Small Business, Tips and Tricks
I was scrolling through Facebook this morning, as I do most mornings. And afternoons. And evenings. And I noticed this article that someone had shared, and two of my friends (Jeryl and Shelley) had commented on, so I read it.
It’s a list of 12 things that they say only people who work from home will understand. And man, they really hit the nail on the head with a lot of them. But it occurred to me that just as all offices are not the same, all home offices are not the same either, so I wanted to adapt it and give you my version.
Yeah, I’ve been warned that working from home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and I’ve been told that you get really lonely, and that you need to make an effort to maintain a normal schedule, and regular contact with humans and sunlight, and on and on and on. I even read a handful of these articles with their own tips and suggestions. But still, I couldn’t have predicted some of this stuff.
So, here are 6 ways my life has changed since I started working from home (and I mean changed on a day-to-day basis, not on a higher philosophical level. Although, that’s happened too.):
Yes, I wake up later than I used to. For the past three years I was up between 6:30 and 7 am, and I was usually in the office by 7:30, or 8 am at the absolute latest. Now, I wake up between 8 and 8:30 and I’m in the office by 8:33 am. So, it’s really not too dramatically different. But it’s nice that I can manage my own schedule; although if I was keeping track of hours, I would wager that I’m averaging more hours per day of work now than I ever have before.
I never deal with traffic. Never, ever, ever. Because I work from home my commute is literally a walk from my bedroom to my office/kitchen. So as a result, the only times I drive are if I am taking Gatsby to the vet, or meeting someone for lunch, or running to the grocery store. And because I have this luxury, I am very strategic about driving at times when I know I won’t hit traffic. It’s nice. On the downside, sometimes I’ll go several days without moving my car and it’s really easy to forget where I parked. (In my neighborhood we don’t have dedicated parking, so it’s just on the street “somewhere”)
I’m acutely aware of the small things, like the mail man. Because Gatsby barks at him nearly every single day I always know when the mail has come. And it usually comes between 10 and 11 am. But sometimes it’s as late as 2 pm and I find myself thinking “Man, where is that guy…”. It’s not that I need my mail, I mean, who really gets mail anymore? It’s more just that I wonder what could have happened that his route is so far behind. Oh, and some days I’m convinced the mail man just skips us altogether. Jerk. When you’re gone all day and you get home your mail is usually there. End of story, but when you work from home it becomes a benchmark in your daily life.
I wear a tank top every single day. Or, a singlet as my Aussie friends might say. And it’s not because I’m some dirty bearded hippie. I get up, and I shower, and then I choose to put on a fresh clean tank top. I live in San Diego; and 99 times out of 100 a tank top is appropriate for the weather. Or for wherever I may be going that day (if I’m going anywhere). Now, if I’m filming a video that requires my face, or if I’m skyping with someone I haven’t met before I’ll put on something with sleeves (Sleeves are fancy, right?). I’m not a crazy person. But usually after that 30 minute call I’ll change back into something normal people wear on a jog.
I find myself talking to Gatsby more and more. It started with the usual stuff you say to your dog, you know, asking them if they want a treat. If they’re hungry. If they need to go out. If they want to take an extremely long walk to that one burrito shop with the best guacamole. That sort of thing. But now I find myself carrying on full conversations with him as I deliberate about the structure of one of my blog posts. Or consulting him for advice as I’m fervently trying to troubleshoot something technical that isn’t making sense. It’s really useful that he’s here because it makes me feel a lot less like an insane isolated hermit.
Social Media. I’ve always been a really active participant in the social media space. I love tweeting my random thoughts, and I love interacting socially on Facebook and LinkedIn. But now I spend more time on Facebook than ever, and it’s not just because I’m reading Buzzfeed articles that Jeryl shares (although I do that too). It’s because I am legitimately working. You see, part of how I keep my Infusionsoft knowledge sharp and polished is by trying to answer questions, and solve puzzles that pop-up in the various Facebook groups. In fact, a few months ago I started my own private group as part of my Monkeypod OG Membership. And I spend a lot of time curating resources and providing support for that group. So, Facebook is pretty much always open, but it’s not because I’m avoiding work, it’s because I can’t stop working.
I could go on and on, but I think that’s a pretty decent snapshot. All in all, working from home has been awesome.
Yes, you need to be disciplined about setting boundaries or you can accidentally work until 2 am. One of my biggest struggles has been that because I work from home, I literally could be working at any time. And so if I’m doing anything but working, I feel like I’m not being productive. It’s been about five months now and I’ve developed a little more of a rhythm and a structure now, so that happens a little less.
But as with anything, developing a system and structure is key. I miss interacting with real live people, but at the same time, no one is stopping by my desk to interrupt my when I have noise cancelling headphones on and am wearing a look that says “don’t bug me”. I think that is something to which we can all relate.
That’s it, there’s no deep and meaningful lessons to this post. I just wanted to share what my experience working from home has been like. I’d love to hear yours!
Customer Experience, Small Business
At thirty years old, I’ve been well aware of George Zimmer and his Men’s Wearhouse brand probably since renting my first tux for high school prom. Since that awkward and memorable evening, I’d say I’ve rented or purchased items from Men’s Wearhouse between 5-10 times.
Well, recently I got fitted for another tuxedo at Men’s Wearhouse for a wedding, and it was memorable and awkward in a much less endearing way. I stopped in to get fitted, and 65 minutes later I left frustrated and annoyed. It wasn’t until I parked at home that I recognized the silver lining of the situation. I had had a negative customer experience, but the reasons it was negative could easily be translated into valuable lessons – which, subsequently, I thought would make a very nice blog post. (Sidenote: Sometimes I rewrite sentences to avoid saying “had had” or “that that”, but I’m working to embrace it and put more trust in the reader)
So here we are.
I arrived at Men’s Wearhouse and wandered over to what I deemed must be the rental section. I had never been to this particular store, and while there wasn’t anyone there to greet me, the stores are all roughly the same so I was able to quickly find the rental counter and make my way over there.
After a few minutes of standing around looking lost and puzzled among a handful of other equally confused guys, one of the busy clerks told me that I should add my name to the sign-in list.
Sign-in list? Okay, I’ve never been to a Men’s Wearhouse with a sign-in list, but sure. Why not? So I signed in, and after another few minutes, one of the guys waiting near me said “You’re gonna wanna fill out one of those forms” as he pointed at a note-pad with some sort of rental agreement form on it. Something about the tone he delivered this directive with gave me the impression that I was in for a treat.
My experience continued as such– vague and delayed instructions offered to me lazily by other gentlemen who also had better places to be.
After 15-20 minutes of standing around, I gathered that most of the other gentlemen hadn’t yet been helped either. And because I knew who had been waiting longer than I had, I surmised that I could safely run next door to Target to grab a few things and be back before they called my name.
I notified one of the (well-dressed) attendants that I’d be back shortly, and asked if my assumption about my position in “line” was correct. Her exasperated response was that they were working as quickly as they could, they wouldn’t come get me at Target, and if I wasn’t here they’d have to move on.
Noted.
After returning from Target, I resumed standing about with the other gents watching slowly as one after another was called for various measurements and fittings, and eventually my name was called. I stood awkwardly in between floor displays as they proceeded to take one measurement every few minutes in between rushed trips to the back to grab a different size shoe or shirt for other renters.
During my analysis while waiting I thought I had figured out that one employee was handling measurements, another was responsible for assisting the guys picking up tuxedos, and the last was collecting deposits; but when it was my turn to be measured my careful observations quickly fell apart. There was no longer a discernible rhyme or reason to their “system”.
They all were sort of doing each role. And the unfortunate result was none of the roles were being done effectively.
In fact, at one point they had taken measurements, written some numbers down and walked away to leave me standing long enough that I had to seek someone out just to ask “Am I all set here? Or, is there something else you need?”
There was more they needed. I resumed my ranks among the other impatient, dejected patrons.
Eventually, someone came back, summoned me again, and after trying on some shoes I gave them my credit card and they eagerly accepted my deposit. I got my receipt and as I (equally eagerly) turned to leave, I realized we hadn’t discussed where or when my Tuxedo would be ready. The wedding would be in Michigan, and I live in San Diego. The logistics of picking up my Tuxedo in a state other than the one in which I had been fitted seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle for the attendee at the rental desk.
So, I quickly googled the stores in the greater Lansing area and decided which one would be best for me, located the store number, and spoon-fed her the details to finalize and update my reservation. Then I quickly left, without an ounce of confidence that my tuxedo would arrive where I needed it, or in proportions that matched my own.
Listen, I’m not an unreasonable guy. And in the grand scheme of things I realize that 65 minutes isn’t that long. But that’s also kind of the point. This minor interaction is a fundamental part of their business. Men’s Wearhouse sells suits and men’s clothing, but they also do a fair amount of business renting tuxedos. So for a business who does this regularly, I’d expect them to have worked out an iron-clad system to get me in, fitted, and out.
At it’s very core, I’m paying $200 to rent clothing that other people have worn for a single evening. If I’m willing to accept that, it seems like making my experience as fluid as possible is the least they can do, right?
Yes, I gathered that they were busy. And I pieced together what I perceived to be the process. But as a customer, I want to be told exactly what is happening, and I want to be kept up to speed if that changes.
We could probably dive in to their whole rental process and identify a number of areas where it could be improved, but before we even go there I want to call out a much lower hanging piece of fruit for them. Communication.
(Nevermind the fact that I rented a Tuxedo 3 months prior and they insisted that I still needed to come in to be measured again…)
If Men’s Wearhouse had simply said “Hey, welcome, we’re really busy right now. But if you sign up here, and start filling out this paperwork, we’ll call you when we’re ready to get your measurements. We’ve got 4 people ahead of you, I’d guess it’ll be 30 minutes before we get started with you.” I think I’d have been just fine with it.
I don’t expect perfect service. It doesn’t have to be immediate. I totally understand what it’s like to be stressed, busy, or overwhelmed. But I’ll be much quicker to forgive mediocre or even poor service if you set the right expectation with me, acknowledge ownership and communicate clearly with me as things change.
I don’t want to bash Men’s Wearhouse too thoroughly, because they’re probably doing some things really well. I recognize that this was a single isolated experience. And because they’re a massive organization, there are things like this that can probably be overlooked without severe long term damage.
But that’s rarely the case for small businesses. It’d almost certainly have a much longer-lasting impact for my business. What about yours?
Things won’t always be perfect. And inevitably some of your customers will end up frustrated. But if you’re transparent with them you’ll find that they’re much more likely to accept your imperfections in stride. Or even go so far as to defend you to others (should you need it).
Sidenote: The Tuxedo arrived at the store it was intended to. And it didn’t fit originally, but the in-house tailor was able to make a few modifications and we ended up pretty sharp-looking bunch.
Guest Posts, Small Business
In a previous post, we had Coach Cameron Roberts outline the first four of his tips toward building a 6 figure coaching, training or consulting business. These tips are valuable for small businesses of all kind, but as Cameron has outlined, he’s dialed in to a niche within a niche, and has proven the strategies for specific business models.
The 7 Steps for Creating a 6 Figure Coaching, Consulting or Training Business in 6 Months or Less (Part 2)
Step 5 – Solve Big Problems
As a coach, consultant or trainer you are paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver to the marketplace. This value is the problems you solve.
Solve bigger problems and you can charge more in coaching, consulting and training fees.
Ask yourself these questions about your ideal clients:
- What are their fears?
- What are their frustrations?
- What are their deepest desires?
- What are their wants?
- What causes them stress?
- What keeps them up at night?
Then once you answer these questions get busy in creating product offerings around them to present to all your future prospects.
Nothing will build your coaching, consulting or training business faster than your ability to solve your prospects’ and customers’ biggest problems!
Step 6 – Compete to Win
An old sports coach once told me “2nd place is the first loser” – and while that may seem a bit hardcore, or not politically correct in today’s “everyone is a winner” society – it’s not too far from the truth of real life.
Think about the Olympics.
There’s 8 athletes in a swimming race final.
The difference between 1st and 8th in some races are fractions of a second.
The first place winner gets a gold medal and returns home to TV interviews, new sponsorship deals, and lots of publicity.
But what about 8th place who finished 0.50 of a second behind 1st place?
I mean they are the 8th fastest person in the world… certainly that’s worth something right?
Realistically we all know they don’t get the same sponsorship deals and opportunities.
In your coaching, consulting and training business – you’ve got to compete to win.
Business these days is “hyper-compeitive”.
Your competition is no longer the other coach or consultant in your neighbourhood, town or city.
Your competition is all the other consultants worldwide getting the attention of your prospecting clients.
This is a game you must play to win.
Plan to dominate.
Play hard.
Get up early.
Stay up late.
Never give up.
Get up, Dress up and Show up and you’ll go up!
Compete to win.
Step 7 – Be Sales Focused
Invest 20% to 40% of your working week “on” your coaching, consulting and training business rather than “in” your business.
Consultants and coaches tend to be great technicians – this is what makes them great consultants. But it can also make them lousy business owners!
As a business owner you must Master Sales!
Create a “Sales Focused” coaching, consulting or training business.
Have a look at your current prices and put them up 10% to 20% straight away.
Stop charging “per hour” and start charging “per package” or “per month” for your services.
Make a list of the different revenue streams you could create more sales from within the next 6 months.
And stop dropping your pants when it comes to your fees when you sense an objection from a prospective client.
There’s nothing that will damage your credibility more than backing down on your fees to get a prospect over the line. When’s the last time you seen a heart surgeon negotiate their fees to their patient on the table about to get operated on?
It never happens right – and if you’re great at what you do, it shouldn’t happen in your business either.
So invest 20% to 40% of your weekly business timetable working “on” your business and always keep a sales focus!
Here’s to your success – good luck with building your 6 figure coaching, consulting and training business in the next 6 months or less!
Regards,
Coach Cameron Roberts
Contact:
Cameron Roberts
Australasia’s Leading Sales Coach and Digital Marketing Consultant
Web: https://coachcameronroberts.com/
Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CoachCameron
Guest Posts, Small Business, Tips and Tricks
Once upon a time I was a nobody. And in the past few months I’ve skyrocketed to fame and I think I can trace it all back to the time I appeared on Coach Cameron Roberts podcast. Okay, so maybe skyrocketed isn’t quite true. And maybe fame isn’t the right word. But I was on a podcast with Coach Cameron and it was awesome. Here’s why: He’s super smart. Coach Cameron runs a consultancy in Australia, is an Ironman athelete, hosts a podcast, and has helped thousands of entrepreneurs. He’s a multitalented digital renaissance man and I was honored when he agreed to write a post for the Monkeypod Blog.
The 7 Steps for Creating a 6 Figure Coaching, Consulting or Training Business in 6 Months or Less
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re in the coaching, consulting or training industry.
But are you taking advantage of the opportunity to capitalize on what is a $200 Billion Global Industry?
The sad fact is many coaches and consultants never really make serious money.
Most are struggling to make $40k, $50k or $60k per year…
So how do you quickly flip your consulting or coaching business around so you go from making $50k per year to $50k per month?
That’s a great question. Glad you asked.
To help you out – I’m giving you my 7 Steps for creating a 6 Figure Coaching, Consulting or Training Business in 6 Months or Less.
And it all starts with the most important step of all…
Step 1 – Adjusting Your Attitude
Being a leading sales coach and marketing consultant – I love studying the human mind and the truth is that most coaches and consultants are not “sold” on their own services. They don’t back themselves. The vast majority act like a personal trainer for business owners when they should be acting like the heart surgeon.
It’s a mindset shift – you’ve got to adjust your attitude.
I recently discovered that we have 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day and 98% of these thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday!
What’s more alarming is that 80% of these thoughts are negative!
So the first and most important step is to adjust your attitude.
The reason is simple: All success starts in your mind.
You must be able to believe it before you achieve it. (I know, corny, right?)
If you can’t see yourself being a 6 figure coach, consultant or trainer – you’re limiting your own income potential.
Many years ago I adopted the habit of writing my financial and business goals down daily and it’s served me very well. I’ll also take 5 to 10 minutes out of my day, to visualise these goals “as if” they have already been achieved.
Then I’ll “act like” I’m already the person I want to become!
You should do the same thing.
Take out a piece of paper and write down all the goals you are COMMITTED to achieving in the next 3 months, the next 6 to 12 months and the next 12 months and beyond.
These form your short, medium and long term goals.
The main thing here is to only write down the goals you are 100% committed to achieving. This is not some “big dream for your life” or “vision board” – do that somewhere else.
This is an execution plan for driving your business to the next level regardless of what you go through, what the economy goes through or what your competition throws out you. It keeps you on track.
You’ll also want to listen to positive speakers, coaches and trainers who inspire you. With 80% of our daily thoughts being negative – you’ve got to be proactive about inserting some positive thoughts into your mind.
Then invest big in coaching yourself.
Here’s the odd thing about some coaches…
They dream of making lots of money but they won’t invest in other coaching programs and mentoring.
How do you expect to charge your clients $1000, $2000 or even $5000 per month if you flinch about paying a mentor the same (or more) per month?
I’ve had coaches and consultants contact me asking for help to grow their business but then tell me they don’t have the “budget” for that level of mentoring…
Talk about a money mindset block!
Let me make this crystal clear – your income as a coach or a consultant is capped to the level you’re prepared to invest into your own coach or mentor.
Want to charge $5000 per month to your clients?
Find a mentor you can pay $5000 per month to show you how it’s done!
Do yourself a favour – find a coach, consultant or trainer who is already getting the results you want and them pay them whatever they want to show you how to get the same results.
It’ll be the fastest way to grow your coaching, consulting and training business.
Step 2 – Define Your Niche then Drill Down Deeper!
To succeed as a coach, consultant or trainer you must specialize. No-one wants to pay big money for a generalist.
Consider the difference in fees between a general practitioner Doctor and a Heart Surgeon – even though they are both “Doctors”, which one earns the big money?
You need to stop being the “generalist” and start being the “specialist” – you need to become the heart surgeon of a niche market.
Then once you define your niche market – you need to drill down deeper.
You need a niche within a niche.
When I was a teenager I had a passion for competitive swimming… and this is where I first learnt about becoming a specialist and competing in a niche within a niche.
In swimming there’s over 5 freestyle events ranging from 50m to 1500m and there’s 3 form strokes (Fly, Back, Breast) that have 50m, 100m and 200m races and then you have the 200m and 400m Individual Medley. So in total there’s over 16 different races you can do and each require a very different type of preparation and training.
My old swimming coach use to say to me “Cameron – you can me a jack of all trades or a master of one, but you can’t be both.”
So I “mastered” the 200m breaststroke.
My sport was swimming. My niche was breaststroke. My niche within the niche was the 200m breaststoke.
I’ve down the same with every business model I’ve ever owned and operated over the last 15 years – and I help my clients do the same, because that’s where the money is.
It’s like drilling for oil – sometimes you’ve got to drill deeper to strike it rich!
Step 3 – Create an Avatar
Once you define your niche within a niche and you have a clear picture of your target market – you need to create an avatar of “who is your ideal client” within that niche market.
The truth is, you are not right for everybody in your market.
And not everybody is right for you!
So put pen to paper and describe your ideal client.
Who are they?
Where do they hang out? What do they enjoy doing? What are some of their character traits? What problems do you solve for them?
Get a clear picture of who your ideal client is – then create all your marketing messages, your sales dialogues and your business around them and for them.
It’ll stop you wasting valuable time taking on the wrong clients and you’ll be able to get better results for your ideal clients.
Step 4 – Build Your Brand
If you’ve completed the previous 3 steps then you’re ready to start building your brand.
Consider where you’re ideal clients hang out the most and be where they can see you.
Play hard on social media, Facebook, Google and Linkedin but don’t forget about some of the more traditional ways to network and build your brand.
Join traditional “offline” networking groups, attend business breakfast events, join community groups and even consider becoming part of a business group or chamber of commerce.
People want to do business with people they know, like and feel like they can trust.
The intention is not to sell your services to the people you form relationships within these groups – but to position yourself as the “go-to-guy” or “go-to-girl” for what it is you do so they can refer prospects to you.
We’ll be back in a few days with tips 5, 6 and 7. In the meantime, start mapping out how you can integrate this first four steps into your business growth plans. And as always feel free to ask any questions below!
If you’d like to contact Cameron Roberts, Australasia’s Leading Sales Coach and Digital Marketing Consultant, you can find him at:
Website: https://coachcameronroberts.com/
Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CoachCameron
Guest Posts, Marketing, Small Business
If you’ve ever met Dave Sherman, you probably noticed that he’s a genuine people-person. He’s a talented networker – but he doesn’t do it solely to be strategic, he does it because he loves people. He has a magnetic personality, one that naturally says “Come talk to me”. So, when I asked Dave to contribute to my blog, it only makes sense that he chose to write about attracting people to your business.
Attract More Prospects Today
If I were to ask a small business owner what he needs most in his business, more sales would probably be the most popular answer. However if he truly wants to grow a successful business, he needs to spend less time focusing on more sales and more time focusing on more prospects.
One of the most powerful ways to attract more prospects to a business is by creating lead magnets. Lead magnets focus on the idea of attracting people toward your business by providing them with value added information that can benefit prospects.
If you are like most small business owners, you tell everybody about the features of your business. How long you been in business, where you are located, who your best clients are, why you are so wonderful, etc.
Unfortunately, that is not what your prospects want to be hearing.
They want to hear how your business will directly benefit them.
Most people agree with this. You’re probably reading it, and saying “Yeah, that makes sense”, or maybe even “Duh”. But the reality is that acknowledging it, and executing on it are quite different.
When it comes to creating successful lead magnets, you need to focus on topics that will directly benefit your prospects. You need to focus on things like how they can avoid common mistakes, avoid competitor frustrations, achieve underlying goals, etc.
But how? That’s the million dollar question, right?
Based on those three topics, here are three templates you can use to generate a powerful lead magnet that will attract lots of interest from your prospects.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
- Three mistakes most people make when___________________________.
- Do you make these three mistakes when__________________________?
- Three common _________________ mistakes you don’t know you’re making.
Avoiding Competitor Frustrations
- Three questions to ask your ______________________________ before hiring them.
- The three biggest problems with________________________________.
- Three important things to consider when_________________________________.
Achieving Underlying Goals
- Three things you absolutely need to know about___________________________.
- Three keys to fixing your _____________________________ problem.
- Three proven techniques to better_____________________________.
There are dozens of ways to generate a lead magnet – and as simple as it sounds, you may start with what your prospects are already asking. What questions do you answer on a regular basis? If you were in your prospects shoes, what would you want to know? What are the most common objections people have?
Remember, you’re the expert in your field. Your prospects want the knowledge that is in your head, you just have to be willing to put it out there!
People want to be guided by someone who knows what they are talking about, but small businesses are often to humble to really embrace this. Sometimes we get too close to the knowledge we have, so close that we can even forget that it’s valuable, and unique. You are an expert, and people want your guidance. Take the information that you have – turn it into a lead magnet – and share it with the people that want it.
By incorporating powerful lead magnets into your small business marketing, you will start generating much more interest in your business which will lead to more prospects in your funnel.
Always remember that people don’t care about your business. They only care about what your business will do for them.
Guest Posts, Marketing, Small Business, Tips and Tricks
Paul Sokol, Data Scientist, Infusionsoft
Back in the saddle this week is my friend, and Infusionsoft’s campaign builder Mad Scientist. For a more thorough introduction check out one of his other posts on the Monkeypod Blog. Ladies and gentlemen, the man, the myth, the hair, Paul Sokol.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Email Marketing Pet Peeves
As a child, I remember reading about the “pet peeves” of the different ninja turtles in a book I had about the movie. This was a new term for me so I asked my mom about it and she explained “its stuff you don’t like”.
Nothing to do with your pets. Strange term but alright.
For the rest of my life, I’ve always thought about the ninja turtles whenever I saw the term “pet peeves”. So, when Greg asked me to write about my email marketing pet peeves, naturally I thought about those four turtle dudes.
Today, I’d like to have some fun and offer some actionable insights based on fictional characters. Think of it like fan non-fiction for your small business.
Here is what I believe would be the pet peeves of each ninja turtle if they used email today:
I’m going to start with my favorite ninja turtle because its my blog post and you can’t tell me what to do. Side-note: He’s the reason my favorite color is purple 🙂
Donatello is the smart nerdy guy. He definitely understands the value of good working systems and how things interact with each other. This means he would definitely not enjoy too little too late transactional messages
A “too little too late” transactional message is when the company follows up WAAAY to long after they should have for some interaction.
A common offender is when restaurants have a little card for you to join their email list for monthly offers and such when you are paying the bill. Then you completely forget about it. Then, months later, you get an email that thanks you for joining the list.
“Um, what? Oh yeah, I ate there in March…”
This is bad for a few reasons. First, it puts you at much higher risk for spam. If someone doesn’t remember signing up because you waited too long, you aren’t a welcome visitor in their inbox. Spam button activate!
Next, this actually is demonstrating your lack of concern for the inbox relationship. If I owned a restaurant, I’d be unreasonable about adding all new emails that I got every night after closing. By waiting too long, it reduces the impact of your welcome message. And if you wait for much too long, it basically conveys the message, “Oh yeah, you gave us your email huh? Well, here you go I guess…”
Doesn’t leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling at all.
Lastly, it actually puts your lack of systems front and center for your customers to see. As a consumer, I’d expect to be added to the list within a week at the most. By waiting too long, it just shows that you really don’t have your shiz in gear behind the scenes. So what does that mean is going on behind-the-scenes in the kitchen…
I know I used a restaurant example this whole time but this is something to avoid for any business. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve signed up for a newsletter, never received a confirmation email, then months later I get something that I don’t recognize. Know what happens then? I unsubscribe and mark as spam.
Raphael was the hot head; the guy with a temper. Really, he’s a super unique guy and expects to be treated as such. This is why being treated the same regardless of inbox interaction would be his biggest pet peeve.
Here is what I mean: In this day and age, with how advanced email marketing technology is, there is simply NO EXCUSE to treat everyone the same. For every email, there are (primarily) three outcomes. First, someone can never open the email. Second, they could open the email but never click through. Third, they could open the email AND click.
Why should you treat those three types of people the exact same? You shouldn’t. And that’s the point.
In fact, consumers today are hyperconnected and expect to be paid attention to. If you have an important email going out that someone really needs to read, you would be remiss to assume they have read it. Its easy enough to track open rates, so if they need to know this information, re-send it but ONLY to those who didn’t open. If you really want to let people know you care about the inbox relationship, address the fact they didn’t open the email. Don’t be creepy and big brother-ish about it, but by being authentic and up front about it can only bolster the relationship.
Here is one final example that, I hope, will drive the point home. Let’s say you create an event on Facebook and invite a bunch of friends. Then, lets say after a week you have a group of people who said they are going, a group who said maybe, and a group who said they couldn’t go. Would you really send the same message to all three of those groups? When you aren’t paying attention to inbox behavior, this is exactly what you are doing.
Michaelangelo was the cool guy. The laid back party dude. Just because he is a chill guy that doesn’t mean you can assume his interest which is why I believe his biggest email pet peeve would be assumed opt-in just because you are on the list.
Doing launches and promotions are great. They get important products and services into the hands of customers that can benefit from it. Quite often, introducing new products/services can be done to your exist email list.
There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is when you ASSUME they are interested.
If you have a whole email series ready to go, just because someone is on your list doesn’t mean you can assume their interest. Meaning, you can’t just start hammering them with emails without putting yourself at a severe spam risk and, more importantly, hurting the existing relationship.
Even worse, sometimes I’ve seen people do a reverse opt-in. Someone will send an email that effectively says, “Hey I’ve got this launch coming up and you’re going to be getting those emails. If you aren’t interested, click here”.
I can understand why someone might want to do that, but from the recipients standpoint its the wrong side of the coin. Rather than assume interest, tell people about it and have them take some action to choose to receive it.
You know who does this? Some more elite A-list marketers out there. Frank Kern is selling stuff all the time, but if you aren’t clicking and opting into his new stuff, you’d never know. Its all behind the scenes stuff. He NEVER assumes you are interested in what he has to offer even though you are on his list. And I’m pretty sure Michaelangelo would appreciate that 🙂
Leonardo was the fearless leader. He got things going and kept everyone safe. When it comes to email, the subject line can definitely be thought of as a message leader which is why I’m pretty sure he would be against useless preheaders.
Most email clients will show a small snippet of the email’s body after the subject line. A preview of the content.
You know what’s annoying? Seeing the dreaded “Can’t read this email. View in Browser” as the email preview. Giving people a different way to read the email is not a bad tactic. Its a good one. But its not the best way to leverage that exclusive preheader real estate.
I tend to think of things in terms of classic direct marketing. The subject line is the headline. You know what the preheader is? The sub-headline. The whole point of those two elements are to get the viewer reading further.
Use your email preheader as an extra nudge to get people to even open the email. Just like direct mail, if nobody opens it, it doesn’t matter how good the content is.
The preheader should further bolster the promise of the subject line while still remaining intriguing enough to get people to open and read.
This one tactic alone can boost open rates dramatically when done right. So why not make Leo proud and give it a shot?
What do you think? Can you relate to some of these? Let me know what you think in the comments below, cowabunga!
I never deal with traffic. Never, ever, ever. Because I work from home my commute is literally a walk from my bedroom to my office/kitchen. So as a result, the only times I drive are if I am taking Gatsby to the vet, or meeting someone for lunch, or running to the grocery store. And because I have this luxury, I am very strategic about driving at times when I know I won’t hit traffic. It’s nice. On the downside, sometimes I’ll go several days without moving my car and it’s really easy to forget where I parked. (In my neighborhood we don’t have dedicated parking, so it’s just on the street “somewhere”)
I find myself talking to Gatsby more and more. It started with the usual stuff you say to your dog, you know, asking them if they want a treat. If they’re hungry. If they need to go out. If they want to take an extremely long walk to that one burrito shop with the best guacamole. That sort of thing. But now I find myself carrying on full conversations with him as I deliberate about the structure of one of my blog posts. Or consulting him for advice as I’m fervently trying to troubleshoot something technical that isn’t making sense. It’s really useful that he’s here because it makes me feel a lot less like an insane isolated hermit.
