Newsletters Made For You- Exceptional Living

Really… are you sure?

Because the last time I checked, ALL businesses:

1. Have competitors.
2. Must advertise or somehow get people to know about them.
3. Must convince people to buy.
4. Must hang on to their customers.
5. Must attempt to avoid failure while on the path to profitability, wealth and success.

Consumers are just like me and you. They have the same emotions and tendencies as everyone else on the planet.

So how the heck is YOUR business different?

Thinking this way creates a massive roadblock to making any real progress.

Take client newsletters.

You want (need, actually) to keep your clients from wandering off. Plus, you want your customers to buy more – and to buy often.

A company newsletters will accomplish all of that. It’s the highest form of relationship marketing.

And it doesn’t matter what business you are in.

I don’t care if you have a restaurant, sell insurance, pump gas or dig ditches. It doesn’t matter if you live in a big city or a small town.

All businesses either make stuff or they do some stuff. We keep score by how much stuff we sell at the end of the day.

So don’t rip yourself off by allowing this excuse to let you off the hook from actually trying a customer newsletter.

Remember, you are selling to humans, not Vulcans – humans have emotions, and use them to make decisions, no matter what they are buying.  So yes, Exceptional Living Newsletter WILL work in your business.

If you haven’t taken me up on my offer, click here to have me send you three cross-industry samples for free.

We have newsletter ideas that work.

-David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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Ever say, “I’m just looking” after being stalked by a salesperson?

Probably. It just rolls off your tongue. Your customers say it all of the time.

More often than not, it REALLY means: “I’m not ready to buy yet. But I will be later.”

So, when they are ready to buy… will YOU be the one they call?

Maybe…

You see, there’s this thing called ‘top of consciousness.’

Think of it as a mental sweet spot. It’s when you’re already in your customer’s mind when they decide to buy what you sell.

If you aren’t at top of consciousness, then you go back to square one. You must battle your competition all over again for your client’s attention.

If your client has to go to the Yellow Pages; look on the Internet; or ask someone for a reference, the company with the deepest pockets – the most advertising dollars – usually wins.

That’s why you need to contact your clients often and regularly.

Did you know…

95% of businesses spend nearly all of their time and money on chasing NEW clients.

But it’s 8 times easier to sell to an active customer.

But here’s the tricky part: Doing it (maintaining client contact) in a way that doesn’t come across like a blatant sales pitch.

Here is a real-world example: I just sold $273 of services to customer. I hadn’t heard from her in FOUR YEARS. During that time, it cost me $96.00 to send her a monthly client newsletter.

When the time was right… when she wasn’t ‘just looking’ anymore… I was the one she called after FOUR years.

I was in that sweet mental sweet spot.

This was the BEST part: She also referred me to two new clients and they each gave me 6 referrals.

Do you see how this works? Relentless client contact is crazy profitable!

Exceptional Living Newsletter makes constant client contact fast, easy, painless, and profitable. Our newsletter template is online and 97% Done For You.

Click here to tell me where to send your 3 sample issues of Exceptional Living, if you haven’t requested them yet.

Let’s get to work,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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One of my businesses is a service company.

I got a call last Friday from one of my clients. Her name is Betty.

She called to answer the trivia question in the December newsletter.

Customers will usually leave their answers in voicemail or email to me. I recognized her name on Caller ID, so I picked up.

After Betty gave me the correct answer, we talked for a few minutes. It was nice chatting with her… I enjoy my customers a lot.

Then she literally shocked me speechless.

Betty was telling me how much she loved reading Exceptional Living (that wasn’t the shock).

Then…

She referred to a little story I told in the monthly “My Corner’ column. It was about texting and how a clerk was texting the entire time we were checking out at the register.

Anyway, while we talked, Betty related this story back to me like she had just read it…

… but I wrote it FOUR MONTHS ago. It was in the August newsletter.

Either she still remembered the story or she had saved the newsletter and read it again recently.

I think it was the former. Betty simply remembered my story from way back in August.

BIG marketing lesson:  Include stories in your marketing ’cause stories get remembered and make you memorable.

Why is that? Psychologists tell us stories form the basis of how we think, organize, and remember information.

Telling a compelling story is an art. But don’t worry about being an expert. I’m not. I discovered telling ANY story is better than no story at all.

Give it try in your marketing – be a story teller – become memorable.

BTW: I almost forgot. Betty got her December Exceptional Living 2 ½ weeks ago… and saved it. Kinda interesting, huh? Do your customers save YOUR stuff?

Taking action just feels right,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Click here to tell me where to send your 3 sample issues of Exceptional Living… if you’re one of the few that haven’t requested them.

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“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”  So said Mark Twain back in 1897.

Print newsletters have been saying it for the past ten years. Why? Because many business owners feel…

– With the internet, all they have to do is post content online; everyone will flock to their site to read it. Plus it’s FREE!

– Email is king!  Just send an ezine. It’s FREE!

– Postage keeps going up along with printing costs… but email is FREE!

There’s no question about it. Print newsletters should have died a long time ago.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the funeral.  The print newsletter suddenly became Lazarus and a resurrection took place.

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Click here to find out what the fuss is all about.  Tell me where to send your 3 free samples of Exceptional Living.
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Why print newsletters are still here:

1.  Printed mail gets delivered – It’s never blocked or caught in spam filters.

2. People still prefer to hold, touch and feel what they are reading.

3. Readers retain much less of what they read online compared to reading printed material. So, if you have an offer with a call to action, wouldn’t it be nice if it was remembered for more than 30 seconds?

4.  Print newsletters have more perceived value. How many companies are willing to print and mail a newsletter?

5.  Print newsletters stick around. People keep print newsletters for further or future reading. And they usually get passed around.

Still love your ezine? Then do both. Send an email newsletter on a weekly basis. But, send a monthly print newsletter, too.

There is a GOLD STANDARD to determine which one is best for you.

Just ask your clients. Survey them to see which one THEY prefer. After all… isn’t it all about what our customers want?

Taking action just feels right,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: Click Here to tell me where to send your 3 free sample issues of Exceptional Living

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We just got in… it was gritty and aggressive.

THREE LESSONS LEARNED:

-  Get in, get it, and get out.  If you dawdle, you may leave the store on a gurney.

- Guard your stuff. Thieves abound; turn your head for a split second and your hard won prizes can disappear.

-  Be prepared to hold your own and NEVER back down.  Civility is put on and there are no rules of engagement… so don’t take anything personally.

WHY I’LL NEVER DO IT AGAIN

Yeah… great deals were to be had.

But as I walked out, I had this empty feeling in my gut.

These Big Stores don’t give a damn about me. I know this isn’t a revelation – but the point was driven home with sledgehammer today.

If the stuff I bought doesn’t work – I just got a one way ticket to customer service hell.

If I had bought from a local merchant (and paid the freakin’ extra $100) and have an issue – I go deal with a person face-to-face. I don’t call some guy in India that’s impossible to understand and doesn’t give a rip about me.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

It doesn’t matter what day of the year it is, ’cause this applies 365 days a year.

It’s customer service; knock-their-socks-off GREAT customer service.

Example: One of my companies charges DOUBLE what my competitors do – and we have no problem staying busy.

Our service just WOW’S our clients – so they call us over and over again.

People want to do business with people. Let your clients ’see’ you every month. A monthly client newsletter set’s the stage for this kind of relationship with your customers.

And it works no matter what business you’re in.

I do 97% of the work; it’s brain dead easy to use with our online newsletter template. Click here to see what I’m talking about.

Taking action just feels right,

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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Don’t have one?  You better not wait too long.

I’m not making this up. There is a real-life Director of WOW.

He works at High Point University. HPU is a private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina. It has about 4000 students.

The position was created TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN STUDENTS.

Gee… I wonder if applies to your business…

In their words:

“Without students, there is no university. To continually move forward, we must always ‘wow’ our students, our faculty, staff and friends. We must ‘wow’ anyone who comes into contact with our university.”

Here’s the top three things they did to create WOW:

1.   Brought in an ice cream truck and put up kiosks for free ice cream, food and drinks. This sells the value of generosity.

2.   Free car washes on the weekend. With all of the construction, this sells the value of respect for the students’ property.

3.   Valet parking for students after 9 PM. This sells the value of safety and security – even on an already-safe campus.

There’s a concierge desk, a hot tub and free snacks. Classical music wafts through the grounds. If it sounds more like a five-star hotel, HPU discovered when students know you care, they reward you by doing well in the classroom.

The list goes on and on. It’s really remarkable.

The bottom line is that enrollments have high skyrocketed and these students don’t want to leave.

How could this work in your business?

Be extraordinary. Be memorable. Knock your customers damn socks off.

Offer impossibly great customer service.  Let your customer know you and LIVE AND DIE by your guarantee to them.  Wow them so much they feel obligated to tell people about you.

You are the Director of WOW for your business. And I can help you with this.

A full, edge-to-edge newsletter will creates an amazing WOW factor for your company.

I do all of the heavy lifting for you. Exceptional Living client newsletter really is 97% done for you. The newsletter template is made for you.

It takes about two minutes to activate your free account.

This is how you get clients for life,

-  David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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To review…

The Law of Leadership says two bodies can’t take up the same space.  So if you become the first one, it’s your spot forever.

Having your own category is a powerful thing.  And being FIRST in your own  category makes it impossible for anyone to copy you.

If there’s not a category for you to be the first, fashion one.  And if you’re not already the first one in that category, then create a spot.

How can you do this ethically… without LYING?

It easy and ethical.  Here are 7 ways:

1. Be the first to accommodate a specific area of business

2. Take existing products or services and create another option that’s new

3. Be the first to cater to a market in a brand new way – offer the same product or service but put a new spin on it.

4. Customize a product or service for a specific market.  If you’re a carpet cleaner, say your customer base is residential homeowners. You could become the first to offer a special dust mite treatment exclusively for your customers.

5. Even if you’re not the first, you can market yourself as ‘the leader in carpet care for asthma sufferers’ or ‘the first cleaning service for the smart homeowner.’

6. Can you add a brand new service or product to your business no one else has?

7. Can you sell the same service but in a brand new market – using carpet cleaners again – specialize in working with pet owners.

It’s not hard to do – but it does require some deep thinking.  And once you come up with your strategy, market the hell out of it.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Don’t worry about being the best.  If you’re an ethical entrepreneur, you already have great products or services.

Being first is a heck of a lot more important.  When you do this, you will automatically receive status and ranking – and YOU never even have to bring it up.

Whatever you come up with  it doesn’t need to be exclusive. It just needs to be perceived that way.

Your next step? Create a USP (Universal Selling Proposition) and plaster it all over your monthly client newsletter.

Hey, did you know I have one you can use?  (I had to put that in there, right?)

Anyway, check out the December issue of Exceptional Living.  It’s a great print newsletter. Click here to see the December issue.

Let’s get to work!

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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I just watched the latest ad for Verizon Wireless.

The first teaser ad a couple of weeks ago for their new Droid left many stunned. Verizon flat out declared the iPhone was… (gasp)… in some way deficient!

The newest ad has left no doubts that Verizon has taken off the gloves and is ready for a bare-knuckled brawl.

What does this have to do with you?

Controversy is our friend. Nothing gets attention like good, old-fashioned hullabaloo.

Think about it: The more you conform to everyone else, the more you’ll blend in. You don’t stand out.

That’s why it’s not a bad thing to be different.

Create a little controversy now and then.

You’ll never going to please everyone, anyway.  Why not step out of your marketing comfort zone? Throw your customers a curve ball every now and then.

Another direction on this is what marketer Bill Glazer calls “Outrageous Advertising”. Its off-the-wall marketing gimmicks that get noticed – isn’t that what we  want anyway?

Would you have an offer celebrating Ben Franklin’s discovery of Electricity? “Get Plugged Into Our Shock and Awe Event…”

Or instead of a promotion for the 4th of July, celebrate Bugs Bunny’s birthday. “We’ve Gone ‘Bugs’ For Our Clients…”

These are  just two of the suggested offers we’ve created in Exceptional Living client newsletter for our customers to use in their marketing.

They work because taking the road less traveled is very profitable.

If you haven’t guessed by now, we are a marketing company.

We happen to sell print newsletters. And postcards… thank you cards… reminder cards…

Well, you get the idea.

Taking action just feels right,

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

PS: In case you’re curious, here’s the link to the Verizon Ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JgrBtn8XdU

-David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

Clients for Life, Newsletter, client newsletter, customer newsletter, marketing newsletter, patient newsletter, print customer newsletter, print newsletter client, customer, David Gruttadaurio, exceptional living, marketing, Newsletter, newsletters, template, templates

So I’m sitting at a traffic light waiting for it to turn green when I notice the signage on the truck in front of me.

It was a security company vehicle. On the back it said: “We Return Calls.”

It may not sound all that special, but in today’s customer service wasteland, it’s a pretty big deal.

I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but this company created for itself a USP – a Unique Selling Proposition.

Marketing legend Rosser Reeves created the concept in 1961. He said a USP had three parts:

1. Each ad must make a proposition – “Buy this product and you get these benefits.”
2. The proposition must be unique – something that your competitors do not, cannot or will not offer.
3. The proposition must sell – it must be something prospects really want; it pulls them over to your product.

Marketer Dan Kennedy defines USP this way:  “It explains why I should do business with you above any and all other options, including doing nothing.”

Here are some great examples:

“You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.” -Domino’s Pizza

“When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight” – FedEx

“It melts in your mouth, not in your hands.” – M & M’s (created by Reeves himself)

As these examples (and others you can probably think of) show, a USP will separate you from the herd and quickly grow your business.

It defines who you are and it shapes how people think about your company.

It will also create great clarity in your business and in your mindset. 
 
Here’s the rub:  Only YOU can create your USP.  You can’t outsource it or hire a consultant. Only you can do it.

Frankly, it’s not an easy thing to do and it requires a lot of thought. 

But… it’s worth the effort because a great USP gives you an incredible marketing advantage over your competition.

Just imagine what will happen when you join your USP with Exceptional Living print newsletter that you send to your customers every month. 

Now you become unbeatable.  Your competitors will never know what hit them.

Kick butt and take names.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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‘Cheers’ was the place where “everybody knows your name.”

In marketing, there aren’t too many things more important than the Cheers Factor.

Here’s why…

If people don’t know you, they won’t trust you. And they until they trust you, they aren’t going to spend a dime with you.

It’s that simple. No trust – no sale.

Obviously your first marketing mission is to get known. Once your client knows something about you, the door to trust is opened, which leads to sales, referrals and profits.

Fortunately, getting known isn’t that hard. For proof of this, just look at Paris Hilton and all those Kardashians. If THEY can become famous, anyone can be become well-known.

So while its great if “everybody knows your name”, getting those same people to trust and to like you is much more difficult.

This is where a customer newsletter like Exceptional Living is extremely valuable to you. It’s the ultimate portal to creating a trusting client relationship.

Here’s why this is important:

Gallup Poll research shows that the key to wooing customers isn’t product or even price. It’s emotion.

A newsletter that reveals your own emotional engagement leads to a more loyal and profitable customer list. People go out of their way to deal with someone whose values they respect, whose style they like, and whose sincerity they appreciate.

When people believe in you, they demonstrate it with their loyalty and by bringing in more business to you.

Exceptional Living does this in many ways. The best example is right on the first page, with the ‘My Corner’ column.

The October issue talked about the Despicable Pet Owner. Buttons were pushed and people responded. It generated a ton of emotionally-charged calls and emails to our office.

It also increased sales by 27% over the previous month.

Check out what the fuss was all about.  You can read the October issue.

Just go to WebtoPrintIQ, activate your free account and check out Exceptional Living.

While you are there, you can also view the issue coming up in November and even inspect the September issue as well.

Taking action just feel right.

- David Gruttadaurio
“The Print Newsletter Expert”

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