Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

How to Use a Newsletter to Prove that a 'Commodity' Product Can Be Special

Here's a fascinating case study from a company that sends out a newsletter in every box of eggs it produces.

Yes, eggs that come with their own newsletter.

I'll give you what I see as the big takeaway first:

You might think that eggs is eggs. But, as we're told, some eggs are better than others - free range is better than battery, organic better than chemical. But with so many claims (many misleading) about eggs (what does "farm fresh" mean?), how do you make your eggs stand out? One way is by sending out a newsletter with each box of eggs to a) tell the story of the eggs and their producer, and b) build an unshakable bond with your customers.

The Country Hen claims to produce the best eggs in the United States. Here's what Kathy Moran from the sales department told me. (I'm telling the entire story, because it's important.)

Our owner, George Bass, started The Country Hen in 1988.  It was the first Organic, Omega-3 egg farm in The United States.  The only product we produce is an Organic, Omega-3 Egg.  However, I probably should mention, it is the best egg on the market.  I guess if it the only thing you are going to produce, it better be!

 

George had a unique philosophy, in 1988, with regards to creating The Country Hen.  He believed only the happiest, healthiest hens would produce "The World's Best Egg".  George exceeded all standards for egg farming and organic certification laws.  He was actually responsible for organic certification with regards to egg farming to become much stricter in the industry.  The Country Hens enjoy roaming freely through spacious, sunlit barns with outdoor porches attached.  The outdoor porches allow for outdoor access, but maintain our ability to completely control the safety of our hens from predators and any risk of disease.

 

The next thing George did differently was work with top scientists to develop The Country Hen's proprietary feed formula.  The over 10 organic ingredients in the feed formula is a very closely guarded secret.  It is what gives the eggs their exceptional nutritional value, great taste, and also acts as a probiotic for our Hens.  George, of course, insisted on milling the feed right here at The Country Hen farm.  Although it is a very expensive undertaking for a single farm, it gave George the ability to control every aspect of the quality of the raw ingredients and milling process.  Only recently, with all the human and animal grade food scares, do we truly appreciate the value of having our own feed mill.

 

Lastly, George took great care with The Country Hen packaging.  He only produces a half dozen size carton.  This is the way it was twenty years ago and it remains this way today.  Also, case sizes are only 15 dozen eggs.  This was so he could be sure his eggs remained fresh at store level and even in customer's refrigerators.

Finally, since the first egg carton, George also wanted his customers to feel a strong connection to The Country Hen Farm.  For this reason, he produced newsletters for every 6-pack of eggs.  The newsletters are printed every 4-6 weeks and have included many topics including:  nutritional information regarding the eggs, funny farm stories, backgrounds of Country Hen employees, hot button farm topics in the news (ie. recently ethanol), farm poetry, customer letters, etc...  [Here are some links to the Country Hen's newsletter content.]

Now, if you had a story like that, wouldn't you want to tell the world? Wouldn't that make your product different from every other product?  Wouldn't it make customers warm towards you and develop a bond with your product?

Kathy told me that customers complain if their eggs arrive without the newsletter:

We receive many customer emails, from loyal customers and new customers.  A high percentage of those are regarding our newsletters.  Customers love them.  The insert machine that puts the newsletters into the cartons was specially designed for The Country Hen.  Occasionally, it will act up, as all machines do.  We know instantly, if eggs got to the market without newsletters.  When The Country Hen started in 1988, it supplied only to stores in Massachusetts.  Now we supply stores from Maine to Florida and as far west as California.  The newsletters have become increasingly important as we have increased our geographic customer base.  This is because although we go from Massachusetts to all of these states, The Country Hen, still feels like the local egg farm to all of our customers.  This is because the newsletters keep them up to date with all the information on and about the farm.  Priceless!!

I haven't heard from the company whether they are able to quantify the value of the newsletter in terms of extra sales. But you can bet it contributes thousands of dollars to the bottom line.

[Kathy emailed me later with this information: We often do a cost/benefit analysis of our marketing programs to evaluate whether they should be continued.  Even though the newsletters are fairly substantial in cost, in twenty years, the discontinuation of the newsletters was never a consideration because of its obvious success and appeal with our customers....  When starting at The Country Hen, I would say that the success of this program was obvious in less than three weeks time.  That is how many emails, letters, and calls we receive regarding the newsletter.]

When I say that every company needs a newsletter (including funeral homes), this is what I mean. In a world of battery hens and commodity-crappy products, a great, personal story - well told - is going to win out. Don't you think?

Another Great Example of a Customized Real Estate Newsletter

It makes me smile from ear to ear when one of my clients takes the real estate newsletter I offer and really  makes it theirs.

Here's another example (click here for a previous one), this one from Marianne Derjean, who is with broker McGuigan Pepin, in Quebec,  Canada.

Here's what I love about it.

1. A "Message from the Presidents". Not just any message, but a report from a recent trip to a real estate conference in Paris, France. Not only is this an interesting article full of useful facts, but the "meta" message here is that these brokers are plugged into the international luxury real estate market. You'd want to hire people like that, wouldn't you? (The article mixes news about real estate, fractional ownership and the economy with a paragraph about how they spent their leisure time in Paris. A great way to make the tale more personal, strengthening their relationship with their clients by sharing what they did in their free time.)
2. A story about the company's trademark yellow golf flag, which is part of its logo and which flies outside its open houses. A neat little story that gives some insight into the company, while mentioning that one of the owners was a champion golfer. (I bet lots of their clients golf - great way to make a connection!) The golf flag is, of course, a great way to brand the brokerage- stands out from the regular lawn signs. (Plus: they also encourage reader feedback with a little competition to create a catchy phrase about the brokerage and the flag.)
3. An informative column on the current market focusing on pricing. Plus, another on why now is a good time to do renovations. Both are great up-to-date topics.
4. An article by a mortgage banker. This is a great way to get extra content for your newsletter - partner with a relevant, non-competing provider.
5. On their winter newsletter, not only do they wish people happy holidays, but there's a notice on the front page about the agency's Open Door Day. The position of the notice, on the bottom right corner of the page, is great for catching people's attention - and the freebie shopping bags they give away are a valuable (and timely) incentive.
6. Recognition to winners of a recent contest they held.

So, in summary, what this broker has done is take a ready-made newsletter and then personalize it with their own content to create a much stronger bond with their clients and a fraction of the price of doing the entire newsletter themselves.

That's why I'm smiling!

Want your own newsletter? Find out more about my residential and commercial real estate newsletters.

(Plus, I also have newsletters for the following businesses: mortgage, insurance, accountancy, financial planners.)

Newsletters for Commercial Real Estate Agents and Commercial Insurance Agents

Today's the day I finally launched newsletters for business-to-business clients. Been a long time coming. I'm starting with newsletters for commercial real estate and commercial insurance clients.

I thought it would be interesting to take you "behind the curtain" - and give some explanation to members of my real estate and insurance newsletters services who are getting these newsletters free as part of their membership.

Why my B2B newsletters are different to my B2C newsletters

As you know, newsletter rule #1 says: write for your readers. So I had to make the content of these newsletters different from the content of my consumer newsletters. So out go the lifestyle articles and in their place are articles on business topics. But not any old articles - it's information on up-to-date topics that will help make businesses more successful. (That's why the newsletter is called Business Success Today.)

I want the content of these newsletters to be as good as any business magazine, so that my members can offer their clients and prospects quality information that makes their clients' businesses (and their lives) better.

That's how my members are able to build reputations as trusted experts who serve the needs of their clients.

The bonus report

Almost every newsletter I produce has an offer of a bonus report - what I call a "response device". If you want to get response from your newsletter, you need to include something like this. And it can't just be any old bit of information, it has to conform to rule #1: write for your readers.

So the report I am offering in my commercial insurance and commercial real estate newsletters is: How to Survive the Recession...Stronger than Before."

I don't know any business owner who won't be interested in that topic right now.

The format

These newsletter are in black and white, which means they can be used by any business, no matter what its company colors are. They can be kept black and white - and printed that way - or made more colorful by changing the headlines, borders or by adding a masthead. They are in Publisher and Word formats.

Print and email

These newsletters will be available in print and email formats. However, current email members, please contact me to have your newsletter added to your Vertical Response partner account.

They're in "Beta" for a few weeks

The only people with access to these newsletters so far are my current clients. I haven't started promoting them yet. During this "beta" period I am asking for feedback, because that's how I develop all my products to make them meet my clients' needs. So...send me an email and tell me what you think.

Newsletter Delivery: Local Newspaper vs. Direct Mail

Here's an interesting anecdote from one of the members of my real estate newsletter service in Ontario, Canada.

This real estate agent uses his newsletter for lead generation (by mass mailing it) and to keep in touch with past clients.

For the first seven months he was a member, the newsletter was delivered in the local community newspaper as an insert. However, he received only two responses from it.

Kind of disappointing.

After doing some door-knocking at Christmas and seeing the number of houses that had the paper still sitting on the front porch days after it was delivered (plus some delivery issues with the paper itself) he decided to switch to direct mail through Canada Post.

Since January - 4 months - he has received 18 responses.

Much better!

Looks like more people are reading his newsletter now.

Of course, it doesn't necessarily mean that direct mail is better than newspaper delivery (although, personally, I think it is because you are connecting directly with your reader), but it shows the importance of testing. If one distribution method is producing disappointing results, try another.

How to Make Time to Send Out Your Newsletter

I know, sometimes doing the newsletter seems a bit of a chore.

Even I feel that - and I'm The Newsletter Guy!

Here's how I make time. Maybe the same kind of thinking will work for you.

Are you familiar with Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"? In that book, he talks about the four quadrants. I've pasted a graphic of them here.

Basically, he says that most people work out of the "urgent" quadrants (quadrants 1 and 3) - doing stuff that needs to be done now, whether it is important or not.

Of course, the urgent and important stuff needs to be done. Period. But the goal is to work as much as you can in the Important and Not Urgent quadrant (quadrant 2).

This is the quadrant that sets the foundation for all your future work. Operating in that quadrant means that there will be less stuff in the Urgent quadrants because you have prepared everything in advance.

Your newsletter falls within quadrant 2 because it is important for your long-term success. By investing time now in that quadrant by doing your newsletter, you are making your life easier in the future.

That's what give me the motivation to write this newsletter, because I know that every time I send it out, I get communication from members - as well as attracting new members to the program.

So I make time for my quadrant 2 activities when I plan my week.

How to Avoid Boring People with Your Newsletter (Clue: What Do You Really Talk About with Your Dentist?)

I went to my dentist this week. Great guy. Excellent dentist. Super team.

He makes me want to floss.

He also has a newsletter - at least he used to. I didn't see it this time.

I didn't get to ask if it was working for him, but I suspect it wasn't too well.

Why?

Two reasons:

It was a cut-and paste job. Standard content with just his picture stuck on the front page. No personality. No offers. No engagement devices. No quizzes. No puzzles.

Second, it was all about teeth. Whitening. Flossing. Gum disease. Implants.

Nothing else.

Now, I'm not against having good teeth (despite being British.)

But my business relationship with my dentist isn't just about my pearly whites.

In fact, I'd say that only 49% of the reason I go to this particular dentist is because he's good at his job.

The other 51% is because I have a good personal relationship with him. He's a nice, funny guy. I enjoy chatting with his hygienist and the front desk staff.

And guess what? When we're chatting, we don't chat about teeth. That would get boring.

Instead, we chat about Halloween costumes, litters of puppies, condominiums, cottages.

This is the thing: most businesses make the mistake of believing that their business is about dentistry, accountancy, insurance...or whatever.

But that's only 49% of it.

The rest is a relationship business.

So if you have a good relationship with your clients (and you should) put that relationship into your newsletter.

Be personal, tell stories, be yourself.

You'll strengthen your personal and business relationships by doing that. And you'll make more money.

[Picture by amdavis]

Your Clients Want Smiles not Frowns - an Antidote to CNN's Doom and Gloom

A request from a new member of my real estate newsletters service came in yesterday.

(As he's new, he doesn't know I do this already...but it's always good to be reminded.)

He said he is looking for newsletter articles as an antidote to his clients. For example, the headlines in the newspapers show doom and gloom, where in fact 95% of people with mortgages are doing just fine.

He said he would like to see positive spins on pricing declines, foreclosure issues, staging, etc. He wants to bring optimism to his clients, showing them another perspective -- how real estate can benefit them and that it is a wealth builder.

He's absolutely right - because:

1) The media right now is enjoying scaring us as it wallows in the negativity of a down economy. There isn't much of an antidote to that available right now.

2) Vendors (real estate agents, mortgage brokers, or whomever) are still operating - still having success stories, still helping people. Why not share that?

3) For some people - smart businesses, for example - there are things to take advantage of in this economy.

4) With all the negativity around, if your newsletter is a source of some positive (truthful) inspiration, you will strengthen the relationship with your clients.

After all, no one wants to hang out with a misery.

[Picture by vancanjay]