Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

4 Keys to Business Success after Labor Day

At time of year, many of us press the reset button.

Seems like New Year 's Day all over again, except with more school buses.

So I thought it would be a good time to look at some fundamentals - the four big things that make the difference between success and just grinding along.

As the economy in much of the world continues to struggle, these fundamentals are becoming increasingly important because getting the basics done right is more critical than ever.

These fundamentals are practiced by our most successful clients. Indeed, by the most successful business people anywhere.

1. Long-term perspective and relationships

The reason so many people fail to achieve their objectives is because they don't look far enough into the future.

Ever heard of the marshmallow test? It was successfully used by psychologists to predict how well a child will do in life.

A four-year-old child is given the option take one marshmallow now or to sit and wait for 20 minutes, after which they will get two marshmallows.

Some children wait patiently and are rewarded with a marshmallow feast. Others can't stand it and scarf down the single marshmallow right away.

Studies that followed the fortunes of these children found that those who had patience did much better as they progressed through childhood.

I've noticed that many business people are like the one-marshmallow child. They only do things that bring them immediate results. 

The trouble with that, however, is that they are forfeiting much greater results in the future because they're not building a foundation that will generate long-term success.

My most successful clients have focused on building long-term relationships with clients. To do so, they've created a structure and strategy for their business that puts the emphasis on these relationships rather than the quick-hit sale.

Some of them have been sending out newsletters for years - many writing the content themselves before finding me. They continue to send out newsletters, month-in, month-out. 

Others are just starting out, but are building a structure for their business that will create long-term relationships. They are collecting contact information. They are providing value. They are keeping in touch. 

On the other hand, I see people who are looking for the next quick fix - the magic tool that will bring them a flood of business, with little effort on their part.

These people go from one magic trick to the next, never building a business with a strong foundation.
Long-term thinking beats short-term thinking every time.

2. Time working "on" your business

Of course, to be able to think long-term, you need to do the things that will generate long-term relationships.

The trouble is, many of those things don't bring immediate benefits - you don't see quick results.

So what happens instead is that people spend time working on the minutiae of daily business - servicing clients and fulfilling products. They're working "in" the businesses.

The most successful people I see are able to carve out some time to work "on" their businesses. 

Maybe you can only find half a day per week, but it pays to spend that time doing things that set your business up for the long term. That might include activities that build long-term relationships with clients. Or you might think of systems that make your business run more smoothly.

It might also mean finding time to actually send out your newsletter. 

3. Successful delegation

If you want to find time to work "on" your business, you might consider delegating some of the routine tasks to someone else.

Here's the thing: many of the routine tasks are "below your pay grade" - they can be done by someone for a lower fee than you would charge for what you do best.

So, every hour you spend on one of these tasks you are, in effect, losing money - because you are not earning as much as you could be earning.

The successful people I know have built themselves a team of people and vendors to whom they can outsource these routine tasks. It doesn't mean you have to go hire someone full-time - you just have to find the right people or the right organization for each job.

4. Regular communication

If you want to build relationships with clients over the long term, you need to communicate with them over the long term.

After all, any relationship without regular communication withers, none more so than a business relationship, with so many competitors tugging at your clients' purse strings.

The most successful businesses I know have developed a regular communications strategy for prospects as well as clients. As soon as a prospect comes into that business's orbit, they receive useful, relevant information on a regular basis. 

These businesses use a variety of communication channels: email, print, social media...even personal phone calls, if the spending potential of the client is high enough.

When you are regularly in touch with your clients by providing useful information that makes their lives better, there's little reason for those clients to go anywhere else.  

That's how a business stays in business for the long term.

Marshmallow picture by Gary Knight.

Two More Ways to Boost Response to Your Newsletter

Today I want to share two easy ways to boost response to your newsletter. They are both being employed by one of my clients, an insurance agency in Hobe Sound, Florida.

Indeed, one of the ideas was his.

The secret behind both ideas is this: Relevance.

Make your newsletter relevant to your readers and you are half-way there. After all, people want to read stuff that is for them, not about you.

1. Make it relevant to 'now'

This idea is simple but my client reports it gives his response rate a boost. Together (this client takes advantage of Ready to Go Newsletters' enhanced service where we work together to customize the newsletter) we give the newsletter a theme each month. December = Christmas; February = Valentine's; March = St Patrick's Day. You get the picture.

 

What we do is find a picture and add it to the top of the newsletter, and then change some of the newsletters' colors to match.

It's a very easy way to make the newsletter relevant to what's going on today - relevant to what is in people's minds.

2. Make it relevant to readers' concerns

Ever been in a crowded room and suddenly - amid all the noise and conversation - you hear your name? What's happening here is your subconscious is taking in all the data and words that your ears are hearing, and when it notices something that is relevant, it tells your conscious mind to listen.

The same thing happens with your client's email inbox or postal mailbox. Both are crowded with noise, but when something relevant to you pops up, it gets noticed.

Here are a couple of articles that were used (and the headline became the subject line of the email newsletter.)

• What's Going on With Home Insurance in Hobe Sound?  (About changes in insurance rates people are paying. Note that it has the town's name in the title. That's relevant.)
• Why are Florida Auto Insurance Rates so High? (Anyone in that state with a vehicle is going to want to read this. The article contains some very interesting information about some people taking advantage of Florida's rules on insurance claims, pushing up rates. Not only is the article relevant, but it shows that the agency knows what it is doing.)

These are just some examples of how to make your newsletter more effective. This client works closely with Ready to Go Newsletters to customize his insurance newsletter each month. If you'd like our help, contact us.

 

Your Contact List: Build it or See it Die

Over the years, I've gained a lot of experience about what works...and what doesn't.

These lessons don't just come from my own experiences, they also come from those of members. So I will be sharing some of these experiences with you so that you can learn from them.

However, I warn you: I'm going to give you some tough, frank talk. After all, it's my aim to help you succeed, so I'm not going to hold anything back.

Today, let's talk about list building.

It's very easy for me to tell whether a member will be successful. That thing is: how quickly is their list of contacts growing?

Members who are disappointed with their email newsletter results show a very typical pattern. It goes something like this. They join enthusiastically and upload their contact list. Usually that list is between 100 and 200 people. They then send their newsletters to that list for perhaps four to six months.

And that's it. That list never grows. Indeed, what happens is that over time, the number of people on the list slowly goes down as emails bounce and people unsubscribe.

Their list withers. And so does their business.

The difference between these people and those who are successful is simple:  the successful people keep building that list - each month they add new names and email addresses.

Here's something that's super-important to grow your business (indeed, to stop it going backwards), you need to increase he number of people you are in touch with.

If you fail to grow your list of contacts, your business doesn't just stay static, it goes backwards. Why? Because, over time, that number of contacts goes down. People change email addresses, they move home...and sometimes they simply die.

It's not enough just to load your initial list into the system and then hope that's going to fuel you for the future. Because it won't.

Here's what my successful members do.

1) They are always adding to their list. Every month they update their list with the new email addresses they have gained (and who have given their permission to contact them.)

2) They put forms on the website to collect new names. If you want to see how I do it, just look at the Ready to Go Newsletters website you joined at, and you will see a form right there on the home page. Remember the bonus reports I give you? The reason they're there is so that you can use them as “bait” to attract people to join your list. You say something like: join my list and get this free, valuable information.

3) They remember that their number one job is to collect (high-quality) leads. So every time they meet someone in a business context, they ask if they can add their name to the list. And every  marketing piece they produce mentions the bonus report and encourages people to join up and get it.

Here's the thing. A business is like a living organism. You need to feed it. If you don't, it just withers away. Yes, it requires work. But it's better than the alternative.

Picture credits here and here.

 

Banned! How a Client Got Blocked from Sending Newsletters...and How You Can Avoid the Same Thing Happening to You

One of my clients was kicked out of VerticalResponse this week for spamming people. 

I want to share what happened so that you don't make the same mistake.

But first, some background.

As you know, spam is a huge problem. Just look at your inbox each morning.

And because of that, email software (such at Outlook) and internet service providers (such as Gmail, Hotmail, Comcast and Rogers) put up all sorts of filters to stop spam getting through.

That's all great...but it means that people like you and me, who just want to keep in touch with our clients, can get trapped in spam filters too.

So that's where email service providers - VerticalResponse is one of them but there are many others - come in.

Their #1 job is to build a relationship with others in the internet community - and that relationship is based on their reputation as a source of nothing but genuine emails.

So when you send a newsletter using their service you get the best chance of getting your message delivered.

VerticalResponse, which I am partnered with for my email newsletter service, are one of the best in the industry at this. That's one reason why I chose VR as my vendor.

Their terms and conditions state that you cannot upload lists of bought or harvested email addresses. Period. 

The reason for this is because you don't have permission to mail to these people; they're not expecting to hear from you.

And when you send a mass mailing to people who are not expecting to hear from you...well, that's the very definition of spam.

So what happened in this case?

It looks like my client bought a list of email addresses and used that list in VR, breaking the terms and conditions. In that list were addresses that were known "spam traps" - email addresses that only appear on bought or harvested lists of names.

When you send an email to one of these addresses, all sorts of alarms go off.

And that's what happened.

(Not only that, but several people also wrote to VerticalResponse to complain about receiving spam. That's bad.)

Spamhaus, which acts like a spam police officer, flagged the messages and almost blacklisted VerticalResponse itself. If that had happened, VR's reputation would have been ruined...and so would the chances of its thousands of clients getting their messages delivered.

So you can see why this client got kicked out. And why they can't come back.

And I have to say, although this was a client of mine, I agree with VR's decision.

How to Avoid this Happening to You

Clearly, don't buy and use a list of names that you have no relationship with.

Although it's tempting to be able to contact a lot of people for very little cost, it's potentially illegal and plain bad business.

The only reason spammers succeed is because they send literally billions of messages. And when you send that many, there's sure to be some people who respond and make the exercise profitable.

But for you...there's simply too much downside. The numbers are against you.

I think there's a bigger philosophical issue involved too.

How do you want to position yourself in the market?

Do you want to be a pest? Or do you want to be a trusted advisor?

Do you want to be associated with Viagra and porn websites? Or do you want to build long-term, profitable relationships with people who know you, like you and trust you?

To me, the answer is quite clear.

More articles on this topic:

The Best Way to Send Out Email Newsletters

Email Newsletters: Who Should You Send Them To?

How to Sign Up People For Your Newsletter on Your Website

Will Your Newsletter Pester People?

Is the Harvard Business Review Claiming You Can Spam Other Businesses?

Email Marketing Getting More Effective

Some good news.

Most people who use email marketing - and that includes email newsletters - say that it's getting more effective, as this chart from Marketing Sherpa shows.

Says Marketing Sherpa: In general, the effectiveness of email for marketing purposes is doing well. More than 3 times the percentage of marketers who said the effectiveness of the medium is decreasing said it is increasing. Despite the challenges that marketers have with email, their opinion of the medium is still quite strong. This attitude is one reason for the continuing shift in marketing budgets from other tactics to email. 

Read more here.

The Personal Paragraph: An Easy Way to Boost Response to Your Newsletter

One of my best clients called the other day to report something that made a big difference to the response to his wife's real estate newsletter.

At the top of every email newsletter he sent out, he added a personal paragraph about something that was going on in their lives. 

Just a tidbit.

He tells me many more people responded to the newsletter when he started doing that.

And when people respond, that's when you can open a dialog that could lead to business down the line.

That's all it takes: a personal paragraph.

Is the Harvard Business Review Claiming You Can Spam Other Businesses?

The blog over at the Harvard Business Review  is jumping. A recent post by Ruth P. Stevens stirred up that old hornet’s nest of “opt-in” versus “opt-out” marketing email.

Here’s what she said: It’s OK to send unsolicited emails (newsletters and the like) to businesses with the expectation that they can opt out if they don’t like them. She said that businesses who follow the restrictive “opt-in” rule accepted as mandatory for consumer marketing are making a mistake.

Cue much uproar in the comments section of the website. 

Here’s my take on it. Legislation around the world (such as the CAN-SPAM act in the United States) says that marketing communication must be opt-in. Anything else is spam.

All the reputable email service providers (the firms that do a great job sending emails on your behalf and helping those emails get delivered to your recipients) insist that your lists are opt-in. Anything else will get you banned. 

Those two points alone would suggest that an “opt-out” policy for your B2B communications is a bad thing.

But it goes deeper than that: with any list of prospects or clients, it’s quality that counts - not just quantity. Your aim should be to build a list of people who want to hear from you, because they are people who will be most likely to buy from you.

An “opt-in” policy ensures that you have this quality list. An “opt-out” policy merely makes sure you have a large list of indifferent (and maybe angry) people. And who wants that?

One way to put video in your newsletter

I was at Infusionsoft's annual user conference in Scottsdale last week, and a straw poll among the audience found that people were split 50-50 over whether they preferred reading text or watching videos online (particularly when it came to sales websites).

What's clear is that you cannot afford to ignore video when half your audience prefer it over text. And anyway, it's always good to share your message using multiple media.

I know lots of people want to add video to their email newsletters, but figuring out exactly how to do it isn't so easy.

The trouble is, video just won't play in most email readers.

One way to do it is to put a snapshot of the video player in the newsletter. People then click on that and they're taken to YouTube (or wherever you are hosting your videos).

I did it with my own March newsletter.

Take a look at what my client Chris Swanson, of BMA Marketing, has done. (Link to newsletter here; snapshot on this page.)

He's used the ready-made newsletter that I provide and then found relevant videos on YouTube to add extra flavor to each article.

That will make his newsletter attractive to a broader range of people.

That's something you can easily  do with your own newsletter, right?

Print newsletters and Canada's second currency

OK, let me get the wisecracks about the title of this post over with right away - in case I lose my residency in Ontario.

No, Canada's second currency isn't the US dollar.

And it's not the euro either, as an earnest store associate suggested to a friend last week in upstate New York. "Would you like to pay with euros?"

Hmmm.

No, Canada's second currency is Canadian Tire Money.

For those of you not in the know, Canadian Tire is an iconic retailer up here - it sells everything from auto parts to barbecues, passing through tools and housewares on the way.

Some people hate it (you can never find an associate) but more, I think, love it.

Canadian Tire is piled to the roof with cool stuff you can mess around with on weekends.

And it gives you money.

Spend enough at the cash and you get Canadian Tire money back, in "real" bills you can use at the retailer. Now, these bills are measured in cents, not dollars (for the most part) but it's like...real...money.

***

There's been talk recently about Canadian Tire doing away with the bills. Indeed, there's an announcement on the reward program's future today. Maybe they'll replace it with electronic rewards - like most other retailers - but there's also talk of introducing a Canadian Tire dollar coin.

We shall see.

But doing away with the paper money would be a big mistake. And not only for the ebay folks who collect the stuff.

You see, there's something special about paper. You can touch it - feel it crinkle. And you can carry it around with you - it pokes out at you from between the real money and frayed receipts.

And when you keep seeing it there, you remember to go back to Canadian Tire and spend it. Hey - I've got $2 in money I can use towards that $400 drill press I've been lusting after. Betta spend that quick!

I think that's super-powerful.

***

So - you can see how it relates to newsletters, can't you?

Now, I'm not one of these guys who says print newsletters are the only way to go. Or, for that matter, email only.

I'm platform flexible.

For the newsletters I send to my own clients, I started out with print, then switched to email. And next year I'll be sending print newsletters again to select people in my database.

After all, it's about what works - what brings the best return on investment.  Email is cheap...but print can work better.

Why? Because it's physical. You can't just hit the delete button on it.

Print newsletters stick around. Articles get clipped and pasted on the refrigerator. (I know this happens with the newsletters I make for members.)

You can read them in the bathroom.

So I urge you - and Canadian Tire, because of course they are reading - to keep the faith in print. By all means use electronic methods too, but don't forget the power of "real" money reminding you that it's there to be spent.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Newsletter for Every Business:
http://www.anewsletterforeverybusiness.com

Sign up to receive these message by email: http://www.tinyurl.com/30Emails

Newsletters: the bar is pretty low. Really.

I got a call on Tuesday from someone who is thinking of joining my newsletter service for real estate agents.

She's been receiving emails from me (not these, but others you can sign up for on my websites.)

But she said something that disconcerted me.

"The information is great, but it's kind of putting me off doing a newsletter."

Hmmm, I thought...that's not how it's supposed to work.

The reason, she said, was that she felt she could never do the kind of things I suggest to make her newsletter really sing - elements such as personalization, local content, and must-read headlines.

The whole thing sounded like too much of an elephant to eat. So maybe she should not do a newsletter at all.

SO WHAT DID I TELL HER?

Simply that the elements I suggest will make her newsletter soar, but the most important thing is to do a newsletter in the first place. Period.

After all, so very, very few people bother to keep in touch with prospects and clients that if you do, it's easy as pie to stand
out.

The barrier is so low that even a chipmunk can jump it.

Think about this.

How many stores do you happily buy from...and then never hear a peep out of again?

How many people come to do vital work in your home...and then just sit silently waiting for you to call again?

How many restaurants do you enjoy visiting...yet never hear from?

I'D BE WILLING TO WAGER that 99% of businesses don't bother to keep in touch with even the people who love what they do.

Sometimes after I leave a store I get so mad at their lack of marketing savvy that I pledge to set up a store right next door, doing exactly  the same thing... just to punish them for being so dumb.

This isn't meant to sound like bragging, but I think I could go head-to-head with 99% of businesses out there and crush them simply by building a solid database of clients and prospects and then keeping in touch with them regularly

Like I say, it really doesn't take much. Just a matter of collecting names. The tools are there to do the rest.

THIS IS WHAT GETS ME UP IN THE MORNING. The big mission of my company is that every business (even funeral homes) should have a newsletter.

That's why I make ready-made print and email newsletters that businesses can send. As the bar is so low, you can send them without any customization and they'll still work. Or make them really yours and you'll be the #1 person in your business in your
town.

I guarantee it.

Now, it seems like a big job - a gigantic elephant to eat. But take it a bite at a time. Even a chipmunk can feast.

[Picture credit]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Newsletter for Every Business:
http://www.anewsletterforeverybusiness.com

Sign up to receive these message by email: http://www.tinyurl.com/30Emails