{!date dayname+0}, {!date long+0} Dear {!firstname_fix} It's been half-term week this week in the UK so there has been less traffic on the roads, fewer phone calls - as many parents take time off - and the inevitable week-long TV festival of "Britain's Got Talent". Tonight is the "Grand Final" where you can witness a middle-aged telecoms engineer pretending he can dance, a retired piano teacher who bashes the keyboard while waving her arms up and down grinning, or a care worker who is so nervous when he sings that his right leg shakes like crazy. I'm not convinced we are witnessing true talent. But what we do see is a spectacle - massive staging, professional production, pyrotechnics and dramatic tension. The real talent lies behind the scenes. So you have to ask yourself - who is on your "behind the scenes team"? Few businesses can actually achieve anything without a "backstage" crew; if you are a consultant, for instance, you need to get the research done well. If you are an author, you need the editing performed brilliantly. Or if you are a trainer you need your handouts designing well. Like the "talent" on ITV tonight who all need a massive backstage team to make their abilities truly shine, we all need a team of "behind the scenes" people to enable our business to survive. I just wonder sometimes if we take them for granted?
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Why do you send out this newsletter anyway? Yesterday I was at a meeting of Fellows of the Professional Speaking Association where the whole topic of newsletters was discussed and it reminded me that a couple of weeks back I was asked at a meeting whether or not there was any point in sending out newsletters, now that there are so many blogs and other ways of publishing business news and information. Almost everyone in the room yesterday published a newsletter, mostly monthly with only a couple of us doing weekly newsletters. So apart from debating the value of the different frequency of newsletters, there was still the question - are they worth sending out anyway? Here's why I think you should produce a newsletter and why it should be weekly. Unlike blogs, newsletters allow you to combine a range of items all within a single framework. Unlike updates on Facebook or LinkedIn, newsletters are delivered only to the people who have specifically requested it. Even if you subscribe to a group on LinkedIn, there is usually a much less personal connection to the information. This newsletter is for YOU. In other words, newsletters tend to be about closer connections, which are more difficult to achieve in other ways online. Newsletters offer a way of greater engagement with your customers. If you don't have a newsletter, getting that closeness is all the more difficult. As you read this, I hope, you get a sense that I am talking directly to you. Of course, you know that other people must be thinking the same thing...! But the personal closeness of a newsletter is something different to a blog post for wider readership. But why, then, should you produce your newsletter each week? Because - if you are close and want to remain close, then leaving big gaps means you reduce that intimacy. Your local newspaper comes out each week and you feel it is YOUR newspaper for YOUR community. But the magazine that covers your region and which only comes out ten times a year? The chances are you feel less connected to it than you do your weekly local rag. Frequency of connection is important in how close we sense a connection. You see your immediate family every day and feel very close as a result. But that cousin you only see at funerals and weddings...well, you just aren't close. See them every week and suddenly, you feel closer. It's the same with your connection with your customers - the more frequently you connect, the closer they feel. A monthly newsletter weakens the connection between you and your customers. So, how can you produce a newsletter each week? There are two things you need to do:
You don't have to write much - indeed you can vary the length each week if you wish. But a weekly newsletter will enable you to have a much closer connection with your customers and potential customers who will all feel more personally engaged with you anyway. And that only bodes well for future business.
WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: We need to concentrate on personal positives This week I went to see the latest Pirate of the Caribbean movie, On Stranger Tides - if you get a chance, see it - it's brilliant; don't believe the critics...! In the film, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is searching for "The Fountain of Youth" - the mythical waters which will help us live forever. It is great for a movie, but obviously pure garbage. In spite of all the creams and potions on the cosmetic shelves in your local High Street, there ain't a thing that's going to stop you getting old. Like many people around my age (54) I realise that the clock has ticked by and that I don't look like that youthful (slim...!) person in my wedding pictures...! And I'd love Captain Jack Sparrow to bring me the waters from the Fountain of Youth to make me young again (OK, actually I'd really like to meet Johnny Depp). However, when I was speaking at a meeting the other day, the subject of youth and the Internet came up and I mentioned that "in spite of my age" I still knew a thing or two about this modern technology lark. But I was quickly told that I should not belittle my age - that it demonstrates a certain gravitas and experience. White hair, I was told, is distinguished. When we look in the mirror we often notice the wrinkles and the signs of age. But what other people see is experience, knowledge, understanding. Personally, we often focus too much on the negatives about ourselves - negatives that our customers simply do not notice. We should concentrate much more on our positives.
THIS WEEK'S "MUST BUY": Article Marketing  Article Marketing has taken a bit of a knock this year with updates from Google which have impacted upon the ranking of article directories. This book from the experts at WordTracker takes into account these changes from Google and shows you how to capitalise on Article Marketing to gain more links for your website. Article Marketing is where you write articles on your business topic and submit them to other websites for them to publish. They then add them to their pages, including links back to your site. It is, essentially, free publicity for your online business. This clear and concise book shows you exactly what to do, looks at the various kinds of articles and even explains where to submit your articles for maximum exposure. The book is 148 pages long and is available as a download. To find out more about this book, please visit: http://uklik.me/articlebook
AND FINALLY: From this week's blog... How to prevent Twitter from leading you to prison Sepp Blatter is coming in for a lot of online stick today. The much-criticised President of FIFA appears to be somewhat oblivious to the highly vocal complaints that international football is in crisis. Allegations of corruption are flying around and on Twitter, for instance, you’ll find plenty of people willing to say exactly what they think about Mr Blatter. Read More About how you can avoid legal problems with Twitter at: http://uklik.me/jazspC
To get my blog delivered to you each week in PDF, Kindle or ePub format simply visit: http://uklik.me/gjweekly
Kind Regards
Graham Jones Web:
grahamjones.co.uk Tel: +44 118 336 9710 If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter than you can delete your name from the mailing list by clicking this link: {!remove_web} Affiliate Links: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links providing me with a small commission when you purchase the item. However, I only use affiliate links for products which I personally value. |
