Have you ever received a marketing outreach that was so outrageously bad that you felt victimized? As an inbound marketing consultant, I'm amazed at the tactics that some use. I'm even more amazed that these companies think they might actually work. I've tried to learn from some of these tactics so that I never use them in my sales and marketing outreach. In the article below, I'll share a few tactics that you should avoid like the plague. They range from downright sleazy to insulting to mildly annoying. One thing that they all have in common is that they make it less likely that a buyer would ever do business with them. So in no particular order, here are 5 cringeworthy inbound marketing tactics to avoid.

The stealth landing page form

This one seems to be popping up frequently lately. A company offers a content download or a free trial that appear interesting and asks you for your name and email address. You think to yourself, "OK, I'll bite." So you fill in your name and email address and click through. Instead of your free trial or eBook, you're taken to the real form. The real form asks you for 15 pieces of information, in some cases a credit card!

Talk about bait and switch! It doesn't actually inspire trust, does it? If you're going to ask for all that information, why don't you just include it in one form? I ask for 8-9 pieces of information in my landing page forms. Once you fill out the form the first time, you're not asked to re-fill the forms on future landing pages. The proposition is clear - if you want the eBook, you'll need to share that information with me. It's upfront and honest.

Why would you want your first interaction with a potential customer to be a deception? Trust is an essential element in the modern buying process and you've already dug a hole for yourself. It reminds me of what Johnny Rotten said at the end of the Sex Pistols ill-fated US tour in 1978: "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Good night."

Using blog comments for spammy marketing

I see spammy blog comments fairly frequently and delete them all post-haste. Luckily for me, my HubSpot inbound marketing software notifies me when people comment on my blog and I can manage comments.

Here's a typical comment: "Great blog post - you have make several good points. SEO very important- find out more at spammyindianseo.com" Spelling and grammar mistakes aren't mine, that's what the comments look like.

Really?! I'd be interested to learn if anyone has ever clicked through one of these links and done business with the companies that do this. If you're so great at SEO, why do you have to spam my website to generate leads?

Adding people to your email marketing list without their permission

This has happened to me a few times - I meet someone at a networking event and end up getting daily or weekly emails from their company that I never asked for. I don't mind if someone sends me a follow-up email on their individual account that describes what they do, but I do mind getting on a mailing list that I never signed up for. It's not only annoying, it may be a violation of the CAN-SPAM act. 

Show respect for your network and ask them if they'd like to receive your emails. Your email contacts are a precious resource - they need to be earned and you need to send them relevant content to keep them from unsubscribing.

Which brings me to a related cringeworthy tactic - the difficult to impossible unsubscribe. Some email marketers either don't include an unsubscribe button in their emails or make you jump through hoops to unsubscribe. Don't do this! If somebody wants to unsubscribe, they probably won't buy from you.

Inappropriate use of hashtags

This isn't dishonest or sleazy, it's just a pet peeve of mine. Hashtags (like #inbound#marketing) are used on Twitter to make your posts discoverable when people search for content. Facebook has also recently added hashtag functionality.

Hashtags don't belong on LinkedIn! If you're using hashtags on LinkedIn, you either don't understand their purpose or are using automated posting across several networks and not taking the time to customize them appropriately.

Using hashtags for comedic purposes may not be as funny to the reader as they are to you. This one may be a bit snarky on my part, but it drives me crazy to see inappropriate use of hashtags.

Unsolicited email outreach to competitors

This one is just downright stupid. I get at least 3 emails a weeks that have a subject line along the lines of, "Need help with your digital marketing?" Um, have you taken the time to see what I do? If I'm selling inbound/digital marketing services as my one and only line of business, do you think I'd hire someone to help me do what I help others do? 

Don't spray and pray crap to an enormous list of prospects - it's a waste of time and shows a lack of respect for the prospect. If you want to send an unsolicited email outreach, do some research on the company and show them how you might be able to help them in their unique situation.

Summary

Trust is the most imporant element in the modern B2B buying process. Trust is hard to gain and easy to lose. None of the tactics described above help develop trust with the buyer; they hurt you far more than they help you. Success in inbound marketing is the result of consistent, persistent effort that has the objective of helping customers solve problems. Helping people solve problems engenders trust and people buy from people they trust.