If somebody was about to throw you a right hook, what would do? Duck, of course.  It's what we do.

Gary Vaynerchuk has a great metaphor for Marketing today, which is, when we cold outreach (email, call, contact over social) the first thing we do is ask.  "Can I have 15 minutes of your time?"; "Can you share my article with your followers?"; "Can you download and use my app?" ... it's like a punch and what do we do?  We duck!

I've just seen a comment in a Facebook group where a guy asked if it was legal to send cold outreach emails in the UK, because "everybody goes crazy, when you do".

Marketers have done the same for the last 30 years, from mailshot letters, to mailshot emails, billboards, print, radio, television, email marketing, banner ads etc, etc.  It's all pushing.  It's all broadcasting.  But as Gary Vee says Marketers "push to much!".

So here's the good news!

Social Media has been sent to save us.

Now you can carry on broadcasting and giving right hooks and we will carry on ducking OR ...

How about offering some value?  What do I mean by value?  Why not help some people? Inspire them? Help them? Educate them? Get to know me and offer something to me I want? (Gary calls these jabs) ... and you know what?  I might not duck when you ask for something.  In fact *drum roll please* I might stop ignoring you, stop blocking you and buy something.

This may all sounds like some new fangled marketing speak .... well it depends, the article below is from 2013.  5 years ago!

Come on 2018 is the year to shake off those old ways and sell like it's 2018!