We talk a lot in marketing. About many things but not about marketing ethics.
About growth hacks. Funnels. Engagement. Storytelling.
But the one word we never mention—the one we seem to actively avoid—is respect. And in this article, we will go through: marketing ethics.
… or lack of them… Keep reading 😉
Good marketers believe in the rule of reciprocity: First we give and then we get. With this order. Tricking someone to engage is not a marketing strategy. It’s a bad tactic from bad marketers.
I remember being on stage once, talking about this very topic — I called it “karma marketing.” Years later, I’m still a big believer in it.
Yes, we try to be “aggressive” for our clients and our businesses. We also have rules we need to respect. Rules like CCPA, GDPR, and we have the most important rule of all that seems not to be followed: Human dignity.
Marketers lack respect?
That’s a bold claim. But how else do you explain this behavior?
In which other industries or niches would someone:
- Contact me through every possible channel—email, form, LinkedIn, DMs, even calls—just for a backlink?
- Spam every form on a site, no matter how irrelevant.
- Email the wrong department even when clear instructions are right there.
- Negotiate a deal from $250 down to $17… and still act like they’re doing me a favor.
- Submit a request for action, then go DND, blocking all follow-up communication.
- Cost us money by bloating our email lists with junk addresses we have to pay for.
No other industry puts up with this kind of mess.
How many emails do lawyers or FMCG companies get from “Keanu Reeves” or “Jessica Alba” every week? I get one or two. Different name, same pitch. Weekly.
And here’s the kicker: these people call themselves marketers.
What’s the issue?
And you will ask me? What’s the issue? Why don’t you just avoid them?
Because by design my job is building automated funnels. Because I want to build systems that give the ability to visitors who find something useful on my website, to contact me. To express their interest. To book a call for me. I cannot disregard that. I build systems for that reason. And those systems do work. … Until the time someone decides to misuse them. To spam them. Not in a way that a spam filter can take care of. In a way that only humans can do. Disrespectful humans who don’t put a value on people’s time and energy.
But here is the issue: how could you separate the wheat from the chaff?
But are they really?
Let’s not blame the entire industry.
We know the difference between a good professional and a bad professional.
Our world is wide:
- Some copywriters obsess over every word.
- Strategists who think long-term.
- Top-voices with value and values.
- UX experts, SEOs, growth hackers, media buyers, brand builders.
- And yes, even good link builders and guest bloggers.
But spammers? Scrapers? Cold emailers who don’t read your footer?
They don’t get to wear the same badge. Stop calling that marketing. It’s not.
The cost of disrespect
Every disrespectful act has a cost—real, measurable cost.
- Dirty data: My team has to clean up fake emails, dead leads, and misrouted requests.
- Email platforms: Every message costs money to send, especially the ones that bounce.
- Manual overhead: Following up on something someone asked for, only to find myself blocked from replying.
And the below is not even small things. They are actually makes us all been disconnected from lead magnets, webinars or other activities that could bring knowledge and connections.
- Not including the original thread in a follow-up.
- Using a lead magnet as a bait trap with zero actual value.
- Hosting a webinar with no real content—just a glorified sales pitch.
And you know something, it demoralizes people that they do want to create. That spend hours over hours in creating material and new concepts and valuable assets. Because, if the assumption of the people is that it will be of no value, then why should I spend so much time creating them.
What I’m trying to say is these people are destroying marketing because they change how people perceive marketing. Something like spammy and fluffy.
Respect (as one of the marketing ethics we need to have) means you value my time.
It means you do your homework, you communicate clearly, and you follow through.
It means don’t email “I want your website.” That was never polite.
a visual metaphor for ethical marketing in a noisy world.
How do we fix it?
We can’t clean the whole industry. But we can protect ourselves and raise the standard.
Here’s how:
- Automate wisely: If your system treats every lead the same, you’re doing it wrong.
- Be clear and definite: Say no when it’s no. Don’t leave doors half-open.
- Clean your DB regularly: Remove undelivered emails, cold contacts, and ghost responses.
- Route messages properly: Don’t let marketing fill up your customer support inbox—or vice versa.
- Use smart filters: Identify quality leads and ditch the time-wasters before they hit your main workflow.
- Score your contacts: Create systems that prioritize those who engage, not just anyone who fills a form. Not every visitor counts! I learn that the hard way. Some visitors do count more than others.
- Create channel-specific flows: Don’t treat LinkedIn like email. Each platform has its own language.
- Train your team: Make respect a part of your onboarding and SOPs.
And most importantly:
- Don’t ignore the people who actually do it right.
- Don’t punish the respectful ones because the others were loud.
That’s the tension I live in.
I feel like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Some days, I want to block everyone.
Shut all channels. Lock it down.
But then I remember—not everyone’s the problem.
There are real pros out there who lead with value, clarity, and yes—respect.
Final advice
Don’t take it personally.
It’s not you. It’s them. 🙂
But it is our job to raise the bar. Because marketing has ethos and ethics.
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Theodore has 20 years of experience running successful and profitable software products. In his free time, he coaches and consults startups. His career includes managerial posts for companies in the UK and abroad, and he has significant skills in intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship.
