Newsletters Made For You- Exceptional Living

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!

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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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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

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“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.

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I sure didn’t expect to get a marketing lesson at a cosmetic counter at Macys.

Here’s the deal:

We were doing some shopping and wandered into the Cosmetic District. You know… the section of the store with a gazillion brands of cosmetics.

My wife has sensitive skin and she heard Clarins had cosmetics just for her.

I just knew that they ALL charged up the wazoo for their stuff.

Anyway, we get to the counter and I’m ready to ambush the saleslady. I asked her, “what makes Clarins better than the other eight cosmetic brands in the store?”

She proceeded to rattle off fact after fact:

- It’s the only major cosmetic line still family owned.
- They manufacture ALL of products from one location in France – making QC impeccable.
- They indeed use all plant-based ingredients – plus no animal products are used and there’s no animal testing.
- They even grow the plants themselves all over the world.

Every point made sense. No other cosmetic company could make these claims. In just two minutes, she made her product line stand out from the crowd.

I was sold. The cosmetics were for Stacy, but I was convinced their stuff was worth the premium prices.

(Stacy proclaimed later that Clarins products were noticeably better than anything she had ever used.)

Here’s the takeaway:

10-20% of consumers will always pay top dollar for what they perceive to be the best. I’m one of those people.

Obviously you have to back that up with products and services that are truly outstanding.

But in the space of two minutes, Clarins moved out of the pack and into the spotlight.

How can YOU stand head and shoulders above the crowd?

1. Don’t be boring.
2. Market your biz in a way that screams ‘quality’.
3. Don’t be afraid to charge top dollar. That’s just another way to stand out as different.
4. Make sure your message matches your target market.

Exceptional Living customer newsletter will do all of the above.

See what I mean. Check out the February issue. Click here.

Taking action just feel right.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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Back when I was a kid, shopping was a social event.

Dad went to the same hardware store every Saturday. He’d buy stuff, of course.  But the store owner usually asked dad to have a cup of coffee  with him.

For the life of me, I can’t remember his name – but I do remember that he smiled a lot.

Who knows… maybe that was all part of his plan…

The hardware guy had a talent for developing a bond with his customers. Today it’s called building a client relationship.

No one knew about customer newsletters in those days. Looking back, I guess you could say he used a verbal newsletter.

He was quick with a story or a joke. He’d chat about current events. And he always mentioned who shopped earlier that day (testimonials?).

He did everything a customer newsletter is supposed to do.

Exceptional Living newsletter is just like that… kinda like you’re dropping in for coffee with your clients.

It provides a ton of interesting info, told in fun and easy to read way.  It’s all about having a conversation with someone.

I guess it doesn’t matter what decade you live in. Creating clients for life just comes naturally to an entrepreneur.

Exceptional Living makes it easy.  And getting started is free, fast and easy.

Get a conversation going over a cup of coffee with your customers, starting with the February issue.

BTW: There’s a great article on page two on how passwords get cracked.  You’ll change you passwords after reading it. I did.

You can check it out here.

Taking action just feel right.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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We went to the movies this past weekend.

We had already seen Avatar. But judging by the lines to see it in 3D, a whole bunch of people hadn’t yet.

As we walked past them to our theater, we heard them gripping about the 25 minute wait they had to endure… but no one was budging.  Plus, they paid twice what the ‘normal’ movies cost.

Wanna know why?

The heard the buzz.  So had everyone else on the planet, it seems.  Avatar’s haul just cracked the $1 billion mark… in just 21 days.

Those folks thought paying double the price to stand in line was worth it.  They heard buzz about the movie.

Create some buzz in your biz. Get people talking about you. You can get that buzz going by sending them a winning customer newsletter. Like Exceptional Living.

Click here to have me send you three free samples today.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Only 6% of entrepreneurs follow through on their New Year’s Resolutions. You are in that 6%!

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Maybe these reasons will hit home with you. Then again… maybe you’ll think they are a pile of poppycock.

Anyway, here are my 7 reasons you DON’T need to use a client newsletter:

1. You have all of the business you need.

2. Your customers don’t need to be reminded you appreciate them.

3. You have more important worries than promoting your business.

4. Your customers would never ‘jump ship’ for a competitor.

5. Your competitors would never ‘go gunning’ for your customers.

6. Newsletters are just one more business expense (not an investment).

7. No one else uses newsletters; why should you stand out as different?

Even if only ONE of these reasons sounds dumb, then we need to talk.

Let’s work together to start a kick-butt client newsletter program. One that will leave the competition confused, bewildered and slack-jawed.

Exceptional Living newsletter. Regular client contact… delivered.

Ask Rob Anspach of Premiere Carpet Care.  He thought emailing a PDF version was just dandy.  Then he  mailed a print newsletter – Exceptional Living. The very first month he got an ROI of 11 to 1.  Not too shabby, eh?

Taking action just feels right,

-David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: We just loaded the January issue of Exceptional Living on to WebtoPrintIQ.com. Take a gander here.

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My parents divorced when I was in my early teens. That didn’t happen much in those days, but it did to us.

Dad ended up in Florida. He had a sister living in North Miami Beach and went there.

8 miles up the road he discovered the dog track in Hollywood, Florida. The first summer I spent with him he took me there.

I was amazed these magnificent animals could run so fast.

The reason they ran so fast is because they were chasing this little mechanical rabbit.  It was impossible to catch; but race after race the dogs would chase it relentlessly.

Do you feel like you are trapped on the marketing dog track?

Here’s what I mean…

Most (about 95%) of you spend all of your time, effort and money chasing a target that’s running away from you!

Did you know you can double your profits by retaining just an extra 5% of your existing customers? This is according to Lisa Ford, best selling author and industry expert on customer service.

Plus:

1.  Acquiring new customers costs 5 to 7 times more than retaining a current one.

2.  It’s 8 times easier to sell to an active customer

3.  Increase in customer retention 2% and it’s like cutting costs by 10%.

4.  78% of your customers are lost after six months of no contact with them.

Personally, I find these statistics exhausting!  It makes me think of those dogs chasing that little rabbit around the track.

Obviously we all need new clients.

But…

There is a much easier and less expensive way to grow your business into the one you’ve always wanted.

Make a list of all of your customers – go back three years. And then market the hell out of them. Set up a marketing calendar and list what you will send and when you will send it.

Use postcards, letters, flyers and newsletters.  This is what will happen: They will begin to buy from you again – and do so often.

A monthly customer newsletter is important because you want to build a relationship with them – not just sell them stuff. You want clients for life… right?

Remember, it’s a heck of a lot cheaper (and easier) to market to people that have already raised their hand once and said “Yes, I trust you enough to buy from you.”

Exceptional Living client newsletter is done for you. Really. The template is online. Takes about 27 minutes to get ‘er done.

There are five places you can customize. I even give you a ton of ideas on what to put in those spots with our Idea Generator TM.

Activate your free account – stop chasing the rabbit.

Taking action just feels right.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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Ruthless Rob Was Stunned – I Was Just Surprised
Got a call from Ruthless Rob this week.

He’s a good marketer. He understands direct response marketing. Plus he writes some pretty good copy.

Rob is a ruthless maniac about his marketing ROI. He tracks EVERYTHING.  If that sucker isn’t performing, it’s history.

He’s been using Exceptional Living for months, but he sent it as a PDF attachment in his emails.

Since he watches his marketing like a hawk, he knew the attachment wasn’t getting opened – in fact his emails were rarely opened.

So he took the ‘print newsletter’ plunge. He went to WebtoPrintIQ and created his October customer newsletter and uploaded his list. Then I printed and mailed it for him.

Here’s why he was stunned…

He got an 11 to 1 ROI, right out of the gate. Not only did they act on his offer, they called and emailed him raving how awesome it was. Exceptional Living was a monster hit with his clients.

At first I was surprised.

I tell our customers it takes time to build anticipation, to get their clients ‘in the groove’ as it were. Typically it takes about 3 – 4 months before it really takes off.

Then it hit me…

Rob’s clients were hyper responsive. They had been trained to react to his offers because of his direct response marketing. Exceptional Living newsletter was just the icing on the cake to his customers.

Sometimes I love being wrong.

Taking action just feels right,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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The Curious Case of the Muddled Message

So I’m driving home and I notice a billboard with a pretty lady holding a humongous pearl in her hand.

The headline says:  “Age like a pearl”.  Huh?

I had just enough time to read it again. Yep… “Age like a pearl” is what it said.

As I fly past the billboard, I’m pondering what the heck that means. What’s the marketing message?

To be fair, it did say something about laser treatments. I googled it when I got home and found a reference to ‘Pearl Laser Treatment’.

But you know what? I still didn’t know what ‘age like a pearl’ was talking about.

We see this messy marketing all the time…  a bunch of muddled messages with mysterious meanings.

Makes you wonder what people think of YOUR marketing message, doesn’t it?

Think about this: The person that came up with the billboard idea assumed it would be crystal clear to anyone reading it. That person was dead wrong. It was just a waste of good marketing dollars.

BIG marketing lesson: Being cute or clever is never a substitute for an attention-grabbing headline that tells the reader EXACTLY why they should keep reading.

This kind of marketing doesn’t win advertising awards, but it sure reels in people that will spend money.

You cannot afford muddled messages with mysterious meanings.

Go here now: www.InfoMarketingBlog.com and bookmark it!

It has absolutely nothing to do with customer newsletters or Exceptional Living. It’s just pure content to keep your marketing laser-focused and on the right track.

(Be sure to click on the first category: Advertising Headlines)

Let’s get to work,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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