newsletter | Dangerous Common Sense

What You Learn from Dog Poopbags Can Grow Your Business

This weekend as I was buying dental chews for our dogs, I had a revelation. Poopbags.com had, without my intention, made me a loyal customer.

Here’s how it happened…

When I shop online for things like dental chews, I go to Google, type in the product I’m looking for, and shop by price. That’s what I was doing Saturday.

In the past I have bought chews and toys from many different online vendors. Each seller has been reliable and has delivered the purchases quickly and without a problem.

Despite my good experiences, I feel no loyalty to the different sites. Each time when I want a specific product, I Google it, and buy from the least expensive store.

Googling, comparing, and buying is what I do.

And, then I went to purchase more disposal bags for the dogs. I just typed in www.poopbags.com and bought a three-month supply.

Why do I act differently when I need to restock biodegradable “plastic” bags for our dogs? I know that there are many sites that sell them — when I first decided to buy them online I sorted through a raft of competing sites. But, I don’t Google and price shop for refills. I just go to Poopbags.com.

I mulled my inconsistent behavior. I figured out that the reason I go to Poopbags.com is that they send me regular newsy updates about what they’re stocking, what canine charities they’re supporting, how their own dogs are doing, and other chatty stuff. I feel like I know the owner, even though we’ve never met.

Not only that, but their monthly (or so) email newsletter keeps their name in my mind. Okay, their in-your-face name makes it unlikely that I am going to forget their name. But, the point is I think of them as “my” supplier because they send me fun information frequently. Their communications are not really sales tools, but marketing. That is, I don’t think I’ve immediately bought more bags when I’ve gotten one of their emails, but I am sure that a few of the messages have gotten me to review the supply downstairs to see if was time to order more.

If you’re not making clients think of you as their supplier, take a lesson from Poopbags.com. Start sending them bits of fun facts, specials, and information on a regular basis. Start up — and maintain — an electronic newsletter.

Email Marketing

Yes, an electronic newsletter will work in your industry. I mean, is there any more unlikely field of commerce for an electronic newsletter than Poopbags.com’s?

I use Constant Contact as the newsletter service for most of my clients. They have excellent, US-based telephone support and have been reliable and mostly trouble-free for years. Constant Contact allows you to send unlimited email to people on your mailing list. They charge by the size of your list, and most of my clients are paying $30 a month.

Grow your business with email marketing! VerticalResponse is another good emailing service. They charge for each individual email message sent out, and they are much more economical if you send to a lot of email addresses infrequently.

Either Constant Contact or VerticalResponse are fine choices to get you started becoming your clients’ favorite business. You won’t go wrong with either… the only mistake you can make is to poop out and fail to set up regular email communications to clients.

Really, if Poopbags.com can disrupt my Googling pattern and get me to go directly to them, imagine how your newsletter will help you with your clients.

The #1 Mistake Other Newsletter Writers Make

Want to improve customer involvement with your electronic newsletter? You will get more attention for your message by simply avoiding the Number 1 common mistake made by other newsletter authors.

Their error? The newsletter writer starts writing about the company instead of focusing on the readers’ needs.

Have you read these headlines recently? All About Us

“Visit our New Website!”
“We’re featured in Modern Troll Magazine“.
“We’ve just received our state certification in Troll Tossing!”
“We’re working the weekend to be ready for Monday’s Sale”

I’ve read all of these happy notices just during the past week. We’ll maybe the names and certifications have been changed a bit, but the meanings are unaltered from what has appeared in my inbox.

Each of these messages talk about what the business has done, or is going through, to improve its service to the clients. Sounds pretty good, eh?

Actually not. All of those statements are about the business and not about the life of the client or prospect. The announcements brag about the business, but don’t make a direct tie to solving a problem that the reader has.

And most of the statements can be re-focused to convey the same information with a different focus:

“Visit our New Website!” becomes “Now schedule your appointment, check your account balance, and send a message to your doctor online on our updated website.”

“We’re featured in Modern Troll Magazine” becomes “Learn how to toilet train your trolls in 5 minutes in the article we wrote in Modern Toll Magazine“.

… you get the idea!

The world of informal, first-person blogs and individual podcasts makes it difficult to obey the marketing imperative to focusing on your clients. After all, aren’t blogs designed to share your personality and uniqueness with your clients? Well, maybe some of your readers love hearing about your personal travails, but all of them want you to help them with their problems.

More clients and prospects will read your newsletter and marketing materials when your words help them solve one of their problems. Most readers may like you, but in their selfish minds, your hard work is important only for how it will help them!

This slip of focus toward the life of the writer is difficult to avoid. Especially when you get folksy email responses to your business newsletter mailings. This slip of focus is one that I fall victim to myself – not that you, the reader cares!

The focus slip is natural, and it’s not an error that is likely to tick off your clients. Rather it’s an error that makes it less likely that your hard-written newsletter is going to have the marketing and sales impact you want.

So, remember. Sorry, it’s not about you! It’s about the reader and their problems.