The handshake newsletter

In the first chapter of my book, which is inching closer to publication as we speak, I talk about the old-fashioned hardware store.

The one on Main Street, where you know the owner.

It’s small, maybe a little dusty, but they always seem to have what you want.

(And if they don’t, you can have a good chat anyway.)

This local connection – it’s something we’re losing.

And that’s a shame.

But then, later in the book, I go on to say that newsletters can capture that local connection again.

Not just because of the content – the articles that share what’s going on in town and in your life.

But also in the way the newsletter is delivered.

I heard yesterday from a real estate agent who has been with us for several years.

He and his wife hand-deliver the newsletter to their neighborhood.

People see them in the street and have a chat.

And… here’s the thing:

They’ve calculated a $135,000 profit from their newsletter over the five years they’ve been using it.

That profit all comes from relationships.

From walking the neighborhood, delivering the newsletter, and saying hello.

Handshakes that lead to relationships that lead to goodwill that lead to listings.

In a world of Amazon and Google and Comcast and Verizon, old-school relationships provide a pleasant (and profitable) relief.

Here’s where to get your own newsletter. You can email it, mail it or deliver it by hand.