3 tips to help you get that newsletter out

Newsletters are by far one of my favourite online marketing tools (which is why I talk about them so much!) but sometimes they can be hard to get done. I asked our community for some of the common reasons that people don't get their newsletters sent and I'm going to give you some tips on how to deal with those reasons.

I can't find the time. 

There are so many things to get done as a business owner that vague deadlines are the ones that often get pushed off the fastest. A "January newsletter" means that you just have to find the time at some point in January to get a newsletter ready and it will often get pushed off the priority list over and over again.

Set specific dates for when your newsletter will go out. It can be once a month (third Wednesday of every month) or more frequently (every Thursday morning). Once you have a set date that your email is going out, you have a deadline that isn't as easy to push off. The bonus is that your audience starts to expect your emails on those dates and are more likely to open them - that's extra incentive to get the newsletter out on time.

My list size isn't big enough to bother. 

Quality over quantity - we say it a lot, but it's true! You can have a list with 200 people that converts way better than a list with 2000 or even more. Spend time finding the people who you actually want to have on your list and then build relationships with them. Give them valuable content that they appreciate and in time they will become your biggest cheerleaders.

The other thing to remember is that the more newsletters your send, the better you get at it. Practice and perfect your style by sending consistent newsletters even when your list is still small.  

I'm not seeing results. 

It's easy to feel discouraged when you don't see a lot of sales that are directly related to newsletters you're sending. There are a few things you can do here:

- Realize that with a lot of online marketing, it's a slow build. People need to see your name, your content, your product, etc., multiple times before they buy. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't happen right away.

- Analyze what IS working. Make sure you're including links so you can see where people are clicking, test different kinds of subject lines to see what people open, and check your stats. You can learn so much from what you've already sent so you know what to keep sending moving forward.

Leave a comment and let us know if you have any other reasons you don't send your newsletters.

Should you outsource your social media?

If you had asked me this question a couple of years ago I would have said no, you should keep it in house because nobody knows you better than you. 

But here’s the thing… social media has continued to evolve and as a busy business owner, you may not have the time to learn how to use social media effectively and create quality content. And that’s okay. So, should you consider outsourcing your social media? Absolutely.

Quality content

When you’re creating content to use online it needs to look professional. People expect a business to put together something that looks like a graphic designer or professional writer did it, not an amateur. Why? Because there is so much content to sift through on a daily basis they can’t be bothered with anything that doesn’t stand out.

What does that mean for you? It means that you need to make sure that you’re creating images and putting together content that speaks to your audience. This is a lot more time consuming than you might think, or like, or have time for.

Quantity of content 

The world of online content is fast paced. You want to have regular content to stay top of mind and so that you get picked up in search and algorithms so people will seeing what you’re saying. 

This means that you should have daily content going out on channels like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you should be blogging weekly (or more) and that you should be sending regular email newsletters (I recommend at least two a month, if not weekly.)  It’s a lot of content and you may not have the time to do it all.

It keeps changing

Facebook reach is down – should you keep using it? My audience says they aren’t using Facebook – where do I find them? What is Snapchat and do I need to care?

People keep changing where they’re spending their time and as a busy business owner you may not have the time to keep on top of what tools make the most sense for your business and how they’re changing (for example, while Facebook is certainly not a tool to ignore, it’s absolutely true that to get the best value out of using it you probably want to invest in Facebook advertising). 

Time

Are you sensing a theme? Time is precious and I know that creating quality online content may not be the best use of yours. If that’s the case (because there are certainly many business owners who CAN do their own social media) then outsourcing is probably a great solution for you. 

Hire someone who can take away the stress of having to create regular content for all your channels, who knows how to create images and where to find good links and information that your audience will value. Hire someone who will let you know if things are changing and if you need to change your focus and the type of content you’re sharing. Hire someone who will take the headache out of online marketing and leave you with the value of finding new customers and building relationships with them. 

Who do I hire?

Do you know anyone who has experience in online communications who offers these types of services? There are quite a few people who have a lot of experience in the online space who can help you. The key is to make sure that they understand your business and your goals and messaging.

Wellman Wilson is now taking on social media content creation and management because we recognize that business owners just don’t have the time to do it all. If you’re interested in chatting with us, send us an email or check out the content creation services section on our website.

Online marketing can be time consuming, but it is also the key to reaching new audiences, getting repeat business and increasing revenue. Don't let time or overwhelm stop you from establishing your online presence in 2015!

Mastermind your way to success

Have you ever heard of a Mastermind Group? I'm lucky because I got to be a part of one over a decade ago (though it wasn't called that then) and it was instrumental in helping me grow my career in the field of communications. I've now created one for myself as a business owner and in the few short months since we began, the members in my group have been pushing me to new places with my business - it's incredible!

What is a Mastermind Group?

A Mastermind Group can be run in many different ways, but the basic explanation is that it is a group of people (in my case, business owners) who come together on a regular basis to support each other and help each other achieve goals. That's it. How it runs is often different, but the basic concept is that this group of people is there to make you the best that you can be.

What are the main benefits of being part of a Mastermind Group?

There are many many benefits, but here are my top five:

1) Support

It can be hard (and kind of lonely) to be a business owner. Finding a group of people who understand what it's like to do what you do, who have experienced what it's like to run a business, and who can support you as your run your business is extremely valuable all on its own.  

2) Accountability

I don't know about you, but I often need outside accountability to get things done. In each meeting everyone in the group sets out three things that they will do before the next meeting and they tell the group how they did on the three things they committed to at the previous meeting.  Admitting to not doing what you said you would can be incentive enough to scramble in the hours before the meeting (I say this from personal experience).  Accountability is huge.

3) Insight

At every meeting someone is in the hot seat. This means that almost half of the meeting is devoted to just them and their business. They bring a question or an issue and the entire group is focused on giving them their thoughts, ideas and insight to solve that problem or move things forward.  

We need people on the outside to be able to tell us what they see looking in to our businesses and the members of a Mastermind Group can do that.

4) Safe space

All of the members of my Mastermind signed a Non-disclosure agreement when we started. It's made talking about anything and everything we're worried about or considering safe to talk about when we're together. 

Not every problem we face as business owners can be discussed publicly - that's just how things go in business. Being able to talk with others who understand what it's like to run a business about the things that are concerning or scare you is huge.

5) Push

My Mastermind Group isn't afraid to push each other. Scared to do something? Too bad - your group thinks you should and CAN do it so they'll push you to do it. Trying to hide in that comfort zone? No go with a Mastermind Group watching what you're doing. Putting yourself into a position to be pushed to be all you can be is a scary but amazing thing to do.

How can you be a part of a Mastermind?

Keep your eyes open. A lot of business coaches run them (click here for more information on the group coaching programs I offer) and you might be able to Google and find something in your area. Or do what I did and set up your own.  

Have any questions?  Leave them in the comments - I'd be happy to try to help you figure out how you can get the incredible value I do out of your own Mastermind Group!

Three words for 2015: Teach, Create, Grow

Happy New Year!

I love starting out a new year with picking three words.  We've done it severals times in the past and the words don't often change significantly, but taking a little bit of time to think about the direction we want to head in to the new year with really helps us focus on what and how we do things.

This year our three words are Teach, Create and Grow and I'm really excited to see where they take us.

Teach

Teaching is definitely one of our passions at Wellman Wilson.  Helping you figure out how to use social media to grow your business online with simple step-by-step processes is something we pride ourselves on doing well.

In 2015 we will continue running our two online courses - Simple Start and Simple Start Newsletters, and we will also launch a third course, Simple Start Blogging.  These courses are designed to walk people through the steps of learning to post on Facebook, Twitter, start sending email newsletters or posting regular blog posts, without feeling like it's an overwhelming and unachievable task.

We will also continue running webinars, taking on speaking engagements and running our own workshops. (Be sure to stay tuned for one coming up early this year!!) If there is anything in particular you'd like us to teach, whether that be as a course, a webinar or a speaking engagement, leave a comment or send us an email and we'll see how we can fit it into our 2015 schedule!

Create

Creating content, courses, videos, blog posts, etc., is something we do a lot of and will continue to do.  But this year we're going to be creating even more than that because we understand that no matter now organized you are, and how well you come to understand the importance of social media and online marketing and how it works, you sometimes just don't have the time to create your own content. This year we're taking on more clients that want us to do the work for them.

Don't let the overwhelm of content creation slow you down.  If you'd like to chat about how we can help you with content creation email us and we'd be happy to set up a call to talk about how we can help meet your needs!

Grow

Most of us hope to grow our  businesses but we've chosen this word because in 2015 we really want to continue to focus on growing our knowledge, growing our services, and growing our business. In 2014 we hired an amazing virtual assistant (now business manager) who has helped up have more time to focus on content creation of all kinds and we intend to keep on that path with more support and more staff.

We want to move forward into 2015 with a lot of serious intention to grow to a place where we can provide you with amazing content and service and grow is the word that will help us get there.

What are your three words?

Leave a comment and share your three words, as well as anything you'd like to learn more about this year.  You are who inspire us in our business. Understanding how you're working on your businesses as we move forward helps us make sure we're creating the right content for you.

Happy New Year everyone!  Here's to an amazing 2015!

It's been a very good year...

This year has been an exciting year of growth for us as a business. Our third year of being in business together has brought Lara and I so many good things:

• More really interesting and fun clients to work with,
• We launched a new program to help you launch or refresh your email newsletter,
• We said goodbye to Social Capital Conference (a bittersweet decision, for sure), 
• Our website got a nice refresh,
• Lara and I have evolved to a more strategic approach with planning - and we get together regularly to keep things fresh and moving forward,
• We started doing webinars! The latest that we had on planning had a great turnout and lots of interaction which made it very successful,
• Lara has turned into a video-making machine, which means we have great content on our YouTube channel for you,
• One of the very best things we did this year was hire Tracy Noble, who has become our business manager. She has her own business and we are not her only clients, but she has become integral to our success. (In other words, she makes us look good and keeps us on track!)

We're looking forward to even more great things happening in 2015. Next week, we'll give you a little preview of how that's going to look and what you have to look forward to...I'm having a hard time not spilling the beans now!

From Lara, Tracy, and myself, we hope you are having a lovely holiday season!