I’ve been blocked on IG by a very successful “Leadership and CEO Advisor” to 7, 8, and even 9 (😮) figure businesses!

How successful are they?

They know Oprah. Or at least had their picture taken with Oprah once. And their IG following is 1700% bigger than mine (for what that’s worth).

And…

Actually, I don’t know much more about them.

I only heard of them yesterday when a friend shared one of their posts with me, and I was blocked less than 17 hours later.

The Coles Notes (aka CliffsNotes for my US friends) of the situation is this.

A friend sent me a link to a recent post by Lisa Fabrega. In the post, Lisa says she and her new Marketing Manager dug into 16 years of data and found that a large portion of her email list has never purchased from her, and she believes they don’t intend to.

In her view, this creates a one-sided relationship, which is in direct opposition to two of the company's “values”; which are (conveniently) ‘No One-Sided Relationships’ and ‘No Perpetual Fence-Sitters’.

So, they’re doing something “radical”.

Every day, for 60 days, they’re going to make an offer to their email list. The offers will be anywhere from $97 to $15,000. At the end of the 60 days anyone who hasn’t bought something is being removed from their list.

Why?

Well, the post claims it’s because it doesn’t feel good to be in a one-sided relationship, constantly giving and never getting anything back. And to be in a relationship like that is a recipe for burnout.

I get it. I can certainly relate to feeling like you should be getting more from your efforts. Sometimes in business, it does feel like you give and give and give, and consistently struggle to get.

And saying, “F-it. Buy, or get out!” would feel so good—like you’re in charge and finally standing up for yourself.

But the truth is, you’re running a business and no one owes you anything, and stores with a “no browsing” policy are rare for a reason.

If you put something out for free, your audience has a right to accept that offer without being required to buy something down the road.

And you have the right to keep providing free content or not.

But company “values” aside, I think this plan she’s come up with is a bit short-sighted. Here’s why:

1. People often subscribe with one email address and buy with another. Meaning her team’s going to get an increase in customer service requests to deal with this; which is going to be frustrating for both parties.
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2. Someone not buying doesn’t mean they aren’t valuable in other ways. I’ve been on people’s lists for years before finally buying something but in the interim have sent many, many buyers their way because I like the person’s content so much.
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3. She’s likely spent a lot of time and money acquiring these people. Of course they should remove anyone who’s cold and disengaged. It’s also always good to help those who aren’t a fit to self-select out, but there’s an opportunity to learn from the engaged non-buyers here.
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   If people love your content but don’t buy your stuff there’s a reason. And it’s in your best interests to find out what that reason is.
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   Perhaps there’s a gap in her offers she could fill with a new product or an affiliate offer. Or maybe there needs to be some changes to the nurturing process, or more communication on a specific objection she hasn’t really addressed.
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4. There’s no way to communicate this move to her audience without it sounding like “Hey, deadbeat! Ya you. Buy or get out!”. 👈Not a great customer service experience and there’s no way anyone who doesn’t make the cut is going to be excited to send other people her way.

Now, I’m assuming she’s very smart, and has thought about all of this already, and has gone for, what I see as, an extreme action for well thought out and solid reasons. Or maybe she’s doing it because she hangs her hat on being edgy and sassy (or so I’m told) so this buy-or-gtfu offer fits her brand. I don’t know.

But I can’t help but think there’s another way to accomplish the same thing, still be on brand, likely make more money long term, and provide a better customer service experience.

That being…

… if their content truly is as exceptional, high-value, and well-loved as she claims, why not make her newsletter a paid subscription OR monetize it by having sponsors? Or both!?!

Of course, that’s just my take.

Maybe she already does that and just didn’t mention it in the post. 🤷‍♀️

I was curious to know what others thought so I checked out the comments. There were 13 — all glowing praise for the company’s unique and bold plan, and humble gratitude for the well-deserved recognition of her brilliance.

So I left a comment of my own in the hopes of sparking a conversation; perhaps I was missing something.

Apparently, I’m waaay more controversial than I thought!

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take a screenshot before my comment was deleted and I was blocked, but it was something like,

“This plan feels a bit short-sighted for a few reasons. Mainly, if your content is so engaging and high-value that it no longer feels good to offer it for free (which is valid) I’d think the obvious choice would be to make it a paid subscription. I think that would have the same effect without anyone in your audience feeling undue pressure to buy.”

I suppose I could have worded it better but what do you think? Am I the asshole here? Would you have done the same in her shoes?

Hit reply and let me know!

Xo,

Sandra

PS – She has since posted about my comment. I shall hence be known as The Infamous Tsk Tsk’er!

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