Who wants to hear your message?

As time goes on, I’m becoming increasingly annoyed with unexpected interruption-based marketing. I’ve mentioned before that I’m fine with ads during TV shows, podcasts, and other areas where I expect it. I don’t like them, but I recognize that it’s part of the deal and it’s my “payment” for the content. Fair enough.

However, as cold email becomes more and more prevalent, it seems that many view the solution as simply pushing their message even louder and more frequently. It’s a cycle that is spiraling in the wrong direction, and I hope that you aren’t part of it.

The better way is to find people that actually want to hear from you. Not “I have this great product that they’ll love, so let’s spam them”, but people that genuinely respect what you have to say.

Seth Godin recently put it this way:

“Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.”

It’s more effective, for sure, but it’s also a lot more work. Buying email lists and randomly messaging people on LinkedIn can feel easier, but taking the time to provide real value and build a faithful audience will work much better in the long run.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on November 6, 2022.