“Nobody Wants Your Email Newsletter!”
This week I started listening to the Building A Story Brand podcast by Donald Miller. It’s an awesome resource to understand how great brands are built. One line that stood out to me from their website critique was this:
“Nobody wants your email newsletter!”
Did you know that the average office worker gets 120 emails per day in their inbox? How many of those emails do you think actually get read?
In order to market well to people who visit our websites we have to think like them. I highly doubt that anyone who visits my website is really so enamored with my business that they want another email in their inbox from me about me.
So why should we use email marketing?
Email marketing is a highly saturated field! While most companies will struggle to generate interest from their “newsletter” I think there are two types of companies that can still benefit from email marketing:
1. The Visionary Company
Companies that are truly leaders in their industry create a following! These raving fans will sign up for email marketing and they are genuinely interested in every detail of these companies. Here are a few organizations that I personally follow because I love these brands and am inspired seeing what they do!
2. The Value Company
Because most of us don’t fall into category #1 we have to look at the value we’re providing for our readers. If your company isn’t exploring outer space reinventing the wheel it’s probably a good idea to instead focus on the value you can provide to people on a regular basis.
A great example of someone I follow in this category is Michael Hyatt. He is a model to me for providing value to readers because I’ve benefitted so much from his free resources. His writing is helpful to me and solves problems that I face daily in my work.
How do we provide value to readers?
1. Education
It’s easy to forget that we as a business leaders know things that other people don’t. When we work on something everyday we become so accustomed to it we forget that other people don’t know the first thing about it! What are you an expert in that other people would want to learn about?
2. Solutions
One of the best ways to gain client loyalty is to fix a problem for them! Think through what problems your clients and potential clients are facing and provide solutions. This works extremely well if the solution is also something you offer as a service!
3. Action Steps
Reading a blog post or newsletter can get you thinking but if you really want to provide results for your customers provide them with an action step! What is one thing you can challenge people to do that will help them take a step towards success in their business?
Therefore…Action Step: Survey Your Readers
One of the most insightful things I’ve done at Ramp was sending out a client survey a few months ago. I offered a free book to my paying subscribers in exchange for them filling out a quick survey about Ramp.
Through doing this I was able to learn what exactly people liked, what they didn’t like, what services they wished I would provide, and they all got a free book out of it!
Action Step: I challenge you to survey your clients! See what their problems are, what they’re dying to have you fix for them, what they want to learn more about…
If this seems like a difficult task shoot me an email! I’d love to assist in setting up a client survey and help grow your business!