Greetings!
Was Chicken Little a Sage or a Wierdo?
It's funny how the news is causing everyone to freak out. Heck I try not to pay attention to what the papers and newscasts want me to hear, and yet even I can hear the drumbeat of doom they are trying to send out.
Don't get me wrong, I don't have my head in the sand. (That's a good way to get a swift kick in the butt).
People (your clients) are feeling stressed out, frightened and tight fisted. Is this a bad thing for you? Not necessarily. Read on to find out what I've discovered.
Last time I sent you a link to a Frank Kern video and I am leaving it in this intro because it was so thought provoking.
To recap, what he says is that despite what you're heard about the Great Depression - more people became millionaires during this time than any other - until now.
Here's the link to that video again.
Please enjoy!
Karen | Ask Karen - Answers to Your Burning Questions
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A new feature in my mid month newsletter will be "Ask Karen". I had so many fantastic questions from all of those who took the survey, I am going to take some of the best questions and answer them in the newsletter. The first one is this:
I think I have a good newsletter but it's not getting clients to me. What am I doing wrong?
Maybe it's because your newsletter is too "traditional." Most people think of a newsletter as the old fashioned monthly or quarterly thing with "what's new at my company", some current events, maybe a recipe and whatever it is you have on sale.
There is plenty right with this scenario. First, this keeps you in front of your clients. Second, if well written, it brings out your personality and helps your clients get to know who you are. By doing a regular newsletter of this kind you are ahead of your competition because most don't have the bandwidth to accomplish even this.
A newsletter that actually makes money is more than a traditional, well-written communication piece.
Here are four specific reasons, that may be why your newsletter isn't "getting clients to you."
1. Advertising (or sales) vs. Marketing.
Advertising (and sales) is defined as trying to convince someone that they should do business with you. You'll find lots of great (and sometimes very loud) examples of this on TV. The yellow pages and most direct mail pieces also do this. Traditional newsletters are company focused with articles on what amazing things the company has been up to as prominent or sometimes the only feature in the newsletter.
Your newsletter needs to be marketing instead. Marketing is educating your client so that they convince themselves that they need you. Education marketing might be a series of articles or case studies that teach the consumer the importance of doing business with someone who does what you do.
Because you are the one writing the article (or borrowing it with permission from someone else) your subscribers will automatically look to you as the expert - someone they can trust.
2. Failing to Design With the End in Mind
Traditional newsletters commonly are stand alone pieces with no thought given to what the business wants the customer to do.
For example, if you want your clients to sign up for auto ship with you because you know that people who do that are likely to be repeat clients, be sure you publish an article on why running out of 'whatever it is' is really bad. Make sure the obvious solution is what you want them to do this month as a result of reading your newsletter.
And don't forget to tell them what to do. Things like "click here to learn how I can help you" or "Be among the first five callers" make it easy for them to understand how to take the next step with you if they're ready.
3. Lack of Consistency
This is a killer. Most solo entrepreneurs are terrified of sending too much email to their list. If you are not sending out a newsletter AT LEAST monthly, most likely your clients are forgetting who you are between issues. If you are afraid someone will unsubscribe if they hear from you more than once in a month - then they are probably not going to buy from you anyway. Bless and release them.
It doesn't help you one bit to have a whole bunch of people on your list who want something for nothing and/or get annoyed when they hear from you. Remember you are in business to make money and that should be no secret to the people on your list - otherwise how will you stay in business?
Remember too, that people need to see you between 7 and 11 times before they trust you enough to spend money with you. If you're sending your newsletter out monthly - that's a very long time.
Of course, you need to know your people. Some clients want to hear from you as often as weekly and some don't. My clients seems to prefer twice per month. The best way to find out is to test it.
Two notes: I wouldn't recommend more than once a week and be sure to establish a schedule you will stick with.
4. No "Personal Touch"
You may be afraid to put personal information in the newsletter for fear it will seem "all about me." True, you don't want the whole thing just about you, but you do want to give your subscribers an inside look at who you are.
Nothing screams "I am a real person just like you" better than sharing some information about yourself with your subscribers. Just a paragraph or two about a trip you took, a funny experience you had, or heck, even about your pets, will help people see you as a "regular person" and help them feel that they know and like you. Since of course, you are also publishing educational information in your newsletter, they are beginning to trust you too. People do business with people they know like and trust. You have it all right there.
I feel that the personal touch is so important, I insist it be included in any newsletter that I publish for a client.
Those are the four most common mistakes I see in other people's newsletters. Of all of these, it's the personal touch that has received the best response. Over and over again I hear things like "I sent out that personal piece and I got calls from people I haven't heard from in years wanting to do business with me." Trust me - it works.
If you're looking for more detailed advice about email newsletters please feel free to email me with your question. I'll answer as many as I can personally and maybe publish yours.
If you need someone to write, design and/or manage your email newsletter, I do have a few spots still open. Please call 925-279-1004 to find out if this service is a good fit for your business.
| | Karen's Monthly Musing |
I am fed up! I have had enough!
Have you ever heard the saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder?"
I tell you what - I am a BELIEVER!
My husband has been out of work since July and his car broke down last month, so now I have to live and drive with this person 24/7. I am going crazy!
So, I have come up with a contest.
I am going to employ the power of networking in our newsletter community to find my husband employment.
The first person to find my husband a connection that leads to a J-O-B will win a complete marketing makeover (currently valued at $500) for yourself or a business you know and love. Everyone who submits an actual connection will receive a special gift.
So here's the 4-1-1.
My husband is a totally W-2 kind of guy and has worked in title insurance for over 30 years doing commercial industrial research for huge projects like freeways, naval bases and amusement parks. He is very detail oriented, analytical. precise and reliable.
He's looking for attorneys who do claims or underwriting for real property transactions in California. Of course a claims or underwriting department in a title company would work too if you know one that is hiring. Another possibility is a county clerk or recorders office in the mapping or records research department. It doesn't have to be in California. All possibilities will be entertained.
Resume and references available upon request.
This is NOT a joke! PLEASE save my sanity! Help find Marshall a job!!
Call me at 925-279-1004.
I'll keep you all updated on twitter and on my blog!
Til next time,
Karen
| Is the Recession Taking a Bite Out of Your Business? Here's Help!
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After months of research, surveys, and elbow grease, I am finally releasing my newest book! It has many of the new, uber hot information that I've been sharing only at live events, all in an affordable, easy to read and understand format.
What I hear most often is that you feel lost in a vast sea of places to spend marketing money (and time) and don't know what to do next.
This book offers my very best advice. Click here to learn more | Would You Like an Extra $5 - $10K in Revenue by February 2009?
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Over and over, you've asked for individual marketing consultations and I have refused, because I believe there is more value in group work. You've been relentless, though and so I am giving in.
I'm looking for a select few of you to do a trial run of my new premier individual Marketing Makeover program. Because it's a trial run, the cost is quite affordable.
Why?
I need testimonials before I launch it formally.
If you're far away, don't let that decide for you. In fact, I am interested in virtual consultations.
If your business
- makes five figures monthly in gross revenue
- Has been in business at least 2 years
- Has between 1 and 5 employees
- Needs to increase cash flow quickly (4 months or less)
you are the perfect candidate for this program. You will make at least ten times your investment with me, or I will continue working with you until you do at no additional cost.
You'll get all of the same information I offered in the Marketing Machine Class (click here for info about the class)at the same price as I offered the class but it will be tailored to your business and what your business needs to do to make alot more money - fast
So, let's say your business doesn't fit the description above. Does that mean I don't have anything for you?
Heck no!
I'm offering the same program to you, however the amount of time I spend with you will be limited to four months.
| Featured Ad: Kick Start Your Business With Practical Marketing Solutions
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Free Marketing Mastery Newsletter
- free resources with downloadable pdf's to kickstart your business
- the proper way to ask for the sale
- reviews and recommendations
- free and low cost marketing solutions
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| Mid - October Networking Tip
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| "Excuse Me, But I Didn't Ask For Your Business Card."
Recently I was leading a workshop and I came to the part where I talk about handing out business cards.
One woman in the audience mentioned that she recently handed a business card to someone who promptly said, "Excuse me, but I didn't ask for your business card."
She wanted to know if I thought this person was rude.
A whole cascade of thoughts ran through my head as I decided how to answer that question.
"Wow, I hope that wasn't one of my students." and "Well, maybe she shouldn't have given out an unsolicited card in the first place." were among the noise inside my mind.
Then I found out the real reason she had asked. She was taken aback with a response she didn't expect. She truly was trying to strike up a relationship with this person because she wanted to help and they just didn't click.
"Maybe that person wasn't your client anyway" was my answer.
It's important to remember that not everyone is your client. Even if you KNOW that you can help them, sometimes they don't want (or aren't ready for) your help.
It's not personal. Statistically, 30 percent of your target market will never do business with you... You are not a good fit for them. It's kind of like the round peg and square hole thing.
Typically those clients who are not a good fit for you, whether it be a personality style conflict or something else, are the ones that you struggle with.
So when you are talking to people and networking, it's OK if you don't click with everyone.
Because networking is about relationship building, don't worry about pleasing "everyone." In fact, don't even try.
The last thing you want is to force yourself into a relationship with someone who "should be" a good referral source for you.
It's kind of like dating someone because it's time to get married, not because you actually like that person.
Creating relationships with people you "should" will end up being an exercise in frustration for both of you.
Your homework is to go to a networking event. Find someone new with whom you "click" and ask them to join you for coffee and to see if you have any connections that could help each other. | Been Trying to Email Me With No Luck?
| Earthlink is dead!
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Not really, but I got rid of my Earthlink account, so if you're trying to email me the current address is whatever you were using at comcast.net
So the three Earthlink addresses,
tulipbasket
tulipunicorn and
misskarensprodcutions
are now all at comcast.net | | |
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