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As Seen On:
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
PAGE 3
When Business Slows Down, You Have 2 Choices
PAGE 4 The Best Investment for My Marketing Dollars The Simple Method for Creating Killer Lead Magnets! Making a Business ‘Great by Choice’ PAGE 6 Are You Your Own Worst Enemy? A Killer Idea Starter for Your Content PAGE 7 Get to Know Lo Stopher PAGE 8 What Do You Get When You Go Brandless?
WHY YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN ISN’T WORKING LIKE IT USED TO AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
I have good news and bad news. Let’s start with the good news: The economy is rocking. For most, this will mean easy sales, more money, less stress, and more cool toys. Although the economy being good overall is great news because it allows customers and prospects to prosper and spend more money (especially on elective and luxury items), not all the news is positive. You may have noticed that it is getting more difficult to hire people, and when you are hiring, you may even have to increase what you’re paying to get quality applicants.
have a pulse, you have one. It may be a crap job, but you have one, and it likely pays pretty well.
typically has the added benefit of driving more people in than before, but it’s at an increased cost.
When entrepreneurs are forced to hire talent and pay them above what their skills are really worth in the marketplace, it is only a matter of time before those less-talented people are laid off or fired, which is not good for anyone. Another issue you may see is a decrease in your response rates on some or all of your marketing. This is also common in a good economy. You see, when people are flush, your discount offer that used to work so well simply isn’t enough to get people to take action. It may seem crazy, but in a good economy, you actually need to improve your offer — and make it more lucrative in many cases. Of course, this
“It may seem crazy, but in a good economy, you actually need to IMPROVE YOUR OFFER — and make it more lucrative.”
Given the 3.8 percent unemployment rate as of the writing of this article, if you want a job and you
Continued on page 2 ...
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... COVER CONTINUED At one point during the Great Recession, my wife, Mariah, and I were so broke that she did some of that crazy couponing. She’d get a dozen newspapers, and we’d buy stuff for pennies on the dollar. I remember one time when she found a deal for baby wipes that got them to 21 cents per box, and she bought out all the Walmarts across our city. We literally had over 250 boxes of baby wipes, all for about $60. Fortunately, we don’t need to crazy coupon shop anymore and haven’t had to in nearly 10 years, but when we were getting our first business in Boise off the ground, it was necessary. Those offers still exist, but it took hours and hours to find those deals and even longer to buy everything. We simply wouldn’t invest in that today. Getting us to use a coupon is so much more difficult now. I’ve never really used them, and it has to be a crazy good deal for Mariah to do it now. But if you want to attract an affluent person like my wife — or even a solid middle-class consumer — to your business, your offer may simply not cut it in a good economy. One other change you may need to focus on is your messaging. For example, in my business, newsletters really thrive in a couple of areas:
coming in and buying, so the focus on retention simply isn’t there.
stepping up my game and have created a killer referral program to give away a Tesla. If you want to win a Tesla, you can grab more details on that at NewsletterPro.com/Tesla . THE BOTTOM LINE Good and bad economies come and go, and this one will pass, too. You need to be prepared for it when the ride is over. If you’re thinking, “Well, this one won’t pass soon — it just started,” think again. Economists say we’ve been in a rising economy since 2011. It may not have felt like that to most of us, but they use math to figure these things out, and I typically don’t argue with math. Except common core — that’s just BS.
My newsletter product hasn’t changed — newsletters still help with all four of the areas I listed — but we’ve found that shifting messaging based on the economy helps us close more sales. Now, you may think it’s counterintuitive to do any of this in a good economy. You may even wonder why I would spend more for a new customer in a good economy. Why don’t I simply cut that marketing? After all, I’m getting plenty of new customers as it is. This is just the thinking that kills businesses when the economy turns. When the economy is strong, you want to keep your marketing going and improve it where you can. You want to take existing metrics that are good and make them great. This is the time to double down and grow. This is the time to experiment with a killer referral program. I practice what I preach here. I’m “Good and bad economies COME AND GO, and this one will pass, too. You need to BE PREPARED for it when the ride is over.”
• Retention of existing customers
• More referrals
• Closing more prospects
• Additional sales to existing customers
A good economy is the time to double down on your marketing. It is time to be bold with your offers and take care of the customers you’ve got. Do all of this, and not only will you thrive over the next 1–3 years while the economy is rocking, but when we do take a downturn, you’ll be well- prepared to ride the wave and come out on top.
Of course, there are a few more benefits, but you get the point. You see, in a bad economy, the best benefits for us to talk about are improved retention of existing customers and improved sales to existing customers. Why? Because the sky is falling and people are losing customers left and right with few new customers coming in, so keeping the ones they have is a huge priority. In a good economy, the messaging of “retain existing customers” doesn’t work as well as “get more new referrals and close more sales.”
The reason is that many businesses have a higher-than-normal number of new customers
–Shaun
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When Business Slows Down, GIVE UP OR PUSH HARDER BUSINESS HOW-TO You Have 2 Choices:
As I write this, we’re a few days out from July. Traditionally, July is a slow month for new sales in the business-to-business world. Most Americans take trips with their kids, leave for a quiet vacation with their spouse, or maybe are just occupied at work because summer is their busy season. Regardless of the reason, it isn’t the busy season for most B2B companies. All businesses have this slowdown period. Yours may be in February or at Christmastime, but no matter when it happens, no one likes when sales are slow. During my first few years in business, I didn’t know this was the pattern. July would hit, and I would be in full-on panic mode by mid-month.
I’ve heard some really smart people who have varying opinions on this topic. Partly I think the choice comes down to budget and desire for growth, but I’m not sure there is a right or wrong answer here. MY DECISION I’m always growth-minded, and personally, I want to conquer a slow month. July typically reaps new sales that are about 30 percent of a normal month. August is better but still only gains about 70 percent of a typical month. So my theory is that we should push hard in July with hopes that some of that hard work will spill over into August. My goal is for July’s new sales to be 70 percent of a normal month and for August to be 100 percent on par with a normal month. If this happens (or if we even get close), I’ll consider that a huge win. THE PLAN AND THE LOGIC
aren’t paying attention. So we have a few new-lead promos, but the bulk of our efforts is going to be focused on people who are already on our list.
Here are the three main areas we’re going to focus on:
PEOPLE WHO WE’VE RECENTLY SPOKEN WITH BUT WHO HAVEN’T GIVEN US A YES OR A NO
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PAST HOT LEADS WHO HAVE GONE DARK ON US
2 3
LEADS THAT NEED TO BE RE-ENGAGED
By focusing internally more than externally, we have a much better chance of closing a sale since these people already know, like, and trust us. Theoretically, they also have some interest in our products and services as well. To some extent, this comes down to a numbers game. We have to reach out and provide value to double the number of people we have to provide value to during a normal month, but all the effort will, in theory, have both a short-term (July) and long-term (rest of 2018) payout. To be 100 percent transparent, I have no clue if this campaign will work or not. I have seen people have crazy success marketing during their traditionally slow months. I’ve even created some of the campaigns to provide that success. But, as with any new marketing strategy, it really is a bit of trial and error with no guaranteed results. Even if we don’t turn July around and make it a good month, I do know one thing for sure: If I don’t try, I guarantee myself a slow month.
I was running around like Chicken Little, driving my wife and my team crazy.
Now that I recognize that this slowdown is just a seasonal issue, I’m left with two choices: I can give up or push harder.
We won’t likely make up for a slow month with a ton of new lead promotions. Many people simply
–Shaun
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MARKETING HOW-TO
CLIENT SUCCESS
THE SIMPLE METHOD FOR CREATING LEAD MAGNETS! KILLER
I opened my own personal injury law firm in May 2017. I knew I needed a newsletter to keep in touch with prior and current clients. After looking into several options, I decided to use The Newsletter Pro. In addition to being very price-competitive, I felt that they had really put a lot of thought into the “how” and “why” of what they do. My first newsletter with them was the December 2017 edition. I was warned that it might take a few months for my writer to really capture my voice and that a paper newsletter is not a quick solution for getting new business, but you couldn’t prove any of this by me. From the very first edition, I was blown away by the graphics, layout, and articles! My writer, Joe, captured my voice from the start! After the first edition went out, a prior client of mine (who until that point hadn’t realized I had opened my own practice) called me with a referral. Six months later, I can confidently say that The Newsletter Pro is the BEST INVESTMENT of my marketing dollars — and only takes about 20 minutes of my time each month! I have referred several friends and colleagues and will continue to do so! “THE BEST INVESTMENT FOR MY MARKETING DOLLARS!”
OUR BOOKSHELF
‘GREAT BY CHOICE’ The Role of Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck in Success Since penning his first book while teaching at the Stanford University School of Business, one question has dominated James Collins’ authorial career: How do companies thrive? With rigorous research and a healthy amount of skepticism for traditional wisdom, Collins has pursued this age-old question for decades. His seminal work, “Good to Great,” shook the business world in 2001. But the world shook Collins right back. Shortly after the completion of what was to be his magnum opus came the destabilizing events of the early 2000s. As Collins himself puts it, “America awoke from its false sense of stability,
– Melissa Emery Emery Law Office
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face of many long-held beliefs in the business community. One concept the book hammers home is the mentality of the “20-mile march,” which draws on the historic journey to the South Pole led by Roald Amundsen in 1911. Amundsen’s trek had its fair share of blizzards, but he held his men to an average of 15 miles per day. But the fact that this 20th-century explorer pushed his men to success through suboptimal conditions is only half of Collins’ point. You see, Amundsen’s approach also applied to fair weather, stopping his men after 20 miles despite conditions that would allow them to go much farther. It’s this restraint that characterizes the true character of a 10X leader, according to Collins. It isn’t enough to push your company toward success when the market is bad. You also have to take care not to outgrow your resources when the economy is remarkably good. Companies that don’t show restraint in the face of luck can quickly find themselves out in the cold. STEP 1: Write down the top 7–10 questions you get from prospects before they buy. STEP 2: Write down the top 7–10 questions prospects should ask before they buy but typically don’t. STEP 3: Write 1–3 bullet points that will help you easily answer those questions. STEP 4: Grab your phone and record the questions and your answers to the questions. Use the bullet points to remember what you wanted to say when answering those questions. STEP 5: Go to Upwork.com or a similar service and have the recording transcribed. STEP 6: DON’T READ THE TRANSCRIPTION! Send it to someone else on Upwork.com to be edited into a story. STEP 7: Read the edits and add or subtract as you see fit. Make sure you add clear next steps and calls to action where they are needed. STEP 8: Have the document edited one more time.
STEP 9: Give this lead magnet a name. STEP 10: Have a designer create a cover and layout, and format the document so it can be emailed and printed as needed.
safety, and wealth entitlement.” Faced with a world of government deficits, a crashing bull market, and a global war on terrorism, Collins and his team began asking a new question: How do some companies manage to survive and thrive despite chaos? After nine painstaking years of research, he published the answer. “Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck — Why Some Thrive Despite Them All” is Collins at his absolute best. Methodical in approach and compelling in delivery, this New York Times best-seller examines companies that rose far and ahead of their competitors despite facing challenges beyond their control. Collins refers to these stalwart companies as “10Xers,” because each one of these companies’ stock market values is at least 10 times their industry average. And yes, every 10Xer overcame a significant amount of chaos and vulnerability. With clearly defined parameters, “Great By Choice” breaks down nearly a decade of research into grounded claims that fly in the Have you ever struggled to create a lead magnet? I know I used to all the time. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be hard. Everyone wants the perfect lead magnet, but any lead magnet is far better than no lead magnet at all. A lead magnet is anything of value provided for free or at a very low cost that allows a prospect to engage with your company before they buy. An example of one of our lead magnets is my book on newsletter marketing that we send out in that big orange envelope. Too many of us ask prospects to take a leap of faith by going straight for the sale instead of offering something of value first in exchange for the prospect’s information. With their information, we can educate and follow up when they’re not 100 percent ready to pull the trigger and buy now. Now that we’re all on the same page about what a lead magnet is and how we use it, I’ll share with you an easy way to create a killer lead magnet.
That’s it.
Once you have your lead magnet, you can use it to educate customers in office and via your website. You can drive traffic to it from AdWords, Facebook, your newsletter, direct mail, and a variety of other sources. When you get the leads, follow up with them via online and offline marketing. In no time, you’ll see more sales rolling in. –Shaun
Have You Heard the Good News?
James 1:17 — ”Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Matthew 11:28–30 — ”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Philippians 4:6–7 — ”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ... the God of peace will be with you.”
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BETTER YOUR BIZ AND LOSING MILLIONS? ARE YOU YOUR OWNWORST ENEMY,
Do you ever feel like the bottleneck in your business? In hindsight, I can look at points and times in my business and show you that the reason we weren’t growing or moving forward on a project was because I was my own worst enemy. I feel like every entrepreneur who is honest has felt this way at one time or another. My team normally feels like I’m an asset (at least, I hope they do), but over the years, a few of them have become comfortable enough to tell me when I’m the problem and not the solution. But I haven’t always had that team or wanted that type of relationship with my team. So how do you know when you’re the problem, not the solution? One of the things I do each year is make a list of everything I do. This list serves two purposes. First, I want to try to identify areas where I am bottlenecking the process, then remove myself from that process. Second, I delegate tasks I don’t want to do any longer, giving them to someone else who
In the past, you probably relied on keywords to generate topic ideas. While that’s not a bad starting point, very few people input a string of keywords when they use a search engine. AnswerThePublic lets you know what people are actually searching for. When you input a term into AnswerThePublic, it will generate web-like visualizations of the most common searches based on three categories: questions, prepositions, and comparisons. Basically, it aggregates Google autocomplete responses in a matter of seconds. To help illustrate how AnswerThePublic works, let’s use the example of searching for “newsletters,” something near and dear to our hearts. The first web, called “questions,” is divided into terms like “how,” “are,” “can,” and “why.” Around those major terms, you’ll find results like “How do newsletters make money,” “Why send newsletters,” and “Are newsletters worth it.” The same goes for the other two webs. These are phrases that are searched the most frequently, giving you direct access to the most sought-after content topics. is better equipped and will enjoy doing them more than I do. When I go through this process with other entrepreneurs, many times, I’ll see hesitation as they are making the list, as if they are trying to decide if an item should be on the list. Many times, that hesitation means that item needs to be on the list. When I press the person, though, I typically hear something along the lines of, “No one can do this but me.” Nearly 100 percent of the time, this is wrong. If you stop and think about that statement, it is super egotistical. If you ever hope to sell the business, you should go to bed at night and pray that there are people who can not only do it as well as you, but better. I used to think no one could sell our service but me. Today, I have others who sell our service and even close more sales than I did. The areas where the founder/CEO is super strong are typically the areas where the company is weak. In my case, I’ve always been good at sales, which
allowed us to sell a lot and grow fast. But as the company grew, I went from being an asset in sales to a liability in sales. I either couldn’t properly follow up or had limited time, which led to fewer calls in a day. Let me ask you, where in your business are you the strongest? What would happen to the company if you got hit by a bus today? If you’re not trying to scale a business, playing to your strengths is very smart. But if you’re trying to scale up, you have to be aware of the places where you’re the bottleneck, and you have to actively look for ways to remove and replace yourself. Make a list of your responsibilities and include items you simply don’t want to do anymore. Ridding yourself of these will unlock massive growth in your business and, with any luck, massive profits to boot.
–Shaun
RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
CREATE CONTENT TARGETED AT YOUR AUDIENCE With Help From AnswerThePublic We’ve all heard it said over and over and over
Using these results, you can reverse engineer content tailored precisely to what people are searching. Instead of titling your article “The Value of Newsletters,” you can opt for “Why Newsletters Are Worth It.” The importance of landing on the first page of Google is paramount, and tailoring your content to common search queries is the best way to do that. Of course, your content still has to be killer, but AnswerThePublic will help you ensure that killer content doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. AnswerThePublic helps laser-focus your content marketing based on reams of data and millions of searches. And it’s totally free! If you’re not using AnswerThePublic, it’s time to start. You’ll be shocked at how quickly it starts reaping benefits for your SEO, and the increase in engagement with your audience will be well-worth the extra effort. Content marketing is a great way to catch the attention of your desired audience.
again: Content is king. While there’s no denying the truth of that statement, it’s equally true to say that not all content is created equal. You could create all the content in the world — articles, videos, podcasts, etc. — but it’s useless if nobody wants to engage with it. How do you know if the content you’re producing is relevant to your audience? AnswerThePublic, a revolutionary keyword tool for SEO, can be a huge help.
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COWGIRL BOOTS, SPARKLES, AND KINDNESS THE SECRET OF LAUREN STOPHER’S SUCCESS
Motivational speaker Jim Rohn once claimed that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If this is really the case, it might explain how our marketing consultant and coordinator, Lauren “Lo” Stopher, became so awesome. “All my life, I have had the privilege of being surrounded by amazing women,” Lo says. “My mom has always been such a hard worker. She does nonprofit work in the world of broadcasting with PBS, and it was really powerful having her as a role
model to look up to. Even today, so many of my friends are starting their own businesses and running side hustles. I have a friend who started her own cosmetic eyelash strip line, one who owns a custom mobile spray-tanning company, another gal who owns a boutique making custom gowns, and a dear friend who runs her own gym and does personal training. It’s great to see them achieve their goals, and their success motivates me to do more daily. I look around and feel fortunate to personally work at a company that really encourages that kind of drive.” Lo’s role at The Newsletter Pro continues to evolve, as she is a stellar marketing consultant. She travels to events all over the country and knows the A–Z of what goes into building powerful professional relationships. If you’ve stopped by an orange Newsletter Pro booth at an event, you’ve likely had the pleasure of chatting with Lo.
really interesting companies and business owners across the country. I also get to meet many potential new clients. I enjoy helping business owners create strategies and goals for their companies through relationship marketing. There is something so genuine about what our team provides; it’s a good feeling to know you are helping others grow and succeed. Our mission is to help small businesses succeed, and at the end of the day, we are able to do so much. It’s hard to grasp, but it’s true.”
Our clients put a lot of trust in us to help with their campaigns and marketing strategies, which is why
we are so fortunate to have
someone as talented and dedicated as Lo on our team!
“I love getting to meet so many of our clients in person while I’m at events,” says Lo. “We work with
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If you’re looking for more great content — like what you’re reading in this newsletter — to drive your business forward, take a look at these articles on our blog. Find New Levels Of Success As A Leader From ‘Working In Sync’ NewsletterPro.com/find-success
How REI Marries Business Growth With Values NewsletterPro.com/how-rei-grew Why Print Marketing Isn’t Going Anywhere NewsletterPro.com/print-works What Business Are You Really In? NewsletterPro.com/what-business
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208.297.5700 391 N Ancestor Pl, Boise, ID 83704 Keep up with our latest office news, blogs, and promos at www.TheNewsletterPro.com!
BUSINESS PROFILE YOU DON’T NEED A NAME TO OFFER THE BEST Brandless Aims to Provide Better Products for Less
Consumers have always wanted more for less, but what about better for less? With so much retail traffic happening online, people have access to more products than ever, and often for less money, but they aren’t always meeting the “better” category. It’s a problem the company Brandless set out to solve. Recognizing some of the changes in consumer behavior and the struggle big brands were having, entrepreneurs Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler saw an opportunity to offer something that others weren’t. Ever notice how a store- brand item costs much less than the name brand? Sharkey and Leffler did, too. Sharkey says, “Ido was really bothered by the idea that if people really understood what things cost versus what they pay for them, there would be rioting in the streets.” In an effort to provide better products at a lower cost to consumers, the pair began looking at what consumers want. After securing funding from big-name investors, the pair created Brandless, which is essentially an online grocery store. With the motto of ”better everything for everyone,” Sharkey and Leffler are capitalizing on a gap in the market. Now just over one year old, the company has used innovative ideas backed by research to make Brandless a contender in the CPG industry. CUTTING OUT THE MIDDLEMAN By nixing inefficiencies in the distribution system with their business model, Brandless can offer every item for $3 or less, from non-GMO maple syrup to “clean” face wash. The company’s products are high-quality by most standards — all the food on their site is non-GMO, most is organic, and the household products adhere to EPA standards. KNOW YOUR MARKET Brandless started with two people who recognized a problem and sought a solution. Sharkey and Leffler used their initial curiosity and observations of market trends to mold
their business model. They researched what consumers were using most often, where costs were unnecessarily high, and spoke with manufacturers all over the country to find out how they could resolve these inefficiencies. Brandless isn’t the first company to try this approach — Trader Joe’s uses a similar concept of providing quality goods at a lowered cost, just adding their own name to products they buy wholesale. Brandless is capitalizing on the e-commerce portion of this industry that consumers seem happy to jump on. Having your entire shopping list delivered to your door is a tantalizing offer. BEYOND THE SALE Being an online retailer doesn’t keep the company from connecting with consumers offline. Sharkey and Leffler recognize the importance of building a relationship with the people who shop with them. “Direct-to-consumer is not a channel; it means you have a relationship with someone,” Sharkey says. The founders are aware that their audience is part of a community who are conscious of what they consume, and they want to connect with it. Recently, Brandless set up a pop-up shop for two weeks in LA. The multi-day event featured a series of guest speakers, including experts in wellness, social good, beauty, health, and entrepreneurship. As Fast Company writer Elizabeth Segran says, “Startups have realized that physical shopping
needs to be about much more than just transactions.” WHEN IT’S TRULY THE BEST
In their commitment to the best, Brandless has a team of curators who carefully test and select everything they offer. This might sway brand loyalists fearful of straying from their favorite ketchup brand. In a time when we are often exhausted by endless choices, Brandless is making some of them for consumers. Instead of offering, say, 10 different types of shampoo, Brandless sticks to one or two offerings per category. This helps keep their costs down and simplifies the shopping process for a customer. THE VALUE OF TRANSPARENCY If it tastes as good or better, costs less, and is possibly better for you, maybe it’s worth going Brandless. The company may be cultivating its own brand loyalty by attracting customers who appreciate their emphasis on quality and transparency. It’s something the company doesn’t shy away from — they’re trying to redefine the idea of a brand, not reject it. Heavily featured on their website is their commitment to contributing a meal to Feed America for every purchase made. In their first 28 weeks of being open, they’d reached 250,000 meals. By cutting out the middleman, they’re saving money and passing it on to the consumer and the community.
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