Open, click or delete

If you send out a regular newsletter you want to know people are reading it.  Most of the email marketing platforms (e.g. MailChimp, AWeber, GetResponse, etc) send out stats showing how many opens and links clicked your message gets.  This should give you an idea about the success of your newsletter.

A newsletter has a number of elements you need to consider to make it work effectively.

The subject line

Om effect. This is like a headline; it’s what says ‘open me’ to your reader.  Honing your skill at writing subject lines that intrigue or engage your reader enough to get them to open the email is worthwhile.

There are lots of approaches that work:

How to [do something/get a specific result]

Have you seen the latest change in [something of interest to your audience]?

Time is running out … or 24 hours to go …

Do you make this mistake?

Would you like a special bonus?

These are statements or questions that tickle the reader’s curiosity and get them to open the email.

The header

I like an image at the top of my newsletters as it gives the message energy.  However, it does need to be an image that is relevant to the subject.

I know experienced newsletter writers who use a big headline and some info about the offer, special deal or whatever along with benefits.

It depends on what kind of newsletter you send out.  I like to lead with value (knowledge-based content) and follow up with a promotion.

The opening content

Like any other content your aim is to engage the reader as quickly as possible.  A conversational approach so the reader feels like you’re speaking directly to them usually works better than a formal approach.

If you have a knowledge-based article as your lead, you don’t have to publish it all in the newsletter, you can stop after 3-4 paragraphs and link it to the article on your website (e.g. on your blog).

Call to action

Every item needs a clear call to action.  If it’s your lead value-based item that might be a ‘read more’ button.  If you’ve got a promotion or special deal, it might be a button to take the reader to a sales page or an email link and/or phone number for them to contact you.

Long or short?

There are no hard and fast rules.  The main thing is to make it easy for people to access what they want.  In today’s digital world, short and to the point is popular with time-poor readers.  Links to longer versions of your content allows them to choose whether they want the short or long version.

A long first article can stop people getting to your offer.  However, putting the offer first may turn people off.  You could separate value and promotion into two different emails as an alternative.

The secret of great newsletters is to know what your list actually wants - then deliver that and you’ll get more opens, more clicks - and fewer deletes.

The 5 Cs of social media content

If you’ve dabbled in social media, know that it’s important, but have no idea how to make it work on a business level - or make it worth the effort you have to put in keep reading.

If you:

• Put in lots of effort with little result
• Spend hours trying to keep up with all the different social platforms
• Don’t know what to post

And think that social media is like a black hole - where you can spend hours for little or no return the 5 Cs will give you some guidance and a framework to start with.

Don’t bite off too big a chunk

The first myth I want to blow out of the water is that you need to be on ALL the social platforms.  First you need to identify where you target audience hang out and then be active where they’re looking. 

Start with one and get that working, then add another.  You don’t have to be all things to all people.

The secret of success is to have a strategy and a framework and then stick to it.  So what are the 5 Cs?

Creativity

Ordinary doesn’t get attention, so you need to get creative with your messages.  

What will get attention?  Is it a spectacular image that will catch the eye (but it has to be relevant) or a headline that gets people to want to know more?

Whichever (or both) you choose, then you need to keep the ball in play - that means you have to keep them coming.  

My tip is to have a list of subjects with:

• The most frequently asked questions you get
• The biggest pains your customer have
• The most successful results clients have had (from your products or services)
• Controversial quotes or opinions

Then it’s a case of how to frame these as posts for your chosen platforms.

Use Answerthepublic.com to find out what people want in relation to your key words/phrases.

Put your keywords into Google and see what comes up as the most popular posts.  There is usually a list of questions people ask in relation to a key phrase that will help too.

Colour

Colour doesn’t necessarily mean that you need pictures that are gloriously technicolour, but that you need to have images that pop and attract the eye.

Sometimes monochrome can have the same attention-grabbing effect.

In today’s social media world images are the hook that draws your potential client in, so make sure your images work hard for their living!

Charisma

Charisma is difficult to define, but people with it attract others to them.  That’s what you’re aiming for with your social media posts.  It’s not an accident, you have to work at it.  People with charisma often dress in a signature style or have something that is memorable about them.

You might develop something that is a theme running through your posts or a particular style of presentation.

However, one of the most compelling ways to attract people is to consistently give them what they want.  If you’re the guru and show you really understand what they want, your posts will have charisma.

Congruency

This is all about posting content that is in line with you and your business image.  While I’m all for shaking people up a bit, I want them to take me seriously - so I need to match their expectations on at least some levels.

Whatever your products or services are, your online presentations need to reflect those and create the kind of response you want to get.

Don’t get me wrong I know a business consultant that turns up on a motorbike and a marketing specialist that specialises in getting your inner message right to attract more clients.  You don’t have to be boring - but there must be congruency between your posts and overall message.

If you fail to do this your credibility can suffer.  

The other part of the congruency equation is to post content that works for the people on that platform.

Instagram is focused on images - so you need some eye-catching pix.  Yes, you can add text, but most people will see the picture and read the first line or two, but that’s all.

Facebook offers businesses two options and you can choose both.  A Page and/or a Group.  A group sets you up as the expert - and people are more likely to see the posts if you encourage them to turn on the notifications.

Posts on a page are only shown to a very tiny percentage (less than 1%) of people who have liked the page, so you really need to keep delivering great content that interests the page followers.  The Facebook algorithms improve the results when you invest in paid for advertising.

LinkedIn posts appear on the home page feed - and also on your profile page under ‘activity’.  This also includes any posts you’ve liked or commented on too.  If you have a longer post, it might be worth posting it as an article.

Twitter - short, punchy and to-the-point.  Good for linking to your blogs or other website pages.  Also a good platform for journalists.

YouTube - video content, but one video isn’t enough. To be an influencer you need around 10 videos around your keyword or phrase.

The content needs to be useful - not too long and to have a call to action at the end.

Consistency

If you’re not consistent in your approach and your messages, don’t expect to get results.

It’s a bit like a production line - once you know what all the components are and know how to put them together you can keep creating successful outcomes.

To start with it may seem like an uphill struggle, but you have to start somewhere.  A plan, time allocated to creating the content, a regular posting schedule all build into a habit that is just part of your week’s marketing activity.

You don’t need a fancy blueprint; a spreadsheet is all you need.  Date, copy, link and image in columns and sections for each platform and you’ve got the basics.

What next?

Schedule the time in your diary and get started.  If you need some help - whether it’s a customised plan or a done-for-you service - you know where to find us!

Somebody’s watching you

Every time you attend a networking meeting, visit a client, show up on a Zoom meeting, post on social media - or even chat with a friend - somebody is watching.  And every move you make is measured against your reputation.

A few years back I was lecturing some students doing their post-graduate degree in marketing.  When I asked what they posted on the personal Facebook profiles, they were insistent that it wasn’t relevant to their professional activities.

When I pointed out that smart companies always check out the social media of potential candidates, they said ‘that’s not fair’!

My reply was that it doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not, if you choose to be present on social platforms, it goes with the territory.

People make judgments about everything they see or hear whether it’s something they’ve experienced in person or third-hand.

I know of a job offer that was NOT made because of what was posted on the candidates social media.  While he was an excellent candidate on paper and interviewed well, his social media featured the kind of language the company didn’t want in-house.

If you belong to a networking group and you’re always late or you’re disorganised on a regular basis, you may be teased, but other members of the group will also tag you as ‘late’ or ‘disorganised’.  Even if they don’t mean to be negative about you, this is what they expect from you so it becomes part of your ‘description’.

If your blogs are consistently combative or argumentative, that also affects people’s perception of you and your business.

If you constantly complain about things or tend to talk about things in a negative way - that’s what shapes people’s view of you and your approach to business.

You can see how even small things can affect your reputation.

I don’t think you should try to be someone you aren’t, but I do think that you need to think about what image you’re projecting with everything you do and say.  People are watching - not to catch you out, but simply to build their internal picture of who and what you are.  Make sure you’re presenting the picture you want them to see.

What is a blog?

‘Blog’ is a shortened form of ‘Web log’, and a log is a record of something.  Remember how episodes of Start Trek started with Captain’s log Stardate …?  That was a sort of diary of events - and that’s how blogs started as people’s online diary.

Of course, these days, a blog post can be anything:

• A knowledge share 
• A story
• A case study
• A testimonial
• A product overview
• Or an overview of your week/month

The secret of a successful blog is to know what the people you’re trying to reach actually want.  Better still think about what YOU want when you go to read a blog post. 

We all have different reasons for reading articles online.  These can include:

• An interest in learning more about a particular subject
• An interest in a particular writer and their take on things
• Wanting to be entertained

So, while we may be interested in a product, we don’t want a sales pitch, we want to know how it works and maybe some user experiences or ideas for what you can do with it.

If you’re writing a business blog then you can include what’s going on in your business - but very few people will be interested in reading it, unless there is some real value for them.  That means you’ll need to relate the events in your business to what that means for your reader.  For example:

• If you’ve moved premises, they want to know if it’s easy to find, has better parking, offers more facilities or products.
• If you’ve taken on a new member of staff, your reader wants to know how that person impacts on them.  Does that mean faster service, more in-house expertise in a particular area, a new service or something else?
• If you’ve won an award - so what?  What does that mean for your customer?  Maybe it’s a good reason to thank you customers and suppliers for their support.
• If you’ve had a busy week what have the achievements been - for your customers.

My clients are often nervous of sharing their knowledge - because they’re worried that, if they tell people how to do something, they will do it themselves, instead of engaging the company’s services.  In reality that doesn’t usually happen - people do what they’re good at and what they enjoy.  If it’s not in their comfort zone they usually realise that they need help - and they already have evidence you know your stuff, so it’s a no-brainer who to pick!

Remember that a blog doesn’t have to be long - 30 words is enough if you can’t package your message in that (but that might be better as a social media post).  My advice is to aim for 300 words - it’s less than one page of A4 and will tick the SEO box if you have focused it on one of your key words or phrases.

Keep it conversational - and remember that people do want to be entertained while they’re gathering information.

The importance of strategy

One of my mentors used to say to me “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”  He was talking about the importance of having a goal, before you start doing things.  

Everything you do should be taking you a step towards your goals.  Every phone call, every email, every 15 minutes of quiet thinking.  They should all have purpose.  If they don’t help you to achieve your goals why are you doing them?

So - I’m going to assume that, as a sensible business person, you have business goals.  But you can’t DO a goal.  You have to have activities or actions to complete that to move you along the path until the goal is realised.  And that’s where things sometimes come unglued.  Businesses often have an end goal - but don’t always have the strategy and tactics to support it.  

When I’m talking to my business connections and clients I often get people saying ‘I need help with social media’ or ‘I need to be more consistent with social media’.  The problem is that if I ask why they are doing or intending to do with social media, they don’t really know.  The concept is that every business needs to be on social to stay competitive, but often there’s no actual strategy behind it.

Social media is not a marketing strategy

Social media is a tool - and it’s important that it’s only one of the tools that you use to market your business offerings.  So mindlessly posting on a Facebook page isn’t necessarily the right strategy for you - you may be better on Instagram or on LinkedIn or using Twitter to connect with influential media people.

All social platforms are not equal, 

A strategy starts with focus

Regardless of your end goal, you won’t get there without customers so the first step is to identify exactly what kind of customer you want.  

Step two is to understand what they need and what you can do to help them - what will the end results do for them?

Now you know who you’re trying to reach, you can start looking at where they hang out, what they read, who they follow.  That’s step three.

Step four is a proper tools review - what are all the various means of influencing these perfect clients?  Social media may be one, but what about articles in magazines, videos, podcasts, email, newsletters - and that’s just scratching the surface.

I call step five ‘Means, manpower and measurement’ - and this is where the strategy become tactics.  Who does what and how do you measure whether it’s working or not?

This creates your plan and ensures that activities are focused, consistent and scheduled.  Little steps take you a long way and if you keep take small steps in the right direction you will achieve your goal!