Writing

The attention span of someone who receives your email messages today is the same as a one year old… 1,2,3 zilch!

Yes, we get too many messages and can’t handle them anymore in a timely manner.  So, your email subject line better be short and to the point and eye-catching. You have about “40 characters” to get your readers’ attention and get them to open up your email message.

If you send email messages weekly you may get a little tired and stop writing enticing subject lines because you think your reader knows you and will open up your message.  Not true!  I noticed that only 32% of email messages sent by one of my client’s are opened. Even though these messages are sent to members of an organization who expect the bi-monthly notices. We have been working to improve that percent and are getting better results. The subject line is important.

The biggest challenge you have is to get your reader to open up your email message, and that can happen when you have an attention getting, enticing subject line that subliminally says, “Open me. Open me.”

Here are some tips to get your reader to open up your email marketing messages.

1. Create curiosity. Make your reader want to open up the message.
2. “Free” – Use the word if you really mean it.  There are pros and cons about using the word “Free” in your subject line.  The concern is that maybe spam filters might pick it up.  However, I receive more and more subject lines with the word “Free” in them and they didn’t go to my spam filter.  Use it sparingly or your reader will get tired of seeing you use it.
3. A sense of “Urgency.” Give them a time sensitive message.  Examples are: “3 days left to get the formula to attract more clients”
4. Benefits Sell. Instead of announcing a feature, give them a benefit in your subject line.
5. Using your automatic responder, and use their name in the subject line. It’s always nice to see your name there.
6. Broadcast some exciting news. It could save them time, money, or effort. It could be a new fantastic product or service.

For group messages and if you don’t have time to do your own research studies, I recommend you sign up for an Email Marketing Service because you can get statistics on how many of your messages are opened up each time you send one. This will tell you if your subject lines are working or not. Do an Internet search for “email marketing service” and you will find a list of services you can use.

Another way is to send your messages to a smaller group and use a different subject title for each group — test what subject titles work better than others. If you get more response from Group Mailing 1 than Group Mailing 2 then you know what works better.

People who like to do their own research use Google AdWords to test their words and analyze their click through rates.

Here are some of my favorite titles:

Are you ready to _____?
Can you help me?
Claim your free ____. It’s yours to keep.
Live more confidently with our XYZ Training program
Never worry again with our XYZ product.
Could you use an extra $1000 a month?
Come with us March 17 to ……
Join us March 17 for ….
Invest in your future….Join us on March 17

You can have the greatest product or service in the world that you know your prospects will want to buy, but the first step is to get them to open up the email to read about it.

There is so much demand for our time today that organizations must make their email messages inviting and exciting to get their members and guests come to the next meeting – the subject line must entice them to open up your message and then your message motivates them to come.

You can get many great ideas from the book most copywriters use, “Words That Sell.” It takes practice, practice, practice. The more you write and create subject lines the better you will get. Start today writing better email subject lines for your successful email marketing campaigns.

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GET FAMOUS WITH YOUR WORDS

Would you like Celebrity Coach Joan to show you how to write and market your ebook, or help you “Get Famous” with your words?  Contact Coach Joan today for a FREE “23 Minute One on One” coaching. Send a message with the words “23 minutes” in the subject line to… Joan@Words4Money.com

In This Week’s Issue…

* Quote of the Day
* Feature Article: How to Write and Sell an e-book
* Kitty Cat Postscripts

Words4Money.com the Online Newsletter on
Writing, Marketing, Speaking & Publishing
for Independent Professionals
from JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low-Cost Marketing & Writing Consultant

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QUOTE OF THE DAY
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“Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance.” –Samuel Johnson

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Feature Article: How to Write an e-Book and
Sell an e-Book in 6 Easy Steps
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This is a good day for me to write an e-book or e-zine—it’s freezing cold outside and raining here in Silicon Valley.  It’s 60 degrees! I can hear you mid-Westerners and Easterners laughing right now. “This gal doesn’t know what cold really is!” you are saying. That’s okay with me—60 degrees is cold enough.

Let’s write an e-book. I’ll show you the e-book elements and steps you need to write an e-book.

6 Easy Steps to Write and Sell an e-Book.

1.  The idea. The Vision. We need a good idea for our readers and prospective clients. You notice, I didn’t say a good idea that I like—instead my idea must be something of value to my reader. It must be something that will motivate them to click on the link to buy and download my e-book.

2. Organize Your Thoughts. We must come up with at least 10 topics to include in our e-book. Or if you just want to write a short e-book of less than 10 pages then come up with a shorter number of titles.  Start writing your topic ideas then organize them in the most logical manner.  For example, if you are writing about ’10 Easy Tips To Keep Your Car Running Smoothly At All times,” your e-book will include 10 tips (10 topics).

3. Start Writing Freely. Begin writing your e-book based on your outline you created in #2. Since you are the expert in this field it should be easy to write down your ideas. Don’t worry about format, structure or grammar.  Just get your thoughts down in writing. Write freely.

4. Finalize Your e-Book. Now it’s time to put some structure in your e-book. Ask yourself, “What is the easiest way to organize this so that my readers will understand it and follow it?” Always write from your reader’s point of view. Make it easy for your reader to find information and understand your concepts and thoughts.

5. Create Final Product. Now you decide how to produce your product to make it easy for your reader to purchase it.  The most inexpensive and easiest way is to produce a PDF file.  All computers now usually come with the PDF format available to use from Adobe. On my computer I press the ‘PRINT’ button and I can choose PDF from a choice of printing options. It then will produce a PDF file for me that go to my Desktop.

I like PDF files because they look professional. Can someone copy your PDF file? Yes, if they have the Adobe software. However, unless you are creating a “Harry Potter” bestseller book, it is a good way to get started producing e-books. Most of the e-books you order are produced this way. There are other software products that state they make your ebook harder to copy, but they are cumbersome to read because they usually separate every chapter and you can’t print them out easily. They are not available for a Mac computer. I still like to read long articles on the printed page instead of online.

6. Sell your e-Book.

Website. If you have a website set up then you will want to sell the e-book on your website. If you don’t know how to do this, hire a savvy Internet student to help you set it up on your site. You need a way to collect your money. I would start out with a Paypal account because it covers International countries that might want to buy your e-book. Later when you are financially successful you can add a commercial credit card service, but Paypal let’s everyone use their credit cards now so it is easy to get started.

Digital Products Retailer. If you do not have a website then start with a digital product retailer such as Clickbank, Payloadz, and others. You store your e-book on their site and they take a small profit for every e-book that’s sold on their site.  Get the word out. What you have to do is send out e-mail messages to your list announcing your e-book and the great benefits your reader will get by buying it.  You can also ask your friends if they would send a message to their list of friends and colleagues announcing your e-book.

This is a great rainy day project: Write and sell an e-book in 6 easy steps. Now is the time to start writing and who knows by the time the rain stops you may be finished!

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GET ON THE WORDS4MONEY ACTION PLAN
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* COACHING TRACK – F.r.e.e. Writing Strategy Session

Are you ready to write a book or e-book? Would you like hands-on assistance with your writing and marketing? Joan can help you. Click below if you’d like a complimentary Writing Strategy Session: Joan@Words4Money.com

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** JUMP-START 2-WEEK WRITER’S TRACK
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Want to get a jump-start on your writing? In two weeks you can have your outline and plan on how to write your book or e-book. Joan will interview you and get your plan together for you. Includes 2 coaching calls and lots of email as needed. For more details and price contact: Joan@Words4Money.com

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** SPEAKING TRACK
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A Writing and Marketing Presentation for Your Group.

Want a dynamic speaker for your professional group? Looking for hands-on and how-to skills for attracting more clients? You’ve found her! Book Joan Clout-Kruse for a keynote talk or 1/2 day training program to your organization: Joan@Words4Money.com

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KITTY CAT POSTSCRIPTS
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Have you been following Kitty Cat’s adventures? Well, today it is rainy and cold outside and Kitty Cat hasn’t visited us at all.  That means she is in a nice warm house nearby staying dry and warm. She is no fool. So she is taking a day of rest from marketing to me. However, you notice that she is on my mind, which means she has planted a seed.  And that is what you want to do with your prospects.  Start planting seeds: send postcards as a warm and fuzzy way to keep in touch with your clients. I would send you a postcard except my newsletter signup only asks for your name and email address.  Sometime I’ll have to figure out a way for you to give me this information if you’d like to get a postcard from me.  J Happy “Kitty Cat” Marketing.

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About This E-zine and Your Subscription
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© 2009 Joan Clout-Kruse, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from Words4Money in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live website link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read:

“By Joan Clout-Kruse of CloutPower Training. Please visit Joan’s website at http://www.Words4Money.com for additional low-cost marketing, writing, publishing and speaking articles and resources for independent business professionals.” (Please make sure the link above is live.)
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Until next week, keep on going and never give up.
JOAN CLOUT-KRUSE
Low cost marketing and writing coach

March 5, 2009

Many of our clients have a wealth of information to share but it is too long for a blog article. I suggest they create a simple 5-10 page white paper or eBook to virtually “hand out” to prospects and customers.  By creating your great work in a word processing application such as Word and converting it into a pdf file**.  Your eager readers can download the white paper with the click of a mouse. 

Now that you have your shiny new white paper how can you market it? Don’t think because you have created this great book that people will just find you. You need to make them aware of it…even if it is FREE.