In the games industry, especially with free-to-play, you can hate funnels all you want, but they're a necessity to understanding where your gameplay loops are doing well and doing poorly.
I've taken the long view that making a really awesome game leads to people wanting to give you money. However, my personal take on that is that it's just another way to spin funnels, in a less aggressive and predatory way.
The process the author describe still uses "funnels" so I don't think you're mistaken.
What we do have to realize, however, is that the intention and language used to describe and execute "marketing", matters a lot.
The author outlines the difference (in his post, and the one's he links to)
-Content focused on teaching (adding value) vs Content focused on converting
- Politely asking for emails/subscribers vs requiring an email
- referred prospects vs captured leads
One post he links to has a great comment by Gregory Ciotti:
"It humors me how aggressive certain terms can be in this regard: "campaigns," "email blasts," it's like the marketing team is waging war with their prospects."
Language matters, it impacts our actions. From how we create strategies to how we interact with customers or prospects.
Everyone is in the funnel game right now, smart money positions against "everyone".
I've taken the long view that making a really awesome game leads to people wanting to give you money. However, my personal take on that is that it's just another way to spin funnels, in a less aggressive and predatory way.
If I'm mistaken, I'd love to learn why.