Your E-Zine and Newsletter Sucks: Make It More Remarkable

Your E-Zine and Newsletter Sucks: Make It More Remarkable
David’s Blog: The Rise To The Top Entrepreneur Blog
Entrepreneur Resources. Entrepreneur Education. Everything Entrepreneurship.

So you have this big fancy business and you want to make sure to keep clients, customers, potential clients and customers, fans, enemies, etc informed. If you aren’t consistently (but not annoyingly) communicating with your trusted followers, you have no business. Offering an E-Zine or Newsletter is a logical idea; however, like many logical ideas, it is very easy to do. Because it is easy to do, many people do a crappy job at it.

First off, I want to officially ban the use of the word newsletter…starting right now. Newsletters (errr..starting right NOW) are something sent around in middle school or written with crayons. I used to have a newsletter (ok, really starting now) and it sucked. E-Zine sounds a lot sexier and you can come up with your own sexy name if that doesn't float your boat.

A crappy E-Zine or Newsletter (oops) leads to a few things:
1. You get tons of unsubscribers. This will hurt your feelings…no one likes rejection. Sob, sob, tear, tear.
2. You lose credibility. If your newsletter or E-Zine is boring, people will assume your company is as well.
3. Bad news travels faster than good news: “Hey, don't subsribe to this really crappy E-Zine! It makes me want throw my Mac out the window and cry myself to sleep!”

A GREAT E-Zine or Newsletter also leads to a few (much better) things:
1. It will get forwarded on. Good news travels as well. As in “Hey, Martha you have to read this _____ (insert: Funny, Remarkable, Sad, Awesome, Amazing) article in this E-Zine”
2. You will draw subscribers to your website also known as your portal of awesome to check out your latest content, product, or services.
3. Word of mouth leads to increased subscriptions, credibility, and drum roll please…you may even be able to monetize your E-Zine (more about that later).

OK, lets just admit it. You may be guilty of at one point putting something together that was perfectly in line with the crappy rules. I will gladly raise my hand…I’ve done it. Bottom line is everything you do including your E-Zine better represent your unbelievable, unique brand (your brand is unbelievable and unique, right?)

Here are some tips:

1. Don’t just add people because you have their email.
I USED to be guilty as charged on this one. I assumed if I had their email, that means I had permission to put them on my list. Evil laugh…hahaha. Not so! Unwanted email = people getting pissed off. Have an opt-in section on your website to sign up for your E-Zine (see our BIG one here). Remember you only want people on your list who WANT to be there.

2. Ask people if you can add them to your amazing E-Zine.
When in doubt, send a quick email or note on Facebook. Hey, I thought you would really be interested in my E-Zine which gives the latest tips in entrepreneurship and marketing. Mind if I add you?

3. Have a title.
Don’t just call it “YOUR COMPANY NAME E-ZINE”. That is REALLY boring. Have a cool title. Examples of two I am subscribers of: Sales Caffeine (Scott Ginsberg). Great names stick in people’s minds. Period.

4. Offer value.
Your E-Zine should NOT be a pitch-fest. Sure, you can mention your products, services, etc (you are allowed to make money after all) but offer something else of value. A quick article or ten tips means your E-Zine combines both a blog (content) with your products. Super!

5. Respect your subscribers.
You should already know this one. Clearly it is unethical and a bad idea to disrespect your subscribers by giving/selling their emails, sending unwanted spam, or any other shenanigans.

6. Call To Action.
This could be the most critical point. Have some kind of Call To Action in your E-Zine. It could be a question posed to the subscribers or a continuation of a really nice article that leads them to your website. Q&A is also great. Why not try a “Ask YOU” (You being…you) and answer questions in each E-Zine.

7. Don’t overdo it.
Long, overdone, overly complicated E-Zines mean the readers will not get through the entire thing. More importantly, next time one of your E-Zines is sent out, they may think twice about opening it. Yikes!

8. Monetize.
Yes, you CAN monetize your E-Zine like we do here at The Rise To The Top. Space can be sold to advertisers (Remember: these advertisers better be in line with your brand!) and you can have guest articles for a price. Email me at David AT DSGAgency.com to find out how we monetize. I know of some E-Zines that make six-figures PLUS!

Recommended Newsletters:

Hello, My Name Is E-Zine: Marketing tips and other goodies.

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist and Entrepreneurial Chameleon – http://www.therisetothetop.com

Watch Episode #5: Have you checked out National Speakers Association President Sam Silverstein on The Rise To The Top? Sam is all about kicking the crap out of fear!

Photos: Want to see some entrepreneurs gone wild? Check out the
.

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Gen Y-ify Your Website: How To Make Your Website More Gen Y Friendly

Gen Y-ify Your Website: How To Make Your Website More Gen Y Friendly
David’s Blog: The Rise To The Top Entrepreneur Blog
Entrepreneur Resources. Entrepreneur Education. Everything Entrepreneurship.

A little over a week ago I was down in Florida speaking at the National Speakers Association’s Winter Conference (fun video coming soon!) about challenges in working with Gen Y and how to capture the
attention of millenials (note: awkwardly happy Gen Y'ers to the left). One of the common questions was how can to make YOUR website more Gen Y friendly and that my friends, is a fantastic and extremely important question if you are marketing ANYTHING to anyone 21-35.

First off, for you generational nit-pickers out there, Gen Y really doesn’t have a proper definition. There are many definitions of what Gen Y “is” ranging from those born in 1976 to those born all the way in 2003 (!). Some say 1982-2001, others say 1975-1995. Bottom line is the definition, in my opinion, is less based on years but more based on mentality (I’ve met people who are born in 1984 who are far less stereotypical Gen Y than some people born in 1965…it is a mindset more than an age).

Yes, those insolent little brats who think they are entitled to everything (Yes, I’m a Gen Y’er). Members of Gen Y are moving up quick in the work place and are more entrepreneurial than previous generations which is leading to more spending power and influence. It is not a coincidence that Gen Y is referred to by advertisers as the “sweet spot” because of opportunities for long-term brand loyalty and the high-purchasing power of these tech-friendly information over-loaders.

I’ve said this before, but here is my Gen Y mantra: We are a text-messaging, multi-tasking, advertising-wary, Attention Deficit Disorder-loving, trendsetting, blog-reading, information-addicted, social-media experts, tech-embracing, fast-moving, highly-ambitious, quick-talking, well-educated, IPOD-listening kind of crowd (ummm and we also disrespect authority, may have a work ethic problem, and have the rosy confidence of expecting to go from mail room to board room in one day). Gen Y has a lot to give and a lot to learn.

Millenials want to live more passionately, be happy, kill the the 9-5 PM job and really “want it all” from money to entertainment to charity. Of course 21-35 year olds don’t know it all (I know SHOCKING) and can use the help from those that have already walked the walked (Yes, my little Gen Y friends, there is MUCH to learn from past generations!)

So, with that being said, I will get off my definition-soapbox-of-fun and here are some great ways to make your website more Gen Y friendly:

1. Love The Comments: Do you allow comments on your website? Or product reviews about your product? Or review of your service? Gen Y is all about participation and the more ways you give us to participate the better (extra points for uncensored participation meaning allowing good AND bad comments).

2. Spread Your Wings: Don’t be a hog and only offer your content on your website. To really connect and reach Gen Y, make sure to reach us WHERE we hang out online: Facebook, Twitter, and whatever-the-hot-web-tool-of-the-day is. Do you have a link to your social media sites on your website?

3. About You Page: Credit where credit is due on this one as this comes from Internet Marketing Guru great example from Adam. Brilliant!

4. Your Email. Your REAL Email! Who would you rather contact: A person or a business? Leave your REAL email on your website and millenials will see you as keeping it real (my first super cliche of the article! Hooray!) Example of how to list your email so it won’t be added to useless and annoying spam: David AT DSGagency.com or David @ DSG Agency . com

5. Be Versatile. Text, photos, video, RSS feeds, audio, etc. Gen Y’ers love their information in a variety of mediums. The more you offer, the better the chance you will hook us.

6. Keep It Short. Bite sized information that is easy-to-read, watch, or listen to will resonate best with the information-overloading ADD Gen Y’ers.

7. Be A Human. Admit to mistakes and don’t be afraid to fess up. Don’t put on the slick snakeoil salesman hat. It won’t work. Our BS meters are super high. Hah!

Gen Y is not shy. If they love you and your product/service/company/brand, it can be your GREATEST asset as we will spread it around all over the place like wildfire and you can’t pay for that type of word of mouth marketing. On the other hand, the opposite is true as well. If you are an asshole, that will spread as well!

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist and Entrepreneurial Chameleon – http://www.therisetothetop.com

PS: Looking for a great speaker or a live The Rise To The Top at your next event, conference, or lord-knows-what? We have something extremely unique, fun, and educational. Make sure to contact me: David AT DSGagency.com for more information.

PPS: Like this post? Awesome! Please send it to a friend or retweet it out on Twitter (copy and paste RT @therisetothetop http://tinyurl.com/agdhfl) or send it to your favorite social bookmarking site such as StumbleUpon.

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It Isn't About YOU: The Importance Of Building Community (Does Facebook get it now?)

It isn’t About YOU: The Importance Of Building Community (Does Facebook get it now?)
David’s Blog: The Rise To The Top Entrepreneur Blog
Entrepreneur Resources. Entrepreneur Education. Everything Entrepreneurship.

This past week the news was buzzing about Facebook and theirretracted their Terms of Service, apologized, and deemed they will be creating a Facebook Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. Wow! Now that is a telltale sign of how business is working in the 21st century and Web 2.0 era. It isn’t about YOU, it is about your community.

Are you a know-it-all-showboat or a community builder? Everywhere you look, especially online, the popular “trend” is building community revolving around your passions, your brand, and your products. Awesome, that sounds like a really good idea…but wait…what the heck does that mean?

Be Honest: Community is all about AUTHENTICITY

Gone are the days where people are expected “spin” bad news. Especially in my generation, Generation Y, there is a need for brutal, blunt honesty. If something goes horribly wrong, be upfront. If something goes right, be upfront as well.

Tip: Never have a ghostwriter (someone that writes your blogs under your name) or have some other person post for you under your name ANYWHERE. Examples: Britney Spears we know it is your publicist on Twitter). If you have someone else do it, you will get caught, and it won’t be pretty (sort of like drunk driving).

Give Love To Get Love: Community is all about RECIPROCATION

Support your supporters (and get new ones) by visiting their blogs, endorsing their products (of course only if you like them…see honesty), and reaching out to them to help. If they post a question on Twitter, help out by answering. Lend a helping hand and more helping hands will help you (that is a lot of “help” in one sentence).

Tip: Pick out 10 blogs related to your field (try Alexa to search) and leave a nice comment on articles you feel interesting. Don’t be an asshole and leave your website or tell them how great you are. Instead, make sure you fill out the comment form correctly. If people like you, they will click on your name and go to your website.

Make It About Them: Community is all about THEM

What is in it for me? Why should I care? These are the first questions people will think to themselves or out-loud if they are crazy people when they encounter you, your business, your product, and your website. How do you make it about THEM?

Tip: Everyone has an “About Me” page, but what about an “About You” page. Heck, everyone wants to know how great THEY are, right? Try adding one to your website like the pioneer of the “About You” page Adam Kreitman.

Live In A Glass House: Community is all about TRANSPARENCY

If you think you can hide from your community, you will have no community. Respond to questions personally (that means EVERY email, comment on your blog, etc.). Do not take a holy “I’m too important/powerful/awesome to respond to the plebeians” attitude.

Tip: Make sure to have your personal email listed somewhere on your website and not just an “info@whateveryourdamnsiteis.com” If you are worried about SPAM, literally type it out like this David AT DSGagency.com so that you won’t be added to random lists.

Kick It Out: Community is all about PARTICIPATION

Have a burning questions or want to come out with a new product or service? Kick it out to your community! Simply ask for help in your own focus group of followers.

Tip: Whenever I have a question or problem (like yesterday I was trying to figure out how to interview someone online and have the quality solid enough for TV) I throw it out on Twitter. Within TEN MINUTES I had more than enough answers. Cool!

Here are some excellent community building resources:
1. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. Awesome book about how to cultivate passionate followers.

Would love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment below and if you REALLY like this article, feel free to send it out on Twitter or to StumbleUpon (or any other social bookmarking site that you LOVE).

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist and Entrepreneurial Chameleon –

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Crappy Day? How To Suck It Up Like A Champion!

David’s Blog: The Rise To The Top Entrepreneur Blog
Entrepreneur Resources. Entrepreneur Education. Everything Entrepreneurship.
Crappy Day? How To Suck It Up Like A Champion!

Ever have one of those freak out moments where you want to punch everyone and then dive out the window (OK little exaggeration…climb out the window).

The 5:00 AM wake up call from Orlando this morning was too early. I had a fantastic time speaking on the Gen Y Panel for National Speakers Association and after playing around in Disney it was time to come back to good ole St. Louis. Two flights later, my girlfriend dropped me off at 10:59 AM at my doorstep. I raced (up the steps would be a good impact-full phrase to use here…but not true) into the elevator and plopped myself down on my couch, luggage in hand, to check out the new episode of my show to make sure all the technical aspects were in place, yadda yadda.

10:59…11:00…and the show begins…and it is the WRONG EPISODE.

Uh oh. Panic. What do I do? It was supposed to be Episode #6 but instead was a repeat of Episode #5. Ironically, at the NSA conference I talked extensively about the importance of transparency and authenticity in business.

So here is the tale of how I handled the situation, the lessons learned and how you can take a crappy day and flip it upside down (because lord knows they DO happen even for someone like me who has “Positivity” listed as #1 on StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths
).

Step #1: Doomsday

What it is: Often times this is the first reaction to something going wrong. The world is falling.

Today’s Example: This is the panic time. In my case, I practiced what I preached (just like I talked about in Episode #5) and thought about the worst case scenario. Fans of the show are crying, sponsors are pissed, and I punch myself in the face. Little bit extreme.

What to do: Accept it. You are emotionally involved in your company.

Step #2: Be A Baby

What it is: Time to whine.

Today’s Example: I was EXTREMELY mad at ABC. I was mad at the systems that I stayed up all night perfecting..failing for a day (for those who don’t know a ton about TV there are a lot of little things you have to do to get the show on the air including tape replication, closed captioning, and all kinds of other stuff that is not so fun but necessary). I wanted answers. I called my mom. I was pissed.

What to do: Go with it. Vent. Call a friend. Don’t keep it inside.

Step #3: Angry Knee Jerking

What it is: Whining turns to anger.

Today’s Example: Who screwed up? Did I screw up? How did this happen? Also, my immediate reaction was to get really, really upset with TV. My knee jerk reaction (seriously) was screw TV. We should go Internet only because we have a massive online audience…and TV is a dying medium. These things don’t happen when all you have to do is upload! Would sponsors care? But TV also gives you credibility ( easy as A..B..C)…hmmmmm… was I overreacting?

What to do: You can think drastically but don’t act drastically. You don’t want to send that awkward angry email. You WILL regret it later. Do something else and get away from work. Working out is a good option.

Step #4: Glimmer Of Hope

What it is: Wait a minute, something positive happens!

Today’s Example: In this case, my friend told me he was at a coffee shop and three people behind him were talking about how they liked the show. Cool!

What to do: Look for positives, not negatives. Be OPEN to positivity in negative times and you will receive that glimmer of hope.

Step #5 Shifting Perspective

What it is: Positivity leads to more positivity.

Today’s Example: Some people in my building got together this morning and watched the show and told me they enjoyed it, awesome. A bunch of positive emails came in and message. All of the sudden I’m feeling like I can solve the problem.

What to do: Continue to look for more positive examples. Your day will change. Even if they don’t come from your business you can increase your positivity by, for example, watching a funny movie,.

Step #6 Solutions

What it is: Now you are ready to solve the problem.

Today’s Example: After the initial anger was at least a bit diffused, now I was ready to come up with solutions. I talked my media buyer to get to the bottom of the error and I will make some more calls tomorrow. I re-wrote our schedule for the rest of the season to adjust everything by one week. I realized the world is not ending.

What to do: Now you are ready to fix the problem. Never act while mad!

Step #7 Damage Control

What it is: Talk to your peeps.

Today’s Example: If you screw up something (major, minor, etc.) own it. I sent out a message about it on Facebook and Twitter and this Blog also explains the situation as well. Take the problem on head on.

What to do: Transparency, transparency, transparency. Tell your clients, customers, etc. about what happened. Tell them how you felt. Make it real. They will appreciate it.

Whew, feel better?

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist and Entrepreneurial Chameleon - http://www.therisetothetop.com

Pssssssss…if you like this post you may also enjoy checking out Episode #5 Online
If you REALLY love it (or hate it) feel free to send it to some social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon or Digg…or any other site.

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Rise at Nite #2: Dr. Dembo Gone Wild

Rise at Nite #2: Dr. Dembo Gone Wild

Dr. Dembo stops into “No Pleated Pants Studios” to talk about Valentine’s Day and well…the world’s worst date. Sigh….watch and find out on our special after hours show where anything (we mean anything goes).

Find out more about Dr. Phil Dembo and his really cool, unique program at 1st Date STL

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