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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What you can learn from Facebook’s experiment
Did you hear that Facebook was manipulating what some people saw in their accounts as part of a big experiment? Users were in uproar. And then the dating site OKCupid admitted this week that it was doing something similar. Now, it’s not nice to conduct experiments on people without telling them. But… … Experiments can…
The email “open rate” fallacy
One of the benefits of using email newsletters is that you get stats, including the number of people who have opened them. But… I’ve been saying for some time that you shouldn’t focus on email newsletter open rates. It’s the wrong metric to watch. And it could be misleading. There are two reasons. First, it’s…
Good timing
Here’s a little tip for you. If you join our newsletter service around now, you’ll get access to three months of newsletters during your free trial month. July is still available, so if you move quickly you could send it out this month. August is available (it was published a couple of weeks ago). And…
Why newsletters aren’t right for everyone
My newsletter company isn’t the right fit for everyone. Indeed, I would rather turn clients away than sell to someone we can’t help. For example, take Melissa, who left us on Thursday. She sent out her first email newsletter and got lots of engagement – a bunch of opens and reads. But… she didn’t get…
A lesson from teabags shaped like pyramids
Here’s a story that could happen only in England. A fight has broken out about the shape of teabags. One manufacturer makes them round in shape, the other like a pyramid. The pyramid guys claimed in ads that the pyramid shape brews better tea. The round guys complained, and so the dispute went into arbitration.…
Why prospects are like a vaguely warm morning shower
My hot water heater is broken. So it’s vaguely warm (if that) showers for me right now. Not so pleasant. There’s a point to me telling you this… because your prospects are a little like my morning water – they’re only vaguely warm when they first come into contact with you. … And it’s up…
Doing “a California” with your database
So, there’s this crazy idea in the works to split California into six states. They say it will make it more governable – a government for each of the regions of California, each with its different needs. Never going to happen of course, but there’s an interesting point to be gleaned from it for our…
As intriguing as a curveball bulldozer
The other day, not far from where I live, a great big bulldozer fell off the back of a truck and landed on its butt in the middle of the road. There it sat, looking like a dog begging for scraps. The picture made page 3 of the newspaper. Odd – incongruous – things like…