Research - What are your Competitors Doing?


If you've been doing a newsletter for more than a year, it's a good idea to examine your strategy, look at your stats, and implement some positive change. You don't want your email campaign to get stale.

Doing that, of course, means generating ideas. One way to do that is to look at what your competition is doing. Are they doing something well that you can expand on? Are they missing an opportunity that you can take advantage of? Is there a chance to collaborate?

Take a few minutes to sign up for your competitors' newsletters. Pay attention to the sign-up process, too.

photo by HowardLake / Flickr

Click to Tweet this Article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Search for the Best Blog

Although I've set up the odd blog for other people, I've never really considered having one myself... until 2 days ago.  My friend, Danielle, convinced me to contribute to a 'photo a day' blog.  In 2 days, we've explored WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger, but ended up liking Blogger the best.  It was the easiest to set up and navigate.  Of course, I'm happy as long as I can manipulate the colours and fonts!  So, after the learning curve was done, I decided that Daley Progress deserved a blog... and here you are.  Check back or subscribe because I'll be posting technology tips and other ideas for busy people. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Best Beginner Business Blogging Advice

Image
If you're planning to begin blogging for your business, I'd like to shorten your learning curve. Because, oh boy, do you ever have lots to learn. The good news is that you don't need to know it all before you start, and learning as you go is fun. I asked a couple of award-winning business bloggers to give me their best advice for beginners so I can pass it onto you. Mary Jane Copps , aka The Phone Lady , has been blogging weekly for her business since 2009. Here's what she says: 1. Embrace a schedule. While it feels daunting to commit to a daily, weekly or monthly blog, staying true to a posting schedule will make you a better writer, and you will develop the ability to create and uncover great story ideas. 2. Be observant; write it down. No matter what the theme of your blog, things will appear in your life each day that can become a post. Stay present to every phone call, meeting and event. Great content is everywhere. But don't rely on your memory; keepi...
Keep reading »

Super Easy Screen Recording

Image
For a long time, I've been meaning to research and find an easy free screen recording application. It just never made it up very high on my to-do list. A few days ago I had an urgent need to explain something to somebody and words weren't cutting it. I needed to record my screen while I did something but I sure didn't want to spend a bunch of time researching and installing and learning. Saying I am  really impressed with  Screencast-O-Matic (aff) is an understatement. In only 5 minutes I had recorded a 30 second video, signed up for a free account, and sent a link to the video off by email. Seriously, 5 minutes... my first time using it! As an example, here's another short screencast I made just prior to publishing this post, which was easy to share to my YouTube channel. It's about how to check your iContact statistics. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Selling your Newsletter on Social Media

Image
Once you've started your mailing list and are working to turn subscribers into fans , don't stop selling your newsletter. You'll lose about 30% of your subscribers over a year, so continuing to build your list is important. One way to encourage sign-ups is on your social media accounts and profiles. "Please sign up!" doesn't cut it. You need a compelling call to action . Here's a great example I found on Twitter from my friend and organizing guru Jane Veldhoven. Dare you to Go Ahead and Get #Organized by signing up for my monthly #newsletter http://t.co/ZRH8cwCMg1 — Jane Veldhoven (@organizerjane) February 2, 2015 Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Behavioural Economics and Small Business Marketing​

Image
After spending my adult life thinking I'm a mostly logical person (and being not so secretly proud of it), I just found out I'm not. And apparently the fact that I think I am is a little irrational. You might think I'd be a little sad to discover this but I'm actually thrilled. A whole new perspective on marketing just opened up because Dan Ariely told me we're all Predictably Irrational . Don't let behavioural economics scare you off. This book is insightful and funny, and a fairly quick read (because I couldn't put it down). I learned a marketing lesson in the first chapter that is so improbable... well, you'll have to see for yourself. It's powerful stuff and I recommend it highly. originally published in Work Better, Not Harder newsletter June 27, 2017 Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

What's Your Stumbling Block? Blogging Survey

Image
Ever since I wrote this article -- Where Do You Get Stuck? -- a couple of years ago, I've been on a mission to come up with solutions to content creation obstacles. coming up with ideas adapting your ideas for writing starting to write finishing writing editing and proofing finding or creating graphics keywords and publishing Aside from talking about this a lot with small business owners, I've also been circulating a survey on my social media feeds. If I know where people most often get stuck, I know where to focus my problem-solving efforts. Here are the survey results so far: survey results as of Jan-4-20 If you haven't yet responded to this survey, I'd sure appreciate it if you would -- it's only one question. You can click here to do that now. If you're suffering from any of those first three obstacles, using writing templates will help enormously. You can get a workbook here that includes 15 templates. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Check Things Off

Image
I have clients and potential clients that want to start e-marketing campaigns. They are stuck at the step of putting together their first mailing list. In an effort to help, I decided I would give them a specific list of things they can do to compile their initial list. To add to my own ideas, I did some online research. An article called “How to build your mailing list” sounded promising. The skill level required was listed as ‘moderate’. Good so far. It went on to say: Step #1: Create a well-optimized website… Hmm… I’ll get right on that. It’s hard to get motivated when we start with BIG tasks that are really more like projects. That article sure didn’t move me to accomplish anything. I didn’t read far before I felt overwhelmed. When I seek ‘how to’, I’m looking for a task list that I can check off as I complete things. Being able to check things off gives me a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue. If the first thing on my list is going to take days, w...
Keep reading »

Does Your Writing Pass the $1-A-Word Test?

Image
Guest post by Neil Everton , Podium Media & Communications Coaching If you are looking for a quick and certain way of giving your words more impact, look no further than your purse or wallet. Take a look at the last thing you wrote. It doesn't matter if it's a letter, email, report, newsletter, web content or promo script. Look at it with a critical eye, and with this question in mind: "Am I prepared to pay $1 for every word I've written?" Go through the script slowly. Strike out every word that isn't working hard to convey meaning. Make sure you use the active voice. 'The man opened the door' is active. 'The door was opened by the man' is passive (and two words longer than the active version). A $2 saving in one short sentence. Look for any of those phrases that slip into our writing unbidden. 'It's my considered opinion' is $3 more expensive than 'I think'. 'At this moment in time' is a long-wind...
Keep reading »

What's the Best Day of the Month to Send a Newsletter?

Image
Wouldn't it be great if I had a magic bullet for you? The thing is, if I did, everyone else would be sending their newsletter on that day and it would no longer be magic. What I can do instead is give you some suggestions to help narrow it down. Is your schedule dependent on others? For example, if you're a real estate professional, you'll want to send your newsletter after mortgage rates have been adjusted so you can include that information. If you plan to curate content from certain bloggers, and they all post in the middle of the month, you don't want to plan your newsletter for the first week. Think about what, if any, information in your newsletter is dependent on others and plan around it. Send when your contacts are using their email. This means that if your contacts are opening your newsletter at work, you want it to arrive during a workday. And you typically don't want this to be right after a weekend or holiday when clearing out the inbox is a ...
Keep reading »