Just Checking In

No this is not the typical sales email 🤣

Have you ever received an email where the words “checking in” were either in the subject line or the first opening words? Maybe it’s from a long-lost friend, but mostly we know we are getting a sales pitch.

The sales industry is notorious for poor email etiquette. It has gotten to the point that Google and Yahoo are now getting more aggressive against mass emailers. This past month they put in new requirements for bulk emailers that will start blocking emails that do not meet their stricter standards.

But really, they have already started taking a strong stance sending most unsolicited emails to spam. This has led to a sharp rise in teams adopting AI to trick spam filters into passing their sales & marketing emails. In turn, spam filters are using AI to get smarter about detecting and blocking spam. Should be a fun battle to watch!

We are friends though, so this is me genuinely checking in to see how things are with you and to share some updates on my end. Ten months ago I sent what I said would be the very last Enterprise Sales Forum newsletter. My constant travels with AWS made sending regular newsletters difficult. The biggest factor though was the launch of a new newsletter called Founders in the Cloud to better align with my focus on startups.

So how have things gone? It has been a big hit! The newsletter has 5,300 subscribers, an open rate of 55%, and over 100,000 have seen it on LinkedIn. That is part creating high-quality and engaging content and part being wildly consistent with the weekly cadence.

Over the 40 editions since May 2023, topics have covered everything across the startup universe. Some of the top posts include how to engage VC’s, how to get started using AI, how to be a startup CEO, and how to sell as a founder. I also wrote about various startups ecosystems such as Thailand and upcoming big trends in tech startups.

It’s free to sign up. And as a bonus for subscribing, you get my sincere gratitude and good vibes! I will still keep up this site so the knowledge stays available for all. If you want to see what is happening the world of startups that covers more than just sales, I definitely encourage you to become a fan of “Founders in the Cloud”.

And do send me a note with how you are doing! Till next time,

Mark Birch, Founder of Enterprise Sales Forum

P.S. So what does “constant travel” look like exactly? Well in 2023 I traveled 220,000 miles speaking & organizing over 100 events across every continent except Antarctica 🤯 I chronicle the highlights in this LinkedIn post. I am still on the road as well, spending some time in Mexico City recently and heading off to Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia starting next week. If you are around and want to meet, ping me and we can find a time to catch up!

Mark hitting Mexico City with colleagues and customers!