Failed "outreach for help" email

What would you do differently?

A dude who had signed up to my email list a few months ago, and who has never really interacted with me directly except for buying something from me once, replied to my broadcast email yesterday.

(My email yesterday was a handraiser for an auction I'm considering running.)

The dude's reply basically went like this:

1. He opened by saying he doesn't want to bother me but he feels I might be able to help

2. He then laid out his situation (not really unique, basically he has a website that gets no visitors or users)

3. He then asked politely if I can offer him some tips

I looked over this email for a bit... clicked through to the site for a second... and then simply closed it all down, without responding.

Any guesses as to why?

And no, it's not (just) because I'm a dick.

Instead, it is because I am petty.

Specifically, there were two "rubs me the wrong way" things about this guy's message that made me predisposed to not helping him, even before I clicked through to his website.

I realize it might be hard to gauge based on the bare bones outline of the guy's email I've shared up above, but I don't want to include the original message, because the guy was being nice and polite, and somehow it doesn't feel cool.

Still, I think this is a opportunity to discover something new and important, if you're ever looking to start a relationship online with somebody you don't know, maybe by reaching out to them over email.

What did this dude do wrong (2 things)... and what could he have done differently?

If you like, guess away in the comments below.

(I promise you, it's there in the outline of his message. But if you want to ask clarifying questions, I'm game.)

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