Elements of eNewsletter Success [Infographic]


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3 Questions That Need Answering: Lessons Learned From My Lunch and Learn

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(Guest post by Mike Tanner) I recently (like, earlier today) had the pleasure of speaking to a room full of close to 50 people on a topic near and dear to my heart: podcasting. Now I’m not going to sit here and give you a recap of that talk. If you want the VERY basic details you can find them on my website but you’ll never recapture the magic that we all shared in that room that day... Instead, I’d like to talk about three questions that I was asked during the talk and how they relate to running your own business, podcasting or otherwise. How Much Do You Charge Someone To Sponsor a Podcast? Pricing is complicated. It’s a fact. Ask anyone who does consulting or coaching or training or anything where there’s not a defined cost or supply and demand issue, and they will tell you that pricing is one of the most difficult things to figure out. Whether you’re trying to figure out how to price your course or how much to charge for web copy or how much to charge a sponsor to be a...
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Successful Surveys: How to Ask for Information

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You really want to know what your clients think about your business. And getting suggestions and feedback from your subscribers would be a bonus. An electronic survey seems like the perfect solution. The reality is that only some of your close friends and fans will complete a survey because there is something in it for them (helping you). But you likely already know what they think. What's in it for everyone else? Stop and answer that question before you go any further. Ask for only what you absolutely need . The inclination will be to ask a lot of questions. But the more questions you ask, the less likely someone will be to complete your survey. For each question, think about what you will do with the result. If there is no action you will take, don't ask the question. To help whittle down your questions, consider what you would be comfortable asking if you were to do the survey by phone with your best customer. Offer an incentive. Expect to pay to get ...
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Slice Words to Save Money

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If you're beating around the bush, you're wasting time and possibly money. Neil Everton of Podium Media and Communications Coaching suggests we look at our writing with a critical eye and ask: "Am I prepared to pay $1 for every word I've written?" Unproductive words and phrases abound. I've written before about wimpy phrases to avoid ; here are some slightly pretentious ones to also slice out. “Due to the fact that...” Use “because” at the beginning, or rearrange the sentence to use it in the middle. “For the most part...” Eliminate this one completely without changing your meaning. “In my opinion...” Use “I think” or eliminate it all together. I'm already expecting your opinion if I'm reading your writing. “On a regular basis...” Save $3 here by using “regularly” or “always” at the end of the sentence instead. “The first step is to...” Chop out 4 words and simply use “first”. Using more words doesn't mean you'll get read...
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Success is a Personal Thing

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One of my personal success factors is being able to afford to have someone come in and clean for me every two weeks. It started 15 years ago when I was single and living in Toronto. I was flying all over North America and my housekeeper would come in while I was away. An empty apartment accumulates more dust than a lived in one. I was making plenty of money to be able to pay someone to do something that I really dislike… and go play. Each person has their own definition of success. Yours probably has nothing to do with housework. Understanding your own personal success factors is important because it keeps you from chasing after goals to which you are not emotionally tied. Goals that don’t feel authentic will be much harder to achieve. Success is externally evaluated but internally experienced. Behind all of the outward signs, the essence of success comes down to our own personal sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Evaluate annually. Now is the time of year that we are con...
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Is Your Website Working for You or Against You?

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Every time I do online research, I find broken things. I'm curious; I like to see how things work. And it's quite amazing how many times I find things that don't work, or don't work well. I'm not just talking about small business websites - even big brands fail sometimes. The thing is, big brands usually have a reputation which leads people to forgive or ignore more easily. I've written before about how important it is to audit your website at least quarterly. (I pay someone to do it for me and it's well worth it.) If you haven't done a website audit recently, now is a great time. Here are a handful of specific things to check. Is your website doing these things well? Be really clear about the benefits to potential customers and put that front and centre. More money and more time are great - but how much? Read and test everything yourself. Don't rely on what others tell you. I've seen a lot of non-functional website forms and suc...
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9 Reasons to Deliver Your Newsletter Using Chatbot Technology

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Nine hundred million people use Facebook Messenger as a primary messaging tool. Do you think a few of those would rather receive your newsletter that way - on their phone instead of in their inbox? And wouldn't it be great to give them the option? Now you can build a contact list and distribute your newsletter by Messenger. Here are nine reasons to do that: #1. People tend to have a Messenger account longer than they have an email address. When people change jobs, they will likely get a new email address but will continue to use the same Messenger account throughout their lives. #2. Give your readers a choice of how they want to receive your information. Some of those 900,000,000 people are your customers and fans. #3. Higher open rates - industry leaders are saying 80% is typical. #4. The timing of delivering your newsletter becomes a little less important than with email newsletters. (e.g. it's less important to deliver during working hours) #5. Se...
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A Call-to-action Formula for Your Free Download

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You've got your first lead magnet all ready to go and you've got a great landing page for it. You're anticipating a rush of new visitors to download your giveaway and discover how valuable your small business might be to them. If sending a series of promotional emails is the next step in your plan, did you tell subscribers to expect that? Near your sign-up form, you have to tell people what they're opting in to - the general content of the emails and the frequency - to be compliant with CASL (and other regulations). No one opts in to receive a series of promotional emails.  So how can you legitimately build your list and then get people's attention? Your best option is to opt new subscribers into regular, valuable content. Build the relationship over time and then send promotional emails based on the subscriber's interest and interaction with your content. Give subscribers opportunities to express their interest with call-to-action buttons and links. T...
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It's ALL About You

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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
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Test your Process

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Do you know what happens when someone signs up for your newsletter? When they click that little SUBMIT button, where do they go? If you don't know, now is a good time to find out. Your sign-up process is a critical piece of your newsletter strategy. Plan it from your potential subscriber's perspective. Of course, you need a prominent, simple form and a clear call to action with an explanation of what they'll get by subscribing. But what happens once that button is pushed? Test it yourself, start to finish. Likewise, your unsubscribe process is something you should understand as well. Do your subscribers have an option to be on some lists but not all? Is your unsubscribe process simple or does it require entering information? Is it a 2-click process? Caution: Don't unsubscribe yourself from your own newsletter to test this process. Use an alternate email address. These processes will vary greatly depending on the bulk email service provider (ESP) you us...
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5 Inspired Ways to Develop Content Ideas

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Inspiring quotes about getting inspired – no better place to start when stumped. You can simply read this article, but I'd like you to grab a pen now and start a running list of content ideas for your blog or newsletter. Each of these suggestions can be accomplished in just minutes! “I think I'm a born storyteller. Inspiration is all around me. I can read a newspaper article and come up with an idea for a book.”  - Jackie Collins #1. Grab a newspaper, or find one online, and start reading. Scan the headlines for inspiration – a topic, concept or how-to that you can adapt to suit your target market. "Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas."  - Paula Poundstone #2. Look at what you do from the perspective of today's children.  What is the future - of your industry, products/services, target market - that they can look forward to in 10 years, or 20 years? Use your imagination and h...
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