Annoyed With All the COVID Emails? 3 Reasons to Communicate


We're all getting inundated with COVID emails - yes - but I'm glad the companies I do business with are paying attention and communicating their plans. I need to know that my web host and other service providers are taking action to be able to continue to operate. I am glad that local restaurants (Finbars, for example) have staff volunteers willing to help those in need. I'm comforted to know that we're all paying attention.

During this time, most business owners are struggling with what to stop doing, what to start doing, and what to keep doing. Communication is more important now. Let's not stop but rather be mindful.

Here are 3 reasons why business owners need to keep communicating:

#1. To let your customers know you're running business-as-usual or... not. Many bricks-and-mortar businesses are closed, offering pick-up or delivery, or open for limited hours. Even people who work at home (like me) are susceptible to illness and need a back-up plan.

#2. To show your customers that you are paying attention and taking action if appropriate. Knowing that my web host has all of their support staff working at home is reassuring. It tells me they are concerned about continuity of service and also that they care about their employees.

#3. To share insights about how your industry and your customers are being impacted. Offer advice and tips (example), curate key information, share your personal experience (example), make a convincing argument (example).

If you don't have a mailing list already in place to communicate with your customers (and potential customers), you may be wishing you had started sooner. There's never a better time to start than now.

Click to Tweet this Article

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do You Need an Editorial Calendar?

Image
An editorial calendar makes it easy for people to work together, helping them follow a plan. What if there's only you in your business? Does it make sense to create an editorial calendar? Absolutely, but for different reasons. If your plan is in your head, writing it out will reduce stress - now you don't have to remember it. Handwriting activates the creative part of your brain and your memory . More importantly, having a plan will prep your brain to be on the lookout for appropriate content. You can use fancy spreadsheets, or find a detailed editorial calendar online. You can use coloured file cards, sheets of paper, or a whiteboard. The most important thing is that it works for y-o-u . It doesn't have to be like anyone else's editorial calendar. Of course, before you create an editorial calendar, you need to generate a bunch of content ideas . If you are like me, your content ideas may not be well organized. Creating an editorial calendar forces you t
Keep reading »

It doesn't have to be About You

Image
Let’s face it: some businesses are in a better position to provide valuable information through newsletters (blogs, social media) than others. Take our own newsletter as an example. We could easily publish a newsletter about publishing newsletters. (Stay with me here.) It would have lots of tips and suggestions and advice. We could really show off our expertise and share our opinions. Now, who would that appeal to? People who are publishing their own newsletters. Perhaps even people who are publishing newsletters for others. These people aren’t our target market - not even close. Our newsletter has nothing to do with our area of specialty. But of course we have to have one. What’s an 'enewsletter boutique' without its own newsletter ? So we found something else of use to our target market:  ideas and tips for small business owners shared by other small business owners. And (big bonus here) members of our target market are the authors of our newsletter! Giving va
Keep reading »

People DO Sign Up for Newsletters

Image
“Nobody signs up for newsletters anymore.” I heard as I sat in the audience during an Infusionsoft presentation. I gritted my teeth. The presenter went on to say that newsletters are all about what’s happening with the company and have no value. A filling popped out. I kept my mouth shut till I could get home to my keyboard. Here's why... I was chatting with a new client recently and asked her if she had a chance to look at the newsletter examples in my online gallery . She told me she had actually signed up for several of them. This is just one example that shows people still want interesting and useful information delivered to their inbox. People say YES to value. When they know you deliver value on a regular basis, they'll sign up because they won't want to miss it . In fact, stats say that 1 in 5 people actively seek out and sign up for newsletters to get the information they want. Creating that perception of value happens over time as you consistently mee
Keep reading »

List Building Questions Answered

Image
Back in June, I had the honour and pleasure of being a guest on Mary Jane Copps' monthly webinar . The topic was "How to Continually Grow Your List... and Why It's Important". We had a wonderful chat and answered common questions about list building. You can watch now on YouTube. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

How to Get People to Open Your Emails

Image
How long did you think about the subject line of that email you just sent to your brand new client? Will they be interested or excited to open it? Or will they leave it sitting unopened, floating closer to the bottom of their inbox? I've discovered a little quirk. In fact, it feels more like a secret I shouldn't acknowledge, maybe even a tad manipulative. It didn't start out that way but now I know what I know... well, I can't un-know it. Here it is. If I send an email to any of my work friends with the words 'no rush' in the subject line, it's likely to get opened faster than any other email I send them. Of course, this may not work any longer once my friends read this article. But let me be clear, I've never used that knowledge to manipulate. And that's why it works. When I send an email with 'no rush' in the subject line, I really mean there's nothing inside requiring their attention soon. Usually it's a business idea in
Keep reading »

Up the Value of Your Redirect Pages

Image
Many of the people connecting with you online are arriving at one of your redirect pages at some point. A redirect page is the 'thank you for signing up' page you send them to when they sign up for your newsletter, or the event registration page you send them to when they sign up for your events. Often, these pages contain minimal, basic information. A thank you message in the case of the newsletter or confirmation of event details (location, time, date, etc) in the case of event registration. But why stop there? For one moment, you have managed to connect with that person. You have them at your website and they have already let you know they are interested in what you are doing by signing up for your newsletter or registering for your event. Why not think about what value you can offer them while they are there? How can you expand on that connection? With both your target market and your marketing strategy in mind, take a fresh look at your redirect pages and con
Keep reading »

Storage for Great Ideas - Back of Book (BOB)

Image
Do you often flip to the back page of your notebook to jot down content ideas ? If not, start! When I'm teaching small business classes about online marketing, I insist they start a page in the back of their notebooks for jotting down ideas for blog or social media posts. This page will extend beyond one, but it's the start of something great. BOB (for back of book) becomes a new friend... your idea catcher . When you are looking for something to write about or post, check your BOB for ideas. Click to Tweet this Article
Keep reading »

Boost Your Expert Reputation with an Evergreen Series

Image
Writing a series of articles is a great way to connect related content together . It is also an attention-getter, encouraging readers to subscribe or return for the next installment in the series. And it can be a showcase for demonstrating your expertise on a particular topic. A topical series of blog posts should be planned in advance to maximize its effectiveness. Here’s why: The finished series will flow more easily from one post to the next when you’ve created and edited a bullet outline of the entire series in advance. You can determine your link strategy and execute it seamlessly. You can promote the upcoming series in advance to generate interest and anticipation. Suggested Workflow to Create Your Series Determine your topic and create your series outline. Create and post some teasers on social media with a call-to-action to subscribe. Determine your link strategy and gather all relevant links. Paste them into your outline or create a separate text doc to put
Keep reading »

Your Subject Line should Signal Your Intentions

Image
You might think it’s a good idea to use a subject line that will make people curious about what’s inside the email - a teaser. That tactic can work well if the sender is familiar. But generally, if that’s the case, there’s no need to trick people into opening. And, if that isn't the case, there better be something really amazing within the email or your reader will feel duped - not a good thing! Instead, consider a subject line that clearly signals what’s within . When people know what they will get and it’s relevant to them, they'll open. If it’s not relevant, they can ignore, and ignoring is much better than unsubscribing . Consider this example: Among the many emails in my inbox every day, I found one from my local pub with the subject line ‘Open me. I’m Irish!’ The combination of the sender and the subject line meant I immediately knew they're writing to tell me about what was going on for St. Patrick’s Day, perhaps food specials and entertainment. If I was pla
Keep reading »

Avoiding False Assumptions

I am not my own ideal client. Certainly I fit within the target market I have so clearly defined. Being a small business owner, I can identify with all of my ideal clients - we share many of the same needs and desires. But there is a distinction: I don’t need the services that I offer. Because I have skills and expertise that my clients lack, I also have different preferences and perspectives. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this... too easy. When making decisions or coming up with new ideas, I clearly wear the shoes of my ideal client, but not quite. So when I think, “I wouldn’t like that” or “that wouldn’t work for me”, I’m really limiting my options based on false assumptions. False assumptions can lead to painful lessons and lost opportunities. I’m trying to be more careful about the assumptions I make and the results I predict. I’ve written this across the top of the whiteboard in my office: “I’m NOT my ideal client!” It’s a constant reminder to consider options fully and not
Keep reading »