I hate marketing

Hey there, and welcome to Zero Grift! If you want to join hundreds of other badass readers learning how to write bingeable emails their readers can’t wait to read, subscribe below:

You can check out my other articles and follow me on Twitter too!

For a long time, I hated marketing.

But I’ve since become much more optimistic...

Now I hate most marketing.

When did we stop treating each other like messy, beautiful humans?

Now we shove each other down sales funnels filled with manipulation and pressure tactics to GET THE SALE AT ALL COSTS! Extracting wealth like we’re Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood.

Sure, we could use these tactics and make a few more $$$ — but why? What’s the end goal?

The extra money won’t compensate for that bit in your heart that rots away every time you use a manipulative hack.

Sure, you can ignore that feeling for a while.

I did.

It’s intoxicating to learn psychological tricks, apply them to your work and watch people make the choices you manufactured them to make.

It’s a power kick…that’s why there’s an entire copywriting industry built around it.

But I’ve sinced moved on and I won’t be talking about them here.

Why?

Firstly, they’re boring and easy: quick hack solutions that work for others and might work for you. Go on Twitter, throw a stone, and you’ll hit eight gurus peddling that shit.

And secondly, they’re not good marketing tactics — they’re good sales tactics.

The difference is:

• marketing focuses on the audience's needs — explaining why your product might help solve their problem.

• Sales focuses on the business’ needs — making more money, damnit!

Marketing funnels that use manipulative tactics are actively negative to the user. They generate empty desire and use time pressure to get a sale at all costs.

And they work — you’ll probably make a shitload of cash in the short term.

But therein lies the problem — it’s short term. These tricks will 100% hurt your brand. High-pressure funnels can leave a sour aftertaste in your customer’s mouths, meaning getting another purchase out of them will be harder.

You’ll burn through customers like a toaster with a death wish.

I don’t want to contribute to that toxicity anymore.

We live in a capitalist society which requires marketing to keep the wheels moving, but marketing shouldn’t be a necessary evil we endure to get cool products.

Marketing needs to be led by entertainment, education and honesty.

This newsletter is technically marketing, but I want it to be more than that. I see it as a fun island of calm in a sea of HACKS, BUY NOWS and DISCOUNTS!

If I offer you a product to buy, that’s exactly what it’ll be – an offer. I’ll explain why I created it, who would benefit, and its outcomes (plus my usual goofs and gags for fun!)

Email marketing should be a personal medium. It’s your chance to speak to your audience directly. The difference between email and other marketing forms is that people sign up for them — they want to hear from you! Don’t waste their time by sending empty calorie content solely designed to sell! sell! sell!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a 7-figure business or a solopreneur start-up. Ensuring your marketing is honest, fun and educational will not only make you (or your team) happier, it’ll grow a more loyal fan base.

This week, look at your marketing and see if you can find ways to make it more fun, honest and carefree. If you can’t think of anything, that’s okay. We’ll drum up some ideas together soon!

Until then,

— Jacob

If you liked this piece and don’t want to miss any more dumb jokes or cool wisdom (or vice-versa), subscribe below!

Currently bingeing

• How fucking hard this Sax player needlessly goes.

• An artist in the 1970s painting stuff that looks like it’s out of a 2003 videogame (or Facebook’s Metaverse lmao)

• The Last of Us — what did people think of that final episode? I particularly want to hear from you if you’ve played the game too. I’ve got thoughts. Reply to this email and let’s get into it!