Simon Payn's Effective Customer Newsletters

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 Francher 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 *
Email *

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.

The Age of Conversation - Now Available

Today's the first day you can buy The Age of Conversation. Read more about it here and here.

In coming posts I'll pick out some of the most interesting articles from the book. But in the meantime, get yourself a copy by going here.

The story of this book's creation is interesting in itself.

The idea was developed by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, both bloggers who live on opposite ends of the globe. Indeed, they haven't even met and, as I read today, they've only ever had one (garbled) Skype conversation - the rest was by email.

They posted about the project on their blogs and in a couple of weeks gathered 103 people who would each author a chapter (I'm one of them).

In less than 2 months (after some editing and design work - and a lot more besides), the book is now ready - and you can get it in printed form at Lulu.com (a print-on-demand printer - it only prints books when they are ordered).

So how's that - 3 months from concept to ink and paper. Tell me the world isn't speeding up.

And tell me people don't like to connect, contribute and take part in a project together.

So how do I see newsletter fitting into the Age of Conversation? You'll have to buy the book to find out.

Oh, and it's all for a good cause - Variety, the Children's Charity.

The Age of Conversation is getting near

Rmember the Age of Conversation book I told you about? I'm writing a chapter in it.

Well, the launch date is next Monday. Here's a sneak preview of the cover.

All proceeds from all book sales will be donated to Variety, the Children's Charity.

Watch this blog (or Drew's Marketing Minute blog) for more details and a link to the Age of Conversation store on Monday, July 16th.

Here's a recap of the authors who have each written a chapter for the book - click on their names to go to their blogs or websites. Quite the list.

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

Age of Conversation

This is exciting. I'm writing a chapter for an ebook, called The Age of Conversation. The project, which is the idea of Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, is about community and conversation in the new era of communication that's developed thanks to web 2.0 and blogs.

My chapter will be about newsletters, of course.

Proceeds from the sale of the ebook will go to Variety, the Children's Charity. A great cause.

I'll let you know when it's available.

Here's who is contributing. What  a list!

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Mindblob (Luc)
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Bob Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Mitch Joel
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Krishna De
Kris Hoet
Kofl Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Pollinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman