Now there’s a post title you never expected to see from a marketing company!
Ever notice that sometimes great posts are born out of pet peeves? This one is.
List building. Of course, I recommend it. It is absolutely necessary to carry out your online marketing tasks. However, in my books, there is a right way and an intrusive way to gain followers. I was just on Facebook and I saw a post I thought looked interesting – I clicked on it and got about 3 sentences in before a pop-up jumped up and blocked the content. This particular pop-up has no visible ‘x’ to close it – and the ONLY option was to opt-in to a webinar on a completely unrelated subject in order to keep reading the content.
Have we been reduced to children in the mind of the writer? Can we not have our pudding unless we eat our meat? In a world where content is still king, how dare that writer make opting-in to his material mandatory before I even have a chance to read the one thing that attracted me to him? This is not what list building is about. Think about your marketing funnel in terms of dating for friendship. You just met this person. All they said was
“Hi, my name is Steve. Can I borrow your car?”
They have earned absolutely no trust from you. They come across as sleazy, and obnoxious. And if you lend them your car you are probably just as crazy as they are. (No one is THAT cute)
In order to have a successful list building strategy, you have got to give freely first. Share your content. Let your readers or viewers know that what you have to offer is valuable. Maybe you could even engage in a conversation with them. You know, maybe write a blog or social media post and encourage comments? Encourage them to ask questions – and answer them. No strings. Share your knowledge.
Like in any relationship, the time for one-sided giving does end, and you have every right to ask for something in return (like an email), but stop going for the sale immediately. When you are planning your sales funnel and when you are writing your content. Take the time to at least buy your reader a proverbial coffee before you start asking for their firstborn.
