Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

Giving and Getting

I was re-reading Flight Plan, by Brian Tracy, last night. It's a book about goal-setting (and sticking to those goals). This is, after all, the traditional season of goals - 2010 planning around the Christmas tree and all that.

But goal setting isn't what this message is about.

Near the start of this book is a reference to the great business guru Peter Drucker. He said that most of the misunderstandings in business and finance could be eliminated if we just replaced the word "success" with the word "contribution."

Brian Tracy then says: "When you look around, you will find that the wealthiest people are those who are making the greatest contributions to the greatest number of people. They are producing products and services that large numbers of people are willing and eagerly buying to improve the quality of their own lives."

Wise words indeed.

I'm trying to take this approach with my newsletters and my businesses.

After all, rule number one for newsletters is: write for your readers. That means you include articles in your newsletter that help your readers do their job better and make their lives easier.

Then, if you include calls to action and offers, you'll find that business will come to you.

You've contributed...so you get.

You've provided value up front....so you attract money back.

For some people, this means an abrupt 180 turn. Their newsletters had been all about them.

"I'm great, choose me."

They had been all about getting.

Getting business - no matter what.

But when you make this flip, not only does your newsletter become more effective... but it also becomes so much more fun.

Instead of thinking of yourself - what you can get out of the newsletter - you start thinking of your clients - how you can help them.

That simple act makes you feel good.

And then the business comes.

I hope you find (as I did) that this is a valuable message as we near Christmas, the season of giving.

I wish you a happy holiday season - and many chances to contribute in 2010.

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An In-Flight Magazine and Your Newsletter

A short video for you today about how you can learn from in-flight magazines when putting together a customer newsletter.

Key takeaways:

1) Make it interesting to your readers, not all about you. Yes, some of your own personality is important, but don't make the content all about your business. First, concentrate on what your clients want to read - what interests them.

2) Include ads. By joining with other local vendors, you could pay for the production of your own newsletter.

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.

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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.

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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.

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

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'Bore me and I block you' - how to make your newsletters interesting

About a year ago I got really into Twitter.

Maybe a little too much into it. Huge timesuck.

I'm still on it, but I ration myself. Now I waste time on Facebook.

But I tell yer - it's rough and tough in the Twitterverse!

Some people on there really work it. They post many times a day and, most importantly, they add value when they post. They don't share what they had for lunch, but they post interesting, provocative, useful information. All in 140 characters.

I got twittering (I think that's the right verb) with one of the twitterati (I think that's the right noun) and she came out with this zinger: “Bore me and I block you.”

I felt like I'd been put on notice.

You can imagine the stress.

But she was right.

In today's mega-multi-channel universe, attention is at a premium. People will decide in five seconds if you are worth another 30. It's like a bar in Manhattan.

Bore them and they block you.

The same goes for newsletters, of course. Bore them and they ignore you.

The good news is, most newsletters are boring - and that means you don't have try that hard to be interesting. The bar is pretty low.

So here's 5 ways to avoid being boring:

1)    Don't be that guy at the party who just brags about his latest triumphs. The harsh truth is that nobody cares about you - all they care about is themselves.
2)    Think about what interests your readers and what will make their lives better.
3)    Be yourself, not some dull corporation. People like people, not organizations.
4)    Take a risk. Be brave. Get naked.
5)    Engage in conversation, not a monologue.

Still with me? Good. Glad I haven't bored you yet.

Feel free to share your ideas. If they're interesting, I promise I won't block you :)

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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]

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

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How to Get Your Newsletter Articles Read - the Easy Way

"Service journalism" is the reliable older sister of the newspaper world.

If it wore clothes, it would wear a cardigan. With pockets.

It sure ain't glamorous. There are no scoops (such as they are these days), and there are no celebrity interviews or witty columns.

Service journalism is the simple reporting of stuff that's useful, such as "where to get your H1N1 shot," "which roads will be closed this weekend," and "how to get your drivers' license renewed."

I like it, because it gets read.

People want to know this stuff. It's one reason why they buy newspapers.

It's no accident that the default title of the newsletters I make is News You Can Use.

After all, readers want to know WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) Is this article going to help me live my life?

When it comes to writing headlines for your service journalism articles, clearly telegraph how the article will help.

Typical service journalism headlines go like this:

•    How To Insulate Your Home
•    Where To Get Your Flu Shot
•    When to Book Your Vacation Travel

But, as a reader of this email, you know you can go one step further.

If you can add a benefit to your service journalism headline, you'll increase readership.

So consider:

•    How To Insulate Your Home for Under $500
•    Where to Get Your Flu Shot Without Lining Up
•    When to Book Your Vacation Travel - For the Best Price to the Sunniest Destinations

Now that's something I really want to read.

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How to Be Like Oprah

I got the shock of my life on the internet last night.

There on my favorite news website was a big, blue headline: "Oprah Talk Show Going Off Air."

Now, I know she had Sarah Palin on this week, but it can't have been that bad.

I thought Oprah was stronger than that.

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Turns out, of course, that Oprah is - in her own way - going rogue. Doing a bit of that mavericky stuff.

Because instead of doing a show for that mainstream icon CBS, it looks like she's going to have her own cable channel - the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Betcha they'll be a talk show on there.

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Oprah, as we know, is one smart businesswoman. She's got a brand as big as Jupiter and more power (and probably money) than anyone in the media.

So it pays to take note of what she does.

So what is she doing? She's taking control of her own distribution. Instead of being a slot on CBS, she's going to own an entire channel. 24 hours a day of Oprah doing what she pleases.

SO WHAT LINKS OPRAH - AND YOU? Simply, that you can create your own distribution - your own network.

Now, I wish I could say this was all my idea. But Seth Godin blogged about it first.

Seth was talking about real estate agents - but it applies to any industry. Real estate agents, he said, should create their own publication (their own newsletter) rather than being forced to advertise in newspapers.

Imagine if a local business put out its own weekly publication. It needn't be fancy, but it does have to be interesting and relevant. Pack this publication with local news, what's on events, profiles of local celebrities, details of the H1N1 clinics, sports reports, pictures of newlywed local couples, reports on what the municipality is doing.

Sounds a lot of work - and it is. But imagine if that business joined with other (non-competing) businesses to share the costs.

Your publication would be the talk of the town. Indeed, an essential resource.

And which company would have unlimited space for advertising? The owner of that distribution channel, of course.

OK, I know this sounds crazy. But it's worth at least listening to what Oprah does.

Going rogue does make some kind of sense.

[Picture credit]

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The Perils of Newsletter Personalization

Yesterday I received a Facebook "be my friend" request. It went like this:

"$Name$$, Facebook considered you as a friend. I enjoy meeting like minded people, hope you feel the same."

Personalization is a wonderful thing. And so is technology. Mix them and you have a powerful cocktail - or a recipe for disaster.

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It's proven that personalization can boost response to your marketing efforts.

That's why I use it myself. You'll see this email has your name at the top.

Like our Facebook "friend", you've got to be careful. Use it too much or make a mistake with the technology and you look an idiot.

SO HOW DO I USE PERSONALIZATION?

I use it (sparingly) in text emails like this because they have a kind of intimidate nature. The fact that they are text (not pretty HTML) makes them more personal - more like a real email. I've noticed I get more response from "text" newsletters than HTML ones.

I don't, however, use personalization in my monthly HTML email newsletter. There's something about the nature of the design and the content that make it more like a publication, not a personal note. It just seems wrong.

HERE'S WHAT I THINK. Personalization can make someone notice you.

But you want to go beyond that.

If you've succeeded in building a strong relationship with your clients, focus on being authentically you in your communications - not faking intimacy with technology.

(By the way, what many people don't know is that you can include personalization in your printed marketing. It costs you more, of course, but I'd be willing to bet your return on investment is higher, if the price of the product justifies it. Disclosure: I haven't tested print personalization myself yet.

When 1 + 1 = 3

As someone smart enough to be reading this blog, you know math.

So that means you understand that:

1 + 1 = 3

And 1 + 1 + 1 = 9

And 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = a-heck-of-a-lot

This isn't some kind of wacky math. It's the power of groups. They work "to the power of."

Kind of an exponential thing.

Last night I was the guest speaker on a teleseminar for business owners in a particular industry. The theme of the call was - naturally - newsletters. I supply a newsletter that these business owners use as the core of their marketing programs.

Although I was the one doing most of the talking, the power of groups is such that you always get back as much as you give. Often more.

(This is the reason I'm a member of a mastermind group here in Toronto. I know that I've added thousands of dollars worth of income to my business through being a part of this - ideas multiply when several smart people are in one room.)

Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some of the things I learned - or at least had reinforced - last night. There's a kind of random nature to this - but I hope you find it interesting anyway.

• One person put a folder of newsletters on the side of his car when he was out on a job. People could pick a newsletter up as a kind of business card as they were passing by.
  
• Someone else said that the most successful real estate agents in his town used newsletters. We talked about why that might be - I suggested that it was because they had long-term perspective, because they understand a value of a client over time. (One of the reasons people leave my program is that they want to get results instantly - they're not thinking of a client's lifetime value. Instead of building a viable business, they go from shiny object to shiny object, never building any customer relationships.)
  
• On the theme of lifetime value, we talked about the cost of sending a newsletter over the lifetime of a client vs. the income you get from that client. (Understanding that the newsletter is one of the tools that keeps a client with you forever.) I did that math once for real estate agents - see http://tinyurl.com/lifetimevalue
  
  
• Treat nodes in your community with extra respect. Nodes are people with lots of connections to the kind of people you reach. If you're in real estate, for example, a node might be an interior designer. Make sure they get a newsletter -even several. These people could be power-distributors for your message.
  
• Focus on marketing your business, not doing your business. This is an old one, but something people often still don't get. You can leverage your time by investing it in marketing and systems instead of trading hours for dollars by working "in" the business. (I shared my story about why learned marketing as my first step into being a business owner - because I knew that without knowing how to market my business, I would have no business.)
  
• The power of customer profiles. A great way to get engagement with your clients and to share their success stories. Goes back to the old newspaper law that says it's names and pictures that sell papers. People like to read about people who are like them.

Anyway, like I said, this is all a bit random. But I hope you can see how much value you an extract from just one hour.

If you can get together with other business owners - preferably outside your industry - you'll be able to get the same wacky math value that I got last night.

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The efficient newsletter article

The chicken has 11 parts, I was told with huge authority by the 16-year-old KFC employee.

That was why I would receive only two breasts - the rest of my order would be made up of the other nine parts of chicken.

I guess that's fair, although I've wondered ever since what constituted that odd 11th part. Chickens, I had supposed, were symmetrical.

Indeed, I was pondering that question yesterday when I pushed not one but two chickens into the oven. That's 22 parts of chickeny goodness, plus an unknown quantity of soup, to be enjoyed over the next few days.

A super-efficient use of time and resources - a two-in-one combo roast coupled with full use of the chicken's parts makes an economic menu.

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES WORK THE SAME WAY. Never just write one and forget about it. Use it again and again. And when the words are flowing, write two and save yourself heating the oven of the mind next time.

A newsletter article can be posted to your blog or pasted on your website. It can form part of an auto-responder sequence to be sent out automatically to prospects who sign up on your website. You can submit it to one of those article repositories, such as ezinearticles.com, that help boost your search engine ranking.

You can also keep it in a library to pluck out when a client or prospect poses a relevant question.

(Indeed, that can work the other way too. It can pay to answer a client's emailed question thoroughly in the knowledge that you can use an edited version of the response in your newsletter. You'll have an impressed client and your newsletter written all in one.)

And once you're in the writing groove, crank out more than one article. You never know when the mood will strike again, so keep on writing while you can.

See - that's using all 11 parts of the article.

A bit of stuffing, and you're done.

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

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