The Labor Day new beginning

I think of Labor Day as like a second New Year. A fresh start after the summer. So that’s why now is the perfect time to start your newsletter program. You’ll get September’s newsletter (which is available right now) and also October’s during your one-month free trial. Here’s what’s in the September issue: How big…

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Newsletters don’t work – unless you have this one thing

I’ve always had a soft spot for Capability Brown. He had a cool name. But more than that, he had a long-term vision. Brown was a landscape architect who planted vast gardens around the stately homes of England (think Downton Abbey) back in the 1700s, knowing full well that the landscape wouldn’t reach its potential…

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You…and garlic grown in rocky fields

We can’t grow much in my part of the world. Indeed, when the first European settlers came, lured by the promise of abundant farmland in the New World, many gave up and moved elsewhere. You can’t cultivate a whole lot when the fields are full of rocks. But one of the things that does grow…

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Hate it when showings get cancelled?

Don’t you just hate it when showings get cancelled? … When buyers flake out and just don’t turn up. … Or when sellers announce at the last minute that it’s not convenient anymore to show their home today. Now – people will be people. You can’t win ’em all. But I think you can do…

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If you done it, it ain’t bragging.

If you done it, it ain’t bragging. – Walt Whitman We’ll excuse the bad grammar for now. Because… this quote makes a lot of sense. Sometimes here at Ready to Go Newsletters we hear from people who are afraid to promote themselves. They say they don’t want to brag. And that self-promotion doesn’t work. Here’s…

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Hate it when they pick someone else?

As a 70-pound weakling, school sports were always a trial – particularly the part when teams were picked. Because… I was never picked first, second, third, tenth… Well, you get the picture. Sadly, many of us still face this ordeal now that we’re all grown up. Out of all the gazillions of agents out there,…

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If only they were loyal

Back in the day (and I’m not that old, so I am talking a decade or two ago), people were loyal. They had a sense of responsibility. That person helped me; I will be loyal. At the risk of sounding like some old curmudgeon, loyalty ain’t what it used to be. Have you ever shown…

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That little extra that makes them go wow

I ordered something from an online clothing retailer on Saturday… and the package arrived yesterday. Which is fast, considering I had opted for the free, extra slow (get it sometime around Labor Day) shipping method. Now, maybe it was an error. But I like to think it was an attempt at wowing their customer. And…

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Why a happy client left

We got this bitter-sweet email into the office last week: —————————- My marketing, thanks to content like yours, has helped me reach the level of customers I like to work with, so I am suspending my newsletter. —————————- Well, I am glad that the newsletter worked for him. But I am sad that he is…

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The Glorious Fifteenth

In Britain, hunters celebrate what they call the Glorious Twelfth. That’s the day – August 12 – that the grouse season starts. Good for hunters; not so good for the birds. Anyway… We here at Ready to Go Newsletters have the Glorious Fifteenth, which is today – the day we make our next newsletter available.…

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As targeted as a mean thunderstorm

We had some huge thunderstorms forecast for this area a couple of days ago. Inches – no, feet – of rain predicted if you were one of the unlucky ones in their path. Do you ever go online and look at the rain radar when thunderstorms are forecast? You can sometimes see down to almost…

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Candy bar marketing

Sitting in the newspaper office (I consult there and, hey, it’s a change of scene), sometimes I have to chuckle. …Especially at what the ad sales guy goes through. Here’s something that happened yesterday. A store advertises, and so it gets busy. Lots of customers. Yay! So the owners say: well, we’re so busy now…

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When your passion is infectious

I took a trip to British Columbia in June – my first time out there. Mountains, the ocean, whale-watching, giant trees, rainforest, eagles… Here’s the thing, though. The highlight of my trip was a barbeque restaurant in the village of Ucluelet called Hank’s. Now, wood-smoked meat – you can’t go wrong with that. But what…

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Short term plans for long-term businesses

So, this law student in Quebec has come up with this idea to “fix” marriage. Instead of a life-long contract, marriage would last four years and after that would dissolve, unless the partners acted to renew the contract. He says this would cut down on divorce. Hmm… In my humble (but accurate) opinion, this is…

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When everything seems a hassle, remember…

When the days are long, and everything is a hassle… and you just want to go home and go to bed… I find it helps to think of this: What you do helps people. It makes their lives better. It makes everything easier for them. It’s valuable. …Then, when you remember that, you have a…

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What you can learn from Amazon’s success

If you’ve ever bought anything on Amazon (and, let’s face it, who hasn’t?) you’ll know how spookily perceptive the site can be. Browse something without buying and you might get an email about it in a few days. Buy a book and you’ll see a promo about another book that seems exactly the kind of…

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Such a pretty, wasteful website

I’m in the process of buying a car. And by “process” I mean that I’m researching options… and getting stressed. Because it’s all so complicated. And expensive. Here’s the thing: You can get a basic car for not so much moolah. It will get you from A to B no problem. But then… …there are…

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Where the fattest fish lurk

We took the niece and nephews out fishing this past weekend. The blue Batman rod that the five-year-old uses performs surprisingly well. If all you want is tiny fish. “Is this a good spot?” they would ask. Well, maybe. Now, this question is a pretty smart one, if you are looking for fish… and business…

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The key to a successful newsletter program

Here’s something funny. The secret to a successful newsletter program isn’t the newsletter itself. It’s everything that surrounds the newsletter. I’d better explain… You newsletter is at the center of a well-oiled machine. That machine is designed to collect leads and nurture them until they become clients. And after that, it continues to nurture them…

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