Make a Connection with Your Ezine Readers

Are there ezines that you receive that you just can’t wait to read? I know I have 3 or 4 that I read as soon as they hit my inbox, and others that I print and put in my "reading box" next to my desk. What do you think makes me want to read those few right away?

It’s the personal connection I feel to the author, even if I don’t know that person (some I’ve met, some I haven’t yet). Besides the valuable content I get each time I read their newsletter, I am most interested in finding out what’s happening with them, personally and professionally.

As they share more about themselves and their lives, I get to know, like and trust them (and their products or services) over time (and you know that people usually only buy from people they know, like and trust, right?). And eventually I tend to make the investment in them and their offerings.

For example, I was (and still am) a subscriber to Chris Barrow’s "More Profit in Less Time" ezine for about a year when I learned through it that he was holding a live event in NYC. I signed up (at $200), attended the event, and left as a client (for $450/month). Do you think I would have invested that kind of money if I hadn’t gotten to know, like and trust CB and his materials? Of course not.

So, how can you put more of YOU in your ezine to make that connection with your readers? Try some of the following:

> What’s going on with you? Can you think of two or three things that are happening in your life right now that you could share with your readers? You only need to get as personal as you feel comfortable with, so don’t feel that you need to share everything, by any means. Just a couple of things that you can share comfortably that your readers might find interesting as well as help them feel more connected to you.

For example, are you going on vacation soon or did you just get back from a trip? This is usually an easy topic to start with, and don’t be surprised if your readers write to you to suggest hotels, tell you their experiences when they visited the same locale, etc.

Or do you have a pet that you can relate stories about? You’ll be amazed at how many of your readers will feel like they really know you if you share your latest "adventures with Rover" stories.

> Ask for help. If you are trying to make a decision about something, ask your readers for suggestions and feedback. To continue the vacation example above, say you are considering taking a cruise. Ask your readers for suggestions as to their favorite cruise line, or which ones to avoid. They’ll be happy to help!

Or for an another example, I know when we go to sell our house in the next few years that the first people I’m going to let know about it are my ezine readers. Maybe none of them would be interested, but they might know someone who is!

> Add photos. I try to add a photo every week, if I can (it’s not hard when I take a lot of pictures of Chloe!). A photo of yourself is also a really good idea. It goes a long way in helping your readers see you as a real person.

Try to incorporate these ideas into one section of your ezine, either at the beginning or the end. You can call it anything you like: A note from you, personal reflections, from the desk of_______, etc. Personally, I like to see it at the beginning since it’s usually the part I read first… 🙂

Remember not to take up too much space, though. You still want the majority of your ezine to contain quality content for you reader, since that’s why they signed up in the first place!

© 2005 Alicia Forest and ClientAbundance.com

WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE? You may, as long as it remains intact and you include this complete blurb with it: Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com, and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com

What Trump’s Winning Apprentices Know

Do you continue to create products/programs/services that you think your prospects need – offerings that seem the most logical to you that will help your prospects do, be or have better – but you can’t seem to sell many – or any? 🙂

There are two things you need to remember when creating any offering for your niche:

1. People buy what they want, not necessarily what they need.
2. People buy based on emotion, not necessarily on logic.

And if you’re a fan of The Apprentice, you’ll see time and time again that the team that wins is the one who nails both emotion and desire in their marketing message! 🙂

There are several ways to get this information and use it to help you create an offering that will solve your prospect’s problems and make a profit for you at the same time.

The best way is to do your research. Make sure you conduct market research of your niche on at least a quarterly basis. You want this to be an ongoing part of your marketing campaign so you can keep up with the changing desires of your target market and continue to offer them what they want (not what you think they need).

Here are some ways to do this:

1. Simple: Ask them!

Ask your prospects a simple, open-ended question, like "What’s your biggest challenge with building your business online?" or "What’s the one thing you’d like to learn more about that relates to balancing your work and family life?" Tailor the question to your niche and use the information you receive to help spark ideas for new products and services.

You can put this question to your target market a number of ways: as an autoresponder when they sign up for your freebie offering, periodically in your ezine, ask them on your teleclass and have them email you their response, or ask them on discussion boards and blogs in your niche.

2. Almost as Simple: Do a simple survey…

that asks 1-10 questions using a survey tool like Zoomerang or Survey Monkey. This allows you to ask more specific questions to elicit more specific responses. Doing a survey like this really helps you to NOT waste your time creating offerings your target market simply doesn’t want. (For example, in my latest survey, I’m discovering that no one really wants more information about "defining your niche." Now I know not to focus more energy in that area. Cool, huh?)

3. Advanced: Set up an Ask Database campaign (www.AskDatabase.com).

This tool helps you ask your niche what they want in a sophisticated and professional-looking way. It does a few other things besides just asking the questions, so if you have the budget, it might be worth looking into. (And if you use this system, would you email me and let me know how it’s going? I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s part of my plan going forward.)

One last tip: To entice people to share their thoughts with you, offer them a free gift for answering your question or taking your survey. It’s also a nice way to say thank you for their time.

The information you glean from implementing this strategy (especially over time as your list grows) is priceless! Try it for yourself and see if you don’t agree… 🙂

© 2005 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com

WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE? You may, as long as it remains intact and you include this complete blurb with it: Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com, and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com

How to Increase Your Sales BEFORE You Launch Your Product or Service

Want to increase your sales BEFORE you launch your product or service? The following are some of the most effective ways to do just that:

1. Use Social Proof

What is "social proof"? Simply put, we are all conditioned to watch what others are doing and follow along (think teenagers). Using social proof in your marketing helps you to influence your customers to purchase your products/services, get new prospects to sign-up for your list, and get people talking about you and your offering – and that’s just the start.

So, how do you use this psychological trigger in your marketing?

One way is to use results-based testimonials. Ask your current customers or clients to give you results-based testimonials. They literally say, "I used this product and these are the results I got."

Having celebrities give these to you is great, but make sure you have testimonials from REAL people. Those are the ones that are really going to cement the idea in your potential buyer’s mind that they can do it, too.

2. Answer your prospects #1 objection

To take "social proof" to a deeper lever, anyone who is buying anything almost always has this #1 objection: "Sure, you can do it, but can I do it?"

In addition to using yourself as an example (if appropriate) as evidence that what you are offering does what you say it will, it’s also important to make sure you get "social proof" from people in your client/customer’s peer group. Then your potential buyer sees people like themself and understands that "Hey, it worked for them, it can work for me, too."

3. Use a time limit

Creating a sense of urgency around your product or service will make it that much more enticing to potential buyers. For example, Jeff Walker just released his "Product Launch Formula" and has promised to sell it for $997 for one week only. After that he will raise his price. He doesn’t even have to tell us by how much. Just knowing that you have one week to buy at a lower price creates that sense of urgency.

4. Use a limited quantity

If you are selling a physical product and you are only having 100 produced, then use that information to create the same sense of urgency you would with a time limit. Use a countdown on your website to further create the feeling that if your potential buyers don’t buy now, they may miss out.

5. Use a time or quantity limit on bonuses

Additionally, you could offer bonuses for a certain length of time (first week only) or for a certain number of products sold. For example, the first 30 buyers would get an additional special report (valued at $XX).

The last three strategies also help your buyers feel like they are part of your "club" when they join by purchasing your product or service.

Obviously, you can use these tactics unscrupulously, and I’m sure you’ve seen it or experienced it yourself. But if you want your business to truly be successful, in all the ways that are important and meaningful to you, then you must only use these strategies with integrity and honesty.

If you really are only going to print 100 copies of a physical product, then only print 100 copies. That doesn’t mean that you can’t do another print run. It just means that you tell your market that you’re only going to print 100 now, and if you do decide to do another run, then they will have to wait another two or three weeks before they can get their copy.

If you really are going to raise your price after a certain date, or after a certain number of items are sold, then you must follow through. You can give your current base a chance to buy at the "original" price before you raise it, but you still must raise your price if you say you will.

Your integrity using these strategies will create more sales for you than ever before. But use them to manipulate your prospects and it will come back to haunt you…guaranteed.

© 2005 Alicia M Forest and ClientAbundance.com

WANT TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE? You may, as long as it remains intact and you include this complete blurb with it: Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach™, founder of http://www.ClientAbundance.com , and creator of "21 Easy & Essential Steps to Online Success System™, teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com