Newsletters Made For You- Exceptional Living

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 client 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.

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

davidg client newsletter, company newsletter, customer newsletters, newsletter marketing, print newsletter client newsletter, client newsletters, company newsletter, customer newsletter, customer newsletters, exceptional living, newsletter publishers, print newsletter

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

davidg Newsletter, company newsletter, newsletters Clients Newsletter, company newsletter, newsletters

No, this isn’t about those 300 Spartan studs in Speedos. And the real number is actually 381.

That’s how many clients get to see the April issue of Exceptional Living newsletter today.

They get an exclusive, members-only sneak peak because they’ve activated their free account at WebtoPrintIQ.com

They get see the latest money-making, relationship building, referral generating company newsletter from me and Brett.

And it’s really cool. Tons fun and interesting info that your customers will salivate over… antsy with excitement to discover what’s on the next page.

The 8 built-in involvement triggers work like a steel trap to capture the attention of your customers.

Don’t miss out. Click here to get started. It’s freakin’ free… so what’s the problem?

Get started on the path to revving up profits by getting an avalanche on new referrals.

Quick story: I got a call today from a client in my service business. The 547 clients that received Exceptional Living newsletter got ‘em on March 1st. people are STILL calling in with the answer to the trivia question.

What’s that tell you?

This sucker has hang time. It sticks around and it gets passed around. People still had our newsletter their homes, out in the open, for the past 10 days.

That’s at least 10 days to look at and consider the special monthly offer I made just for my clients.

Anyway, see it for yourself. Activate your free account today. It takes about 3 minutes.

You won’t regret it. And Speedos are not required.

We know how to write a newsletter.

-David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”
About David Gruttadaurio

David Gruttadaurio is widely recognized as the expert in print newsletter marketing and relationship-based marketing.

David now has clients from around the world who are successfully using his products.

He is the editor of Exceptional Living newsletter and a published author in print and online magazines and blogs.

David and his family live in the small town of Princeton, Indiana.

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

davidg company newsletter, newsletter marketing company newsletter, exceptional living, how to write a newsletter, newsletter marketing, print newsletter

While reading the Sunday paper, I came across an article about a family-owned business started in 1942.

It’s a fitness equipment company.

And like most fitness supply stores, they also had a shoe department.

This is where it gets interesting: They recently spun off the shoe department and made it a separate enterprise.

That isn’t the interesting part.

Then they created a new market for custom fit shoes. They call their new enterprise Ultimate Fit.

Their specialty is fitting shoes based on the customer’s feet, gait and body mechanics.

Can’t say for sure what that means…

But I can tell you this: They have a hit.

We drove by the place and it was hopping. There were at least a dozen people (mostly kids with parents) in the store.

Then… they branched out to setting up spaces in the fitness clubs and doctor’s offices. They promote their biz through organized races and walks in the community. They hold clinics to educate consumers on the importance of properly fit shoes.

Do you get it?

They reinvented themselves. They became About Something Significant. Dan Kennedy talked about this in his January newsletter

Granted, at the end of the day, they just sell shoes.

But to their clients, their community, their industry… they are much more significant than the sum total of what they sell.

Why can’t you do the same thing? And please don’t say your biz is too ordinary to be About Something Significant.

With this in mind, how many of your competitors send a monthly client newsletter? I don’t know you personally (yet), but I do know the answer:

Zip, zilch, nada, zero.

Stand out, be significant, reinvent yourself. Begin the process in a very tangible and real way. Send your customers killer newsletters each month. Our customer newsletter templates online are free to use. Exceptional Living is… well, exceptional.

They’ll remember you as being About Something Significant.

Activate your free account if you haven’t done so yet.

Taking action just feels right.

-David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

——————————————————————–

http:/www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com

http://www.NewslettersMadeForYou.com/blog

About David Gruttadaurio

David Gruttadaurio is widely recognized as the expert in print newsletter marketing and relationship-based marketing.

David now has clients from around the world who are successfully using his products.

He is the editor of Exceptional living newsletter and a published author in print and online magazines and blogs.

David and his family live in the small town of Princeton, Indiana.

Copyright 2010

This email 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

davidg Newsletter, client newsletter, customer newsletter, free newsletter templates, newsletters, print newsletter client newsletter, dan kennedy, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, free newsletter template, Newsletter, newsletters, print newsletter, template

Don’t worry… berserk violence isn’t required.

People today are mailing less.  A lot less.

As Americans turn from paper to electronic communications, the amount of mail handled by the Post Office continues to drop.

From 213 billion pieces in 2006 to 177 billion last year.

BTW:  Those numbers are staggering. Now you know why our mail occasionally takes a ‘left turn’ on us. Overall, the U. S. Postal Service is incredibly reliable.

Anyway, this means that your marketing will stand out even more in your prospects and clients mail boxes.

And it will get even better. Volume is expected to drop to 150 billion by 2020.

This is good news, indeed.

Now is the time to step up your print marketing. While everyone is falling back to email-only marketing, your mail will definitely get noticed.

This is why newsletter marketing is so hot. No one is doing them… including your competitors.

Some biz owners think they’re hopelessly old school. Others may have tried client newsletters and failed (they’re harder than they look).

Most entrepreneurs think of printed newsletters as quaint old things, like handwritten letters or electric typewriters. So while marketing certainly isn’t exempt from fads, client newsletters are absolutely evergreen.

And if you do it right, your customers will actually look forward to getting their client newsletter each month.

Exceptional Living is now only $1.49 each – printed, personalized, addressed and mailed first class.

Activate your free account and jump in. You can play with the cool editing features, upload images to your account, etc.

You don’t pay a dime until you decide that you want to place an order. In the meantime kick the tires on our free newsletter templates.

If you do choose to order, for less than 18 bucks a year per client, you can keep in touch every month and build your customer relationships.

I’m hard at work on April’s issue of Exceptional Living. It should be ready for viewing in the next few days.

I’ll keep you ‘posted (pun intended).

Taking action just feel right.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Save $77! I’ll waive your first month’s subscription of Exceptional Living print newsletter!

————————————————————————–

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

davidg Newsletter, client newsletter, client newsletters, customer newsletter, customer newsletters, free newsletter template, marketing, newsletter marketing, newsletter template, newsletters, print newsletter, printed newsletters client newsletter, clients newsletters, customer newsletter, customer newsletters, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, free newsletter templates, marketing, Newsletter, newsletter templates, newsletters, print marketing, print newsletter, print newsletters, printed newsletters

Getting a client to write a testimonial can be tough – even if they’re your number one fan.

This is because people generally hate writing. And they fear sounding dumb even more.

But you gotta have testimonials!

You can talk all day how wonderful you are. But when people hear the same thing from someone else, NOW it becomes believable.

4 Testimonial Tips You Need To Know:

1. Do not ask you client: “Can you write a testimonial about me”

You won’t get any replies. Instead, send a form with four or five leading questions that cannot be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. If you use mail, include a stamped, self-addressed envelope along with a nice letter.

Bad example: “Did we do a good job?”
Better: “What did you like best about our job [or product]?”

Phrasing your questions like this will get much better comments.

2. Long testimonials are better than short ones

Saying “…fabulous…” or “…excellent, wonderful” looks suspiciously faked and skillfully edited. I call these ‘movie review’ testimonials.

Full sentences – two or three of them – come across as more believable and sincere.

3. Specific, detailed testimonials are better than general or superlative testimonials.

Bad example: “We are very pleased with your product.”
Better: “It’s hard to find a company like yours that really cares about the customer. Thanks for…”

The prospects you’re trying to sell probably have the same problems you solved for your current customer. Let Mr. Customer tell Mr. Prospect how your company came to his rescue.

4. Always use full attribution. Use their full names PLUS the city and state they live in.

Bad example: “D.G. in Indiana” or simply saying, “David G.”
Better: David Gruttadaurio, Princeton, Indiana

People will be more likely to believe it’s a real testimonial if you provide full disclosure.

NOTE: You must get written permission! Even this should be done in a non-threatening way to your client.

Don’t ask, “Can I use your testimonial?” Instead ask, “Can I use your name and tell people you are a happy customer?”

Testimonials are one of the eight Involvement Triggers used in Exceptional Living client newsletter. Discover the other seven. Click here.

Taking action just feel right.

- 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

davidg Newsletter, client newsletter, custom newsletter, newsletters, print newsletter client newsletter, customer newsletter, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, Newsletter, newsletters, print newsletter

“How often do you want to remembered by your clients? ”

That was my reply to a guy asking often to send a client newsletter. He told me “We currently send them something every 6 weeks. I think a monthly newsletter would be too much.”

Go for it, fella. But think about this:

When people get things frequently and consistently, they are perceived as having value or being important.

That’s why monthly client newsletters frequency works best. It arrives often enough to stay ‘front and center’ in your clients mind.

Something else to think about…

Imagine you’re walking down a street, and you want to get someone’s attention. You could hold up a sign but they might not see you. You could yell, but they may not hear you.

The one guaranteed way to get their attention is to literally grab hold of them!

That’s the idea behind marketing ‘touches’ or client contacts.

Here’s the problem:  A single or infrequent ‘touch’ doesn’t do squat.

Most people are NOT affected by a single marketing touch. In fact, the science of marketing says it takes at least seven touches to generate a customer’s buying interest.

Why does it take so many ‘touches’? Because most clients are not ready to buy RIGHT NOW. But they may be in three months… or six months… or 12 months.

When your customer or patient begins receiving your monthly newsletters, it usually goes something like this from their point of view…

First month: “Huh… looks like [your company] sent me something. Wonder what it is?”

Second month: “Hey… didn’t I just get something from [your company]… it looks familiar.”

Third month: “Another newsletter from [your company]. I wonder if I’ll be getting it every month?”

Fourth month: “It’s my monthly newsletter from [your company] again. I sure enjoy getting it.”

By the fifth month, the pattern is established and the expectation is now ingrained. Your customer will begin to look for their print newsletter every month.

And that is a very, very good thing… because you have now become memorable to your customers.

Taking action just feel right.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: There’s still time to get your March customer newsletter order in – now just $1.49 each – printed, mailed first class in 6 page, edge-to-edge, full color. Click here.

davidg Newsletter, client newsletter, client newsletters, customer newsletter, newsletters, print newsletter client newsletter, customer newsletter, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, Newsletter, newsletters, patient, print newsletter, print newsletters

Have you ever been someone’s regular customer and then stopped doing business with them? Anyone ever ask why you stopped?

Probably not.

The average company loses up to 40 percent of their clients every year. And they don’t come back.
Sure, we all lose customers.

But here’s the REAL problem: Most businesses blame the customer for going AWOL.

The truth is, only 5% boycott your biz because they were unhappy with you. The vast majority (95%) of customers had a pleasant experience with your company.

So the fault belongs to YOU. The customer didn’t come back because they were ignored.

Reclaiming a lost customer is actually easier than gaining a new customer.

Studies show a 60-70% success rate selling to a current customer; a 20-40% chance of winning back a former customer; but only a 5-20% chance of turning prospects into customers.

The IPA client is the easiest one to rescue.

An Intentionally Pushed Away customer (IPA) was neglected, ignored or simply fell through the client contact cracks. He or she was profitable. But they were not pursued (or romanced) after the initial sale.

Your best chance of regaining an IPA’s business is through regular client communication and better customer service.

Note: Lost customers do not live in a vacuum. If they aren’t doing business with your, they’ll be doing business with somebody.

These two simple steps can get them back:

1. Ask the customer, “What can we do to win back your business?”  Listen closely to what they tell you.

This takes courage.

No one likes to be criticized. And most likely the IPA customer isn’t going to take the blame for not coming back to you. Whatever reason they give, being ‘defensive’ negates the reason for asking them in the first place.

Just listen patiently… and learn.

2. Stay in touch with the lost customer; earn his or her business every day.

This takes discipline.

Finding them and keeping them are two different things. You have to be committed to maintaining constant client contact.

Customer loyalty today is nearly nonexistent. Earning it requires vigilance, dedication and determination.

Who knows, one day an IPA customer could turn out to be one of your top clients.

Brett and I can lend a hand. Click here to get help.

Taking action just feel right.

- 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

davidg client newsletter, customer newsletter, marketing, marketing newsletter, newsletter template, newsletter templates, patient newsletter, print newsletter client, customer, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, marketing, newsletters, patient, print

Do you have a commodity-oriented biz?

Or…

Think you can’t sell a premium version of your product or service?

Then consider this:

High end toilet paper… well, you know what I mean… luxury tush tissue.

BTW: This info courtesy of DK’s ‘Marketing To The Affluent Letter’.

Andrex is THE toilet paper brand in the U.K. with sales of $550 million annually.  Last year they came out with a luxury brand, enriched with Shea Butter (Google it).

This is the product description (you really must read this):

“Offering a multi-sensory experience, this luxurious new toilet tissue has some new and exclusive features that will make you feel truly fabulous… the pack is a deep, rich luxurious brown color, matching any contemporary bathroom design.  It feels soft, smells divine and looks gorgeous which will make you feel really fabulous! ”

Yep. This is same stuff we all wipe our butts with.

Now go back and read the descriptives that I italicized.  This copy has absolutely NOTHING to do with toilet paper. It’s all about a luxurious [fabulous] experience… while in the loo!

Marketing lesson:  No one can ever say they can’t create a premium upsell or product/service option.

If there was ever a commodity product, this is it. And yet, somebody is romancing it, elevating its social standing and selling an upscale version of it.

Surely you can dream up a way to do this in your business.

If you have – or plan to – let me know. I’d love to hear about it.

Taking action just feel right.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: There’s still time to get your March newsletter order in – now just $1.49 each – printed, mailed first class in 6 page, edge-to-edge, full color.

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

davidg client newsletter, customer newsletter, direct response marketing, marketing, newsletter marketing, patient newsletter, print customer newsletter, print newsletter andrex, David Gruttadaurio

I had an ‘aha’ moment.  Boy, if Oprah finds out…

Here’s the skinny: Several month ago, Ms. Multibillionaire sued Mutual of Omaha.  The insurance company started a marketing campaign called “the official sponsor of the aha moment.” They also trademarked the phrase.

Oprah was miffed.  Winfrey thinks she owns the phrase – apparently she says it a lot – although she’s never tried to trademark it.

Anyway, they settled out of court. No one really knows how it ended.

So… I guess I’ll just have to take my chances.

This is how my ‘aha moment’ happened.

One of my clients called to thank me for sending her the ‘magazine’ this month.

Magazine???  My mind was racing… did I send someone my Sports Illustrated by mistake?  No, no, no… she  sounded HAPPY to get it.

Then it hit me. She was talking about Exceptional Living customer newsletter – but she called it a magazine!

Huh… I never thought of it as a magazine before.  But I can see why she would think that.

After all, it’s printed in full, edge-to-edge-color; and it does have six pages. Perhaps ‘newsmagazine’ could work, too… hmmm.

My ‘aha moment’ was sealed.

Want to know when YOUR ‘aha moment’ will be?

The day your customers start calling YOU about the great ‘magazine’ you  sent them. Then you’ll finally believe:

-  Exceptional Living is really easy to create -  97% of the work is done for you with our newsletter template that’s made for you.

-  Exceptional Living really does bring in more sales from existing clients.

-  Exceptional Living really gets passed around and generates more referrals for your company.

Create your own ‘aha moment’.  Get started here.

And don’t worry about Oprah; I won’t tell her.

Taking action just feel right.

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: You have plenty of time to get your March newsletter in your customer’s mailboxes. Our turnaround time is awesome!

davidg Newsletter, client newsletter, customer newsletter, marketing, marketing newsletter, newsletter marketing, print newsletter client, customer, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, Newsletter, newsletters, print