Keeping Online Newsletters 1-To-1

Hello to all...

Tis the day "after" Christmas and hope you are feeling a moment of calm. All is done, love abounds, life is good. I hope this is what you are feeling all day today ... if not all day, for at lease just one moment at some point within today!

Soon all will begin again and I thought I would start a short series of blogs about online newsletters! Do you use one? Has it created good things for you?

The importance of having an online newsletter has kind of taken a backseat with all the buzz about social networking. People do mention the importance of list building but I haven't seen much lately on how to maximize the power of your list.

I believe we all know the basics. You create a mailing list and then send out information to that list. However ... the competitive edge these days in business lies within the strength of your relationships. Your mailings to your list can serve a huge role in building strong relationships! Do you think about that when creating your mailings?

There are several ways to achieve relationship building with a mailing, but today I just want to speak of your mindset when first writing your mailing's content. Let's just visualize right now sitting down at your desk and starting to develop your content for your mailing .....

• First thing we usually think about is what we want to say! That's cool.
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• Next we need to think about who we are saying it to. Is the information you want to deliver meaningful for everyone on your list? Let's assume right now it is. Cool.
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• Now you have to write your content. Here again you are sending a 1-to-1 communication to "many" ... and, you have to write your content as if you were just speaking to one person. If not, your communication becomes much, much easier for people to skim over and pretty much waste all your effort! Your message becomes an "ad" vs. a "communication." That said, there are times for "ads" .. .but if you are doing a newsletter about your business .. .the more 1-to-1 in feeling you can provide, the better your bonding.
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• How do you write 1-to-1 when mailing to many? The best exercise I can give you is one I mention a lot and that is to pretend someone on your mailing list is sitting at your desk. Start talking out loud to that person about what you want to say. Then write down exactly what you said in the same way on paper. You'll get the idea pretty quickly and see the difference!
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• Do one more review of the people on your list and make sure you have written something that they can all relate to and that will strengthen your relationship. Read you message to yourself as if "you" were receiving it.
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• You are now one step closer to maximizing your newsletter maling.

Tomorrow I will talk a bit about what happens when you don't know who would not be interested in the information you want to send to your list. It's a biggie so make sure you check my blog out tomorrow. You can subscribe on the right side my blog, right here, just to make sure you catch tomorrow's posting . Would love to have you on board!

Also please share with us if what I wrote today makes sense! What are your experiences in writing this way ... 1-to-1 to many!

Keep your business growing ...
margie

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas morning .... very early. I just got back to my house after making an early AM duty call as the birthday fairy! My graphic artist has a son turning 5 today.. yes, on Christmas day, and I play birthday fairy by leaving a balloon outside for Stevie, his son, to find when he wakes up ... after he discovers Santa of course!

Driving through LA, even early, early, on Christmas morning found lots of creatures stirring. I couldn't help but wonder where everyone was going and/or coming from at that hour. Were they all birthday fairies??

Stopped off at Dunken doughnuts for a Christmas muffin and coffee and early AM "workers" were in line! A policeman was getting a dozen doughnuts for the station, a couple of gruffy older men got their doughnuts and hopped into pickup trucks of one sort or another. I tried some early morning "Merry Christmas" greetings and got blank stares back! Even the policeman looked a little puzzled. They probably thought I was loose from a mental ward at that hour as well.

Driving back home I noticed the BIG BLUE LA bus at a stop light. Couldn't help but wonder who got that duty. Who would be on the bus early in Christmas AM ... and would they all be sad and lost souls???

Don't quite know why I am sharing this except all this quiet time early in the AM has left me thinking about all the situations that exist for people here in my community and in cyberspace!

If technology can do one thing positive, I hope it can create some platforms for "humans" to help each other. I hope we can bundle our efforts and achieve for human beings what I have had as a goal for businessess ... all of my career in technology ... "getting the most productivity for the least overhead!"

As you go out on the internet ... in whatever capacity ... always leave your mind open for what people are thinking or experiencing on the other end of your communications. Always reach out, send out your "light" .. focus on what helps and is good! Be a lifting spirit ... set your sites on making connections that create good and "wondrous" things! It will build.

Merry Christmas!

Keep your business growing ...
margie

Social Networking Friends Are "Real" People!

Merry Christmas! Even if you don't celebrate Christmas the spirit of the greeting is one of love, joy and fellowship. It is a wonderful to wrap all that up into one greeting and I extend it to you "all" of you!

Being that my last posting was about how impersonal a "pinged" message can appear ... it seems timely to remind you all that your social networking friends are real people. Stop and take note of the "new" connections you have made over the last year. I am sure there are at least a couple of people you feel a distinct "bond" with ... people that you met strictly via social networking, i.e. previously total strangers. Send them a personal holiday greeting!

Should a Christmas message not seem appropriate .. certainly a direct, 1-to-1 Happy New Year message should be comfortable. Just like in "live" friendships ("live" meaning offline friendships) .. your social network friends are real people. They appreciate being acknowledged as such.

If a direct message is "too much" ... you might leave at least a "comment" to one of their postings with a holiday hello or on twitter send a direct reply ... just to say Merry Christmas or Happy New Year!

Just a final point ... if you are not yet comfortable with social networking, just doing the above might bring social networking more into perspective as to what it is all about ... simply talking with people, making connections and forming relationships.

Merry Christmas!

Keep your business growing,
margie

To "PING" Or Not To!

So many people are saying to use "PING" for saving time when posting on social networks. Are you using it? Do you like it?

PING, for those not familiar with the term, is a webpage where you can enter a post and have it automatically go to as many social networks that you choose at the same time. It does save much time in terms of "writing" .... but does it gain you any time in relationship building and the final goal of generating new, repeat and referral business?

The only time I feel that PING is possibly appropriate is when you are providing an object that is, what it is, and just need blanket advertising. Not much can be said about this product .. it is something that everyone needs or could use, and only needs a lot of visibility in order to be sold. Most of us do not have this type of service or product.

So for the rest of us, here are my thoughts on postings and the use of PING. You may differ, I welcome your input. Basically I think the strongest asset of being able to post is to create online conversation and the use of PING defeats this! It's that simple!

Let's step off the internet and pretend we are at a networking mixer. You go around the room and meet lots of people and you use the same introduction but based upon the personalities and conversation syle around you at the moment, you may phrase your introduction differently in order to "fit in" better. It allows you to make a better connection.

Going back to the internet, if you look at various social networks, they each have their own personality and for that matter even conversation style! LinkedIn is all business, facebook can have a warmer family feel, etc. If you PING your messages you are speaking the same to each network of people. It works .. sure. But is it maximizing your effort?

I also like to strategize my use of the social networks. I like to find new contacts on Twitter and bring them over to facebook to further nurture the relationship. I will often use the same topic on a posting for each network but present the topic differently per network. My goal isn't to see how many contacts I can create, but how much new business I can generate.

Comparing Twitter and facebook brings up another point! Twitter only allows 140 characters. Facebook allows more! If you PING the same post ... someone loses out! Either the twitter message gets cut off ( I hate that!) or the facebook capabilities aren't maximized.

Also ... how do you react when you see the same post arrive twice or three times in a row because of automatic postings? Or ... when you go to different social networks you belong to and see the same communication, in the same format, from the same person. Do you feel like they are trying to communicate with you or just going through the motions? To me it's like the Christmas card with the printed name. Hand written signatures are much more personal and connecting!

Those are my thoughts on the subject. I personally have no use for PING. BUT many disagree with me. Here's your chance .. convince me I am missing something? Please share with us here :-)

Keep your business growing ...

margie

I Can Never Think Of Anything To Say On Social Networks!

Do you ever go to a social network with the best of intentions, read other people's postings and then go blank? It's a common experience, you are not alone!

Not knowing what to say, or post, is probably the largest reason people stop participating on social networks. Also a major reason that people feel social networking is a waste of time. If you are going through this I'd love to know your specific reactions and challenges. Please share. In the mean time maybe what I share with you here will help.

Try making it all more real. By that I mean keep the "likeness" of offline ( that monthly or weekly networking meeting you attend) to online social networking in mind. Take the same approach ... in both scenarios you have an opportunity to meet new people who might want to do business with you. At the same time you become friends with them as well as others who may not need your services but might know someone who does. You often also meet people who do the same thing. Keeping this in mind will give you a purpose for being on the social network and help your mindset.

HOWEVER .. all the above said, there is one major difference!! Online networking happens more frequently ... you can't use that offline 30 second commercial you use once a week or month over and over in online networking!! So the challenge of what to say begins!

I've discovered that you have to think small! Yup .. tiny pieces. Assuming you are on the social networks to generate business you want to create conversations around what you offer. It is important that you do not resort to hard core sales messages, but you do want to attract people to what you offer.

One of the best selling techniques "anywhere" let alone on social networks is to create conversation around the benefits of what you sell. People do not buy items or services, per se, they buy what the product or service provides them!

So where do you begin? Break down what you offer into its smallest pieces. What is the smallest item someone can buy from you? Build you list with each individual item and then whatever bundles of items you may offer. Go back and list what type of person would buy each item and "why?" The "why" is your benefit! You will be amazed at what you end up seeing on paper.

Each and every "why" on your paper is a posting! Combine with the openers from yesterday's blog and you have a wealth of postings. Saves you lots of time and makes you productive! Here is link to a blank form to get you started.

Go slow ... and all of a sudden you will catch the fever. Use these postings to attract and also to be "hooks" for the people out there who need the benefits of what you offer! And one last very important point ... have fun doing it!

Let us all know how it goes!

Keep your business growing ...
margie

10 Posting Openings That "Connect You!"

If you want your online social networking postings to initiate interaction you really have to write your postings with that intent in mind. You don't get many characters to work with on most social networks, so you have to give a bit of thought to maximize your results!

One simple tip that helps is to write so that you "engage” your readers. You want them to read, relate and respond to you. If this seems difficult, try pretending they are sitting at your desk and just start "talking" to them. Put what you say in writing! Really helps to get the ball rolling! Just make sure no one is watching you from a far! :-)

Also you want to talk “with” not “at” or “to” your readers. Here are some "openings" that will help make it easy for you ...

1. Do you know …
   Do you think …
   Do you have …
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2. Have you ever thought ...
   Have you ever said ...
   Have you ever been ...
   x
3. As you go ...
   As you think about ...
   As you read ...
   As you play ...
   x
4. What do you think ...
   What do you do ...
   What do you say ...
   x
5. What would be ..
   What would happen ...
   What would you say, think, do, be .. etc.
   x
6. Did you ever think ...
   Did you ever have ...
   Die you ever not ...
   x
7. Help me, I need ...
   Help me, can't achieve ...
   Help me, looking for ..
   x
8. Just sitting here thinking ..
   Just sitting here doing my ..
   Just sitting here creating ..
   Just had a client ...
   x
9. Am walking ...
   Am calculating ...
   Am doing ...
   x
10. Wondering if ..
    Wondering what ..
    Wondering who ...
    

Try them out and let me know if they help you! You might want to use them to present your information as a story ... something that happened that day with a client. Have fun with it ... and just be real! It works better.

As always, you are invited to share your experiences here on the blog ... good and bad!

Keep your business growing ...
margie

How I Like To Use Twitter!

I like to use Twitter as a tool to create interaction. It's original design was for that very reason ... the question at the top used to be, "What are you doing?" People would trade their daily "goings on!"

When Twitter first began it was fun to see what people were doing. You discovered that you had some "out of the office" common interests with people you knew and/or were trying to get to know. "Live" tweeting sometimes brought you to the front row of a playoff game, the inauguration,and the way I found out about Twitter... knowing a fellow tweeter was in the process of being arrested in a foreign country and needed help! You still see "live tweeting" such as these examples but not as much....they get buried in all the one-way postings it seems.

So, I like to keep the original intent alive and well. I have transformed most of my tweets to focus on business conversation in order to meet new prospects and help old contacts know more about what I do ... but always with an "engaging" 140 characters! Every once in a while I add some "salt and pepper" with a personal tweet .... just for fun.

I also look for other tweets that want to engage readers in conversation. These tweeters ask for thoughts, opinions and thoughts! It is such a great way to meet new people and everyone loves to receive a comment from their posting.

The bonds that the exchange of comments on Twitter create is actually "why" I use it as a tool for conversation. The internet provides very private 1-to-1 interactions. People are focused on their screen (whatever the device), the Twitter posting is short so it resonates quickly and easily, and a bond is psychologically created between reader and sender! It's almost like magic!

Have you tried to create conversation? Let me know if you feel the difference as well. I've always said that the value of Twitter cannot be explained ... it has to be experienced!

Tomorrow I will give you some ideas on how to write an engaging tweet! In the meantime ...

Keep your busines growing ...
margie