang in there, and keep those valuable email marketing insights coming!

  14. Andy, thanks for sharing your story. It’s frustrating to deal with fraudulent transactions, but it’s good to hear your bank acted swiftly. The tips on email marketing are really helpful, especially about maintaining a good email reputation. I’m glad you found value in the Virtual Partner Event. Good luck with your Facebook ads and jury service, Atif

  15. Hi Andy,
    It really sucks when that stuff happens with our finances or credit cards. Sorry you had to go through that. I went through something similar last year, so I understand. My wife and I experienced Identity theft and it was messy to say the least. We ended up getting reimbursed but it took months to finally get it all cleaned up.
    Thanks for sharing the details virtual event, there’s a lot of good info you shared and I appreciate it. I’m currently working on an email sequence and appreciate the details.
    Until next time,
    Denny

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top