Do what Feels Right to You

photo by tempophage

I had what I thought were a couple of smashing ideas for the newsletter design for a new client. She politely declined.

Of course, I asked, "Why?" (I must have been a real challenge at age 4.)

The discussion that ensued was insightful and interesting and helped me to understand my client's brand, image and personality so much better. Sometimes 'bad' ideas lead to great things.

The lesson here? When someone you're working with throws out an idea that they're obviously excited about, don't jump on the bandwagon if it doesn't feel right. Stand up for what's authentic to you, right there, on the spot.

Also, embrace the opportunity to explain your position so that everyone can get on the same page. That is how relationships are built.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being a Rebel (Book Review)

Image
Interesting and frustrating. Those are the two best words to describe my reaction to Rebel's Guide to Email Marketing by DJ Wadlow and Jason Falls. The book was interesting because it was well-researched and full of case studies and examples. It explains a lot of aspects of email marketing in great detail. In particular, the authors do a good job of describing how email and social media work so well together - calling them Batman (email) and Robin (social media). Their definitions of social connecting, social sharing, and other social terms cover the basics but they fall a bit short of offering unique ideas about combining the two. The book was frustrating because it was about email marketing in general and I specialize in enewsletters. I kept thinking, "But that's not true for newsletters" or "I wouldn't do that." Much of the information referred to promotional marketing rather than content marketing . While some things hold true for both, ther...
Keep reading »

Where's the Value?

Image
Some of you might remember the old Wendy's ad, "Where's the beef?" I was reminded of that when I saw these 3 examples back-to-back on Twitter. What's missing from the middle post in this screenshot? The beef. People are picky about what they subscribe to. If you don't give them a good reason to sign up, they won't even get to taste the beef, no matter how many patties there are. Good calls-to-action are not easy to construct but it's important to make the effort. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Make it Obvious

Image
“Put a sign-up form on every page of your website.” You’ve heard this, right? Well, it’s good advice… sort of. Half the story is missing. Here’s the other half, with context. Imagine that your best friend has just forwarded to you a newsletter that they’re raving about. You have a look and realize that you really like it too and want to subscribe so you don’t miss future issues. (This happens to me a lot.) You scroll around and can’t find anything about subscribing. Being tenacious, you click through to the website and spend a couple of minutes scrolling around and clicking. Still no sign-up form. I once called a lady in New York because I could find no way to subscribe to her newsletter, either in her newsletter or on her website, although apparently, it was there somewhere. If you ask people to 'subscribe', in your newsletter or anywhere else, you want to send them to a webpage where they can’t miss your sign-up form. If you don’t have it on a page of its o...
Keep reading »

If You Hate Networking...

Image
Take the lead and hold your own networking event. Sound counterintuitive? Perhaps, but you will be in control – which leads to confidence. Starting your own event will greatly expand your reputation, relationships and marketing reach. It could be a one-time event, such as a free workshop or afternoon tea party. Or it could be an ongoing thing – following a networking group or mastermind model. Leverage your connections and share the wealth. Find a partner with the same goals that you have and collaborate. You will be able to leverage all of your combined contacts and have someone to help with the planning, execution and hosting. Find someone whose skills complement your own. Here are a few things to consider: Timing Weekly, monthly or quarterly Day or evening - breakfast, lunch or happy hour Day of the week – avoid Mondays and Fridays Costs Free Cover charge Membership fee For profit or not-for-profit Location Hotel, restaurant, bar, club, coffee shop Central l...
Keep reading »

A Personal Introductory Message

Image
If one of your newsletter goals is to make a personal connection with your readers, an introductory message from you is a nice touch. (If it’s your first issue, there are some specific things you might want to include.) Your personal introduction to each issue might include such things as: a preamble to the content within a summary and shortcuts to the content within news that you want to draw attention to, like upcoming events special offers or new products and services This is your personal message and should contain your personality but it shouldn't be all about you. Write it for your readers. What will be of interest to them? photo by Sirelroka Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

It's ALL About You

Image
photo by MNicoleM When it comes to marketing, the experts say, “It’s not about you!” It’s something we always emphasize with our new clients, too, when discussing their newsletter content strategy . While your content may not be about you, how you execute your strategy is ALL about you. With all the tools we have at our disposal, there is no excuse for spelling errors, broken links or crappy clip-art. You wouldn't go meet with a potential new client without brushing your hair and teeth. Your marketing content needs hygiene, too. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Collaboration Works

Neil Everton specializes in teaching writing skills. Of course, good writing is important to a successful newsletter, so he’s a useful person for me to know. For 3 years I've been sharing what I've learned from Neil with my newsletter clients. That led me to ask Neil if he would collaborate with me on a lunch and learn workshop. My purpose was to give additional value to my local clients and share my enthusiasm about newsletters with whoever else might want to attend. Of course, Neil and I both wanted to increase our brand exposure and build our reputations too. Our collaboration made the work easy.  Here’s why: Neil and I share a common philosophy when it comes to newsletter writing. We shared the workload and each did the work we’re good at. We were able to maximize our exposure through our combined mailing lists and social media contacts. Within a few days of announcing the workshop, we were full up with a dozen people on the waitlist. Neil prepare...
Keep reading »

eMail Newsletters - Develop Your Strategy First

Image
The process of starting an email newsletter for your small business involves focusing on these aspects: strategy, tactics and tools. It makes sense to approach them in a logical order from high-level thinking through to detailed work. Strategy First This is where you consider that your newsletter strategy flows from your overall marketing strategy . These are the  goals typically related to email campaigns : Build relationships, community Grow your reputation, sphere of influence Be seen as an expert Share valuable info, products, services Increase your social media following Give value to your customers, prospects and colleagues on a regular basis From that list, identify 2-3 goals that relate directly back to your marketing strategy. These will guide your thinking and planning moving forward with your email campaign. Aside from goals, your newsletter strategy also needs to consider 'who' . Depending on the breadth of your target market, this ...
Keep reading »

A Few Good Reasons

Image
"Why do I care if I get along with my co-workers or not?" This bold statement came from a young woman participating in a workshop I was delivering at a Halifax cosmetology school a couple of years ago. It was more of a statement than a question. Oddly, it actually shut me up for several seconds. Not because I didn't know the answer but because I was surprised that she didn't. That day we brainstormed 6 key reasons why getting along with other people is critical to any success. Working together, we can achieve these things that we cannot accomplish alone: More creative solutions. When we bounce ideas off each other, we arrive at better solutions than we would alone. Implementing complex plans and strategies. Because the work can be divided, together we can tackle complex projects more effectively than we can alone. Learning from others' skills and experiences. When we work with others, we also learn from others. Endurance. If one person is resp...
Keep reading »

eNewsletters and Charities in Canada

Image
If you Google " CASL and charities " (in Canada), you'll find lots of reading on the subject. I'm not going to repeat all that here but rather give a quick snapshot of how CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation) impacts charities. CASL applies to 'commercial electronic messages'. This means that most (but not all) communications sent from charities are completely exempt from the requirements as they wouldn't be considered 'commercial'. Soliciting donations is okey dokey, as long as the charitable donation # is included. Things to be careful about ( may void the exemption): paid advertisements (funders/sponsors might be a grey area) promoting programs/courses "offering services to individuals who may benefit, where there is a cost-recovery element (for materials, for example)" internal job advertisements (because there's a commercial aspect, this may also be a grey area) Even if a message is not exempt, it ...
Keep reading »