March 2022
How to Create All the Luck YouWant in Business!
I n my 20s, I remember reading all of these success stories of people just killing it in business. I would think to myself: Why can’t I get a lucky break? When is it my turn? Why am I having such a hard time getting my business at the time to take off? It didn’t seem fair. As I’ve matured and studied more about business, I discovered there is an element of luck in business and, of course, in life as well. I was out at a club a few weeks ago and found $20 on the ground. I looked around to see if I could tell who may have dropped it and even stood there for a few minutes to see if someone came looking for it, but no one did. So, lucky me, some nice person ended up buying my date and me each a drink. I have also gotten lucky and had big deals land in my lap that weren’t on my radar. I’ve heard dozens of stories of entrepreneurs who gave a quote only to be ghosted by the prospect, then have that prospect turn up nine months later with cash, ready to buy. I’m sure you can relate in your business. While getting a lucky break happens to all of us from time to time, I’ve found a correlation between hard work and the amount of luck you have, as long as your efforts are focused on the right things. This focus is the part many entrepreneurs miss and a primary reason they don’t have as much success and luck as they could have.
If you want more luck in your business and, as a side benefit, more money, then here are some areas to focus on to create the maximum amount of luck. The easiest way to create luck in your business is to maximize all you can from all you have. This can come in a variety of forms, but you can fix an inefficient process that creates problems with customers or employees. You can market to your existing customers to generate referrals and repeat business or sell them something new. You could easily create a campaign that allows you to convert those long-forgotten “dead” leads into paying customers. Create more content — lots more. Every day, the need for you to create content is increasing. I have heard from entrepreneurs numerous times that some upstart competitor has come in and dominated their marketplace in a short period of time, in large part by creating and providing content. At Newsletter Pro, we create a massive amount of content each day for our clients and an okay amount for ourselves, but over the next few weeks, we will be drastically increasing the amount of content for Newsletter Pro across the media channels we’ve chosen to focus on. While you don’t have to create the content yourself, just like Newsletter Pro customers don’t write their own articles, the Continued on Page 2 ...
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3 Major Business Lessons From
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Content Is King
You’ll Never Miss Your Mark With These Tips
convenient and the official way of streaming the tournament. The app reduces confusion about how to watch the games and increases the size of their audience. Similarly, you need to make the customer journey for your consumers as simple as possible. Where do they go to shop for your products/ services and how many steps are there before they can buy? Make it convenient for people to know what they want and go directly to the “Purchase” page. No. 3: Celebrate teamwork. Scoring in basketball often isn’t possible without assists. In your business, making a sale isn’t just on your sales team — celebrate your team’s good web design, fresh copywriting, and organized account management, just as much as you celebrate closing deals or securing investors. Everyone’s role is important, but your team won’t feel that way unless you acknowledge it. Make it part of your work culture to validate everyone’s crucial role in the “game” of business, and the rewards might be larger than you expect. If you’re a basketball fan, you’ll be watching March Madness this month. You can probably agree that there’s more to shooting hoops than winning. For small businesses, it’s much the same — “winning” and “success” come on the heels of a long list of small victories: energized mindsets, customer journey strategy, and good teamwork. We hope these tips help you along your route to victory!
Even if you’re not a sports fan, there’s a high level of hype and commercial success March Madness has achieved that all business owners can aspire to. That’s why, in honor of this successful monthlong sports event, here are a few key business lessons we can learn from the March Madness tournament! No. 1: The underdogs get the most exciting victories. Because March Madness is arranged so the favored teams — the No. 1 seeds — have the easiest path to the Final Four, you’d think people would pay more attention to their wins. That’s only partially true. The odds are steeper for the underdogs, so their wins are far more inspiring and exciting. For example, in 2012, one of the tournament’s biggest upsets happened when Norfolk State, a No. 15 seed, won against Missouri, a No. 2 seed, in the first round. Missouri had been favored by 21 points, which is a huge advantage for a March Madness game. So, if you’re an underdog, don’t count yourself out of the race — you can still create winning strategies that are a step ahead of everyone else and do it much more quickly than many large competitors can. No. 2: Always have a central place to send consumers. While there are plenty of ways to enjoy watching March Madness online, the March Madness Live app is extremely
Finally, a simple formula, when followed, will bring you more luck, and I’ll share that with you here just in case I didn’t give you enough work to do in the examples you’ve just read about. Take more risk. Outsource the things you’re not good at and don’t have time to do. Delegate as much as you can, and focus on the foundational areas of business processes, sales, and marketing first. Don’t get bored with what’s working. Create goals for your company and make sure you’re taking steps to achieve those goals every day. Learn something new each day and, finally, find a mentor or coach.
content has to be created, and the longer you wait to start, the more it will cost and the more difficult it will be to catch up with anyone in your market already putting in the work. Another way to create luck in your business is to make sure that every day you are crystal clear on at least one action you’re going to take that will move your business toward your goals. Constantly be learning. For example, you’re reading this newsletter. While you’re getting it for free, I promise you I’ve invested millions and millions of dollars, lost millions of dollars, and spent at least half a million dollars on my own personal education (non-traditional education because I dropped out of college). I’ve spent my entire adult life learning the information I share in these newsletters and our weekly reading email newsletters. And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”” – Revelation 5:13 ESV
If you follow the steps I’ve laid out here, by 2023, you’ll be one damn lucky person.
–Shaun
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In Business, ‘Chatty’ Is a Good Thing How to Cash In on Conversational Marketing Way back in 1890, the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud did something unprecedented: He offered one of his patients a seat on a couch. It was a funny-looking piece of furniture draped in colorful rugs and cushions. But it ended up making history. Freud put the couch to work for a brand-new technique called “talk therapy.” The idea was that patients would come into his office, recline on the couch, and talk through their problems. Sometimes they cried and sometimes they screamed! But they always got their worries and fears across. In fact, it was so effective at improving well-being that we still use it today — not only in therapy, but also in marketing. The sales version of talk therapy is “conversational marketing,” and it involves literally talking a lead through the buying journey until they convert to a client. This sounds pretty simple — after all, isn’t talking what salespeople already do? But a few things set conversational marketing apart from regular old sales calls. What makes conversational marketing different? As the software company Giosg puts it, “Conversational marketing is a customer-centric and dialogue-driven approach to marketing” that’s “based on one-to-one interactions in real time across multiple channels.” In other words, your team needs to do more than send a few emails. To truly engage in conversational marketing, you have to include features like round-the-clock chatbots and messaging apps for instant communication with your team during the buying process. The more customized and personal these conversations are, the better.
Is Your Content Ridiculously Good? If Not, Then Read ‘Everybody Writes’
T oday, your writing matters way more than ever — not less. It’s true that clickbait headlines, Twitter tweets, and TikTok captions seem to minimize the value of high-quality writing. But for Ann Handley, the author of “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content,” if you have a website, you’re a publisher. If you’re on social media, you’re in marketing. That means you’re often relying on your own words to carry out your marketing messages — in other words, you’re a writer, and that’s worth taking seriously. Because Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter dominate our cultural and social circles, writing isn’t just a formal occasion anymore. It’s a part of everyday life. We write to express who we are to our friends, family, peers, and employees — and that’s exactly why writing is so crucial to an excellent, memorable brand. As Handley puts it, “Our online words are our emissaries; they tell our customers who we are.” Handley’s advice isn’t just good. It’s useful and actionable, leaping from the page into your daily writing habits. Ask any content writer on LinkedIn and beyond — “Everybody Writes” is an industry- wide favorite. In her eyes, “Writing can make us look smart or it can make us look stupid. It can make us seem fun, or warm, or competent, or trustworthy. But it can also make us seem humdrum or discombobulated or flat-out boring.” It doesn’t matter if you’re writing for an email campaign or an Amazon product description. How do you avoid seeming boring? How do you ensure your “fun” doesn’t interrupt what’s useful and helpful for your customers? Handley’s book is full of tips directed at those burning questions, for beginner and veteran writers alike. For example, one of her big tips in the book includes developing empathy for your customers: spend time with them, understand
March Madness Competitions Boost Client Relationships, Staff Morale It’s possible you’ve read somewhere that March Madness may contribute to a drop in productivity in the office. But, let’s face it: Productivity is on the decline every day. Dumping extra energy into trying to ban office pools and the mention of March Madness all together may not be the best way to approach it. With effective management and employee accountability, work can still get done while allowing employees to have some fun here and there. Embracing March Madness can actually boost morale and expand upon relationships both among your staff and with your clients. Here’s how. Happy Employees, Happy Customers When your employees have a positive mindset, your clients are more likely to feel that energy. Have you ever been to a Chick-fil-A? Their service is impeccable, and that’s because they’re doing it right — they invest in their employees to keep them happy. Adding some fun and flair to the work environment every now and then offers a fulfilling
their environment, ask a lot of questions, share their stories, and use “we” or “you.” Make your customers part of your life, and they might make you part of theirs. Writing is one of the most crucial skills you can improve in 2022. If you’re ready to take the next step toward marketing success, we highly recommend reading Ann Handley’s “Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content.”
experience for your team to thrive. Increased Camaraderie
March Madness tournaments offer a chance for employees to engage with each other, and when people interact on common interests, better relationships are built across the board. Plus, it also offers management a topic or two to discuss with their employees to get to know them better. Prevent Burnout Especially over the past few years, stress at home and in the workplace is high! A well-deserved break from the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day office madness in exchange for some March Madness fun can’t hurt! A break from the pressure can help to ease the burden of those long task lists on everyone’s desk. We all need a way to connect, and the staff bonding that results from some March Madness fun is second to none. Instead of worrying about productivity this year, embrace fun and watch the benefits unfold before you.
But why would you go to all of the effort? Through conversation, your team can gather information on your leads’ needs and pain points — just like Freud did from patients on his couch. You can also collect feedback on your products, services, and processes. This nuanced understanding will help you serve your leads better, converting them to clients more quickly and
moving them easily from point to point in your sales funnel. (The speed gets unreal when you introduce 24/7 chatbots into the mix!) Conversational marketing can also improve the quality of your leads. Conversation is a two-way street, so the more you learn about your
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 ESV
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Last year, Cheetos absolutely rocked the Super Bowl LV commercial game. In a 60-second clip, Mila Kunis sneaks around the house with a bag of Cheetos, only to get caught “orange-handed” by her husband, Ashton Kutcher. Then, Grammy Award-winning artist Shaggy appears and advises, “Just tell him it wasn’t you.” Cue the 2000 hit song and go-to excuse to fall back on when you’re caught without an alibi. The Cheetos Makes a Huge Brand Impact in 2021 Super Bowl LV It Wasn’t Me — It’s a Cheetos Thing
customers, the more they learn about your company. This helps you both decide whether you’ll be a good fit and ensures the leads you convert are all-in and ready to pay. How do I get started? Step 1: Discover your clients’ communication style and choose your voice. Before you implement conversational marketing, take a survey of your current clients to find out whether they prefer email, phone calls, texting, instant messaging, or online chatting. This will tell you where to pitch your conversation! If you still need more data, search for communication-related surveys among your ideal demographic. If you’re a realtor targeting millennials, for example, a quick Google will bring up an Owners.com survey revealing 68% of millennials prefer texts and emails from their realtors over phone calls. Once you know how to reach your demographic, consider what you want your conversations to sound like. What is the voice of your brand? Is it funny? Irreverent? Encouraging? Upbeat? Ideally, conversational marketing should be informal, but it should also be tailored to your brand. Keep these things in mind when you move on to Step 2 and choose conversation tools. Step 2: Experiment with chatbots, live chat, and messaging apps. In 2017, a Google employee asked 54 people in the U.S. and India to share their thoughts on chatbots. They discovered participants expected four things from a good bot: It should be high-performing, smart, seamless, and personable. They also wanted to know upfront what the chatbot could do and how to communicate with it. Remember those expectations as you experiment with different conversational marketing solutions. Chatbots may work in some situations (for example, on your website homepage or services page — IBM reports that conversational marketing bots can answer 80% of routine questions), while you may want to rely on live chat or a messaging app connected to a real person in others. Conversations later on in the buying process are a great place to insert a real person to keep the conversation high-quality. Play around with chatbot builders like MobileMonkey, ChatterOn, and Giosg and messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and Threema to see which ones work best. Step 3: Design your conversation funnel. Then, get chatty! To really implement conversation marketing, you need to send targeted messages throughout the customer journey. Look over your sales funnel and identify places to do this. You could drop in a chat option while leads are browsing your website, or follow up with an email after a lead expresses interest. Once you’ve mapped out your conversation plan, put it into action! At the end of the conversion process, collect feedback from your clients and team. Then, refine your funnel — maybe by adding additional FAQs to a chatbot — and try again. Done right, conversational marketing will build stronger, longer- lasting relationships between your team and your clients. And you don’t need to keep it online! Print newsletters can be a key part of your conversational marketing strategy. They’re ideal for the final phase of the funnel: retention. With your newsletter, you can keep the conversation going for years with very little effort and watch it pay off in repeat business and referrals.
blame it on Shaggy, who refuses to be accused again as he was back in 2000. Ashton even caught her on camera! The release of this commercial took place on the 20th anniversary of the release of the reggae icon’s hit “It Wasn’t Me.” Ashton and Mila both told the press that they recall when the song first came out right around the time that they were working on “That ’70s Show” together. They’ve rarely worked together since the hit show but surely didn’t want to miss the opportunity to be in a Super Bowl commercial. Mila even noted that during lockdown, it was nice to get out of the house for a bit to shoot it. In 2021, at the end of this iconic campaign, Cheetos introduced Cheetos Crunch Pop Mix, a best-of-both-worlds combination of Cheetos popcorn and Crunchy Cheetos. The commercial effectively gave fans a laugh and a fun throwback to relate to. It featured very strong
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branding and delivered a clear and simple message while engaging the audience by playing off of its known attributes.
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–Deb
Mila evades her husband with his bag of Cheetos at the counter, on the sofa, and in the shower as she attempts to conceal her
The Super Bowl is known for notoriously marketing marvels in their commercials, and solving the Cheetos mystery was certainly a fan favorite!
orange fingerprints spread throughout the home and crumbs around the sides of her mouth. She can’t even
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Bravo, Cheetos!
Resource of the Month: Buzzsprout So, You Want to Be a Podcaster …
• Get an attractive podcast player for your website — and a website for your podcast • Share transcripts on your website for folks who are hard of hearing • Promote your podcast on social media with a visual soundbite
started! That’s where Buzzsprout comes in. Buzzsprout is an all-in-one podcasting platform that makes designing, editing, mastering, and sharing your podcast easy. All you have to do is upload a recording, and Buzzsprout will take it from there.
If you’ve heard of the 1989 “Prom Night Murders” and you don’t live in Indiana, you can probably thank a podcast. Earlier this year, the case made headlines after the “CounterClock” podcast did a deep dive into the evidence for its third season. The podcast poked holes in the prosecutor’s story. Now, Jeff Pelley — the then-17-year-old accused of killing his whole family on prom night — may get a new trial. Podcasts are powerful tools, not only for justice but also for business! They can do wonders for both because they reach a lot of people. According to Podcast Insights, 68 million Americans listened to podcasts weekly in 2020. And because podcast listeners are more likely to follow companies and brands on social media, businesses have lept into podcasting to promote their services and share tips, stories, and ideas. There’s only one problem from an entrepreneur’s perspective: If you aren’t tech savvy, it’s tough to get
With Buzzsprout, you can …
• Share your show on the top podcast directories, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more • Monetize your podcast with affiliate marketing • Dive deep into your show’s performance with podcast statistics • Master your recordings with a click so you sound great at the mic • Enjoy automatic formatting to optimize your episode size and file type • Record your podcast early and schedule it to go live while you’re away
Buzzsprout also offers endless resources that will help you come up with episode ideas and create the most effective, compelling podcast you can. You can start your podcast today with a 90-
day free trial, then pay $12–$36 going forward, depending on the package and features you want. Ready to get started? Head to Buzzsprout.com.
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Why Tre’dish Thrives in an Emerging Home-to-Home Food Market Tre’dish Turns Home Chefs Into Business Owners
Inside
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How to Create All the Luck You Want in Business! What March Madness Teaches Us About Business To Chatbot, or Not to Chatbot Embracing Office March Madness Competitions Cheetos: Effective Super Bowl LV Campaign Resource of the Month: Buzzsprout
alike: It handles the technology, payment, and delivery of all meals, so home chefs can focus on preparing meals as customers order.
When you want to experience good food, you might consider visiting a restaurant or ordering delivery or pickup from one. But what if you could purchase authentic, delicious food from a local chef — often prepared in their own home kitchen? With many restaurants closing after the COVID-19 pandemic, many talented chefs lost visibility and accessibility within their communities, and they had no way of supporting themselves with skills they’ve often spent years mastering. However, now chefs across the country have found a new opportunity to make their craft
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Tre’dish also offers operational guidance on an ongoing basis as well as advice on media content. (In an age where chefs can thrive becoming food influencers and content creators, Tre’dish shows chefs how to do just that!) With a $10-million seed-funding round to support their vision, Tre’dish has received significant support. But what’s building so much confidence in Tre’dish? Some of the main consumer objections to the platform included concerns about health and safety. After all, how do you know the food is safe if it’s not prepared in a commercial kitchen? Thankfully, Tre’dish works closely with chefs to help them understand and comply with food safety standards and even has a check-in/check-out process to let chefs demonstrate that they’re following those standards. The platform offers consulting and technology that help home chefs develop menus, plan stock levels, and understand their customer bases. “We may not all be used yet to the idea of buying food cooked in someone else’s home, but a few years ago, no one would have expected to sleep in a stranger’s bed or to get into a stranger’s car,” Tre’dish co-founder and CEO Peter Hwang says. Hwang tells Forbes, “This is a massive market. There is so much talent out there and so many people who want to support local chefs and buy their amazing food.” Is that true? You may or may not be surprised to find the answer is “yes.” In the current market, Tre’dish values the total addressable market worldwide as worth more than $20 billion. Tre’dish’s business model has been fairly successful at maintaining a net- positive business model so far. With a 12.5% charge to chefs selling through its platform, plus a 5% fee paid by consumers, the company also sees opportunity to earn revenue through stock ordering, utilizing its reach to offer home chefs unique or affordable ingredients and equipment. While the company is currently only fully operable in California, a launch in Toronto is planned this year. Wes Hall, the founder of Black North Initiative, one of their large investors, says, “Tre’dish is redefining what it means to be a professional chef by taking the hospitality industry beyond its historical confines of brick-and-mortar restaurants.” We can’t wait to see where Tre’dish’s journey takes them — hopefully, to more states nationwide!
shine by using a home- to-home food market where individuals buy
directly from chefs who prepare food from their homes. Tre’dish, a Toronto-based company, makes
the home chef’s job even easier. They’re dedicated to supporting
cooks and chefs all over the world as they bring their most impressive dishes into a more widely visible local market. As a customer, when you order a meal with Tre’dish, you decide the day of the week for your delivery as well as the available spots and dishes for each day. This gives chefs easy control of what dishes they’ll make available daily and the quantities of each dish they can afford to prepare within their home kitchen space. Of course, there are many technical aspects to running a home kitchen business. That’s why Tre’dish acts as a single portal for chefs and customers
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