Summary

The author expresses their frustration with the constant requests for their email address from various stores and businesses, and their disdain for the age of mailing lists.

Abstract

The author, who has recently been shopping locally, has noticed a trend where stores ask for their email address at the cash register. They have been given various reasons for this request, such as receiving exclusive deals, e-receipts, and discounts. However, the author has politely declined these offers, as they are not interested in providing their email address for such purposes. The author has previously spent a significant amount of time cleaning out their inboxes and unsubscribing from unwanted emails, and they are not willing to go through that process again. They believe that stores and businesses should provide value in their emails and not simply inundate customers with promotions they did not ask for. The author also discusses their experience with lead magnets, which are free resources used to attract potential customers. They believe that lead magnets should provide enough information to be valuable, but not so much that the customer feels their issue is resolved and no longer needs further assistance. The author concludes by stating that they will only provide their email address to stores and businesses that they have a genuine interest in and that offer valuable content.

Bullet points

The author has noticed a trend where stores ask for their email address at the cash register.
The author has been given various reasons for this request, such as receiving exclusive deals, e-receipts, and discounts.
The author has previously spent a significant amount of time cleaning out their inboxes and unsubscribing from unwanted emails.
The author believes that stores and businesses should provide value in their emails and not simply inundate customers with promotions they did not ask for.
The author discusses their experience with lead magnets, which are free resources used to attract potential customers.
The author believes that lead magnets should provide enough information to be valuable, but not so much that the customer feels their issue is resolved and no longer needs further assistance.
The author concludes by stating that they will only provide their email address to stores and businesses that they have a genuine interest in and that offer valuable content.

No, You Can’t Have My Email Address

Surviving the age of the mailing list

Since stores re-opened, I’ve been trying to shop locally where I can. But I’m noticing a disturbing trend. At least half the places I’ve frequented have asked me to provide my email address at the cash register.

“That way, you won’t miss our great deals for members,” says one cashier. I’m not a member.

“It’s so I can send your e-receipt,” explains another.

“If you give me your email, you get an automatic 5% discount on your next purchase,” reports a third.

“No, thank you. I’m good.” I respond, always politely. It’s not the cashier’s fault, after all. This is part of their job now.

The other day, a cashier showed me a link on my receipt which led to a survey. “If you provide us with your information, you’ll receive two dollars.”

Two dollars.

Two dollars.

Who thinks I’m pimping out my email address for two dollars?

We’re in the age of the mailing list, and I’m not a fan. A few months ago, I made it my mission to clean out both of my active email addresses. Digital organization isn’t my forté, so they were in horrendous condition. If my email accounts were a representation of my physical space, you’d call me a hoarder.

Each of them had more than 10,000 unopened emails just sitting in my inbox. I didn’t know who half the people or stores sending me emails were, and I had no recollection of signing up for whatever product or service they provided.

Every night, I listened to a podcast and worked on cleaning one of my inboxes. When the podcast finished, I was finished for the day. That means I spent somewhere around an hour each day searching emails, filing emails, responding to emails, unsubscribing from emails, and deleting emails.

This went on for weeks. Finally, the day came when I was able to call a friend, bursting with pride, to tell her I had zero emails in either of my inboxes.

Conservatively, I spent 16 hours of my life cleaning inboxes and unsubscribing from things I hadn’t used in years, if ever.

The right company or person can legitimately provide you with value in an email. There are a few stores that are my ride-or-dies that I allow to send me their promotions. There are a few cultural and entertainment-related organizations as well.

But from now on, the rest of the world can pry my email address out of my cold, dead hands.

Those are some pretty dramatic words from a woman who, a few years ago, tried to make a go of selling online courses for freelance service providers who are introverts. To do that, I had the requisite lead magnet so I could build an email list. A few of them, actually. And they weren’t bad.

But they didn’t do well. I suspect there were a variety of reasons for that. It wasn’t for lack of a target market because I see a lot of introverted freelancers who hate sales on social media.

I think a big part of it was my own discomfort with asking people for an email address and their understandable aversion to handing over that information to a virtual stranger.

Now, I don’t think anyone should be embarrassed asking for compensation for their insights. I’ve signed up for a number of lead magnets in the past. I’m sure a lot of you reading this have, too. I’ve gotten PDFs and short online courses as well.

The thing about a lead magnet is it has to walk the fine line between providing enough information to be valuable and not so much that the person feels their issue is now resolved and needs no further assistance.

Some lead magnets manage this balance beautifully. I’ve walked away thinking “Okay, you’ve got my attention. Good on you.”

But many lead magnets are so basic they aren’t worth the time and effort.

I’ve got a file of them sitting somewhere on my computer, unlooked at, unread, and unmissed. From now on, if you’re just going to give me the bare minimum, count me out.

Generally speaking, the more detailed the lead magnet, the better. Go deep on a very small portion of your subject matter.

I know someone who was trying to get leads for her home décor course and did a lead magnet on the best shades of white for painting your kitchen. She got a ton of downloads because it’s a very practical and specific issue.

A wedding planner I know did very well with a lead magnet sharing her preferred vendors for wedding invitations. Once again, practical, in-depth, and specific.

I’d love to see someone selling a writing course write a post with specific errors, ask the audience to figure out what they are, then reveal the issues and how they’d best be corrected. That’d be much more valuable than telling me to swap “utilize” for “use.”

I also want retailers to use all this artificial intelligence (AI) they have to send me promotions that actually make sense for me, versus sending me something about barbecue season when I don’t have a backyard.

I know everyone’s just out there trying to make a living. But it’s important to consider the customer journey as part of that. Give people the power to opt into very specific correspondence. Do better with using past behavior to predict future behavior. Don’t take advantage of having access to someone by inundating them with offers they didn’t ask for.

To stores, service providers, and marketers, please remember we now all get asked for our email addresses daily. If you’re going to ask me to sign up for anything, first make sure I have more than a glancing interest in the subject matter. And then, for the love of my pristine inboxes, make it worth my while.