That's right, I said it. 

Again, today, I bumped up yet another brick wall, uh, I mean, landing page of:

• Watch the 2 minute video.
• "Count me in!" yellow button circled in red with big arrows
• "Free Special Report to make your life better!" with matching branded image
• Form to fill in name and email address

It sucked. I wanted to find out more about this person and their company: how do they do business? what do they stand for?  I run up against what seems to be an ever present funnel for email list building. It's transparent that I don't get anything from them unless I'm in their list and, well, I think that's crap.

Listen, I get it. I totally understand and agree with the premise which says:

The more people in your list, the more marketing spread you have, the more conversions to sale are possible.

Except what's the turn and burn ratio (people signing up for the free stuff then walking away)? Did they really build a relationship with me in a 3-7-10 day marketing drip? Am I really even their prospect? Or am I just one of many suspects in the pond?

I have a few squeeze or landing pages which are specifically designed for you to call me, connect with me, book an appointment with me and that's what the button says at the bottom. There is always a call to action and a result requested (that's just marketing systems 101.)

I have not put a squeeze page up for the specific purpose of building a list.

List building like that just doesn't fit my business model or work for me.

If you want to be on my Rainbows and Unicorns* email list then great! Go sign up for it on my home page. I will gladly have you as a part of the gang.

I know when you sign up on your own without being forced or bribed to sign up to a list just to get my "Top 5 Things which will....." ebook/audio/program, it means you genuinely connected with my stuff, what I sell, and/or who I am as a business owner and service provider.

Know what that means? You've self selected as someone who is a prospect. Yay! You moved from suspect to prospect! Which means when I do write to you and give you stuff, and I will, you are already more open to working with me at a deeper level.

So, at the risk of swimming upstream from some website marketing pundits, I say screw building a list for the sake of building a list. Stop blocking people from genuinely connecting with you. Stop bribing people to be on your email list. Start rewarding people for joining your list on their own by not advertising all the stuff they get when they give over their email address - just give them valuable content and stuff after they do! You'll end up with a louder, more loyal, and more consistent group of fans.

Jessica

*I don't send out actual Rainbows and Unicorns. I haven't figured out how to get the unicorn to stand still so I can scan him in.

You can join my list at Room To Breathe and learn all about me and my joyfully geeky attitude towards systems and processes that work for you in your small business.