I just picked up mail at my PO box. In it was a scintillating flyer with kid-style writing and goofy clip art enticing me to attend a course that will be coming to an area near me this year. Joy!
Unfortunately for them, the mailer did not have the intended affect of inspiring me to sign up. Even with the “Express Enrollment!” option.
The strategy of sending out ads to anything half-alive to produce a minuscule return is completely irritating to unwitting recipients.
In case you were wondering, here are three tips to get on my snarky side:
- Send me stuff that’s irrelevant to what I do and that I didn’t sign up for.
- Send me mail addressed to a business name from a decade ago that is 1) defunct and 2) brings up uncomfortable memories.
- Put the burden on me to get off a list I never signed up for.
Spam is spoiled. It’s rotten.
We’re in a time of reworking business and marketing models. The spam approach, a.k.a. the I’m-not-going-to-bother-figuring-out-who-my-people-are-and-how-to-reach-them approach, is done. If I have my way in the universe, it will be extinct in the very near future.
What’s replacing it? Content marketing. In a nutshell:
- I put something out there.
- You come across it and check it out.
- If it resonates with you, you ask for more (for ex. sign up for updates).
- If not, you go your merry way and I never send you anything.
If you want to learn about it for your own business, check out Copyblogger‘s Content Marketing 101:
How to Build Your Business With Content.
Gazing in the mirror of self-reflection
Why do I get so riled up about this stuff?
As a human being, my intention is to help people.
I don’t want to be a burden, and I don’t want to be in someone’s face if they don’t want me there. In other words, permission is important to me.
Meaningful connections with people, from close relationships all the way through to simple writer/reader relationships, are important to me.
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Photo credit: Pleasing the Junk Mailer by mikecogh