Imagine someone knocks on your door and offers to change out your air conditioning vent filters for free. A simple, quick task that feels like a generous favor.
You say “absolutely, sounds great!”
You open the door, let him inside and feel appreciative of this free service he has offered you.
A quick few minutes go by, and once he finishes changing out the filters, he walks over to your couch, plops right down and makes himself comfortable.
Suddenly, he starts trying to sell you on his (expensive) monthly maintenance services.
Record scratch.
Wait, who are you? This isn’t what I agreed to. Am I really going to have to ASK you to leave?
Although you didn’t know it, his intention the entire time was to lock you into a conversation about his services. The free offer was just an incentive to get him in the door.
You feel a little bit tricked, inconvenienced, and maybe even scammed.
If he had been clear about his intentions at the beginning, you wouldn’t have felt backed into a corner. You would have known exactly what to expect so you could make an informed decision.
Instead of a bait and switch, he could have knocked on the door and said “Hey, can I tell you about my monthly services? I’d love to offer you some free value and change out your air filters while we talk.”
Ah, that’s better.
Clear expectations, clear boundaries, explicit permission. Everyone feels respected. No one feels tricked.
When we’re creating a world for someone to enter, explore, get lost in, and feel excited about, we need to be in the business of getting permission.
We must make it a priority to create a high-respect environment for our audience.
When building a brand world, our goal is to create positive relationships with people and maintain those relationships over time.
There is no room for ambiguity or false pretenses in cozy marketing.
Get permission, and don’t overstay.
If it wasn’t evident at first, this post is meant to challenge the traditional idea of freebie funnels, where we are encouraged to “capture leads” with an irresistible free offer, then continue to contact them via email even though that wasn’t part of the original deal. I recently got rid of all my freebies and have taken an alternative approach to growing my email list. If you’d like to read about how it’s going and what I’m doing instead, you can do so here: Why I got rid of all my freebies
Addy Lopes
The girl behind Encontro
Hey, I'm Addy! And I believe that marketing becomes enjoyable for everyone when brands put people first.
After 5 years of running my business, I realized I had let a lot of stale information clutter my brain and hold me back. I wanted to move on from the marketing status quo.
I decided to reimagine the way I market & grow my business. I ditched the constant opt-in freebies, launches based around urgency, and shouting into a void on social media. Cozy marketing was born.
There are no silver bullets in entrepreneurship, but by creating a brand you (and your audience) can’t wait to show up for, you dramatically increase your chances of success.
Let me teach you how to build a world that invites people in & makes them feel at home. Your journey begins with my Build Your Brand World mini course, linked here.
