 A Note from Linda Claire
FREE Teleseminars & Trainings: A sneak peek
Feature Article: GIVE TO GET: 4 Ways to Use Giving to Build Your Mailing List
Newsletter Tips: Sales from Your Newsletter...What Can You Expect?
Hello and Happy July!
 Don't you love this photo? I took it two summers ago when my son and I traveled to Italy. It's the quintessential summer scene, and it still makes me feel so cheerful when I see it!
Speaking of summer, did you know that summertime is one of the BEST times of the year to focus on client marketing...that is, PLANNING your marketing.
Client loads are typically lighter due to vacations. Days are longer and feel more expansive. It's a GREAT time to prepare your marketing for the rest of the year. Cuz when September rolls around, it's BANG!...and we're off and running toward the holidays!
That's why we like to offer a sale every summer, to help your marketing planning and preparation. This year, our sale is THREE TIMES as big as last year! It all starts Monday!
In the meantime, you'll find great info in this issue on using GIVING to get many more names on your marketing list. It's interesting how universal truths (give to receive) really are, well, universal! I also write about using promotions in newsletters.
To an exciting July!
P.S. Look for my BEAUTIFUL, newly designed ezine next issue...it should be ready to debut!
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Linda Claire Puig, president, Claire Communications
Toll-free phone & fax: 866-200-6945
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lindaclairepuig
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindaclairepuig
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lindacpuig
Help! My Website's Not Working!
 I don't want to let the cat out of the bag too early...you'll receive an invitation to this no-cost call next week. But I guarantee you will want to reserve this date. You'll hear a colleague and me talk about three marketing myths, one of which is SHOCKING! (I know it was for me the first time I learned it!)
SAVE THE DATE: Tuesday, August 4, 2009
TIME: 5-6 pm Pacific
FEE: None!
Sales from Your Newsletter...What Can You Expect?
 I received this excellent question last week at one of the newsletter Q&As and didn't get a chance to answer:
I've been tracking my stats and I see that I make no sales from my weekly newsletter when I feature certain products...should I totally stop promoting those? (I've done them about 5-6 times each, not just once.)
Your newsletter itself is not REALLY a sales tool. Yes, it's possible to have sales directly from a promotion in your newsletter...certainly happens to me. But the main reasons to use a newsletter are 1) to develop and nurture your relationship with your audience via great content, 2) build your status as an expert, and 3) keep top-of-mind with your list.
However, your newsletter LIST is where the gold is. (See the article below for dynamite ways to build that list.)
To effectively promote something, you need to do stand-alone emails...that is, an individual email or series of emails specifically promoting one thing. Send these promos to your list (you know, the one you've been carefully nurturing via your newsletter!) and you'll see a greater rate of sales.
You STILL want to mention the promotions in your newsletter. The numbers vary, but many marketing experts say people need to see your message 9+ times before they're ready to buy. So the repetition -- newsletter, stand-alone email, newsletter, stand-alone email -- is good. Just be sure to keep your newsletter MOSTLY helpful content. I usually suggest a 75:25 ratio.
If you still get no response to your promotional efforts after sending stand-alone emails and newsletters, it's time to re-evaluate what your audience wants from you! And that's food for another Newsletter Tips section!
Hope that helps! -- Linda Claire
 SUMMER FUN SALES!
Ready. Set. Next Week is GO!
Beginning Monday, we launch our exciting, three-part Summer Fun Sale.
Stay tuned for BIG, BIG SAVINGS on all the marketing communications tools you'll need for your fall marketing efforts.
Start planning your marketing NOW so that you're ready to rock & roll in September!
GIVE TO GET:
4 Ways to Use Giving to Build Your Mailing List
by Linda Claire Puig, president, Claire Communications
Let's get the basics out of the way: To have a thriving practice, a successful business, you MUST have a list of people you're regularly in touch with who want to hear what you have to say. The more people you're in touch with, the wider the spread of your message and the more you thrive.
Period.
 Creating -- and growing -- this list is something I get a LOT of questions about from the coaches, therapists and other solo-professionals I help. For some it's "Where do I start?" For others, it's "How do I get more names?"
The answer to both questions is to begin with giving. Building your list is all about developing relationships. And a gift is a terrific way to begin any relationship.
Here are four powerful ways to use this premise -- give to get -- to build your contact list.
1. DRAWING. Ask for people's info in exchange for entering their name in a drawing. In person, this usually means that you'll collect business cards and draw one (be sure to have them write on the back of the card if they do NOT want to receive your newsletters and other communications). What they receive is up to you...a free session? A copy of your book or CD? Give away something that represents what you can do for them in your work. (See #2 for more on this.) You can also do the same thing online. Twitter and other forms of social media are one way to attract new people to a drawing.
2. PINK SPOON. Think Baskin Robbins and its tiny ice cream sample spoon. Create a compelling "pink spoon" -- a sample of your knowledge and personal style -- that will have people signing up for your list in droves. Use your pink spoon on your website and as a bonus offering (see below). If you don't know what to create for your pink spoon, or how, I'll be co-teaching a series on this beginning in September. You'll finish the course with your own pink spoon DONE and ready to give away!
3. FREE TELESEMINAR OR WORKSHOP. Whether in person at a local community college or over the phone to people around the world, free training is a great way to attract new people. In either case, make it clear on your registration information that as a thank-you for registering, they'll receive a complimentary subscription to your newsletter.
4. BONUSES. This is primarily an online strategy in which you help a colleague raise the value of his/her product offering by also allowing customers to download a free product of YOURS when they buy your colleague's product. When they download it, make sure the sign-up box includes the fact that they'll be added to your list until such time as they wish to unsubscribe. Your "pink spoon" is often a great thing to give away as a bonus.
So the old truism is right...the more you give, the more you receive.
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If writing articles isn't your cup of tea, or you just don't have the time, you'll find hundreds of articles ready for you to customize and use as your own at this website:
www.Ready2GoArticles.com
One from our client, another from our client's client!
From one of our print newsletter service clients:
"I want to thank you for doing such an incredible job and I appreciate how much the newsletter captures my own voice. It is a great asset to my work."
~ K. Kimmel
From one of our ezine service client's client:
"Thanks so much for your monthly newsletters. Do I have a bullseye between my eyes or what? LOL They are spot on as to where I am at internally, and the issues I am resolving."
~ D. Jones
 Linda Claire Puig is a newsletter marketing expert and a writer with 25 years' professional experience. She is president of Claire Communications, which provides marketing communications solutions to busy coaches, consultants, mental health professionals, trainers, speakers, wellness professionals and others in the "human potential" movement who want to keep their name and expertise in front of the communities they serve -- without the added work of keeping up a newsletter. Services include customizable, low-cost "done-for-you" newsletters, ready-to-go customizable articles, ezine template design and detailed training for newsletter do-it-yourselfers.
A professional writer since 1983, Linda's articles have appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout the country. She has been writing newsletters since 1990. Linda is also an actor and a member of Rising Moon Playback Theatre, which creates improv theater from audience members' real-life stories. She lives in Northern California.
If writing and producing a newsletter isn't something you want to spend your time on, we have a solution that will fit your needs. Visit our websites to learn how we can provide you with a high-quality, professional newsletter that keeps your name in front of your community and positions you as an expert...with ease. Or let us help you with just the articles, if you're already doing your own newsletter.
www.Ready2GoArticles.com
www.NewslettersForTherapists.com
www.NewsletterForCoaches.com |
