One Little Word Can Go A Long Way


It's 2pm on a Thursday afternoon. I've been out all morning and discover urgent requests from two different customers as soon as I'm back at my desk. I already have a full plate for the afternoon and immediately realize I'm not going to be able to help both customers. I have to pick one over the other. Who do I pick?

The one who always says "Thanks!" It's a no-brainer.

Manners and respect will never go out of style. And they absolutely give you a one-up over those lacking... in business and in life.

Click to Tweet this Article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Successful Surveys: How to Ask for Information

Image
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 ...
Keep reading »

Build It and Work at It

Image
A newsletter is not one of those ‘build it and they will come’ things. It takes work to both maintain and build on each relationship that you (re-)start with each issue. Maintain: Give your readers what they want, not what you want to give them. Deliver VALUE in exchange for your readers' time. Respond to everyone who replies to your newsletter, even if it’s just to say “Glad you enjoyed it.” Build: Add new contacts to build your list. Promote each issue through social media to extend your reach. Make it easy for people to share and subscribe. photo by subsetsum / Flickr Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Why and How to Do a Wrap-up Article

Image
A wrap-up article is a logical and unique grouping of pieces of content where the grouping provides value to the reader beyond the individual pieces on their own. You might think of it like a themed gift basket. There are several reasons we need to be creating these wrap-up articles. They... serve as a great resource - valuable information grouped together use commonly searched keywords and phrases (good SEO) encourage deeper reading are often faster to create provide a process to repurpose past content remind us of what we've written and provide inspiration to write more Wrap-up articles serve us better than just about any other content we might create. Of course, we have to be creating content on a  regular basis  to be able to wrap it up. There are lots of different ways to group pieces of content : by topic - e.g. content idea generation, writing tips by use - e.g. how-to, conceptual, tips by thing - e.g. infographics, videos by user - e.g. for begi...
Keep reading »

Pick a Topic Like You Would Pick an Apple

Image
Consider how likely you would be to open/read articles with these titles: How to Be a Politician Small Business Marketing Healthy Foods for Everyone Dressing for Work The Benefits of Travel How to Find Any Job How to Be a Millionaire Nothing much exciting... been there, done that. How useful can any of those articles be? First, it would take a really hefty article to cover any of these topics well, and still, it wouldn't be enough. Each of these topics has too much detail to cover in a useful way. Much like we talk about finding a niche for our business, if we apply this to our articles they will be more concise and useful, will draw a more specific readership suited to our business. Also, if we're hoping people will find us through search, broad topics like these won't put us on page one... they've already been done over and over. Think about it like an apple tree. Instead of writing about the whole tree, pick only one apple to write about. Narro...
Keep reading »

Slice Words to Save Money

Image
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...
Keep reading »

Ink It when you Think It

Image
Do you lose track of your great ideas? I do and I know my clients do, too. I've written before about using an 'idea catcher' . Mine is a notepad but sometimes that's not good enough. Many people have said they get their best ideas in the shower ( here's a tool for that ), while driving or walking, or standing in line. Our ideas are precious but fleeting, and it may not be easy to capture them all in one place. The important thing is to capture them somehow. Handwritten notes : If your notebook isn't handy use the back of a receipt or a napkin. When you eventually write the article, include a photo of your note for visual interest. Typed notes : There are many ways to capture your ideas if you're sitting at your computer. I tend to use Word for lengthier articles or series (kept in a folder called 'content ideas') and I start a draft on my blog for brief articles. Phone or tablet : When you're out and about, use notepad apps, or se...
Keep reading »

Prioritizing Made Easier

Image
Every small business owner knows what it feels like to have a "million" things to do and nowhere near enough time. We are constantly prioritizing, sometimes deliberately and sometimes less consciously. During the past month, I've done a heck of a lot of prioritizing. Some of you may remember the old screensavers where raindrops would run down your screen. That feels like my calendar lately, all the tasks slipping later in the day. Last week I needed to start some strategic planning and knew I needed to get focused fast. On-the-fly prioritizing wouldn't cut it. My marketing hero, Bernadette Jiwa read my mind and came to the rescue. I encourage you to read her article Always, Sometimes, Never for a simple approach to business planning. I hope it helps you as much as it's helped me at a time when a quick way to get focused was critical to making progress. Click to Tweet this Article originally published in the Work Better, Not Harder newsletter May 30, 201...
Keep reading »

Purposeless Learning

Image
I love learning. It’s one of my favourite things to do. When I retire, I’m going back to university. Usually, I want to learn something because I’ve had a little taste of it and (a) I’m just plain curious or (b) I want to learn it so I can apply it to my work or personal life. I’m one of those people that actually read those thick manuals that used to come with new computer games before I did the install. There was a purpose. I knew what I wanted to do and just had to learn how to apply it. Learn and then apply - the better the learning, the better the application. I’ve been good at it my whole life. This year learning changed for me. I began learning lots of things without really knowing if: I was even interested in the topic I could apply it it made sense to apply it there were any benefits to the learning at all Lately, I’ve caught myself saying to people, “You just have to try it for a while to ‘get it’.” (Can you guess what I’m talking about?) A couple of years...
Keep reading »

Prezi

Prezi is a very different presentation software... I love it! http://www.prezi.com/ Check out this one I made to illustrate the newsletter set-up process: http://prezi.com/b0u1bxp8iywu/newsletter-campaign-creation-process/ Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Keep Your Content Fresh

Image
Creating content can be a real show-stopper when it comes to kicking off projects like a new newsletter, website or blog. I often hear some version of this: “What the heck am I going to write about?” Fresh, interesting content is important to ensure your newsletter stays relevant to your audience. You want your newsletter to be opened with a sense of anticipation. Remember that you have to compete with millions of other emails. How can you distinguish yourself? It’s not enough to create content about your business and products. Here are some suggestions for you to consider: Have a clear focus Of the many possible goals for a newsletter, what do you want yours to specifically achieve? Measure every piece of content against this yardstick to avoid ‘scope creep’. Write to your reader What are the wants and needs of the person reading your email? Think about the conversations you have with customers and colleagues. You can discuss these same topics by email. Tell stories ...
Keep reading »