How I Learned About List Building Research
List Building... My Personal Research and Review Experience!
In 2004, I wrote and presented an article on a chemical product based on my partial review of it.
There was a specific product presented (within my environmental field) which I was not fully aware of how it had been labeled... but…I was aware of the negative aspects of the ingredients (chemistry) on our environment.
So, I wrote an article based on my existing knowledge and within 1-week, I received several quite strong comments from users of this product that stated my article review was incorrect and I should have read the label or contacted the manufacturer before I posted my negative article.
Once I contacted the manufacturer regarding the product ingredients and label, I understood how my view and opinion were different than the reality of the product as it was labeled.
The manufacturer did have "special usage directions along with specific restrictions" listed on their label and further, they had a "Caution tab-link" at the bottom-left on their website.
Based only on my experience and position regarding this (toxic) chemical solution, I wrote about the negative effects regarding the product… but with the manufacturer’s disclaimer and specific restrictions listed... it could be stated that they were correct and my posted position was inaccurate.
CONCLUSION: If I had taken just enough additional time and reached-out to the manufacturer to ask my questions and concerns, I would have quickly realized that my (chemical) opinion was accurate, but my article was inaccurate!
Therefore, the article, my opinion and my position were less then credible to my list of readers… and I lost a few potential customers from my growing list.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I learned a valuable lesson through this experience some 10+ years ago, that it is essential to go the extra-mile regarding the research of a product or service.
How much research is enough... and how long will it take? I share with people that ask... the following; “It will take exactly as long as it takes for you to become comfortable enough to cover both the positive and negative aspects of the product or service. You must know it so well that you can fully discuss the pros and cons with confidence.
IN CLOSING: I could have saved credibility had I written about the chemistry and its negative effects on our environment... and then also provided the necessary credit to the manufacturer's position about listing the usage restrictions on the label. Unfortunately for me, I painted the product with too broad of a stroke and that was unfair and it cost me. I immediately wrote an apology to my unsubscribed, but the damage was already done.
Recent Comments
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I think you were correct in your original article. Would you give an apology to the cigarette companies for all their warnings on their packaging if you had written that continual smoking of cigarettes will kill us. I wouldn't. The chemical you wrote about you say is toxic therefore there is no reason not to warn people of this, as long as it is true, even though it is legal to sell and they have all the legal warnings.
Greetings Ozibob... your comparison and point in comment are well received! I've been intimately involved with the EPA since the early 1980's regarding biological assays and analyses regarding post cleaning remediation testing.
Technologically speaking and "legally speaking"... that company was allowed by "law" to market and sell their product as it was legally registered. There are so many environmental hazardous conditions that are "legally allowed" it could fill several volumes.
I'm going to create a series of blogs that directly expose common household cleaners that are "hazardous and toxic" to humans and animals... yet the major multinational chemical corporations are allowed to market them (hypnotically) to the American Public (consumer market) in a manner that suggest it were created and delivered by Mother Nature herself!
It will be a couple of weeks before I begin with the Toxic Household Cleaner label exposure...and I would greatly appreciate if you would visit and review... then comment on them.
Thank you very much again for your accurate comments!!
Hi Nick,
Absolutely delighted you will be exposing toxic Household Cleaners in future on your site. I can relate as what I have learnt about health over the last couple of years and about what the large pharmaceutical companies get away with is beyond belief.
I intend to start a Health site in the near future and hopefully inform people on alternative and natural products and methods available rather than use pharmaceutical drugs.
If I can be of help to you in the future please do not hesitate in asking. Let me know when your blogs have been published.as I will be delighted to comment.
You probably have already thought of this but find and refer your statements on the toxic chemicals to research articles to back up your claims. It is one avenue of protection for you.
Thank you for the advice and comment. I do have all the documentation that is required for sure! That has been my business for many years as an Environmental Scientist. I've had the honor and pleasure to work side-by-side with many PhD's in Agriculture, Biology and Microbiology. It will be an eye-opener (hopefully) for consumers that choose to review. Unfortunately, so many are already sold on the TV commercials.
Thank you and I will be posting in the next couple of weeks.
Wow, sorry this was a lesson learned the hard way, but then we have all had lessons learned the hard way! Thank you for sharing this with us! Christa:)
Greetings Crista... yes it was quite the lesson. My point was well supported by my personal experience with this toxic chemical, but in spite of the reality of the hazardous exposure... it was "legally approved" to market and sell and use!
I appreciate your excellent comments
There are so many hazardous chemicals in the products on the market even in personal items. Do you realize a doctor who tested each person who came to her fighting cancer tested high in propylene glycol in their bodies, yet it is in almost all personal care items. It is alarming how difficult it is to get away from these chemicals that are hazardous to health.
Ewww, sorry. Hard lesson to learn too. Thanks for sharing. Remember though, everything happens for a reason.
Thank you for the comment. My knowledge of this specific chemical goes way back into the 1980's and I know how damaging it is to all indoor and outdoor environments. The reality (and problem) is that as long as the company complied with the US-EPA regulations and "Paid for the right to POISON" they were allowed to continue to market and sell this deadly toxin. So, in the end... I knew exactly the problems and risks associated with this toxic chemical... I couldn't imagine how any company was allowed to use it where this company "Paid" the EPA to register, restrict and market. Sad reality within the toxic chemical world!
Thank you for sharing your valuable time reviewing and commenting on my blog. I sincerely appreciate it. All the best to you in 2015 and beyond!!
This is not the only sad reality going on. It's all about the bucks and how they grease the big wheels. SAD but true.
It's very interesting how life keeps us in check. I truly felt that I had a handle on that specific toxic chemical... which, by the way... I frequently used this same chemical in the 1980's to the late 1990's. It is a very strong pesticide killing chemical solution, but it kills everything without concern for the soil and water; ponds, streams, and lakes. This company knew all the restrictions and was "still allowed to market it" as long as the label and website disclosed the restrictions in accordance with EPA regulations.
For me, it is still a hazardous chemical solution that should never be used under any condition indoors or out... but the EPA allows it as long as they paid for their registration and labeled correctly (according to EPA toxic labeling regulations)... that's even more concerning.
Thank you for your comment and I appreciate you taking your valuable time to review my blog.
All the best to you in 2015 and beyond!!
Good advice Nick- I will take it to heart! Although research can sometimes take time, it is a very important and an integral part of our work. Well done post...
-Tom
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Hi Nick, good advice and well worth noting. I suppose the old saying "look before you leap" and "always do your homework" before commenting or passing an opinion on anything, is also good advice, and always read the small print if you wish to avoid slanderous or libelous charges.
Greetings and thank you for your review and comments. Life is full of choices and it comes down to the consequences... right? Sometimes it is best to open just one more door to see what's there. Wishing you all the best in 2015 and thank you again.