Apples and Carrots

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Please welcome my guest author, Nicholas Boothman, an expert in communication and author of 4 best-selling books, How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds or Less, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less, How to Make Someone Fall in Love with You in 90 Minutes or Less and Convince Them in 90 Seconds.

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Communication is a double-edged sword. It works best when you say what you want, not what you don’t want.

I live on a farm in a very picturesque part of the countryside. One of my neighbors raises horses. At weekends people come out from the city to enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Sometimes, they stop and feed my neighbor’s horses.

“They’re driving me nuts,” he told me one Saturday morning. “Horses don’t eat left over hamburgers and pizza: they’re vegetarians, for heavens sake! They just sniff it and drop it right there. Before long it attracts flies and rats and dogs. So, I put up a sign ‘Do Not Feed The Horses,’ but the problem got worse.”

“I’m not surprised,” I said. “Now people who’d never even thought about feeding the horses until they saw your sign thought ‘oh let’s feed the horses.”

“I thought it was because the sign was too pushy. So I changed it to read ‘Please Do Not Feed The Horses,’ but it got even worse.”

“No kidding? Now people drive by and think, ‘Oh what a great idea, let’s stop and let granny and the kids feed the horses. This guy’s polite, he says ‘please,’ he won’t mind.”

“Nick, you’ve got to help me I’m at my wit’s end.”

I scribbled a few words on a scrap of paper. “Try putting this on your sign.”

I didn’t see him again until the end of summer. One evening his truck pulled up in my driveway and he got out smiling.

“Nick, it worked like magic.”

That was three years ago. If you drive by today you can see the sign for yourself. It simply reads, “We only eat apples and carrots.”

Moral of the story: Communication is a double-edged sword. It works best when you say what you want, not what you don’t want.

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About the Author:

A former fashion and advertising photographer who dealt with hundreds of new faces a week for clients like AT&T, Revlon and Coca-Cola Nicholas Boothman now shows businesses around the world how to naturally connect and build trust, from first impressions to profitable relationships, and all the communicating in-between. Get a free boost to your people skills at www.nicholasboothman.com/blog

Help For The Struggling Writer

Are you struggling to come up with content for your newsletter every issue? It may seem difficult to write original material when so much has already been written in your niche. Don’t worry, when you write from your own experiences and in your own voice your articles will be unique.

If you’re still not feeling inspired or you have too many other commitments to invest the time needed to put together your newsletter articles, there is another option.

Private Label Rights (PLR) Content is a great resource when you lack the motivation or the time or would rather invest your energy in other business activities. How does it work? Simply visit one of the PLR sites I have recommended below or do your own online research ensuring the content is professionally written and edited. Articles and article packages are grouped into a seemingly unlimited number of available topics. There are a set amount of sales allowed per product (called licenses). When you have found what you’re looking for, click to purchase and download immediately. Once you purchase these articles you have the right to use the material in any way you want. You can use them as is or alter them in any way you need to. One exception, you cannot submit these articles to the article marketing directories as your own work.

Here are a few PLR sites that I have used for clients for you to have a look at for your own potential use:

• EasyPLR

• DIYplr

• All Private Label Content

When sourcing out PLR content keep in mind other ways that you can put this content to use, including sales.

Here are just a few ideas:

• add new content to your blog

• put together an ebook to sell from your website

• create an ecourse to give away or sell delivered by autoresponder through your shopping cart

• give away as a free report when someone signs up for your mailing list (also known as a ‘pink spoon’)

Do you still prefer to create your own original work for your newsletter? Just remember to publish consistently. It helps to have a publishing schedule to keep you on track by planning your publishing dates and content.

Here is a list of content ideas for those times when you are stuck about what to write about:

* A list of products you use regularly

* Checklists

* Do a reader survey and write about the results

* Event recommendations (i.e. trade shows, workshops)

* How-to’s

* Interviews

* Lists (i.e. “Top 5 ways to…,” “Ten tips for…,” “Seven steps to…,” “Top 10 ____ challenges,” “Top five reasons to …”)

* New service announcement

* Problem / solution

* Relevant industry news

* Review a book or product

* Seasonality

* The story behind your business

* Trends

* Useful resources

* Your creative process

And remember there is always Private Label Rights content that can be purchased at a reasonable price when needed. You can alter those articles in any way you wish to make them your own, saving hours of time and providing your readers with the information they’re looking for.

Don’t Look Like A Spammer – The Truth About Unnecessary Punctuation

I participated in a teleclass not long ago about newsletters and the most common mistakes being made. I’d like to share an important tip with you.

Did you know that it is unnecessary to use punctuation (for example inserting * or ^) in words such as ‘free’ ?

We think we are avoiding our emails landing in someone’s junk folder, but reworking words like ‘free’ and ‘money’ could actually trigger spam filters rather than prevent them.

I was also surprised to learn that when these punctuated words appear in the subject line of your email your readers could perceive this as trickery and not open your email. It can also make your messages look unprofessional.

Be straightforward with your readers, avoid manipulating words in your emails and get better results from your newsletter and marketing messages!

Image courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, SXC