Are Ethical Bribes Outdated?

As some of you may know, marketing is one of my favourite subjects and something that I enjoy helping my business clients with, along with the extra advantage that psychic insights can bring to a business setting.

If you've ever tried to build or grow an email mailing list, you will probably have heard of something called an "ethical bribe." The concept is very simple: the business offers something for free, but you the potential customer have to sign up for their email list to get it.

It seems like a fair enough exchange, and the idea itself is quite clever for a number of reasons. As a result it's a marketing technique that has become extremely poplar and is now used far and wide on the internet in many different sectors, but seems particularly prevalent in the self-development and coaching arenas. I have to admit that I've often taken advantage of those offers of freebies myself and gained much value from some of them. I also don't mind being added to a mailing list if it's a topic I'm interested in or for services I feel I would benefit from hearing about.

Whilst I do think this ethical bribe system has worked quite well for a number of years, this past year or so I've noticed that it's all getting a bit much. I'm starting to think it's outlived it's usefulness.

A lot of small businesses and solopreneurs in particular are giving away more freebies than ever before, but the barrage of sales emails you now receive in return is starting to make it feel like less of a fair exchange. It used to be that you would simply be added to the email list and might receive one or two emails with a nudge to make a purchase, but now it's getting a bit out of hand. 

I imagine that sellers believe that a more forceful approach is now necessary in a world where you have to work harder to get your services noticed in the online space.

Sadly, I've found myself unsubscribing from many email lists due to the excessive number of messages that follow on for weeks on end, after receiving the free gift, and it starts to feel like it wasn't free at all. Yes, I know the game, and I understand that this is intended to be an exchange so the gift was never totally free with no strings attached, but I value my time and I just don't have time to wade through so many sales emails in my already packed inbox!

I was chatting a a friend of mine in marketing about this issue recently, and I mentioned that I've been sensing a backlash to the technological age building for a couple of years.

Technology can be wonderful and very useful, but it's starting to feel for many as though it has taken over our lives, and this year in particular has replaced actual human contact, and that doesn't feel very nice.

Almost all of our communications are now in an electronic format from a message via Facebook to a family member to your phone bill and bank statements arriving my email. 

Have you noticed just how few letters and postcards we get through the letterbox these days? Because I certainly have. Even junk mail and flyers are becoming a rare occurrence.

And yet, I can barely keep track of the number of emails I get on a daily basis, so adding extra sales messages to the mix really doesn't work for me anymore and I believe I'm not alone there. Email is no longer new, unique, or different like it was when people started doing this and in my opinion, it's becoming a bit of a pain.

In the spirit of service, I often create free resources that I like to share with the community, and I took a decision not to offer them as ethical bribes to try to coerce people to join my mailing list. If you'd like to join my list, you are always welcome to (the link is at the bottom of the page) but I want that to be your decision.

The Free Resources I provide are without strings, and without expectation of something in return - that's how this should work in my opinion. Not everything needs to be commoditised, and I feel we have lost sight of that fact, especially in the world of work and business. Sometimes it's nice to just give for the sake of giving.

Ethical bribes were fun for a while, but with the way things are going right now, I feel that kindness and generosity is what is needed more than "buyer incentives."

The world has been a dark and scary place for many of us this year, and we are facing 2021 with much uncertainty too.

In my experience, the universe keeps a perfect set of books, which means that what you give to others will come back to you in other ways, so there is never any need to require reciprocity from the recipient of your gift. Trust that the universe will take care of you - givers are never left empty handed. 

When you focus on service and genuinely helping those who need help, you find that your life changes in positive ways all by itself.

I believe that we are moving into a new age of greater enlightement, and that is what the prophecised "great awakening" which is currently underway will lead to. As we move into this new energy, I have predicted that we will see a new way of working and doing business unfolding. One that is more focussed on service, community and kindness rather than fear or lack, greed or profit for the sake of profit.

It's in our nature as human beings to want to help and give to others, so I'd suggest trying it in your own business instead of the ethical bribe, or in addition, if that resonates. Your gift or service doesn't have to be anything big or expensive; it's far more important that it's something thoughtful that will genuinely help those who need it. The people who benefit from it may never become customers of yours, but the goodwill you'll be putting out to the world will be felt on many levels.

I'm also a big believer that what we put out to the world, what we give, will come back to us one way or another, and whilst I don't give in order to get, and I'm not intentially doing it for this purpose, giving in a spirit of love and service  will activate the law of attraction and bring you bigger opportunities and gifts back to you in the future.

I think when humanity finally realises that giving is the path to true wealth, and we are able to let go of the poverty consciousness that has been holding us back for millennia, the world will be a much nicer place to live in.  

We are already on the path to a more enlightened and loving world, and we can help to speed up our own path towards it in many ways when we remember that everything is sacred, and that actions taken in our business and work lives are just as important and impactful on an energetic level, as our spiritual practise.