Why are those dragonflies stuck together, uncle Simon?
That was the innocent question from my five-year-old nephew the other week.
Look at that loon!
That was my reply.
Because distraction works.
After all, there are some questions you simply don’t want to answer.
Way above my pay grade. Mom and Dad’s job.
Here’s the thing, though. This kind of distraction technique, while fine for a five-year-old nephew, doesn’t work in business.
Not if you want to keep your client.
For example, when it comes to our own newsletter business, we sometimes get awkward questions.
Such as…
Can I expect to see more business in the first month? (Answer: perhaps, but not necessarily. Newsletters are a long-term proposition – they are about building long-term relationships that bring in income over the months and years ahead.)
Is this all 100% automatic so I don’t have to do anything? (Answer: we ask you to check the email newsletters and schedule them yourself. That’s because we think you should see what is being sent in your name – and we think you should be in control of when they go out. And with the print newsletters, you need to download them from our website and arrange printing. Of course, we can do a lot of this for you – including printing and mailing – for an extra fee.)
Can I upload a list of email addresses I bought off the internet? (Answer: unfortunately not – most email service providers, including our partner VerticalResponse, ban that practice because these kinds of email addresses generate a lot of spam complaints, which hurts everybody who uses the system. And anyway, sending unsolicited newsletters don’t work.)
Those are three of the questions we get asked quite a lot. And we always give the tough (but true) answers.
Here’s the thing: newsletters work well for someone who wants to build a long-term business and is not afraid to invest a little time and money in doing that.
That’s what our long-term clients find.
Here’s where to go to try our newsletters free for one month (no dragonflies in sight).