If you do a lot of reading on the internet you have definitely come across these types of phrases more than once…and definitely more today than before. The common way to try and coerce you into reading their supposedly awesome content is to demand something from you…
- Please Login to continue reading
- Please sign up to read the rest
- Please subscribe to read more
- And a host of other such demands…
Information today is free. You can find it somewhere on the internet. And your audience knows it.
Why not start by giving them the information instead of making them sign up for the information. Then, and only then, if the information is truly incredible, valuable, helpful, they will reward you by signing up so they can get more of it.
There’s the problem…most of the information isn’t incredible, valuable, or helpful…most of it is designed around trying to still sell you something. It was designed to sell, not help. If it was designed to completely help your audience you wouldn’t have to ask for them to subscribe…they would be asking you how to subscribe so they can get more of this great content.
But marketers are afraid of this…because they know the content is designed to sell, not help. It is designed to meet the “number of subscriber” metrics.
What if there was a new metric in marketing…“number of people begging you for more valuable content” metric? Wouldn’t that be a better indicator of both the quality of your content and the interest of your audience in your content?
Reverse engineer the subscription issue…let your customers be the driver based on the exceptional and unparalleled content you are providing them that helps them in whatever they are doing. Be THAT person or company. Then watch your subscription numbers increase…and increase with the right people who are passionately interested in how you can help, not those that give you an email address (most have multiple emails today) they can just use to see if your content is worth reading…they will unsubscribe anyway.
Start with AWESOME, HELPUL, INSIGHTFUL, THOUGHT PROVOKING, and STIMULATING content…then watch your audience ask for more…this is what’s truly valuable. Over and over it has been proven…if you give 100 people this type of content v. 1000 people content they don’t care about…you get talked about, shared, and word-of-mouth is generated. Give that formula a try…you will love the results and your audience will love to tell others. And you won’t be another annoying company asking to subscribe, login or sign up!
