Here are our first three of seven rules for writing a newsletter, but they can also apply in large part blog posts, articles, booklets, and so forth.

Rule #1: Tell them what they need to know, not everything that you know.

Most writing is far too prolix and verbosity has become endemic to our society. But less IS more in writing, so how do you control your propensity to open the verbal floodgates?

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes. Ask what they would need to know on any given topic to be able to pragmatically apply useful techniques immediately. Newspaper articles are written in an “inverse pyramid” style, so that the most important information comes first, and the less important can always be edited out at the end for space limitations.

You have no such luxury in a newsletter that we’re advocating be confined to about a screen or 800 words or so. (An average magazine page, without advertising, has about 800 words.) So ask yourself merely this: What are the three or four most vital points and how can I express them with a minimum of verbiage.

Which leads us to rule #2.

Rule #2: A picture is worth 1,000 words but an example is worth 1,000 pictures

People relate best and most immediately to situations with which they are familiar and/or in which they’ve found themselves (or could readily imagine themselves). Consequently, use personal stories and examples to make your points, which will both dramatically shorten your article and also bring life to it.

For example: “Have you ever been in a classroom where the professor tells you everything he or she ever learned but doesn’t respond to a question and rarely looks up from the  notes? How effective was that learning compared to the professor who wades through the room interacting?”

You’ve been there, and so have we, and you can see (visualize, remember) immediately what that was like and why the point is so valid. There’s no need to try to translate a conceptual theme using thousands of words.

Try to describe a spiral staircase with your hands at your side. At best you’ll say that it’s a continuing 360-degree, ascending stair which revolved back upon its own central axis.

That’s nowhere as effective as saying, “Picture a corkscrew….”

Rule #3: Don’t use no bad grammar

Don’t fall victim to the debasement of the linguistic currency.

The Internet is largely informal, to the extent that you can readily find obscene and scatological references on Facebook and YouTube (which is the web at both its best and its worst in terms of what’s posted there).

Keep your content civil and intelligent, as if you were conversing with acquaintances you’ve met with, but not family or friends at a hockey game. You’re not talking to insiders, but to those with whom you may do business some day. You don’t want to offend, you want to impress.

If needed find an editor or someone who will simply read your newsletter before publication for obvious errors. For example, the correct phrase is “between you and me,” not “between you and I,” even though the latter may seem more refined. You don’t have to know that the reason is “between” is a proposition which takes the objective “me” and not the nominative “I,” but you do have to get it right.

If you’re grammar is isn’t correct, and you’re not smart enough to find someone to correct it, why would your products and services be any better?

This is an excerpt from my new and upcoming book Million Dollar Web Presence - Leverage technology to build your brand and transform your business, which I am coauthoring with Dr. Alan Weiss and which will be published by Entrepreneur Press.

© Chad Barr 2011. All rights reserved

In my article Best Practices from My Best Clients I reveal my observations of what my most successful clients are doing. You may be surprised.

Checkout our most recent newsletter announcing the new site for Betsy Jordyn, President of Accelera Consulting Group.

Finally, it’s time to thank YOU and wish you and your family a healthy, peaceful and prosperous year.

All the best,

Chad

I find speaking critical from several perspectives. Here are some of the reasons I encourage others to speak often:

1. It is an effective vehicle that enables me to deliver my evolving intellectual property.
2. It sharpens my language, delivery and speaking skills.
3. It allows me to try and test new ideas and material.
4. It enables me to interact with my audience and receive immediate feedback as well as gauge what’s on their minds and what are their concerns, which allows me then to respond and also develop new intellectual property.
5. It “forces” me to innovate and reinvent new ideas, services and products.
6. It positions me as a credible expert, an object of interest and a thought leader.
7. It provides a powerful way to connect with qualified prospective clients and existing clients.

I find speaking to be essential in gaining new clients, growing my business as well as being able to stay in touch and increase the number of prospects who want to stay in touch by registering to our monthly newsletter.

One of the most effective ways of creating credibility on the web is through endorsements of others or clients testimonials. The reasoning behind this is quite simple; If I were to tell you how great my organization is, you may perceive it flamboyant, unlikely or perhaps even hyped. Yet if my client were to tell you the amazing results they’ve received by working with us, that is a proof!

For testimonials to be most effective, they should focus on dramatic results achieved rather than superfluous description of your personality or style of doing business. For example: “Chad’s has helped transform my brand and my organization and double my revenues” describes powerful and dramatic results vs. “Chad’s team is great to work with” which is quite weak in my opinion.

So when is the best time to ask for testimonials you ask?

1. When your client shares with you the great results they achieved by virtue of working with you.
2. When you read or hear about a great success or accomplishment you client has achieved.
3. When you know your client is continually happy with your work.

Testimonials can be in writing, recorded as an audio segment, or as a video segment. If in writing, I prefer receiving them on my client’s business letterhead although at times I may receive them as an email or a short hand written note. When a client shares with me their success as it relates to my work with them, I thank them for sharing this with me and then I say: “Would you be kind enough to capture what you just shared with me on your letterhead and send it to me? It would mean the world to me.” Or, I may simply approach my client and say: “I know how thrilled you are with my organization, would you be kind enough to provide me with a testimonial?” When they agree I say: “May I share with you what would be extremely helpful for me?” I then request they focus and write about the impact on their organization and results achieved. When the opportunity presents itself, I also suggest you request a video testimonial instead or in addition to a written testimonial. If done right, they are extremely effective and powerful. Here are the three questions I usually ask when doing a video testimonial although many times I just focus on number 3 below:

1. Please introduce yourself, your name, title and organization.
2. What was the key challenge you were facing when we first started working together?
3. What has been the biggest impact on your organization as a result of our working together?

Surprisingly, many do not ask for testimonials, either because they are ignorant, reluctant, or afraid of rejection. Over the years, I have encouraged my clients to contact their clients and ask for testimonials and the results have been outstanding and even surpassed my clients own expectations. How about you? How often do you ask for testimonials? Remember, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

My wife just got the recent Macy’s fragrance products catalog, which was sitting on our kitchen counter when I walked in. At first, I was drawn to the vibrant and attractive colors of the magazine but then something else caught my attention. It was the subtle “did you know?” questions placed throughout the pages and followed by creative answers. What I found intriguing was the fact that the answers “placed” the products in the buyer’s hands and suggested a good “use” of that product.

1. How do you communicate your existing and new products and services to your clients?
2. Do your buyers understand how to leverage your capabilities?
3. Do you suggest creative, effective and results-generating uses of your products and services?

Here are some of the catalog images demonstrating my points as well as the last image displaying the incorporation of the social media integration. Nice job Macy’s!

I view the web as an important component of your overall marketing effort and driving interest to your organization. Seldom, would your Internet effort alone drive the proper interest and success to your organization. However, combined with the following list below and you are looking at the recipe to success:

• Speaking – Is one of the best ways to deliver value to your audience and engage with your presentation. It is especially effective if you leverage your web content during your presentation. Why not reference an article or a position paper: “Let me share with you the top 3 mistakes organizations make …” or perhaps display a chart or graph.
• Publishing – I referring here to both digital and non-digital methods. A hard copy booklet or book and a digital version of such are a very powerful way of complementing your web efforts. This may happen on your site, your blog or on others as well as appearing in various other publications.
• Body of work- The Internet today makes it extremely easy to publish a variety of media formats. Be it the written words, photos, charts, audio podcasts and videos. This creates an interesting variety for people to choose and process at their leisure, when they want and using the technology of their choice: Laptop, desktop, iPod, iPhone and so on.
• Products and services – This is a critical item to create interest in you, for people to be able to engage you and create mutual success. From the promotion of consulting, mentoring, speaking, training, booklets, books, DVDs, surveys, workshops, retreats, webinars, teleseminars and more.
• Provocative – If you want to get noticed, you have to be able to stand out in the crowd. Yet if you sound like everyone else, you won’t. One of the best way to have others notice you and become an object of interest is to become provocative.
• Strong relationships – None of this intended success is possible without the creation of strong relationship and partnership with your clients and always looking for their self interest.
• Delivery of value – The driving force in all of this is the ultimate value the client receive.
• Shamelessly promoting yourself- You can not remain a best kept secret and expect success to knock on your door. Nor could you expect to build it and they will came. These stories usually take place in fairy tails or modern movies. You’ve got to promote yourself, your brands and your products and services and become successful.

“It’s hard work you say?” Yes, it probably is. Yet there is no short cutting the system. Place these components effectively together and amazing Internet results will come your way.

It is quite obvious that one of the keys to the business success of many, is their ability to offer valuable products on their web sites. When I demonstrate, review and discuss this with my clients it is quite common to hear them share with me their aspiration to create such products to promote on their own web sites. The unfortunate thing is that such aspiration is often associated with an immense sense of frustration and the rudimentary challenge of how to make this a reality. The other obstacle is how to get their knowledge and ideas out of their head and into a completed product such as a booklet, book, CD, DVD workshop, Teleseminar and more.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Interview other thought leaders, record the conversation and create an audio file that is available as an MP3 download off your site or a CD.
2. Have others interview you or even video tape the conversation and make it available as an audio or video file.
3. If the objective is to increase your audience by providing free value, interface your audio recordings with iTunes and your videos with YouTube and such services. Also make your transcript available as an eBook in a PDF download.
4. Hire a content writer that will help you get your great ideas unto paper or digital files.
5. Assemble some of your best articles into a powerful collection and create a new eBook that is also available as a hard copy.
6. Create a weekly podcast series.
7. Create a monthly video series.
8. Invite your audience for three free teleseminars, deliver outstanding value and announce your new monthly teleseminar series.
9. Get together with your Internet company and layout the strategy and tactics to implement and promote these products successfully.
10. Chart your way to success – Determine one of your desired products, pull out your calendar, write down the date it will be completed and available, determine all the steps necessary to accomplish this and schedule them accordingly. Now repeat for the next product.

Unless you have already mastered the creation of such products and are doing so effectively, consistently and profitably, the key is your discipline and creating a powerful support system to help you get there. To become successful at creating products, you may need to select an accountability partner, a mentor, an Internet and a business strategist, a content writer or someone who has done so successfully and learn from them.

Since it is that time of year when making resolutions is popular yet only few follow through with, why not take a moment, determine a product your customers need that you are passionate about and have the knowledge and expertise. Then, pull out your calendar and take your first step by taking action now. You’ll be glad you did. I promise.

Alan Weiss and Chad Barr are pleased to announce a new joint venture, Million Dollar Websites. This was created in response to consistent requests for a combination of superb and powerful marketing text combined with state-of-the-art web technology. We’ve created an absolutely unique web site development approach—turnkey for a new site, metamorphosis for an existing site—with three programs to accommodate a variety of investments. The return on those investments will easily reach seven figures.

Hence, Million Dollar Web Sites. We invite you to visit. This is a unique service, finally combining high tech, with high touch in a pragmatic and customized approach.

http://www.chadbarr.com/million-dollar-web-sites/

Earlier this year I visited Alan Weiss to discuss several projects we are working on and to also leverage the opportunity to tape quite a few video segments for Alan’s site. It just so happened that I landed on the day he was scheduled to tape the next five segments of the Writing On The Wall (WOTW) series. Since I am always looking for interesting and valuable content, I pulled out my video camera and taped the “behind the scenes” of Alan’s production. What I found most fascinating is that in less than the 90 minutes session, which mostly was interrupted by me, he was able to tape five segments for the WOTW series and four video testimonials for people in his hall of fame program.

Enjoy,

Chad

http://www.chadbarr.com/the-writing-behind-the-writing-on-the-wall/

I am constantly intrigued by what generates success for entrepreneurs so I may coach and apply this blueprint for my clients. During a fabulous dinner with Alan Weiss this past Wednesday evening at The Spiced Pear in Newport, Rhode Island and over an amazing 2001 Chateau Margaux, we discussed some of the components of such success:

1. Internalized Knowledge and experience.
2. Intellectual fire power which is gained through additional learning, reading and experience.
3. Innovative and creative ideas.
4. Mental discipline to get out the intellectual capital (between your ears) into products and services which become your intellectual property. This transfer process is done through instantiation, which is your  ability to take complex concepts and simplify them.
5. Constant daily creation and addition to your body of knowledge and body of work.
6. Passion demonstrated in your work and your contacts with your clients.

Below is a process visual I have just created at 32,00 feet, on my way to Rhode Island to speak at Alan Weiss’s Million Dollar Consulting® College:

There are several elements to the chart above: On the horizontal axis is your “Strategy, Tactics and Execution” (referred below in short as strategy), which are the components of what your business and internet should look like, how will you do it, the steps to get there and your fierce commitment to execute it. On the vertical axis is your “Intellectual Property (IP), Content, Products and Services (referred below in short as content). The plus sign(+) represents the high of each quadrant and the minus sign(-) the low.

Quadrant 4 – Create, innovate or get out – This represents low strategy and low content. These individuals suffer from low or no success and are usually struggling quite a bit. The solution (as in my heading) is quite obvious. If you fall into this quadrant and assuming you have the wisdom and passion, start creating and innovating while developing and executing your strategy or find another occupation.

Quadrant 3 – Best kept secret – This represents high content and low strategy. These individuals have outstanding content and lack the strategy to make them extremely successful. Although, some do see some success, the majority struggle to reach that next level in their business.

Quadrant 2 – The emperor has no clothes – This represents high strategy and low content. These individuals are good at the strategic aspect of their business and may even be somewhat successful for a while but they lack the wisdom or the knowledge of how to do it or they use fraudulent techniques.

Quadrant 1 – It’s good to be the king – This represents high strategy and high content. These individuals are great at what they do, their content is good to remarkable, they execute powerful and effective strategy and are extremely successful.

The solution is pretty straight forward. Focus on creating and innovating while increasing your IP, content, products and services while making sure you have a clear strategy and tactics that you execute well and with great discipline.

© Chad Barr 2009. All rights reserved.

A couple of minutes ago I decided to quickly research the web and see what people are publishing about growing an email distribution list. I launched my browser and googled: “How to grow your distribution list” and to my pleasant surprise I noticed that the second result listed at the top of the Google page was one of my own blog posts: “How to Grow Your Email Distribution List” which I wrote back in March of 2007 and is still a great post I must add.

That triggered my thinking and sharing with you the following points:

1. Have you Googled yourself lately? This is one of the topics I discuss during my speeches. Why not use Google and possibly other search engines to research the web and discover: what is being said about you, what your competition is doing, how is your brand improving, where are your articles positioned? Get the point? You may be pleasantly surprised as well as learn what others are doing.
2. I constantly think of new ideas for my new articles as well as refine existing ones I have previousely written. I then modify and improve my original posts and either write a new blog post to feature this revised article or use Twitter to announce it. For example, four days ago I added more call to actions to the “What’s your call to action” thread I wrote a while back. I used Twitter to announce this, which is found here, and is also automatically linked to my Facebook account. This allows me to revive and repurpose older posts (as I am doing here) while publishing improved newer content.
3. Writing ideas are all around us, we just need to pay better attention to our surroundings.

You don’t create a blog or a web site or participate in social networking or whatever and hope your clients will come – especially your CEOs or CFOs. Most consultants are making this mistake over and over and are still waiting for the phone to ring! You drive the value to your customers and prospects by creating amazing products and services, publishing great stuff, shamelessly promoting it, and leveraging every component of marketing gravity you can and guided by your Internet strategy.

Let me also suggest (and I am ok if you all hate me for this) that quite a few of consultants’ web sites out there are quite weak (to put it very mildly), with minimal or zero perceived value. Many want to become world-class consultants, yet their web sites and intellectual property make them look like amateurs.

Blogs are only one component of your overall Internet strategy and Internet marketing gravity. Here is one example of how you may leverage your blog to target CEOs and CFOs (I am inserting in the quote here):

“Dear Bob, (Name of your fictitious CEO or CFO – you pick the real one)

I have assembled a brand new and exciting collection of special reports, podcasts and videos to help CEOs and CFOs. This collection is my creation and innovation of a repository of powerful and unique ideas to help my clients with issues they are bringing to my attention. Issues such as: [list areas of your clients' challenges and where you can help them raise the bar]

I am updating this repository area quite often and I am also planning on bringing some fascinating thought leaders as guest contributors. Names such as: [List some great names you are planning on bringing as guest contributors] This area is becoming “the place” for CEOs and CFOs to hang out, get the answers they are looking for and participate in a like-minded community.

To preview this new place, simply click on this link www.ChadGrowthIdeas.com (you probably should use your own name)

I am also attaching my latest special report: “Top 10 mistakes successful CEOs avoid making”
And please checkout next Thursday my upcoming video: “Thriving in tough economic times.”

I will be in touch with you shortly to share some new exciting ideas.

Best,

Chad”

I realize this takes courage, creativity, investment and hard work. But heck the good news is that there are only a few successful thought leaders out there. The rest simply follow or not.

So what do you think? Please post your comment below.

© Chad Barr 2009. All rights reserved.

Below is a powerful video testimonial I’ve been fortunate to get from Alan Weiss, which is something you should consider doing with your clients.

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My wife and I have just visited Moxie which is one of our favorite restaurants in the area. We noticed a new item on the menu, the Mediterranean Sea Bass which was highly recommended by our waiter. It was an outstanding dish we both agreed. When chatting with the waiter and commenting on his superb recommendation he said: “You know, when we had it on the menu as the Bronzini Fish, we could not sell any. So we’ve changed the name to the Mediterranean Sea Bass and we can’t keep enough in stock.”

Although it depends on your industry, below are my top seven effective marketing choices:

1. Public speaking and/or speaking in webinars
2. Publish your intellectual property in print and the web and often
3. Search Engine Optimization and Paid advertising
4. Leverage social networking especially online communities
5. Blog and comment on others’ blog
6. Publish a book
7. Create a valuable electronic newsletter

Charge or retreat, it’s a matter of choice.  

I hear people complaining about the strength of the dollar weakening in comparison to other world currencies especially when the media is reaching for our attention with the stories and news of recession. So how do you leverage these economic challenges to benefit your company?

1. Expand your market – We get more inquiries and new business than ever before from place such as Canada, Europe, Australia, South Africa and Asia. I do not know if this is because of the exciting work we do and our marketing gravity, perhaps serendipity or the weak dollar. What is apparent to me is the fact that organizations and entrepreneurs outside the US are reaching out for help and expertise and a way to get better return from their own currency. Seize these opportunities, branch out and go global.
2. Help change your customers’ perception – In his blog entry Marketing in a recession, author Seth Godin writes about how in good times people buy because they feel they deserve it or just want it. Yet in tougher times they buy from a defensive position to avoid trouble or seize the opportunity. Change your marketing message to help your customers better understand why they need your products and services now.
3. Better use of technologies – Whether you are a large organization or a single entrepreneur, smartly using technologies enables you to deliver your expertise to your clients to help their business, build stronger relationships while allowing technologies to perform the work they should. So instead of receiving orders via phone, fax or a non-integrated web site and having to manually key them into your computer system, why not completely integrate them with your system through the Internet to automatically receive them in your warehouse or your receivable department? Instead of shipping hard copy books and CDs why not send them digitally as eBooks or an MP3 downloads. Instead of having to travel and visit your clients for meeting and training, why not use the Internet to conduct online live meetings and even archive them for future views?
4. Improve your web site – In his blog entry Progression in a recession, Dr. Alan Weiss talks about the importance of changing your web site to broadly describe your services and the importance of technology to reach out overseas prospects and partners.

Your web site and the Internet are both critical tools in helping you market your company, announce new products and services, deliver new offerings and reach global customers. So rather than listen to the negative news (how else would they get your attention) and act scared and indecisive, why not make a bold move, seize the great opportunities around you and make a positive difference for you and your customers’ success.

After dinner last night, my wife and I went to Caribou Coffee to get a latte. While the coffee was being prepared, I was looking at the announcement board and this ad seemed to grab my attention. It immediately became obvious to me, that the person designing this ad, apparently never realized that they omitted the most critical and important information:

(Click on image above to enlarge)

How would any interested individual contact this ad without a name, a phone number an email address or a physical address?

Make sure your contact information is clearly visible on all of your marketing material.

If you aren’t taking your site seriously, why should others?

If this is not one of the ultimate hypocrisies, then I do not know what one is.

My wife turned in her Saab for a Lexus some time ago. We just got this printed Saab postcard soliciting their service yet claiming to save our trees.

If Saab was so concerned with our trees, wouldn’t you think they would have email or use the phone instead of sending this printed postcard?

Front of card

Back of card

I came across some staggering business statistics on the site of Jay Conrad Levinson, the author of the “Guerrilla Marketing” series of books:

A staggering 85% of small businesses destined for failure bite the bullet or go bankrupt during their first five years. The remaining businesses that hang in there only break even: Only 4% of new businesses make a sizeable profit after 5 years.

Some years, there are more business closures than business openings.

Lack of marketing savvy is one of the main reasons this happens.

Take any 100 men or women at the start of their working careers and follow them for 40 years till they reach retirement age. Here’s what the Social Security Administration says you’ll find:

Being clueless about marketing is one of the primary causes of these depressing numbers.