|
|
 |
|
July 25, 2008 Issue #201
|
| |
Welcome!
Today we discuss stories. Specifically, how a
great story can make all the difference in your
E-Newsletter. I'll give you two suggestions for
making it
happen.
Click here to listen to today's
edition (8 minutes, 44 seconds).
Click here to
subscribe via iTunes (will load
iTunes Music Store).
All the best,
Michael J. Katz
Founder and Chief Penguin
|
|
| Hold The Date! |
| |
This summer's Blue Penguin Development Ice
Cream
Party is scheduled for
Tuesday, August 19th,
from
2 -
4 P.M.
Many more details to follow, but make sure to mark
your calendar in the meantime!
|
|
|
 |
|
Great Stories Make Great Newsletters
|
|
|
I was in the basement yesterday morning, looking
for a metal file that I could use to shave down the edge
of a piece of wood. I'll spare you the details
regarding what I was trying to accomplish, but I felt
confident that if I could get my hands on such a device,
my problem would be solved.
Sure enough, after rummaging around in the big
toolbox under the ping pong table, I found what I was
looking for. I brought it upstairs and happily
announced to my wife Linda (as I always do), "Ed Kelly
has done it again."
Ed Kelly (and his wife Marge) sold us our first
house in 1990. They'd been living there for 40
years at the time and couldn't have been happier for
us. In fact, a few days before we closed, they invited
us over for breakfast, during which they explained
everything from how to operate the furnace to how to
keep the house cool in the summer.
Then, just before we left, Ed took me into the
garage and happily gave me all his tools –
rakes, shovels, hammers, everything. "I won't be
needing these anymore," he said with a smile. And
that's why today, nearly 20 years later, we're still
thanking Ed when one of those tools solves a problem.
Ed and Marge were more than just nice people
though… they were really funny too. Here's a
true story that I assure you I am not making up:
We closed on the house in April that year, at the
Cambridge, Massachusetts courthouse. Linda and I,
Ed and Marge, and our two respective attorneys sat
around a big table as we completed the paperwork. It
was a big financial step for us, and I remember that
Linda and I were pretty nervous about the whole thing.
Suddenly, Ed looked down at the check in my hand
(made out to him for a couple of hundred thousand
dollars), and with a twinkle in his eye, said, "You
know Michael, if you got up and started walking away
with that check, I'd let you take three steps before
shooting you in the back."
Needless to say, he caught me off guard. But before I
could respond, Marge asked, "Why would you let him
take three steps?"
To which Ed replied, "I'd like him to go out thinking
he
made it."
I never found out if they rehearsed that or not, but it
sure got everybody laughing. And for us, it removed
the tension that was hanging over the room and the
situation.
What's this got to do with writing an effective
E-Newsletter? Nothing at all. But I think you'll
agree
that it's a great story… and great stories have
everything to do with great newsletters.
So stick with me as we take a look at two things
that made this story so effective:
- Great E-Newsletter stories are specific.
I could have started today's newsletter by simply
saying, "I was looking for a tool recently." Fewer
words certainly, but not nearly as engaging as, "I was
in the basement yesterday morning, looking for a
metal file that I could use to shave down the edge of a
piece of wood."
The second phrase tells you when I was looking
(yesterday), where I was looking (basement), why I
was looking (shave wood) and what exactly I was
looking for (metal file).
The detail helps you imagine the situation and in
doing so, you can't help but put yourself there with me.
Same thing with "1990," "how to operate the
furnace" and the Kellys themselves.
Lots of people advise business writers to just cut to
the chase because "e-mail readers are really busy."
Busy has nothing to do with it – it's all
about engaging the reader. My busy 12-year-old
daughter, Emily, won't pay attention to me long enough
for me to finish a sentence. But give her the latest
Harry Potter book and she'll read 900 pages in a
weekend.
If you remove the story detail in the name of brevity
you'll never hook your readers.
- Great E-Newsletter stories are personal.
Many newsletter writers tell stories about things that
happened to other people. Sometimes real events
(e.g. "Gandhi was once riding on a train and… ")
and sometimes just fable-ish (e.g. "You've probably
heard about the boy who…").
These can be both instructive and interesting, but
they're missing a key element… you.
Remember that the point of sending a marketing
E-Newsletter in the first place is to attract new (and
perfect) clients. If you don't share who you are
– if you don't reveal enough so that people can
start to trust you – they won't feel a connection
(i.e. they won't hire you).
As Annette Simmons observes in her (fantastic) book,
The Story Factor, "People don't
want more information… they want faith in you,
your goals, your success in the story you tell." Making
it personal accomplishes all this.
Look at the story up above. When you read it
you learn that my wife Linda and I have been together
since 1990 (at least); that we have a running joke
between us about how Ed Kelly continues to come to
our rescue; and even that we have a ping pong table in
the basement.
These facts aren't trust-inducing in themselves (you
may hate long relationships, jokes and ping pong),
however if you share a similar life and perspective, it's
a way to strengthen my connection to you.
As it turns out, the "best clients" are the ones who
share a similar world view (for whatever reason).
When your newsletter reveals who you are, these
people can find you and step forward.
Bottom Line: Great stories make all the
difference. Provide enough detail so that readers
can stay engaged; tell enough about yourself so that
they can learn to trust and like you.
|
|
| How I Bake The Cake |
| |
Today's edition of "How I Bake The Cake" focuses
on E-Newsletter bounces (i.e. newsletters which
are rejected by the recipient).
I'll give you a behind-the-scenes look at what I do with
bounces and show you how I get a "second chance" to
reach those poor folks who, let's be honest, can't live
another day without receiving this publication.
And, as if that weren't enough, you'll see my two
youngest children – live and in action –
at the start of
the video clip.
Follow this link to watch.
|
| |
|
| Enough About You, Let's Talk About Me |
| |
Free (Really Good) E-Newsletter Teleseminar
This Thursday
Join me and my friend Dick Larkin this Thursday, July
31st at 2pm Eastern (or 11am Pacific, if you want to
get up early), as we discuss "Secrets to Marketing your Business
with E-Newsletters."
Dick's built (and sold) several businesses and knows
lots about marketing – online and off.
Together, we'll do our best to waste an hour of your
time (and maybe give you some useful nuggets in the
process).
For details, registration and to listen to Dick's
soothing
voice, follow this link.
|
| |
|
| Vacation Help Needed |
| |
We're taking a family trip in a few weeks, driving from
Boston to Niagara Falls. Assuming we don't kill each
other in the process, we're looking for a great, fun
town to stop in overnight on the way back, about
halfway (or a bit more) in-between.
If you can recommend such a place, please
click "reply" above and send me an email! Much
appreciated.
|
| |
|
|
| |
Blue Penguin Development helps professional service firms get clients,
by showing them how to communicate effectively with the people they already know.
Call me: 508-497-0900
Email me: ContactUs@BluePenguinDevelopment.com
Web me:
www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com
Stalk me: One Ash Street, Hopkinton MA 01748
You are receiving this newsletter because you signed
up to receive it.
To
ensure that you continue to receive emails from me,
please add
contactus@bluepenguindevelopment.com
to your
address book today.
To subscribe to this newsletter,
send an email with your request to: ContactUs@BluePenguinDevelopment.com
Your privacy is important to me. I never rent, sell, share
or even think about your name with anybody else in the room.
Copyright ©2008 Blue Penguin Development, Inc. All rights reserved.
You may reproduce this article by including this copyright and, if reproducing it electronically, including a link to
www.BluePenguinDevelopment.com.
You must also make a loud penguin noise at noon (EST) each day while the article is in use (costume optional).
|
|
