Newsletters Made For You- Exceptional Living

It’s true. Just think about it.

We boldly go where others have not gone before. We take risks most people would never consider. We have clear vision while the rest of the world wears bifocals.

Normally, we couldn’t care less what others think about us. We’re oddballs to most people anyway.

And that, my friend, can be our Achilles’ heel.

Why?

Because even though it goes against our grain, we… (ugh)… must try to be popular – we have to get people to like us.

Again, why?

Because of this absolute, undeniable truth: People will only buy from people they like.

This is accomplished by staying in touch with our clients. But our goal isn’t to sell them something… well, OK… it is; but we do it in a non-threatening way that doesn’t irritate them.

We stay in touch to build a relationship with our customers. This is called relationship marketing.

I know a former carpet cleaner that is now a VERY successful internet marketer. He sent out a company newsletter for 99 consecutive months – until he sold his business in 2004.

He spent about a buck per customer every month. He said, “Every time I mailed the customer newsletter, I received anywhere from 5 -10 times return on my investment.”

Yep. It really works.

The more you communicate, the more people get to know you; the more they will like you; and yes, the more they will buy from you.

Let me show you what a REAL relationship marketing tool looks like. Let me send you three free copies of Exceptional Living newsletter. Click Here

Get your customers to like you. Popularity has its rewards.

We have newsletter ideas that work.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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http://www.WebToPrintIQ.com

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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He wasn’t called ‘Old Blood and Guts’ for nothing.

George Patton once said, “A good plan violently executed NOW is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

Let’s back up for a minute. I’ll bet you didn’t know this:

In the summer of 1912, Patton was a 27 year old Olympic athlete. He participated in the first modern pentathlon. He finished 5th.

One of the events was fencing.  After the Olympics, Patton studied with the greatest swordsman in Europe, the French ‘Master at Arms’.

He became the US Army’s youngest ever ‘Master of the Sword.’ Patton used his skills to improve and modernize the army’s saber fencing techniques.

But it was too late. The nature of war was changing quickly.

Saber cavalry units became obsolete – almost overnight. By the end of WWI, armored (tank) combat had replaced horse cavalry warfare.

However Patton’s skills and the lessons he learned were not wasted. He simply adapted his ‘move forward and attack’ saber techniques for use with armored warfare.

He became the most feared U.S. general in WW II.

3 Ways To Apply These Lessons In Your Biz

1. TAKE ACTION!  Don’t sit around analyzing things to death (paralysis by analysis); get something up, and start selling it NOW. Make it better as you go.

2. LEARN FROM THE BEST! If you want to learn how to market your business, seek out and learn from those who are doing it, and doing it well!

3. ADAPT! Sure, things change in your business – sometimes overnight. Patton went from being a saber expert to a tank warfare expert. Take the lessons learned and skill sets mastered and adapt them. Never say, ‘but my business is different’.

Regarding ‘Take Action NOW’: Do this by getting out of your comfort zone.  Never tried newsletter marketing? Just do it. And now you can do it for less money than before.

Only $1.49 for a personalized, 6 page, full, edge-to-edge color company newsletter that’s PRINTED and MAILED first class for you.

There’s still plenty of time to get started right now. Click here to activate your free account.

Got an account already? TAKE ACTION NOW! Log on here.

Make Patton proud.

We have newsletter ideas that work.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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http://www.WebToPrintIQ.com

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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I offer free marketing consultations – but only to you guys. (Click here to schedule)

So yesterday I’m yacking with Mike. He’d never considered marketing with sequential mailings.

It reminded me of this great Three Dog Night song:

“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It’s the loneliest number since the number one.”
.
One isn’t just lonely. It’s the most evil number in marketing. ‘One’ is very, very bad… closely followed by ‘two.’

The ‘happiest’ number in marketing is three… or more. Sequential mailings (three or more) will make you a lot more money.

Most businesses make this mistake: They think marketing with one ad, sales letter, postcard, etc. one time, will work.  WRONG!

This is how advertising legend Bruce Barton explained it: “You can’t advertise today and quit tomorrow. You’re not talking to a mass meeting. You’re talking to a parade.”

Bruce’s point?

Repetition is critical to your marketing success.

No single ad will bring in enough customers to keep your business thriving and successful. In fact, it’s been proven repeatedly that most prospects – and clients – do not respond to a marketing offer until several exposures.

Sequential mailings are the weird little trick entrepreneurs never use. It can take a single mailing… and put it on steroids.

Two important points:

1. Create urgency by giving the offer a deadline – and mention the deadline several times in each mailing.

2. You must have a reoccurring theme in each piece – a REASON for the special offer (your birthday, a holiday, the sun came up…)

For example, say you’re an automotive repair shop. You want to drive business by offering a $15.00 oil change special. That marketing hook must be mentioned in each mailing.

Mailing number one describes the phenomenal offer and the reason for it. Number two expresses concern why you haven’t called. Number three tell them they’re about to miss out on this fantastic offer.

Get it? Do this every ten days for a month for amazing results!

This same strategy drives company newsletter marketing. Regular marketing touches over several months will create clients for life.

It’s a vital piece of relationship marketing.

Let’s talk more about it. Click here to schedule your free marketing consultation.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

————————————————————————–

http://www.WebToPrintIQ.com

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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Old Spice for men came out in 1938. 72 years ago.

To say it’s been revitalized is a massive understatement.

You’d need to be barricaded in a cave to have missed the smooth dude with the six-pack abs, towel wrapped around his waist, who steps out of the shower brandishing a bottle of Old Spice body wash.

Indeed. I just checked YouTube. The commercial has nearly 6 million views.

As with most successful ads, there are a lot of triggers at work.

But the real magic is found in the script. Specifically, the imperative voice:

Imperative:
1.  Expressing a command or plea.
2.  Having the authority to command or control.
3.  Impossible to deter or evade; pressing.

Imperative voice is the sound of command: “Look at your man. Now back to me. Now back at your man. Now back to me…”

It’s impossible to ignore.

So… don’t be ignored. Start writing in imperative voice.

These are the keys:

1. Short sentences – 4 words are OK. 3 are better. 2 rock.
2. Open with verbs – Walk. Sing.  Kick. Dance. Jump. Lift.
3. Imperative voice – Tight. Taut. Command.

Do it. Open with a 3-word sentence. Make the first word a verb. Like this…

“Lift the receiver. Dial the number. Six seven seven, eighty-three, ninety-two. David will answer. Activate your free account. Create a newsletter. Impress your clients. Make big money. Retire early.

The area code is 812.”

You get the idea.

Try some writing exercises using imperative voice and see what you come up with. Prepare to be amazed.

While not written in imperative voice, Exceptional Living is nonetheless a very powerful marketing tool.

“Lift the receiver. Dial the number…”

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Activate your free account… really.  Click here.

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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So I’m standing at the counter of the pretzel shop in the mall.

Behind the counter were three employees – two teen girls and a guy, probably in his mid 20’s. They were caught up searching for something in the back.

Apparently searching for a paying customer wasn’t on the agenda. I stood there wondering when I would be graced with their attention.

Finally – after several minutes – the guy looks up and asks, “Get I get you something?”

No… it’s just that I usually hang out by the shoe store, but this space looked available…

I walked away without saying a word.

I often talk about the wasteland of customer service today. But this goes waaay past that.

It’s just bad marketing… yep, marketing.

How do you define marketing?  In its most narrow sense, it’s the various media you send out to prospects and clients.

In its most expansive sense, its EVERYTHING you and your employees do, day in and day out.

Some examples:

At Disney World, steam cleaning the streets and painting the fence posts every night is marketing, not park maintenance.

Ray Kroc thought consistently clean restrooms at McDonald’s was marketing, not a janitorial process.

How we present ourselves to customers; how we answer the phone; how quickly we return phone calls… it’s all part of our marketing program.

There is no such thing as an unimportant detail.

And the worst word is marketing (besides boring) is ‘random.’ Aimless, ‘hit or miss’ marketing just plain sucks.

It’s ineffective and wasteful and… forgetful.

That’s why I tell you send a monthly company newsletter to your customers.

Anything less than monthly appears random and hapless on your part. Inconsistency is what drives people crazy. It will drive your clients away.

A monthly company newsletter creates a professional image, especially if it’s a print newsletter like Exceptional Living.

Click here and I’ll send you a hard copy of the April issue – plus the previous two months.

We have newsletter ideas that work.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Ready to get started? Activate your free account!

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Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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Used to be… if you lost a customer… it was no big deal.

The lake was full, right?  It’s not like we were going to run out of fish anytime soon.

Good economic times seem to favor the fool. Sloppy entrepreneurship could endure… even prosper to some degree.

But everything is different now. And it will be for many years. What do expect when the national debt stands at $12 trillion?

The resulting New Economy has laid bare and exposed a lot of lazy, sloppy and casual entrepreneurs.

Please consider these next words as fact – carved in stone and brought down from the mountain:

The ONLY way to prosper in these decidedly unprosperous times is to dedicate as much time, energy and thought on scheming how to retain your current customers and make them clients for life.

Aggressively protect them. Club anyone that approaches. Bludgeon the would-be raider.

Here’s how you justify these defensive actions:

Your competitors know only one thing – get more customers. If they were working on client retention, 97.99% have now cut back or stopped.

They are feverishly searching for new blood. Seducing YOUR clients is their priority. They have YOUR customers in the cross-hairs.

How will you block their barrage? The best defense is a good offense.

Nothing… and I mean NOTHING… has proven to retain more clients and preserve the relationship with your customers than a company newsletter.

It’s the ultimate relationship marketing tool.

It’s time to begin circling the wagons, folks. Your business is under attack.

We can help. Our online newsletter template makes it fast and easy.

Check out the latest Exceptional Living company newsletter. Click here and I’ll send you the April issue NOW (plus two more sample newsletters).

…because now every customer is important.

- David Gruttadaurio
The Print Newsletter Expert

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http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com

http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com/blog

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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There’s an ocean of it out there, just sloshing around.

So says Dan Kennedy. I tend to agree with him.

DK often says there is ALWAYS money out there. It moves around; shows up here, goes there… and it may be at low tide now… but it never, ever goes away.

Think about it:

In the last nine days, people have happily shelled out $209 million to see a movie that was first made 59 years ago (Alice In Wonderland.)

And speaking of movies, Avatar is now up to $730 million – and that’s just in the US. It’s getting close to $2 billion worldwide.

On Super Bowl Sunday, we buy pizza by the ton. Millions of Haiti-relief dollars flew in at light speed. Special Disney VIP tours are always booked solid, at $1050 a pop (plus admission costs – tips are suggested).

The point is that money is alive and well and flowing freely.

Said Dan Kennedy: “The trick to get yourself standing where it’s flowing to, NOT where’s it’s leaving.”

Unfortunately, most people now are on the defensive. They’ve shuttered their doors and windows, trying to ride out the recession.

Perry Marshall calls that “slow motion suicide.”

He recently said, “Those who prevail have decided to be 21st century alchemists and every single day they’re trying to figure out how to deliver a more awesome customer experience.”

We can help.

Exceptional Living company newsletter delivers a massive 8.4 of WOW on the Richter scale. It’s the ultimate relationship marketing tool.

Don’t take my word for it. You have to see it for yourself.

Click here for the latest sample newsletters pack of the last three months of Exceptional living… including the new April issue.

We have company newsletter ideas that work. And we provide them all for you in a simple online newsletter template.

- David Gruttadaurio
The Print Newsletter Expert

PS: Get your hard copy of the April newsletter in your new sample pack. Click here now.

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http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com

http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com/blog

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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Yep, it’s true.

Some clients (actually a bunch) are NOT qualified to get your company newsletters.

This came up last week while talking to Ben.

His list is fairly large… over 5000 clients. Ben’s comment: ‘I can’t mail to all 5000 + customers.’

I told him I agree 100%.

Never forget: A print newsletter is a relationship marketing tool. Why would you want to bond with someone who’s repeatedly unresponsive; consumers you really don’t want as clients?

Your company newsletter is designed to target people that:
1. Refer your biz to others.
2. Are ‘cheerleader’ or ‘evangelist’ clients.
3. Spend money with you; and do so often.

Maintain constant contact with these customers. Begin ‘romancing’ them immediately. These are ones you want to become clients for life. Relationship marketing can make that happen.

In Ben’s case, it was those who’ve spent money with him in the last 2 – 3 years. We figured it was about 1000 customers.

So these are the ones that will get his April company newsletter.

I am NOT saying you should ignore the other customers. You simply use different marketing touches.

Postcards, sequential direct response letters, flyers, etc. are all extremely effective.

BTW: All of these are soon to be available from Brett and me. We’re keeping Jeff Commander and his crew VERY busy.

So… how big is your customer list?

Whatever its size, it’s unlikely the entire list is qualified to receive your print newsletter each month.

Never think you have to mail to ALL of your customers. That would be dumb.
Our April Exceptional Living newsletter template is locked and locked and ready for you.

Get started today. Click here.

We have newsletter ideas that work.

- David Gruttadaurio
The Print Newsletter Expert

PS: Did you know exactly 20% of 2010 is gone? Make the remainder into your best year ever. Click here now.

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Ever been late in paying your bills?  Yep, me too.

If you’re late long enough, at some point you start getting those nice letters from the collection agency.

First, you get a letter with the typical request to pay your debt; you’re urged to ‘govern yourself accordingly.’(I never understood what that meant.)

If you don’t respond, a second letter arrives in the form of a ‘friendly reminder.’

Keep ignoring them and things begin to get ugly. A third letter arrives with that big, red ‘Final Notice!’ stamped on it.

Those are called sequential mailings. They are based on a principle called ‘repetition for emphasis.’ If something is important, it gets repeated more than one time. Not verbatim, but it’s restated in a slightly different way multiple times.

Sequential mailings work for collection agencies. And they’re just as effective for entrepreneurs.

It’s the key to making your marketing work.

“You can’t advertise today and quit tomorrow. You’re not talking to a mass meeting. You’re talking to a parade.”

So said Bruce Barton, a founder of advertising giant BBDO.

Bruce’s point?  Repetition is critical.

No single ad will ever bring in enough customers to keep a business thriving and successful.

In fact it’s been proven repeatedly most consumers will not respond to a marketing piece until at least the seventh exposure.

This is why sequential mailings are so effective.

And it’s the same principle that makes company newsletters work.

Sending a newsletter once or twice a year doesn’t keep you in your client’s awareness path.  Even sending a quarterly newsletter is unproductive.

You have to consistently and regularly mail a monthly company newsletter. It’s called relationship marketing.

I’m not being self-serving here, folks. This is how marketing that works… uh, works.

Newsletter marketing isn’t a sprint. It’s a cross country race. You’re in for the long haul.

Just keep it friendly, not ugly.

BTW: If you didn’t see yesterday’s email, click here to check out the April Exceptional Living client newsletter.

We want to be your newsletter publishers.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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I was talking yesterday with Jeff . He’s the guy that built WebToPrintIQ.com… from blank sheet of paper.

Saying Jeff is good with computers is like saying Leonardo was an OK painter.

Anyway, he was telling me that some of our clients don’t know what VDP is all about.

So here’s the scoop:

VDP isn’t quite a miracle. But it does have magical powers. Plus… it’s just plain cool.

It stands for Variable Data Printing. It’s a fancy phrase to say we can personalize everything we print and mail for you with the first name (and/or last name) of your customer somewhere on the marketing piece.

It allows you to get very personal with your customers.

Personalization has power!

Research shows that VDP does amazing things to response rates for direct mailings. In fact, VDP mailings response rates are four to six times higher than direct mailings without this technology.

And the more you customize direct mail to your recipient, the more likely the response rate will be higher.

Here’s an example: Let’s say you send out 500 Exceptional Living client newsletters next month. Each one will have each customer’s name four times throughout the 6 pages.

Imagine the power a personalized company newsletter like that will have with your customers.

Yep, VDP is very cool.

It’s also something most of the other guys (that attempt to ‘do’ newsletters) cannot offer you.

Just one more reason why you want your company newsletter to be from me and Brett.

BTW: The sample pack has three newsletters with examples of VDP on each of them.

Click here to have me send them to you.

Taking action just feel right.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

————————————————————————–

http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com

http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com/blog

Copyright 2010

This post is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the express written consent of David Gruttadaurio

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