So, I stumbled into a bookstore of a major chain yesterday. I couldn’t help myself… bought five books. As I finished checking out, the clerk said, “Can I have your email address for our newsletter?”

By reflex, I just said, “no.” Too much spam, not enough trust, no real need to read their newsletter. Then, of course, I got curious. “Do many people say no?” I asked…

“In fact, almost everyone does,” she said. Obviously, asking wasn’t her idea.

In the old days, when permission was new, all you had to do was ask. Now, it seems, it’s not so easy.

What if she had said, “Hey, good for you. You just qualified for a $20 gift certificate. Want them to email it to you? You also get a list of special books six times a year…”

That’s a totally different offer, right? That’s an offer about me, not them. Something I can use right now. A definite promise of what I’m going to get (and not get) by email.