Permission Marketing
A marketing approach based on obtaining customer consent before sending promotional messages.
Also known as: Opt-in marketing, Consent-based marketing, Inbound marketing
Category: Concepts
Tags: marketing, strategies, businesses, ethics, communication
Explanation
Permission marketing, coined by Seth Godin, contrasts with interruption marketing (ads that disrupt). Instead of buying attention, you earn it by offering value in exchange for permission to communicate. The permission is: anticipated (people expect to hear from you), personal (relevant to them), and valuable (worth their attention). Examples include email newsletters, opt-in sequences, and loyalty programs. Permission marketing builds trust and engagement because recipients chose to hear from you. The approach requires patience—building an audience takes time—but creates stronger relationships and higher conversion rates. For creators, permission marketing means earning email subscribers through valuable content rather than buying ads, creating audiences that actually want to hear from you.
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