Permissions Based Marketing

If you are familiar with my philosophies, you will know that one of my core foundations for the email strategies I teach are what's called: "Permissions Based Marketing". Here is the link to the Wikipedia page in case you aren't familiar.

This morning I saw a rare post from one of my favorite blogs on the internet, "The Responsible Marketing Blog" regarding the recent changes to users privacy permissions on Linkedin. Click here to read his take.

It really got me thinking. I wonder how many companies and people in them, make these kinds of decisions to take liberal action with peoples info every day?

In what ways do they justify this? In my experience, people who are making these decisions usually don't think about the entire picture. In terms of email, I see it often that they think about their own policies and usually CAN SPAM. But what about the recipient? They are all to often forgotten in the decision to send them mail they didn't directly ask for.

Because in the US, we live in an opt-out world. But the reality is that the recipient is the one who ultimately decides to delete or mark as spam, and guess what, if they do that often enough then their ESP takes notice and your digital reputation and future deliverability is damaged.

What's the moral of this story??? ALWAYS ask permission from your subscribers. Be forthright, clear, and honest in your intentions. Always use opt-in procedures for both your internal and external emails.

Permissions Based Email Mantras:
For those of you who can appreciate some solid mantras, here is my list (which hangs on my wall to remind me daily):

·        “Teach me today, sell me when I am ready.”

·        “People only care about their problems not your product.”

·        “People won’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel. Move, touch, inspire.”

·        “Practice storytelling- speak your brand truth. Give voice to your brand enthusiasts.”

·        “Consider how you handle yourself when the sale is not imminent- this is speaks volumes about your brand.”

·        “Show them what you will be sending and how often to set the expectations and BUILD TRUST.”

·        “Give guidance, share info, and always remain positive.”

·        “Provide access to plenty of relevant info- make them into educated buyers.”

·        “Focus on being interested, instead of interesting.”

·        “Tell me what you can’t do, and I will believe you when you tell me what you can do.”

·        “Do less and ship.” –seth godin