Why real estate newsletters are more important than ever
Less than 20 years ago, everyone needed to contact a real estate agent to get information about a listing. Now… they go online and it’s all there. They even go to Zillow and *think* they get a home’s real price. Tomorrow? Maybe they will find a way to bypass agents altogether. So what worked back…
My best year ever
Sometimes people ask us for examples of successful customers. Here is an email that came in this week: Hi Kyla I wanted to share my thoughts with you on my business. I am having my best year ever this year – I have been marketing my neighborhood of 250 homes for gosh, I don’t know…
How to use your newsletter to make your website work better
Most websites I visit (and that includes the websites of many of our members) don’t function as well as they could do. The fact is, most websites look the same as every other website. They don’t do anything to give people a reason to choose that person or company over any other option. So it’s…
Prove You Are an Expert and Win More Clients
Who would you buy from? The person who says he has the experience and knowledge to help you, or the person who proves she has? The world is awash with advertising. There's so much of it that we've become quite used to tuning it out. We switch channels on TV during the ads or we…
Article Ideas to Help You Connect with Clients at a Deeper Level
I was talking with a potential client this morning. He's someone who really "gets" the value of newsletters when you personalize them a little and use them to really connect with clients. So I got to thinking…what concrete article ideas would be helpful? Here's a list. (Don't just read the one from your profession –…
This Is Just for Me! A Secret to Higher Response
One of the ways to get a better response to your newsletter is by making the content directly relevant to your readers. Ideally, you would like them to consider that your newsletter "is for me". You can, of course, do that to some extent when contacting your entire database. You have a feel for what…
Article Ideas to Help You Connect with Clients at a Deeper Level
I was talking with a potential client this morning. He’s someone who really “gets” the value of newsletters when you personalize them a little and use them to really connect with clients. So I got to thinking…what concrete article ideas would be helpful? Here’s a list. (Don’t just read the one from your profession – they…
Ikea’s Basement and Your Attitude of Service
Reading business books or getting a business education can seem a bit like browsing through the downstairs part of Ikea. Your senses are overloaded by all that interesting stuff. So you end up filling your cart with rugs and glasses and can openers – when all you came in for was a Poang chair. Big…
What is Your ‘Why’?
Today I’m going to talk about something that will help you grow your business more quickly and – perhaps more importantly – make it easier for you to get up each morning and go to work. I’d really like you to do the exercise at the bottom of this article – and put the results in…
Testimonials: A Way to Make Your Newsletter More Powerful
I was reminded yesterday of something you can put into your newsletter that will make it much more effective. It’s called Social Proof. Here’s the thing: people are much more likely to believe what other people say about you than anything you say about yourself. That’s obvious, really. So that’s why I encourage you to…
4 Keys to Business Success after Labor Day
At time of year, many of us press the reset button. Seems like New Year ‘s Day all over again, except with more school buses. So I thought it would be a good time to look at some fundamentals – the four big things that make the difference between success and just grinding along. As…
8 Newsletter Tips from Our Clients
Today I'd like to share with you some of the ideas that Ready to Go Newsletters members have come up with for their own newsletters. As you know, we've been running our Newsletter of the Year contest – and we've had some good entries. I'll be announcing the winner in the next couple of weeks,…
The Most Important Number in Your Business
Do you know the most important number in your business? I bet that 9 out of 10 people reading this don't know the answer to that question. That's OK, because neither did I until not so long ago. But here's the thing: knowing the answer is super, super-important. Because if you don't know the answer,…
Will You Live Longer Than Facebook?
Will you live longer than Facebook? That was the interesting question posed by comedian Baratunde Thurston on a radio interview I heard last week. Barantude is no stranger to social media. He tweets, he Foursquares and he posts to Facebook. And he also has an email list. As it says on his website – Yes, Email! Here’s the point…
If You’re Nervous About Sending Your Newsletter…
…then listen to this short story. A friend of mine who runs a business consultancy says he's always anxious about sending his monthly newsletter. He calls it his "suicide note" because he feels he's putting himself out there to be scorned and shunned. Of course, that's nonsense. The content in his newsletter is excellent. An…
Meet Dulci! The eggs with a newsletter…with a goat
Have you seen the box of eggs that come with their own newsletter? Back in 2009, I wrote about The Country Hen, the egg producer that puts a newsletter in every box of eggs. I’m pleased to say, the eggs still come with a newsletter. As you can see in these images, this winter we…
Two More Ways to Boost Response to Your Newsletter
Today I want to share two easy ways to boost response to your newsletter. They are both being employed by one of my clients, an insurance agency in Hobe Sound, Florida. Indeed, one of the ideas was his. The secret behind both ideas is this: Relevance. Make your newsletter relevant to your readers and you…
Your Contact List: Build it or See it Die
Over the years, I’ve gained a lot of experience about what works…and what doesn’t. These lessons don’t just come from my own experiences, they also come from those of members. So I will be sharing some of these experiences with you so that you can learn from them. However, I warn you: I’m going to…
It’s OK…give yourself a break
When I was a kid, one of my first tasks of the new year was to sit down and write thank you letters for Christmas gifts. My mother stood behind me until I ground them out, which meant that by mid-month (at the very, very latest) they were all in the mail. Phew! I’m a…
Banned! How a Client Got Blocked from Sending Newsletters…
One of my clients was kicked out of VerticalResponse this week for spamming people. I want to share what happened so that you don’t make the same mistake. But first, some background. As you know, spam is a huge problem. Just look at your inbox each morning. And because of that, email software (such at…