When Not to Sell Me Something

>you’re trying to put your tongue in my mouth.

Depending on how good the facebook profile pictures look, this could actually be a good thing…

@Wesley – same as Dave- if you can’t endure the Google reader Adsense ad that goes with my blog post, unsubscribe. I put out free shit all the time, every day, and if you’re offended by the ad, the easiest way to stop seeing it is to opt out.

If you somehow equate that with the post, that’s brilliant. You’ve completely and utterly uncovered the meaning of my blog post.

as always, I agree. I have no problem with people trying to sell me something. I can ignore them online. or unfollow them. here’s hoping I’m not trying to sell someone when I should be shaking their hand!

as always, I agree. I have no problem with people trying to sell me something. I can ignore them online. or unfollow them. here’s hoping I’m not trying to sell someone when I should be shaking their hand!

Sounds like it was a bad day.

Thanks for the tip. There’s nothing wrong with advertising but it works both ways. It’s hypocritical to moan about people advertising to you when you’re doing the same to others all the time, and sometimes even not being upfront about doing it (like with some of your book “reviews,” which in reality are just ads).

I haven’t bought the first something either. And you have to get them into the store somehow. And, it’s annoying to buy something then have the seller keep trying to sell you more.

You don’t “put out free shit.” You don’t just want to help people with this blog. You want more and you know it. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but the goal of your blog is fame and money, whether through advertising or through the clients it gets you.

“The easiest way to stop seeing it is to opt out.” Well, take your own advice. Whoever is selling to you, opt out. Don’t send friend requests to people on Facebook if it annoys you that much. Don’t follow people on Twitter if you don’t want an automated 140 character direct message from them. It works both ways.

Thanks for the tip. There’s nothing wrong with advertising but it works both ways. It’s hypocritical to moan about people advertising to you when you’re doing the same to others all the time, and sometimes even not being upfront about doing it (like with some of your book “reviews,” which in reality are just ads).

I haven’t bought the first something either. And you have to get them into the store somehow. And, it’s annoying to buy something then have the seller keep trying to sell you more.

You don’t “put out free shit.” You don’t just want to help people with this blog. You want more and you know it. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but the goal of your blog is fame and money, whether through advertising or through the clients it gets you.

“The easiest way to stop seeing it is to opt out.” Well, take your own advice. Whoever is selling to you, opt out. Don’t send friend requests to people on Facebook if it annoys you that much. Don’t follow people on Twitter if you don’t want an automated 140 character direct message from them. It works both ways.

Great post, Chris! Good analogy, and right to the point.

thanks for not kissing Us.

thanks for not kissing Us.

Great point, on the other hand if we weren’t all either buyers or sellers we would all get off the internet and watch TV instead I think. Life s about choice, and you and I can choose to ignore the sellers whose products do not appeal to us, without of course denying them the right to make the offer.

I guess I shouldn’t have undone your pants at blog world expo

I guess I shouldn’t have undone your pants at blog world expo

I like the phrase “Don’t sell me the bigger picture when I haven’t even bought the handshake.”

Perhaps Seth Godin needs to republish Permission Marketing, re-framed for the age of social media….

Perhaps Seth Godin needs to republish Permission Marketing, re-framed for the age of social media….

Great job! Once you’ve been sucked into the funnel you find yourself swirling around with all their jv’s too. You wrote exactly what many of us feel.

I think this is a bit of a balancing act, both in “real” life and social media. I have resisted using a DM autoresponder simply because I know it isn’t real and so do the people who get it from me. But I also never hand my business card to people who aren’t interested in connecting further. Relationships should happen naturally. If I add something of value, they will dig deeper. Whether its meeting a girl (back when I was single), building a business contact, or connecting via social media.

I think this is a bit of a balancing act, both in “real” life and social media. I have resisted using a DM autoresponder simply because I know it isn’t real and so do the people who get it from me. But I also never hand my business card to people who aren’t interested in connecting further. Relationships should happen naturally. If I add something of value, they will dig deeper. Whether its meeting a girl (back when I was single), building a business contact, or connecting via social media.

@Chris – you know I heart ya, big guy. The fact that you’re constantly not selling is the reason I like to rib you on posts like this :)

Oh, and @ed – classy. Very classy.

As a result of struggling with this post for a week now, I have removed the link from my autoDM on twitter and disabled my pop-up newsletter prompt.

Bottom line: The imagery of making out with you was just too unsettling.

I hope there is an effective way to achieve the same results because I don’t want to have to pick between the imagery and the money. Sort of seems like I lose either way.

As a result of struggling with this post for a week now, I have removed the link from my autoDM on twitter and disabled my pop-up newsletter prompt.

Bottom line: The imagery of making out with you was just too unsettling.

I hope there is an effective way to achieve the same results because I don’t want to have to pick between the imagery and the money. Sort of seems like I lose either way.

I have to agree that the high pressure sales approach is offensive. Make the introduction and then let me come looking for what you can offer.

And I think that an RSS feed or e-mail subscription to a blog is a much different animal than following on Twitter or Facebook — you signed up for the feed knowing that the blog was promoting something so you’ve got to expect some selling there.