Reduce Deception

Without doubt, one of the biggest problems I see when it comes to lead generation and nurturing is the fact that the lead has been acquired on a false premise.

Tricking people into handing over their email address may be effective for growing your subscriber list, but if you think those people are going to be valuable subscribers then think again.

My advice: always make it clear what people are signing up for.

If you set someone's expectation for what they're going to receive from you, they'll be much more receptive in the future. Simple things like having a double opt-in system is something that I'd highly recommend. This gives someone to option to remove themself from your list if they didn't mean to sign up.

Some people may say that this is losing someone before they even have a chance to hear what you have to say but I'd make the argument that there should already be a level of trust in place before someone subscribes to your list. If that trust isn't there immediately, you're facing an uphill battle.

Also, inflating your subscriber numbers like this can create real problems when it comes to measuring ROI.