MF Promo in Newsletter

Okay, so sticking with easy promotions, let's have a look at the newsletter. This is an essential promotion that you should be running, particularly to your Dirty 30 obviously. So, newsletters are for Dirty 30. What you would do is you might take an electronic version of the newsletter and send to all of your clients- or not clients- all of your contacts, but the Dirty 30 gets the hard copy newsletter. So I guess that's what I'm really referring to here. So how do we promote your various musketeer offers in your newsletter? Let's just have a look.

Okay, so there are some things you can do in your newsletter. You could write an article about the Monkey's Fist or about the service. Now, obviously, you don't want to make it too obvious that it's just about the service and you're trying to promote it. You can tell a story about someone who was struggling to get some result and they're having problems, and then they used your service and fortunately you were able to save the day. So make it interesting, right?

We'll talk about an insert. We'll talk about doing an ad within your own publication. It's your publication. You're Murdoch, right? You're Rupert Murdoch here. You can put whatever you want in your own newsletter, and we'll talk about the P.S. if you're going to use more of the "letter" newsletter, okay? Obviously, right, newsletter, I've done a pretty ugly, garish-looking one on here, but looking to renovate, download our handy directory of experts. So you just basically make up and ad and put it in there. I've just done that five minutes ago. You may have a link to the page where they can download it. The other option is, if you don't have a landing page, you just say, "just email Richard at Richard's Architects and ask for a copy." Do it either way.

So, that's obviously what an ad in there looks like. You make it up. Generally speaking I'd probably want 3 bullet points that talk about the value of the directory of experts. But even just that is gonna help.

Now, the other thing is- so there's an ad- sorry- there's an ad within your newsletter. You can have that. But sometimes often what's more effective- bear in mind this hard copy newsletter is going to Dirty 30- bear in mind you can put an insert into your newsletter and often you find inserts work better. So, you could put 6 of these into your news letter. And it might know something like, "want to know the secret formula to calculating the cost of your full house renovation? Free calculation guide lets you work out the estimate costs in a few minutes."

And you might insert, given that these are referral sources, let's say it's going to a builder, you might put 6 or 10 of these into the builder's hard copy newsletter, insert them in. And, then if I was gonna send out a hard copy newsletter like this, the old traditional type of news letter, I might put a little post it note on the front. Or a little hand written note saying, "hey Bob, I've inserted some of these cards in here because you may have someone who's interested in them." Now, hopefully you really know, Bob already really knows, likes and trust you. So, that would be a good thing to do. There's no reason you couldn't put inserts. Often inserts work better than having it hard wired on to page.

So, this is just a post card made from Vistaprint. Vistaprint.com And they're very cheap; you might get a hundred of these made up for twenty dollars. I'm making that up, but they cost virtually nothing to have printed and made. So, in this case, we've just used one of their standard designs. And [00:03:49]Gary's has gone into the text he likes and into vistaprint.com then you pay your  twenty bucks and they post it to you. As many as you want. It's a really really good way of doing a newsletter.

Now, the other type of newsletter is...just jump out of this...One we have been doing with our Mastermind group. Where is it? And I want to show it to you. Oh, it's right behind here. Now, the reason we started doing this, right? Now, this is called your Dirty 30 monthly letter. So why did we go away from newsletters? Well, one of the reasons that we went away from the hard copy newsletter was because as architect, you guys were struggling to come up with designs that you were happy with. It was never good enough. So we would do all the work, give you a newsletter, thinking we've done all the hard work, all you have to do is put an article in the front. But of course, architects being architects, "oh no, I have to redesign it." And it was taking too much time for you guys, or past members, to get the newsletters out. So, the idea came up: why don't we strip everything away and make it like an old fashioned letter that goes out each month?

So you just write a letter each month. And here's an example from Jane Fredericks, she's in our Mastermind group which shapes your creativity, and it's just a little letter about, as you can see doesn't really matter what the letter's about. It's a letter to your Dirty 30 and you just say something interesting. But how many letters do you from clients or suppliers or prospects each month? Not many if any, right? It's an old fashioned newsletter anyway.

She writes up a letter, it's signed by Jane. And here's how we've done it. So the first one- I like these letters to be quite personal, so you might add a little bit of personal stuff at the front. Telling your story. And then a little bit of personal stuff at the back. For it, "P.S. After receiving last month's letter, builder James Whitaker told me he actually tried to cook my Baked Alaska recipe and spent two hours cleaning the oven after a handling malfunction. His lesson: always wear thick gloves when taking something hot to of the oven."

So, just a little bit of fun and entertainment and personal stuff and then "P.P.S. If you know anyone who is considering a home project, get them to download a copy of my new step-by-step action plan. We put it together because people are so overwhelmed with how to start. This plan seems to really help."

So, real low-key. In the P.S. The P.S.'s always get read. They always get read, right? Or, you could casually mention, depending on the story, this new thing you created within the letter. You just slip it in there and say, "hey, by the way, I'm talking this thing, so if you want to get a copy of it then go here." And then carry on with your story.

So, the beauty with this is, in theory, it shouldn't take you as long to put together. You just come up with a good story, and send your letter out each month to your Dirty 30. You might include a P.S., or you might include it as part of the letter.

That's it. That is it. So, newsletter. You got two options. You've got the traditional type of newsletter. Which, you have access to copies, by the way, in the members' area. You have at least maybe even 24 of the newsletters that we've created...which look pretty good. These type of newsletters. Or, if you get too wound up trying to make it perfect, you can just create a written letter, which is not a bad idea either.

Just a couple of other points with your letter when you do send it out. Given you're only going to 30, in theory, it's usually best to hand-write the envelopes because it looks more personal. I would always ad a little personal Post-It note on the front or just a little hand written note that goes with the letter, because, remember, you're trying to build rapport and you're trying to build a relationship with this person on your Dirty 30 so they will refer you or talk about you or you'll stay top of mind.

If you just stick a generically printed newsletter into an envelope, not so personal but with a hand written Post-It note on it, makes a big difference. What you can do as well, if you're writing a newsletter, is put an asterisks on the newsletter- either this one or the other one- in pen, and say, "hey Richard, this applied to you," with an arrow or an asterisks or something like that, because then it really looks more personal. Like you've put some personal thought and considered the Dirty 30 member.

The other thing you might want to consider is occasionally insert something lumpy into it. It might be a chocolate bar. Might be a lolly. Could be anything. Could be something that relates to one of your stories you got in your newsletter or in your letter. Really good idea. The benefit of that is, when they get the newsletter, it's lumpy. So what do you think when you get an envelope that you clearly have something rattling around in it. It's more exciting. "What's in there?" And as an architect, you're trying to create experiences for people when they move around in spaces. Well, as a marketer I'm saying to you, create a letter that gets received each month that has a little experience. Its kinda exciting. "Wow, I got a chocolate bar two months ago from this person. What's in there this month?" So, it's about creating an experience. Little bit of excitement.

And it might be something symbolic. You can buy pens from a place called Alibaba. aliexpress.com. Which has millions- it's a Chinese website. I think it's owned by Amazon now. You can buy all sorts of things. I've bought syringe pens when I'm making myself out that I'm a doctor as a joke. Bought syringe pens for about a dollar fifty each and put them into the newsletter as something lumpy. So, aliexpress.com. You can buy all sorts of really cheap stuff, have it shipped to wherever you are for free, usually. And they're good little things. I wouldn't necessarily put one very month, but maybe in the second month you could add lumpy thing.

By the way, just a though with newsletters, final thought. I did have one client, he wasn't an architect, but he would buy a chocolate bar and he would take off the original wrapper off the chocolate bar, and his newsletter, he made the wrapper the go around the outside of the chocolate bar. So that was his newsletter. And he was sending it to cold prospects. A cold Dirty 30, which were advertising agencies. And they loved his chocolate bar newsletter. As you can imagine, right? They would complain if it turned up late. And he would have other people wanting to be on his chocolate bar newsletter distribution list, as you can imagine.

So you can be a bit creative. You will not go to jail. And he got meetings with every single person he put on his chocolate bar newsletter distribution list. And every single advertising agency wanted to meet him. You get three months chocolate bar newsletters, you won't going to be intrigued to see who this person is that's sending you these chocolate bar newsletters. You'll probably slightly know, because you been had read the newsletters.

So, there you go. So easy. And what are your competition doing? What are you up against? Is there any other architects in your area even sending newsletters to the influencers? To the Dirty 30? No. What are they doing? Nothing. The most they'll do is set up a Facebook page and hope that people come and look at their Facebook posts, which they probably won't.

So, you are going to get in contact with 30 people, on your Dirty 30. You need to get in contact with them and you're gonna stay in contact with them by communicating with them. At least with a newsletter. If not, you'll do a lot more. You contact them, meet them for coffee, meet them for lunch maybe. Invite them to an event, refer them clients if you can, introduce them to others in you Dirty 30 if you can. You're going to be useful. You're going to be the center of your Dirty 30.

It's so easy. No one else is doing this and it's such common sense, isn't it? Be top of mind for the influencers. Be top of mind for people who can refer you.

I'm starting to rant here. But, I'm getting excited because I know if you just do it- I just received here- in fact, look. I'm gonna jump out of here. I'm not supposed to do this, going to slack and I- Edward Sherden. Here's one this morning. Here's Jake, just signed up an LCC client. All out successes we put in a little channel here. Here's one from Edward Sherden:

"Been busy in the last few weeks. Been pushing to line out some contract work. I've talked about a long term transition, I've received four other inquiries in eight days. These are all from referral sources. Mostly builders that /i met back in May and April. So the Dirty 30 is working."

Look at that. Dirty 30 is working. It does work; it's common sense. Stay in touch with people who can refer you, of course some of them are going to contact you sooner or later.

Alright, that's it. I'm starting to ramble. But anyway...Promote your Monkey's Fist and your LCC and even your "Ask the Expert" chat in your newsletter.