Dear internet advertisers,
You’re getting ripped off.
You’re told you must advertise on websites, social media and in apps. You’ve moved your money away from traditional mediums like tv, radio, print, inflicting serious damage to those entities in hopes of attracting more customers.
You pay for ads that pop up on my computer screen, slowing down the connection, blocking my view, annoying the shit out of me.
Well guess what? I don’t see your ad. I’m consciously avoiding it. I look away. Yet you pay for the hit.
I don’t buy anything based on the ad that pops up during my search for the definition of a word or while catching up on news. I purposely avoid the :10-:30 second video ads that you insist on forcing me to watch before I get to my desired content. So you know what? I get up, get a Coke Zero or blow my nose, anything else except watching your inane attempt at selling me something.
So when your bill comes from your social media buy, remember the millions of people who are doing the same. Ignoring you. Remember when you write the check, few people even saw it. Fewer still care about your company.
What WILL make me buy your product?
Make a good product, one that causes everyone to talk positively about it. That’s who I trust. My friends, my family, my coworkers and neighbors. I don’t buy much without getting a nod from one of my trusted sources.
I make decisions about vacations, car brands, alcohol and even furniture based on word of mouth. Even my Apple product purchases didn’t come from their advertising. It came from friends who loved their iPhones, watches and iPads. News coverage helped.
Not your annoying, expensive, ignorable advertising that frustrates me so much, I leave the website you’re on.
Too bad websites can’t track how many people click off once your useless ad aggravates me so much I’m outta there. They’d be surprised. I wonder if they’d let you continue if they knew how much damage it does to their page views.
Stop the pop-up, forced internet advertising. It’s a waste of my time and your money.