How to Avoid Content Overconsumption

Focus on the content that matters to your brand.

Augustus Gloop was the first winner of a Wonka golden ticket. He lived in a small town in Germany and spent all his time eating chocolate and sweets. At the Wonka factory, he fell in the chocolate river, and then the pipes sucked him in.

With so many free ebooks, free webinars, free powerpoints, free phone calls, free Google Hangouts, free consultations, free 30-day trials, free downloads it’s easy to be like Augustus and consume all these treats. No wonder our inboxes, mailboxes, and voicemails are filled with offers from companies wanting to show their expertise and shower us with free information.

How do you know when to say no? Free information is always good, right?

Nein!

Free information is a waste of your time when:

• It’s not relevant to your goals
• It’s not relevant to your industry
• It’s an obvious attempt to spam you with more emails, offers, etc.
• It’s an obvious sales pitch – there is no concrete explanation of what information will be shared and what you will learn.

Gorging on free content takes up too much of your time. When you weed out the free offers that promise you “1000% increase in sales in 2 days!” and explanations that don’t give you a stated learning objective, you’ll find your inbox is much easier to manage and your voicemail isn’t nearly as full with non-customers. You’ll also find you have more time to focus on the things that matter: improving your customer service and increasing your sales.

There are many treats to be found amongst the smorgasbord of free information.

What to look for:

• Stated learning objective: i.e. “After this webinar you will have the tools to craft an excellent value proposition”
• A well-known thought-leader who is being interviewed for his/her expert opinions.
• Emphasis on the learning and information being offered, not on the company and their services

As a consideration for sharing knowledge with you, reputable companies will provide an introductory offer. Note the difference between “spam” and “offer.” Once the company has shared some of their knowledge with you, it’s perfectly acceptable for them to explain their services. Spamming means that after you watch their webinar or download their book, they call and email you nonstop until you buy something or until you ask them (hopefully politely) to stop calling.

Augustus Gloop didn’t know when to stop and fell in the chocolate river. Don’t drown in the river of free information. Learn to recognize the ebooks, webinars, downloads, phone calls, Hangouts etc. that will help you gain knowledge you need to improve your skills, performance, and ultimately increase your revenue.

Lori Johnson (@BPLoriJ) is Customer Experience Manager at Branding Personality. She loves free samples of chocolate, perfume, and hand lotion.