Forced Continuity Is Crap | Internet Marketing Trust Factor Drops
Ever respond to one of those sexy looking ‘freebie offers’ only to find out that once you’ve taken the time to jump through the hoops, there’s a fee and a sneaky little paid subscription offer deeply embedded in the fine print?
I don’t know about you, but whenever I come across those situations it irritates the heck out of me. If your gonna put up a Free offer on your blog or whatever, then make it Free.
Now there’s nothing wrong with advertising a paid offer on the same page as the freebie, at least I have the option of choosing to ‘tack that on’ versus being forced fed something that I wasn’t particularly looking for.
The worst part about forced continuity is that it’s predicated on the fact that you’ll forget the expiration date of the subscription before your credit card gets banged for a monthly subscription fee.
There are two sets of thoughts that you have to deal with when you participate in one of these deals:
1. The nagging effort you have to put forth to remember the expiration of the ‘Free trial’ that looms in the back of your head. This is an unnecessary stress to deal with while you’re attempting to consume the product.
If you’re not in a relaxed enough state to take in the information, than the information will have little to no value. Time and money wasted.
2. The nauseating sensation that accompanies the surprise charge you forgot all about on your credit card bill. The first the thought that screams in my head is “da**it!” And the next course of action is you immediately begin scrambling to find the cancellation information.
Been there done that.
I’m not saying that you can’t have a monthly subscription to a service or newsletter, but when you bury that away in what is supposed to be a free offer, than your credibility and the credibility of the internet marketing industry takes another blow. Making it harder and harder for newbies with hopes of making it online to get over the initial fears that are already associated with doing business online in the first place.
So to sum it up, Forced Continuity Is Crap!
If you would like to read more about this topic check out Michel Fortins’ Blog over at:
Take care,
Nando
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