The power of the remote

When I go to the cinema I've usually eaten half my popcorn before the film starts. One of the reasons for this (apart from loving sweet popcorn) is the 15 minutes of trailers that you have to sit through before the film starts. For me they're as much an integral part of the cinema experience as the popcorn itself.

The same does not apply when I'm watching a DVD at home. Here I'm in control.
I still want trailers (you never know there might just be a great film I've missed) but I expect two things:

1) That the trailers will be before the film. That's where they were when my parents got their first video player and we rented Pete's Dragon and that's where I expect to find them now. I really don't care enough to look through the DVD menu.

2) That I'll be able to skip any trailers I'm not interested in. Don't force me to sit through a trailer for a horror movie. I'll never watch or something I've already seen and know is rubbish.

I apply the same principle to websites: don't make your user search for your great additional product or wade through content they don't want. Show me what you've got but give me a clear way-out if I'm not interested. Flag up your latest offer on the homepage but don't put it as a flash intro the the user can't skip. Then put it somewhere logical on your site - like in the navigation under "offers" - so the user can find it again when they've finished browsing your site.

Users generally don't mind being marketed to if you give them the chance to say "no thanks" if they're not interested. Give up control and let them decide whether they like what you've got to offer. I know I respond better to an opportunity if I think it was my idea in the first place...