Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

Want 171 Marketing Ideas? Age of Conversation 3 Now Available

I'm delighted to say that Age of Conversation 3 is now available on Amazon.

This is the third edition of a book I've been proud to contribute to. A total of 171 marketing bloggers have each contributed a chapter. Like the previous two editions, proceeds go to a children's charity of our choosing.

The book is loosely based on social media - but that includes any marketing channel that encourages conversation. And yes, that means newsletters too (the subject of my chapter). It's interesting to track the development of social media from a fledgling concept when the first edition of the book was published to a mainstream marketing tool

Take a look to see how 171 people in 15 countries (led expertly by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton) can put together a fascinating book.

Happy Clients Make Me Smile

It's not often I post testimonials from clients here. But this one made me smile. Are you making the most of testimonials you get from your happy clients?

Thank You Ready To Go Newsletters!

 
You have given me the most successful marketing tool I’ve used in my 11 years as a mortgage agent.
 
I was skeptical at first. How could such a small monthly subscription amount to much of a benefit.  Boy was I wrong!
 
I sent my first newsletter in November 2009 and got amazing results. I got invited into 3 real estate offices to do a presentation. I  had been calling on them for a long time. I got 3 referrals from one office. I had never gotten anything from them before. I also got 3 referrals from past clients. I wasn’t calling them- they called me.
 
I send my newsletters every month and every time I send them I get referrals. I took a look at my numbers and I’m getting an average of 4 client referrals and 2 agent referrals each month since I started.
 
The thing I don’t understand is that these were the same contacts I had already been annoying on a regular basis with my "home-made emails". All of a sudden, these folks were actually reading this stuff!! And contacting me!!
 

I am extremely grateful for this top quality service, and as long as you want me as a customer, I’m on board!!

Victor Matos
Verico Newbridge Mortgage

The Back-to-Front Secret to Getting 'More'

I've been thinking a lot about giving recently. And not just because I'm still recovering from the holidays.

The thing is, you get more by giving . Let me explain.

Take a look at this post by Hugh MacLeod . It talks about how many well-known (and not so well-known) marketers are "selling by giving" - an idea that a few years ago was pretty much unheard of.

Says Hugh:

They put stuff out there, as gifts. Great content, great ideas, great insights, great personal connection. By giving so much of themselves, for free, every day, they build up huge surpluses of goodwill, so when you're finally in the market for something they're selling (and they're ALL selling something, trust me), they're first on your list.

Of course, he's right. And it's what I've been nagging you all to do with your newsletter. Give lots of good content, regularly. Build relationships. Be there for them.

And when they're ready to buy, they'll choose you.

But I think this whole "giving" thing goes further than that.

When you start to think of giving first (before taking) your mind opens up. You become an abundance thinker, not a scarcity thinker.

Now, before you delete this message for going all metaphysical on you, this whole "abundance" versus "scarcity" thinking is a central theme of the book " Free ", by Chris Anderson. He of "The Long Tail." I've just finished reading it.

In the days before computers and the internet, everything was "stuff". Atoms. There were only so many atoms to go around. To create more stuff, you had to dig atoms out of the ground.

But now, thanks to digital technology, we have abundance. Information is free. It can be duplicated for nothing - just hit the Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V enough times.

So that means many businesses can afford to give stuff away.

For example, forward-thinking bands (unlike most of the backward-thinking music industry) are making money by giving their music away free. How? Because the music comes in digital form, which is easy to duplicate (and no one can stop pirates copying stuff), so you can give it away free and increase your market share at no extra cost to the band. The musicians then make their money on concerts, merchandise and even souvenir CDs of their music. And because they've given so much of their stuff away for nothing, their market is that much bigger, meaning that the revenues from their "physical" products that much bigger too.

I'd do the same with my newsletters - if I had a physical product to make money on. Maybe in future I will. (I do, as you know, give a free trial - it allows people to try the newsletter at no risk, and thereby brings me more business.)

So can you imagine how being able to give a whole bunch of stuff away free expands your mind and increases your possibilities?

One last thought. For many years, I'd heard people say that the more money you give away, the more comes back to you.

Frankly, I thought it was nonsense.

But last November I went to an event - the sole purpose of which was to pledge money to charity. I gave some money personally and on behalf of Ready to Go Newsletters.

Not only did the night produce a huge adrenaline rush (can you imagine what it's like to be in a room of people who gave away $30,000 in about 20 minutes...during a recession?) but I also believe it led to more income coming my way the month after.

Why? Because if you feel you have enough money to just give it away, you know you have sufficient money to live on...and you stop thinking about not having enough - which is what most people do, most of the time.

This works even if you give just a dollar.

You have enough stuff that you can afford to give some of it away.

Your mind moves from scarcity to abundance, and once you start thinking of what you have and not what you don't have, you become more optimistic and you create more opportunities for yourself.

Now, some of you are probably thinking that this is a bunch of nonsense.

But try humoring me.

Over the next month, deliberately give something away. Maybe it's money. Maybe it's information.

Instead of keeping things to yourself, share them in your newsletter or on your website.

30 Days in November, 30 Interesting Messages

Want to take part in an interesting experiment?

Want to see me potentially humiliate myself in front of thousands?

I've been challenged by copywriter John Fancher to hone my email writing skills.

He has pledged to create one auto-responder message each day.

What is an autoresponder? It's computer software that automatically sends emails to your prospects and clients. You pre-load the content, which could be months' worth of newsletters and email messages, and the system does the rest. If you want to try one, go to my website and complete the box there.)

Why is this challenge worthwhile? Auto-responder email sequences are a great way to build relationships  with prospects and customers without you having to do a lot of manual work - and the best way to get good at writing them is to practice.

So...to get my own practice (to get ready for a new product I'm launching early next year) I too am pledging to write one interesting email message a day for 30 days in November.

What will I write about? Well, it will be roughly related to the content of this blog. But we'll see...

Will I succeed?

Will I have anything interesting to write about?

Will I be able to add value to the lives of people who read them?

It's up to you to decide.

Just complete the form below and you'll get signed up to receive them. You can of course unsubscribe the moment you get bored or the moment I annoy you too much (although I hope that doesn't happen.)

Contact Information
First Name *
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So what's that new project you're talking about?

Well, it's related to my 30 days of emails. I'm not ready to give you details yet, but I can tell you that anyone who signs up will be eligible for a discount or some other kind of bonus.

[Picture by Lincolnian]

A Newsletter for Every Business - Free PDF Guide

Regular readers of this blog will know I'm on a mission: to get every business in the world (even funeral homes) to have a newsletter.

So I'm giving away a huge PDF guide, called "A Newsletter for Every Business, Why every business (even a funeral home) needs a newsletter, how to turn newsletter writing from chore to passion, and how to make your newsletter your best marketing tool...ever."

You don't need to give your email address to download it, just right-click here and choose "save as".

Plus: there's other free stuff available at this link: http://www.anewsletterforeverybusiness.com

Please send me your feedback.

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.

Email Newsletters for Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Brokers and Insurance Agents and Brokers

Here's a (mercifully infrequent) new product announcement.

I've recently launched an email newsletter (ezine) service in addition to my printed newsletter service.

It's aimed at real estate agents, mortgage brokers and insurance agents.

I've partnered with Vertical Response to get the benefit of their excellent email delivery product and customer service.

To find out more, click on one of these links: real estate newsletters, mortgage newsletters, insurance newsletters.

New Product: Newsletter for Insurance Agents and Brokers

I've launched a new product for insurance agents and brokers. You can read more about it on this press release and try it free for 2 months at this link.

The Age of Conversation: The Sequel

I'm privileged to be joining 236 - yes, 236! - other authors by contributing to the second edition of The Age of Conversation.

Here's a list of who else is contributing. Click on their names to check out their blogs and websites.

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff,

The newsletter spectrum

There's so such thing as a typical newsletter, of course.

It's a spectrum, from down-and-dirty, straight from the kitchen table written by your spouse...to glossy, designed by Madison Avenue and crafted by a team of high-paid wordsmiths

Both ends of the spectrum have their place, because you want a newsletter that matches the clients you are trying to reach. A neighborhood plumber with a glossy newsletter would lose his authenticity; a high-end fashion retailer with a handwritten photocopy would damage its brand.

But for most people - and especially small businesses - something in between suits best.

And it's why a good newsletter company will give you the full spectrum of newsletters.

***Blatant self-promotion coming***

That's why I'm changing my custom newsletter service to offer a much wider variety of products. I'm offering everything from the standard Ready to Go Newsletter to a fully-customized, gorgeous product you'll want to frame.

You can have the works if that's the best thing for you. But I'll also stop you wasting money unnecessarily by offering you a newsletter with an off-the-shelf template-based design or with lots of standard, boiler-plate content.

After all, it's about return on investment. It's about something that works for you.

Visit this link for more info on my customized newsletter services.