We All Want To Be Loved… Part II

Marketing

Okay…

So in preparation to continue our last discussion, I just sifted through my In-Box looking for the stack of Online Newsletters that I received over the past two weeks.

They are pretty easy to find, since… well… they all pretty much look the same.

Ahh … I bet you can see the point developing already.

Here are a few of the Subject Lines to get you started…

“December Newsletter”
“December Newsletter”
“December Newsletter”

And, oh yes… “December Newsletter”

Then, we have…

“December News”
“[Company Name] December News”
“[Company Name] December Newsletter”

And finally…

“Holiday Savings at [Company Name]”, and
“Try Our [Company Product] For The Holidays!”

Which BTW, still strikes me as odd.

I am not kidding… I was walking through the Bay Park Square Mall with my daughter last night and Santa looked like the doggone Maytag repair man… I swear he was the loneliest guy in the place!

So, I waved and then HE SAID…, “Happy Holidays!”

Can you believe that… “Happy Holidays”… from Santa. I couldn’t help it… I just had to ask him which holiday it was that we were talking about!

In any event, I did wish him a “Merry Christmas”… but alas, I digress.

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After all, the point of this article is about how to get people to read your Online Newsletter, and separate yourself from the crowd.

And not surprisingly… the idea would be to actually separate ourselves… to offer something that differentiates us from the masses!

I could take a hundred of the newsletters like those mentioned previously… mix them up… and there isn’t a person alive who would have any idea why they ought to open a particular one.

Same… boring… redundant.

And in virtually every case, the Subject Line screams, “HEY… LOOK AT ME! READ ABOUT ME! LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT… ME!!!”

Yes, we all want to be important… we all want to be loved. It’s all about us.

Here’s a tip… why not use next month’s newsletter to engage your would-be reader, and talk about… them.

Yes, think if my accountant sent the following headline…“This One Mistake Will Cost You $1500 Before New Years Eve…”

Or if my Chiropractor offered… “Three Facts You Must Consider… BEFORE Getting Your Child A Flu Shot…”

There’s a zillion ways to bring value to the conversation.

And I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I would absolutely read an e-mail sent to me by my Insurance Agent that read… “Bundle These Two Policies And Save 27% in 2010!”

This is so simple.

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So, what do Accountants and Flu Shots and Insurance Policies have to do with your business?

Maybe nothing… and positively everything!

Why not take the next three weeks and sort out the questions and concerns, along with the fear and the pain that exists in your customer and prospect base… then, prioritize the top twelve and lead with that in each month’s newsletter over the next year?

Now, wasn’t that easy… you’ll likely double your Open and Read Rates, and you’ll do your customers a real service by giving them useful and relevant content that is worthy and respectful of their time and attention.

Or, then again… I guess we could always tell them about how great we are in our “January Newsletter.”

Yikes!

 

Questions and Applications:

What benefits would your top three customers say they currently receive from using your products or services? Provide the testimonials as the lead story for your Jan-Mar newsletters.

What are the top three most frequently asked questions that people have about buying the type of product or service you offer? Answer the questions in the newsletter issues for Apr-Jun.

What three questions should they be asking before making a final decision on a product to buy, or supplier to use? You got it… you’re going to use these to headline your Jul-Sep mailings and get your readers to open them as soon as they arrive!

What are the three most common fears or uncertainties that people have when shopping for the type of product or service you provide? Can you believe it, you’re already set with powerful, interesting, and engaging issues for next Oct-Dec!

 

And yes, I look forward to speaking with you soon also!

 

Photo Credit:

FlyNutAA