Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

Are You Being a Selfish Marketer? Why Most Content Producers are Thinking of the Wrong Person

Content marketing - and that includes sending print and email newsletters - is becoming an essential part of the marketing arsenal.

But this new chart from Marketing Sherpa shows that most marketers are getting it all wrong.

They're breaking Rule #1 of newsletters - they're not writing with their customer in mind.

The chart shows that content that focuses on the needs of clients is third on the list - after self-centered product announcements.

This isn't the way to engage clients and build a long-term profitable relationship with them.

Frankly, it's like being the guy at the party who talks at you for 30 minutes non-stop about his grandsons.

Instead, as Marketing Sherpa says:

To be a thought leader is to think like a publisher – to think about the people at the other end of your white paper, Web event, blog or podcast. They’re not necessarily interested in your new product or feature (unless you happen to work for Apple); they’re interested in what’s happening in the industry or economy that’s inspired that product or service.

...

The best reasons to update content are to be found in the middle of the pack; news, trends, events and research are all about the reader. Of course, the performance of content should also dictate whether it’s time to update, upgrade or shift gears.

The bottom line? Newspapers may be dying, but the need for compelling niche content is growing every day. To fulfill that need and sell your products, remember that you’re asking for the time and interest of your customers, and make it worth their while.

Here's the chart. See it online here.

How to Use Newsletters to Bring in New Business

I was asked by a member of my insurance newsletters service last week about the best way to use newsletters to bring in new business.

Here's what I will tell him. Of course, this applies to any business - not just insurance.

Why Newsletters Work to Bring in New Business

Newsletters are most famously used to keep in contact with past clients. That remains an important role.

Less well understood is why they work to bring in new business.

Newsletters' success is down to two factors: platform and relationship building.

Success in business these days is more about being perceived as a trusted expert rather than a salesman. People are jaded with the old model of cold calls, persuasive closing techniques and the general push push push of the old style of sales.

It's much better to be seen as an expert in what you sell. Instead of just being someone who sells stuff, you are instead is a trusted adviser.

Most of your competitors haven't grasped this yet, so it puts you ahead of them all.

After all, who would you rather do business with: a salesman or an expert?

Newsletters act as a platform to prove your expertise because they allow you to write about what you know - to serve your readers by sharing your expertise.

On top of that, newsletters build a relationship with your prospects over time. And, as you know, relationships are at the core of most business transactions - especially in tough economic times. People want to do business with people they know. It's safer and more rewarding that way.

By providing them useful information as a trusted adviser, you are growing a relationship of trust. That relationship will pay off when the client is ready to buy.

Finding New Prospects

So, what you are doing with your newsletter is using it to build relationships with prospects by using it as a platform to distinguish yourself as a trusted expert.

As there is a cost involved to producing and sending newsletters, it's important to make sure you go where the customers are and make sure your newsletter meets their needs.

It's wise therefore to make a profile of your ideal customer: Where do they live? What do they read? Where do they hang out? Who do they do business with? What are they wanting? How can I serve them? What issue (about what I offer) keeps them up at night - with either excitement or fear?

When you have done that you are better positioned to know what to write about and how you can best serve them with your newsletter. You will also be a better position to make them aware of you (and your newsletter) in the first place.

The bottom line is this: you need to be where customers are with information that answers the questions and concerns in their heads.

Bringing Prospects into Your Realm

It is seldom cost effective to mail your newsletter right away to prospects - either by direct mail or by a door-drop. (The exception to this might be a real estate agent or local merchant who is using newsletter to farm a very small neighborhood - after all, he knows where is prospects are!)

A better way is to give prospects a reason to raise their hands - a reason to say "OK, I'm open to what you offer. I might even buy one day!"

By doing that, you'll be using your newsletter budget effectively - marketing to those who want to hear from you.

(Sidebar: This is the concept of Permission Marketing, used most famously by Seth Godin in his book of the same name. The idea is that you will more successful by marketing to people who want to hear from you rather than interrupting people who don't want to hear from you. It's the difference between receiving a newsletter from someone you know and getting a telemarketing call from someone you don't - about something you don't care about. And it's the foundation of all good email marketing, where anti-spam laws make it illegal to email people who haven't expressed an interest in hearing from you.)

So how do you bring them into your realm? How do you get them to sign up and receive your newsletter? Here are some ways:

Go where your clients are: It's better to distribute your newsletter with a rifle rather than a shotgun. It's more efficient that way. So think of all the places your client is likely to hang out. And think off other (non-competing) vendors with the same clients. Leave your newsletter in their offices and stores; do reciprocal advertising in their newsletters. Distribute your newsletter in the "social nodes" - the daycare centers, social centers, sports venues - in your community where your clients are likely to be.

Always be signing up: You've heard the motto - always be closing. Instead, always be encouraging people to sign up to receive your newsletter. When you have a good conversation on the phone or meet them face-to-face, ask them if you can put them on your distribution list. Put a sign-up box on your website. Put a link to your newsletter on your email footer.

Add "bait" to encourage them to sign up: It's not always enough to "just" sell your newsletter; you often need to give them an extra reason to sign up. That reason might be a special report on a subject they will find interesting and that is relevant to what you offer, or it might be the promise of discounts on future purchases. Always tell them how useful and entertaining your newsletter will be. Also assure them that they won't be spammed, either my email or postal mail.

Turning Prospects into Clients

The idea, of course, is to grow a large list of high-quality prospects. So how do you turn those prospects into customers?

For many businesses, customers only come "into heat" once in a while. If you're a real estate agent, for example, the average family moves home only every seven years. That can mean a long cycle between them joining your newsletter and hiring you. (Of course, keeping in touch throughout that times pays for itself - it's justified by the commission you will receive.)

Other clients will come into heat more frequently. Indeed, they might already be shopping for what you offer, so you just need something to push them over the edge.

In most cases, this means you need to give them an offer - a reason to buy something or contact you today.

Never send a newsletter out without an offer, even if that offer is just to receive further information.

The reason for this is that people are - to be frank - lazy. They need something to push them to take action and they need to be led to do what (in many cases) is good for them.

Most advertising doesn't have an offer (just leaf through the Yellow Pages to demonstrate that), so you will put yourself ahead of the competition by including one.

Also give them reasons to contact you - to have a conversation; create a dialog. The more person-to-person dialog you can have, the better. Often it's just this contact that tips them over into buying.

Finally, don't give up. If you are contacting good prospects, don't give up too early. It would be a shame to contact them four times when they were ready to buy on the fifth.

This is just a brief summary of how to use a newsletter to bring in new business. Browse through the rest of this blog for more ideas.

[Picture by joanie]

Deliverability and Your Email Campaigns - What You Need to Know

Useful article here by Vertical Response on deliverability of email newsletters - always an important issue, the rules of which are changing on the time.

Getting your emails delivered is one of the main reasons why I recommend an email service provider. They handle all this stuff so you don't have to.

Why Your Newsletter Must Be Relevant to Readers to Succeed

Here I go again: back to rule #1 - write for your readers.

An interesting chart came along in the email today from Marketing Sherpa. It's the results of benchmark survey.

Highlight: the biggest reason (cited by 58% of respondents) why they stopped reading or unsubscribed from email newsletters was that they were not relevant to them.

Add to that the 20% who said "it doesn't reply to me" (not sure what the difference between the two answers, but anyway...) and you get more than three fourths who cited relevance as their main concern.

Makes you think.

Putting your reader first is rule #1.

 

Read here also what Aweber said about the topic of relevance.

Book Review: What Would Google Do?

What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. See his blog at http://www.buzzmachine.com.

If you've been feeling left behind about how the internet is changing business (anything from the falling fortunes of newspapers and the music industry to how people are making big bucks selling personalized t-shirts) this is a worthwhile book.

If you're already up on The Cluetrain Manifesto (the now-ancient in Internet time document that first said that "markets are conversations" and have been following the best blogs on Web 2.0 (as it is achingly called), then you won't learn that much that is new.

But for me, who is half-way towards "getting it" and just now getting up to speed (Hey, I'm now on Twitter..) I found it a worthwhile read.

While the title points to Google, it's about any company that is doing business differently and reaping the rewards.

Here are the main takeaway points, as I saw them.

Customers are now in control, not you (just see what happened when Jarvis posted his rant about Dell on his blog.)

Be open to opportunities and link to those who complement your service/product. Be networked.
Be open to the public, not just for the sake of links from Google but also for a new connection with customers.

Niches rule - the mass market is less important.

Listen to your customers - really listen. Give them control over where your product goes. (I find this is very useful for my own product - customers tell me what they want, I make what they want, I make money.)

Make mistakes (that's OK) but confess to them and learn from them. Be honest; don't hide. Say sorry I screwed up, here's how I am going to make it right.

Move quickly. (I think that gives entrepreneurs a huge advantage over big biz - just look at GM...)

Distribute your product widely. Go to where the customers are, don't expect them to come to you.

The second half of the book is devoted to various industries, with Jarvis speculating on how they can develop (or not) in a Googlish way.

Some of his ideas are good (I think he's spot on in media - also one of my favorite topics) but seriously off base with real estate (he says the only advantage real estate agents offer is access to the MLS - take that away and they have little use. I disagree - a good real estate agent earns their fee by their consultancy and marketing services. Indeed, a good real estate agent is essential if you are to buy or sell wisely.)

In summary - an inspiring read for anyone keen to keep up with the whirlwind changes going on. Particularly important right now, as it could be argued that the current economy will speed the changes - making those who get it winners; those who don't get it dead. I found the book gave me lots of ideas for my business.

[Update March 30: Simon Owens contacted me with a link to his article that interviews the Cluetrain authors, ten years after the manifesto was first published. It's worth reading, particularly in the light of Jarvis' book. Read it here.]

How Much Content is Too Much Content?

I was asked an interesting question the other day by a Realtor who is part of my real estate newsletters program.

He wants to include much more content on his website, but he wonders: is there such a thing as too much content? "I’d love to hear your suggestions on where to draw the line of bringing value vs. giving so much information that visitors never make the call," he asks.

This is what I said. Do you agree?

Thanks for your email. This is an interesting question - I don't think you are alone in asking it.

Here's what I think (but you should find out what others say too...): In most situations you should lean towards having more content rather than less. I don't think you can give visitors too much information.

Let's think about two situations: my business and yours.

With my business, I give away pretty much all I know about newsletters on my blog. I figure that, over time, I will show that I know what I am talking about and get myself a reputation as an expert in the area. If my information helps some people do their own newsletter better, then that's fine. They weren't going to use me anyway. But if any of the information persuades someone to choose me rather than a competitor to provide newsletters, then it will have paid off.

I think the situation is similar in real estate. You want to give enough information to show that you are a trustworthy expert, but you worry that by giving too much information you will be helping people go FSBO or buy without an agent.

In my opinion, the benefits of making you the #1 expert in your niche far outweigh the dangers. Here's why:

1) Most real estate agents have pretty lousy websites, as you know. Most of them look the same and contain the same information. There's nothing much to distinguish one from the other. Few agents have their own USP. So anything you can do to add content will put you ahead of the others.

2) When choosing an agent, people are looking for a Realtor they can trust and with whom they can build a relationship (imho). This is particularly true right now - in recessionary times, trust is at a premium. By providing plenty of useful content that makes your clients' lives better, you are starting to demonstrate that you know what you are talking about. By demonstrating an abundance of proof (through your written expertise), you help them trust you. And by providing information that is unique (and that perhaps share some of your personality, as you do with your masthead, for example!) you are able to start building a relationship.

3) I figure that most people who are going to go FSBO are going that route anyway. You might be helping them a little with some inside knowledge - but they were a lost cause. There's a chance, maybe a small one, that if you talk in so much detail about the market, the realities of a real estate transaction, the way that you as a Realtor help the process, that you will persuade some people that hiring a Realtor is the wisest choice. I don't know.

4) Following on from point three, you can of course write on topics that demonstrate that hiring a Realtor pays off financially. You could give examples where you have saved clients money (as well as time, stress, hair, etc).

4) Perhaps the main point is this: where any Realtor adds value is not so much in general information about real estate transactions (you can find that easily) or about neighborhoods and even house types (many of your clients will be locals, perhaps) but it's really in the individual, personalized attention you give them. It's about applying your knowledge to their particular situation right now in this market, with their budget, their house preferences, their financial situation, etc. That kind of expertise can't be put on a website, but you can use your website to indicate that you add that kind of value. And the way to do that is by lots of high-quality content that shows how much you know and how much you can help.

So that's what I think.

The whole issue of what seems to known as "content marketing" is quite big these days. Online, having lots of content gets you points with Google, of course. But right now, demonstrating that you are a trusted expert is probably the number one way to getting more business. This could be a big shift that is being applified by the current economy: it's almost as if we are going back to the old days by doing business with people we know, like and trust rather than choosing a big brand or glitzy marketing materials.

That's just what I think.

It might be worth checking out the blogs by Joe Pullizi and Newt Barrett. They've just published a book called Get Content. Get Customers. I've only just become aware of their work, so I can't yet speak to the blogs or the book, but they are worth checking out.

Anyway...hope this helps!

Simon


PS. Of course, your website content can do double duty because you can drip-feed it in your newsletter.

Do you agree? Or is there a danger of putting too much content on your website?

Cheap Logo and Postcard Designs

We like cheap, especially now.

Here are two resources for low-cost designs. Thanks to Drew (who has a contest to win a free design) for mentioning them.

Logo Inn for custom logos plus stationery for $68.

Market Splash by hp: free postcard and business card designs, plus low-cost custom designs.

I haven't used these services myself. If you have, please share your experience in the comments.

An Example of How Targeted Content in Newsletters Pays Off

I've said before and - watch out - I shall say many times in future that the number one rule for newsletters is: write for your reader. That's because if you make the content relevant to your readers' interests, they are more likely read your newsletter, engage with you and - frankly - buy stuff.

So it's nice to see some concrete evidence that changing a newsletter so that it directly matches the interests of the reader brings about a bump in results.

Marketing Sherpa produced an interesting report today about how Sprint used dynamic content to deliver content targeted at readers' preferences. Now, most small business aren't going to be investing in dynamic content (it requires an IT investment) but they can a) make sure their newsletter is targeted at their readers' needs, and b) produce several, highly targeted newsletters according to segments of their client lists.

Here are the takeaways from the Sprint results:

• Sprint had already started a move in its newsletters away from promotional material towards using them as a customer loyalty tool. (Smart move - people in general don't want to receive a bunch of ads.)
• They focused on new content and features to make the newsletter a benefit for existing customers.(Note the word "benefit" - you want to make your customers' lives better.)
• They wanted to offer the most relevant information - personalized content targeting each subscriber’s needs and interests.
• The team began using dynamic content features that would deliver a customized, highly targeted version of the newsletter to each customer, based on their wireless device, service plan and interest areas. They also adopted a rigorous testing strategy to optimize layout, content selection and subject lines.

Here are some of the results:

• Clickthrough rates are typically twice as high as those achieved through Sprint’s promotional email blasts.
• Dynamic content is a large contributor to the monthly results. For example, the personalized image of a subscriber’s phone (that links to that phone’s supplier)
• Although the newsletter is positioned as a customer-loyalty tool, it is outperforming the company’s promotional email campaigns:  The newsletter produces more than double the number of phone purchases and plan upgrades as that of promotional email campaigns.

You can read the entire report here.

This Ain't the Corporate Newsletter (or How to Add Personality to Your Newsletter and Connect with Your Readers)

Not far from where I live in Toronto there's a bookstore called This Ain't the Rosedale Library. (Rosedale, for those who aren't from here, is the city's most upscale neighborhood.) This Ain't the Rosedale Library is an alternative bookstore - some of its titles wouldn't sit comfortably in Rosedale drawing rooms.

So think of this:

Your newsletter ain't the corporate newsletter, either.

Here's the thing about most corporate newsletters: they are edited, and vetted, and lawyered, and edited again, and checked again, and lawyered again... until all the personality has been squeezed out of them. What you get in the end is, to be frank, a bland corporate document which doesn't excite, doesn't create interest and doesn't create action.

So, no, your newsletter ain't the corporate newsletter - for good reason. Instead, you want a newsletter that will build a relationship with your readers, that will engage them, and that will keep them within your circle. You want to bond with your readers.

So here's some ways to add personality to your newsletter:

1) Don't put on your corporate head when you write. Instead, write in a way that shows your personality. Easier said than done, perhaps, but try to convey your enthusiasm for what you do and your in-person personality in your writing. For example, if you are relaxed and informal in person, be so in your newsletter. (See my post on HARO for a good example.)

2) Tell your story - the good and the bad. It's said that good product pitches include a "damaging omission" - a fact about the product that admits the product is not perfect. For example, my newsletters will take a few minutes to customize. A damaging omission helps because it aids credibility. After all, nothing's perfect, is it? The same works for your own brand - you as your own product. If you've made mistakes in the past, admit them and share them. You'll appear more human and better able to connect with your readers who, after all, have made their own share of mistakes. Just be sure to learn from those mistakes - you did this then but now you know better. (Customers these days like and expect transparency in the companies and people they deal with - they know no-one's perfect, that people sometimes we screw up, so don't try to fool them otherwise.)

3) Use "I" instead of "We". People don't easily connect with "we", with organizations. The plural is too sterile. Instead, write your newsletter as if it's from one person to help make a person-to-person connection.

4) Tell then what you did last week, what you're doing this week, and what you plan next week. Back to the transparency thing - share what you are doing in your business to make it better (or fix mistakes). Bring your readers inside the circle - they'll feel like they are part of what is going on. Give them an opportunity to comment on what you did and what you're planning. You'll probably get some good feedback you can use to improve your product or service.

5) Stand for something. Decide in advance what you believe in. What are your personal beliefs? What do you believe as a business? What do you stand for? What is your mission? Share this vision and allow it to permeate everything you write.

6) Don't be afraid to offend. I'm not saying you should go out and deliberately offend your clients, but don't be afraid to have strong opinions if those opinions are in the best interests of your clients. No one likes blandness. Even though you risk offending a few people, you'll win many more friends from those who agree with you.

7) Be yourself. It's just a newsletter - not a PhD. A newsletter is simply there to continue the relationship you build face-to-face with clients. If they like you in person, be the same person in your newsletter. They'll like you there too.

(Picture by SteveFE)

An Example of a Newsletter with Personality

If you don't know about HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and you are interested in getting media coverage, then check it out. Basically, it's a service that connects journalists (who are looking for sources for stories) and PR people/companies with products seeking publicity. It goes out as three emails per day. Very simple. Very effective. And free.

But I'm not here to write about HARO per se, more about the element of personality that HARO's creator, Peter Shankman, has put into the product.

I believe that this personality accounts for much of HARO's success.

Here's the thing: it's very easy to be "corporate", to make your project or service very polished, very professional...and very bland. Almost all products are like that - which makes it hard to tell one from the other and even harder to feel any kind of bond between you as consumer and the product itself.

What Peter does with HARO is remove the corporate veneer. Instead, he adds his own personality.

By:

• Sharing what he is doing every day. (And he does interesting stuff - this isn't "got the car fixed" type of content.)
• Writing in a friendly, recognizable style. It helps that he's a good writer, of course. But the key thing here is that he writes like he speaks. Informal. Friendly.
• He creates interaction with readers, through giveaways and message such as "I'm in Boston today - anyone got time for a coffee at noon?"
• He's built and maintained a strong ethos for the product. For example, people who abuse the product can get kicked off the list. And perpetual abusers are named and shamed.

• The email "from line" is Peter's name - not a corporate name.

This is the kind of personality you should infuse into your newsletter. Instead of being corporate, be you.

You might offend a few people (people you'd probably offend in person) but you'll attract many more.

(For more on adding personality to your newsletter, read this post.)