I’m one of those people who never watches commercials.  I am a habitual channel surfer during commercial breaks and an avid user of my DVR that lets me fly through them when watching recorded shows.  Why?  Because 90% or more don’t apply to me.  They aren’t showing me products I have an interest in, their offers aren't compelling, and they don't educate me in any substantial way.  So I don’t waste my time with them.

If a marketer wants to get through to me, they need my permission.  As a modern consumer, I feel I have the power to select who I want to have advertise, market, or even speak to me!  I do that by opting in to a company's email or text message channel.  I subscribe to their RSS feed.  I seek out their Web site or blog on my own time schedule and likely through the context of a specific search.

With this in mind, it fascinates me when I sometimes hear opt-in referred to as more of a burden than a blessing.  The beauty of opt-in is permission.  Permission is an ultra-powerful tool.  Once you have it, you can freely tell your story.  The end-user has asked for it!  They have explicitly told you, “I hereby give you my time and attention for you to tell me something”.  What an unbelievable opportunity to take advantage of!  In many ways you could say this forms a definition for a valuable part of modern marketing: the ability to purchase someone’s time and attention.

The problem is that most people blow this golden opportunity.  Permission has a life-span.  If you damage the relationship, you may never get it back.  Don’t take this window and close it by trying to sell the member something they don’t need.  Or trying to tell them something about your company that doesn’t impact their life in a meaningful way.  Stop telling me about the upcoming Carrie Underwood album when you should know I have never bought any country music from you!

In this sound-bite driven world, you need to keep your message relevant, to the point, and compelling.  I’ve given you permission, now it’s up to you to keep me from channel surfing.

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