Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

Sending Email Newsletters to Canada? Read This

Marketing Sherpa has published a neat summary of new anti-spam legislation that has been introduced in the Canadian parliament.

Read their report to get the details. (Open access until May 13, 2009)

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.

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.

How to Get Free Articles and Pictures for Your Newsletter Using Creative Commons

As you know, it's not a good idea to copy articles from the internet and use them in your newsletter.

There's a good chance you'll be breaking copyright. And anyway, it's not cool to use other people's work in your newsletter without asking.

There are, however, many authors and photographers who are happy for you to use their work, under certain conditions.

One way to find these content creators is through Creative Commons, a system set up to give writers and artists a standardized way to grant copyright permissions.

For example, many are happy for you to use their content if you give them attribution.

Content creators add a Creative Commons copyright license to their work. The type of license they choose depends on how they are willing for the content to be used. Some will allow it to be used in any way, as long as there is attribution; others don't want their work to be used for any commercial products.

You can search for Creative Commons work online through the Creative Commons website. Then, when you find content that you like, you can check which type of copyright license it carries.

Of course, it relies on trust. But it's a two-way thing. After all, you might like to consider putting a Creative Commons notice on any articles you post online. If all you want is a link, for example, you could gain some web traffic from anyone who chooses to use your content.

10 Email Newsletter Design Best Practices

Mequoda Group has just published a useful, free white paper on email newsletter design best practices. You can download it free here.

Two Great Sources of Images for Your Newsletter

I've mentioned before that you can find great images on Flickr and stock.xchng. Just make sure you check whether the photographer is giving you permission to use the image. Sometimes you just need to send a message asking for permission - I find that most happily give it.

(Creative Commons licenses, used frequently on Flickr, are the easiest way to make sure you have permission to use an image.)

Here's a quick way to search for images on Flickr. With Compfight, you put in a search term and the screen fills with thumbnail images to choose from. It's quite fast.

Here's a screen-shot after a search for "Toronto".

Kudos to Mike Sansone at ConverStations for discovering this for me.

How to Sign Up People for Your Newsletter on Your Website

I was asked yesterday for instructions about how to sign up people for your newsletter using your website.

So I figured it would be a good idea to share them on this blog.

Why You Need to Sign Up People on Your Website

I'm continually surprised by how few people, even those who use my real estate newsletters and mortgage newsletters, fail to use their website effectively to sign up newsletter readers.

This is the thing: Most people go to a website, take a look around...and leave. Don't fool yourself - they're not adding your site to their favorites and they're not making a note to visit every day. So you often have only once chance to attract people into your sphere of influence when they visit your website.

That's why it's essential to give yourself the greatest chance of starting the relationship-building process. The way to do that is to encourage people to give you their contact details to receive either a print or email newsletter (or both).

An Effective Way to Encourage Them to Sign Up

People guard their personal details very closely. After all, they don't want to get spammed. And they don't want to get junk mail.

That's why you have to sell them on the benefits of signing up for your newsletter.

And it's why you often have to give them something extra - something with high perceived value - to encourage them to sign up.

So I advise the following:

• Tell them what's in it for them to sign up for your newsletter. Tell them how they will benefit by reading your newsletter. Assure them that you are offering value and will not be wasting their time. Indicate that your newsletter contains unique information that will improve their lives...and by not signing up for your newsletter they will be missing out on something important. (After all, your newsletter does all this, right?)
• Give them something extra for signing up for your newsletters. Members of my real estate newsletter service, for example, get four special reports (e.g. "50 Essential Tips to Prepare Your Home for a Speedy, Top-Price Sale") they can send to newsletter subscribers. You can send a report like this out by email or mail.
• Put a sentence on your site assuring people that their email address won't be sold and that they won't be spammed. Link to your privacy policy. (You have one, right?)

For an example of the way I do it, see this page.

The Technical Bit: How to Collect Names on Your Website

There are two ways to collect names. One way is OK if you are collecting just a few names or if you are only sending print newsletters; the other is the best way if you are serious about building a large list of contacts that you wish to contact by email.

a) Put a form on your website that automatically sends the information your subscriber has entered to your email or puts it on a spreadsheet. If you don't have a programmer, you can find one using a service such as RentACoder who will do it for you cheaply. Alternatively, use one of the third-party form-building services, such as Wufoo (I haven't tried Wufoo, and there are lots of others available.)

You can also try using Google Docs - my favorite method right now. With Google Docs, you create a form, paste some code into your website, and then the responses appear in a spreadsheet.

However, I only recommend these methods for collecting a small number of addresses or if you are only sending a print newsletter. If you are sending an email newsletter, I highly recommend...

b) Using an email-sending service. These services specialize in collecting names and allowing you to send emails to these names. They have several benefits:

• They make it easy to collect names by giving you code for forms you can paste into on your site.
• They help you avoid your email getting caught in spam filters because they are careful to manage the sending process, using as many methods as possible to ensure your emails are delivered.
• They help you comply with email best practices, including the United States CAN-SPAM law. (There's a danger, for example, that if you don't include a method for people to unsubscribe from your list that you will be breaking the CAN-SPAM law.)
• They provide templates that you can use to send attractive HTML/graphical emails.
• They make the whole process a whole lot easier.

The email sending service I use is Aweber, but there are many others, including Message Slinger, Constant Contact and Get Response.

If you are sending a newsletter by email, I sincerely recommend you use one of these services.

But aside from the technical stuff, the most important thing to do is send a newsletter that contains valuable information that meets the needs of your clients and prospects - and to promote that newsletter effectively on your website.

Why Hibernating in Tough Times is a Bad Strategy

Thankfully, it's summer right now. But winters here in Ontario can be frigid.

It's no wonder the bears go to sleep and wait it out.

Unlike the chickadees, which are busy hunting for food, even in blood-freezing temperatures.

I'm here to tell you this: during tough times, be a chickadee, not a bear.

This isn't a time to be hibernating.

I've just ordered a great ebook, How Your Business Can Survive and Prosper During a Recession, and after a quick skim through, the one piece of advice that nearly all the experts interviewed give is:

Don't stop marketing....indeed, market even more.

When your competitors - paralyzed by recessionary fears - are sleeping it out like bears, you, the plucky chickadee, will be able to gain market share.

After all, people are still buying stuff. Just maybe not as much.

And when you're the only one still marketing, you're the one they will choose.

After a winter, bears emerge thin and hungry.

Do you want to be one of them?

(PS. I wrote an article recently about how smart Realtors are continuing to market during the housing crisis - and succeeding. Check it out.)

Age of Conversation - For 2008

You'll remember I and over 100 talented bloggers contributed chapters to The Age of Conversation last year. It raised thousands of dollars for charity.

Well now...it's back! But with a different theme, which you get to choose in an online vote

And, of course, there's another chance to become a published author by contributing a chapter. I know I will.

Head over to Drew McLellan's blog to find out more.

Useful Product: Fedex Kinko's Print Online

Here's a useful service that might help you print your newsletters.

Fedex Kinko's allows you to upload your document, have it printed and then shipped back to you (or anywhere else you choose). Or you can go to the nearest store and pick it up. Saves having to visit a copy shop twice - you can do it all from your desk.

Here's the link to their Print Online service.

I've played with the website and it seems very easy to use, but I haven't yet tried to print a newsletter on it. I'll update this post when I do.

Update: I've used the service - and it is easy. Newsletters printed on 11x17 inch paper are a special request, which means you have to contact them on the phone after ordering. It also means you don't get a price quoted right away. Warning - make sure you get a price when you talk with them. I didn't and got a surprisingly large bill when the job was ready to pick up. The reason - folding the newsletters. All in all, the service is good, but you'll get a cheaper rate at your local copy shop (and save a lot of money if you fold the newsletters yourself.

Thanks to Ryan Healy for bringing this service to my attention in his blog.