The Drawbacks of Getting Email Subscribers With Opt-In Bait [Video]

The following is a video guest post from Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing. Danny has been featured on blogs such as Problogger, Copyblogger, and countless others. To get his (free) Naked Marketing Manifesto click here!  Also, check out his Write Like Freddy Blogging Program.

If you go on just about any blog, you’re immediately slammed in the face with email opt-in offers similar to the following.

Subscribe with your name and email address and we’ll send you The Best Social Media Marketing Guide Mankind Has Ever Seen.

So you sign up!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to the best marketing guide mankind has ever seen?  Turns out that incredible opt-in gift is a four page PDF that reads something like…

  • Don’t be a jerk.  Be nice to other people on Facebook and Twitter!
  • Start a blog.  Blogs are good and you can write on topics you’re passionate about.
  • Use images a lot, because people like to see great images.
  • Social media is not just a trend and your business should be using it!

You get the point — it’s information completely lacking value and you immediately feel like you’ve been tricked into giving up your email address.

This common scenario raises the question:

Is it necessary or good to have opt-in bait on your blog when building an email list?

 

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