I don’t want to cold call
“I don’t want to cold call.” That was the response someone gave yesterday to why they want a newsletter. Hey – I’m with you on that one! Cold calling is horrible. And in the vast majority of cases (but not all), it’s a poor use of your time. Cold calling positions you as desperate. It automatically gives the other person the…
The curious article that generated a ton of calls
I heard it said the other day that half of Rush Limbaugh’s listeners are people who hate him. But those haters just can’t help tuning in to hear what he has to rant about next. After all, you can’t claim the guy is bland. Now, I’m not suggesting you become some kind of newsletter shock jock. But…it’s fair to…
You and Old MacFuggle’s
Have you noticed how craft beers are such a “thing” these days? Even up here in my tiny part of the world, we have two micro-breweries starting up. I’m not complaining, of course – I could enjoy a pint of Old MacFuggle’s any night of the week. Sometimes it seems like the business world is splitting into two:…
One newsletter, two listing appointments
We’ve just started our annual client survey here at Ready to Go Newsletters. It’s something I’d recommend any business do. You get insights into what is going right (and wrong), and you find out what your clients really want from you. A survey can also be a great source of testimonials, like the one that…
Olive oil, newsletters and the real you
All is not well in the world of olive oil. It turns out, at least according to producers in California, that the extra virgin oil we import from Europe isn’t always so pure after all. Extra rancid, not extra virgin – so they say. Of course, Californian producers have a horse in this race. They want us to…
It’s not a chore if you love it
Once-upon-a-September, a couple of years ago, I decided to love stacking firewood. I think I had no choice. The pile of logs – as big as a school bus – had to be taken under cover before the rain made them all soggy. And someone had to do it. So in a rare moment of psychological insight, I decided…
It’s all about relationships
Now that I have reached the grand old age of 42 (yes, I’m so old/so young – take your pick), one thing has become clear. It’s relationships that count. Relationships with people. You can take away lots of things, but don’t take away the relationships with people I care about. The same thing is true in business, of course. It’s…
Love is done
It’s Valentine’s week, and I am reminded of the best bit of advice about relationships I ever heard. It was this: Love is done. In other words… You can say “I love you” until you are blue in the face, but unless you actually do the things that matter, it means nothing. So how does this apply to the relationships…
The bizarre story of a snoozing burglar
Did you hear about the burglar who fell asleep on his victim’s couch? And meanwhile, the victim’s roommate was sitting next to him…watching TV. He thought the burglar was the guy’s friend. They only figured it out when the victim came back home and discovered his cellphone was missing. And so was the “friend”. Bizarre story. I’m telling it to…
When they zig, you zag
I just got back from the grocery store I love to hate. Imagine a shop were the aisles are just two feet wide, where the containers of blueberries are piled so high that a sneeze topples them, and where the line to the deli is three bodies thick…and no-one will tell you where it begins or…
Like footprints in the sand
One of my favorite things to do is walk along the beach. But not just any part of the beach. I like the region where the ocean meets the land. It’s where everything happens. The fuzzy borders between natural habitats are called ecotones, and the seepage of ocean into sand is the daddy of them all. The seaside is a…
The Justin Bieber newsletter theory
A few years ago at a party I met someone who wrote songs for Justin Bieber. “I composed that one in the shower,” he said. I guess I didn’t show enough “awesome”. (Instead I was more “whatever.” More “meh.”) So the guy ignored me for the rest of the party. Which was fine. As a 40-something man, I wouldn’t know…
Chipmunks, thieves and customer nuts
The other day I watched a TV show about woodland creatures. One of the stars of the show was the humble chipmunk. Now…you know that chipmunks have a thing for nuts. Crazy about them, they are. Cheeks stuffed like carry-on baggage on a plane. The whole nut fetish isn’t because the chipmunk is greedy; it’s because having enough nuts is…
Why she just had to call
The phone rang the other day and on the other end was a business owner. She was not a client of ours. This person had been in business for many years, and every month she was putting together her own newsletter. It included all sorts of articles – some of them about what she does, but…
Why clients are like frozen noses
It was 20 degrees below zero when I left home the other morning. That was after a sleepless few hours – the house had been making cracking sounds all night as the timbers contracted. My poor old car started with a “do I have to?” wheeze. It took 15 minutes idling before it would even consider hauling…
Why I don’t care much about Facebook (and nor should you)
Here’s an interesting stat that came across my desk yesterday: Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring customers as Facebook and Twitter combined! Think about that. You would have to make 40 social media posts to get the same benefit as one email. Now…I didn’t just make up these stats. They come from McKinsey…
Just one bite
So there’s my five-year-old nephew, and in front of him is a plate of strange food. It’s new food. Something he hasn’t tasted before. His nose wrinkles up. Eeeeeewgh! “Take just one little bite,” says his mother. And he does…as if there is poison on the end of his fork. One. Little. Bite. And you know what? It’s not so bad after all. …five…
The shop that sold only water
Once upon a time when I was in Spain I ran across a shop that sold nothing but water. And it wasn’t any of your fancy water from Fiji either. It was your plain, good-old grocery store water in plastic bottles. Now, I know that Spain is a warm country and people need to hydrate. But how could a store…
New Year, New-sletter
I’ve often said that January 1 is my favorite day of the year. Way to peak early, huh? Downhill from there on. But seriously. There’s something glorious about the clean slateness of that day. A fresh start with no baggage. And what’s more, it’s a holiday. January is one of the golden times of the…
What newsletters are really all about
I was talking with one of our new clients today. Among the free bonuses we offer when you join our newsletter service is a consultation about coming up with a USP. A USP – Unique Selling Proposition – is, in my opinion, the most important thing you can do to market your business. Basically, a…