I was thinking about sending monthly newsletters to my customers automatically. Where can newsletter software be purchased?

Speaking of newsletters, Jim Palmer sells a newsletter service, which provides content for newsletters, so businesses can quickly create newsletters to mail or email to their customer.

There's even a version of this service he created in conjunction with Eric Paul, that has some articles that Eric wrote to use in newsletters that magicians create for their own customers.

http://www.thenewsletterguru.com/ericp/

Jim is a friend of Eric Paul's, and recently spoke at Eric Paul's Super Conference. Jim is not a magician. He is known as "The Newsletter Guru."

Jim is giving away a free copy of his book, "The Magic of Newsletter Marketing" right now (the e-book version). Limited time offer, I think.

http://www.thenewsletterguru.com/thanksgiving/

I thought that might be of interest to some people.

This doesn't really answer your question about a software for managing your list, but that has been answered in previous threads, like this one and this one.

- Donald

I personally dislike newsletters that are all about magic, birthday parties and the entertainer. No offense to Eric, but the examples I've seen of his newsletters are all about Eric. That's great for a special promo packet or a serious fan.

But, the principal goal of a regular newsletter should be to keep your name in front of the client all year long. To do this, they have to be excited about receiving and opening your email.

My newsletters have my brand and contact info clearly displayed, but the monthly newsletter focuses on family activities, events, specials and cheap day trips in and around my area. I solicit special discounts from my various business clients and add those; like discount movie passes or complimentary dessert with a child's meal. I also include easy-to-do crafts for the month and healthy recipes. Only one small section of my electronic newsletter posts my upcoming public and restaurant appearances and links back to my parent guides and services.

In my opinion, I prefer to send them information they want to open, read and use so that my newsletters don't wind up in the Spam folder.

Skip -

Did you see the newsletter samples where Eric includes party / event planning tips, etc.? Or is that what you were commenting on?

It sounds like your approach is more along the lines of what BJ Hickman did with his newspaper. But you are doing it electronically.

I think that your approach is a terrific approach.

- Donald

P.S. I will point out the distinction that you are creating your own content, and that takes time and effort. The service that Jim offers is to help businesses who prefer to have content ready for them (drag and drop). Jim said that many people who intend to create their own content / create their own newsletter from scratch, don't send out newsletters on a regular basis, and sometimes not at all, because the task seems too daunting for them.

I am also in the school of thinking (based on experienced [and split testing] not just my opinion) that a killer newsletter is FUN and INFORMATIVE “to the reader”. Based what I seen, (in my business and in others) sure they ‘may’ want SOME information about YOU (the preverbal ‘You’) but what they really want is stuff that is geared towards them! (…and "FUN" is always a winner too!)

I know, big revelation huh? (Hehehehe!)

Here is what I have seen… Jack Turk, Eric Paul, Jim Palmer ALL GET THIS! (at least for their non-magic audience… hehehe.) If we are assuming the eNewsletters and Blogs we read are a true representative samples of what they actually send out to their respective target audiences are the same… we would be sadly mistaken, they are not. PLUS ‘apples and oranges’ anyway.

Hey I don’t send you guys a bunch of jokes and recipes unless it helps you successfully book more show, make more money and help more people. You would deleite my notes and emails as soon as they arrive if I did that!

SEE… message to market match.

So PLEASE do not confuse the two… different things all together! (or at-least has been in my business relationships.)

DO yourself a favor and really investigate and research the “Newsletter Guru” links that Donald supplied and really have a look-see and you will be delighted to see that they ascribe to the exact same ideals as this… FUN & Informative for the reader.

= Fun/Funny Horoscope
= Comic strip or cell
= Topical Tip (Like Tax Time, but each month… etc)
= Simple Recipe
= “Member of the Month” spotlight
= Silly/Fun articles
= Contests
= Puzzles & Games
= Business Tip/Article
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…and more like it.

YES there is ALSO a “special offer or announcement” of some kind from the publisher… DUH! Remember, besides being fun, informative, relationship building that adds value to our readers, it is ALSO a ‘Marketing & Outreach’ tool, but the lions-share of the newsletter is pure (non-salesy) gold content!

Please don’t take my word for it, reexamine the different newsletter systems for yourself. You will see that our readers DO look forward to getting and reading our newsletters!

Do we NEED theses newsletter systems suggested so far?

Depends!

=1) How important are your business relationships to you?
=2) What is YOUR time, talent and treasure ‘balance’ like? (How do YOU prioritize your resources?)
=3) It might make more sense to do all the work, development and development expense yourself… fine!
=4) One of theses systems (or another… who knows) MIGHT be a ‘Best Use’ of your time, talent and resources so YOU can focus on your best money making activities!
…and MORE to think about and consider.

BUT… I WOULD Suggest that “keeping in touch” with SOME-KIND of ongoing (for me, FUN and Informative) type of off-line newsletter (or other system/campaign) is ESSENTIAL.

But that is just me and my results.

Have an AWESOME Thanksgiving for those that do…

Our best days are ahead! Let me know what I can do to support, encourage, assist you and your success!

Thinking Of YOU and Your Success!

I am at your service and in HIS Service,
Deano (Supporting YOU and Your Success…) in Reno
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I offer a customizable client newsletter in six different formats (4-page, postcard, email txt, email html, etc.) that's easy to update, includes jokes, puzzles, info, and space to promote your bad ol' self. And it's very very reasonably priced.

Here are the deets:

http://www.magicmarketingcenter.com/newsletter

--Jack

Does price plays a factor with newsletters?

Wadda' ya' mean? Not sure I understand your question...

There are different places to get newsletters. They offer different prices. Will it hurt to pick the cheapest one? Or it does not matter with prices, because they all the same quality?

Donald, I think it's important to show our clients that we CARE enough about them to find and include the information they want to see. Using canned articles and features are, in my opinion, impersonal and may imply that we're just sending something to be sending something. I like to keep it personal and friendly. I want my clients to know I care. I wish it was easier - but quality means taking that extra step. You know that!

Mike, Same point to you. You can go with the cheapest and the easiest if you like, but your clients are not dummies. They'll figure you out. If you want to catch Marlin you don't fish with worms, my friend!

No offense intended to Jack or the other instant author newsletter gurus - there is a place for these excellent works.

I just feel that a personal newsletter with local, useful and family-centered information carries much more weight than a canned publication with generic features. When I send a newsletter I don't want them to think, "Whatever, I'll read it later" because they never do. I want them to pounce on it and say, "I wonder what he's giving us THIS month!" I want mother's to think, "Let's have a family day out - where should we go? Pull up Happy Dan's last newsletter!"

To many of my long-time private and commercial clients I am part of their families. That kind of branding takes effort.

Oh... I see. Thanks Mike!



Skip nailed it!
Not sure I have much more to add...

= The KEY (as Skip pointed out as well) is "current, relevant, value-added, message to market match content" that YOUR target eyeballs WANT (and look forward to) read each time they get it!

...and

= CONSITANCY! (what-ever that is for you) with out becoming annoying! (That is too much OR too little!)

Good stuff guys!

Have an AWESOME Thanksgiving…

Our best days are ahead! Let me know what I can do to support, encourage, assist you and your success!

Thinking Of YOU and Your Success!

I am at your service and in HIS Service,
Deano (Thankful for YOU…) in Reno
<><

Skip -

Do you do a print newsletter as well as an electronic newsletter?

- Donald

No, Donald...Aside from the cost of printing and postage, I find that my clients really like the convenience of instant access to information through links. For example, using Constant Contact, when I list a special museum event, local festival or special show coming to town or a special discount or freebie, I include the direct link to the original website. My electronic newsletter serves as a one-stop smorgasbord of family fun. My tracking proves that the clients who open and read my newsletters (generally an 80-90% open rate) spend a lot of time exploring these various links.

Constant Contact's instant sign-up and easy unsubscribe options pretty much insure that only those who want my newsletter are getting it. That increases my visibility in my market and reduces wasted time.

Constant Contact even tells me which clients are clicking through to specific listed links so I can fine-tune future newsletters to meet the strongest interests and which links are of little to no interest to anyone This allows me to fine tune future newsletters for maximum impact and usefulness; it keeps them coming back and reading the newsletters every month.

I also know when and which clients are opening the newsletter on multiple occasions looking for something they might have spotted earlier...and what they came back to see once they click the link. More fine tuning data. I mean, how much easier can it be to keep your name in front of the client all year long...and have them thanking you for the effort?

In the near future, I may offer advertising space on my newsletters - this is a step I'm seriously debating: Do I want to go commercial with this for an extra income stream and risk ruining a good thing for me personally? Right now, it's noncommercial and TOTALLY focused on the family: a non threat and non invasive. That's a delicate balance in my mind. But, if I do - the click-thru tracking will clearly show my potential advertisers what kind of a response they can expect.

Then there's the referral factor. Two mothers sitting in a coffee shop talking about the upcoming weekend. One mother tells the other about this great newsletter brimming with local family fun ideas. Does she need to remember to send the other mother a copy of the printed newsletter - only to forget or not find it? Not my target market! She whips out her Blackberry or iPhone, pulls up a copy of the latest newsletter or goes to my website and helps the other mother sign up. Viral marketing at it's best.

I love Constant Contact's tracking capabilities. You can't do any of this with a hard-copy mailed newsletter. As you said, this all takes a lot of extra effort. I probably spend 4-5 hours a month researching and designing each newsletter. In the major scheme of things and with my present return on investment - it's not asking that much. How much time do you spend designing, printing, sealing and mailing newsletters with a much lower return?

I can't believe I'm giving this away...I should be lecturing with it!

VERY Nice Brother Skip!

Killer share!!

I get awesome response from BOTH online AND offline and I am NOT willing to part with the results (and money) I get with my offline news as well!

Oh sure, like anything, my newsletters marketing have come and gone and come back again over the years and I ALWAYS do better when we are DOING them and doing them BOTH!

I WILL say that the 'offline' has always out-performed and done BETTER with regards to producing real money-making value oriented result outcomes, (even WITH the investment of print & mail... etc) but I still say BOTH are important to the over-all mix.

Thanks Skip!

Have an AWESOME Thanksgiving…

Our best days are ahead! Let me know what I can do to support, encourage, assist you and your success!

Thinking Of YOU and Your Success!

I am at your service and in HIS Service,
Deano (Thankful for YOU…) in Reno
<><

Dean...Like Merrill-Lynch (In their heyday), when guys like you, Jack and Donald speak, I listen and learn. If you three rely on a mix of on-line and hard print newsletters, there's a powerful reason for it.

Is it a target market dynamic? My on-line newsletters are specifically directed at my family market. I've often considered my upper income family market to be a highly mobile, fast-paced computer-savvy group and my numbers seem to bear me out. I've considered the on-line service to be key here. So much so, in fact, that I take great pains to insure that my websites and e-newsletters are smartphone friendly as well as web friendly.

I don't personally use newsletters to target my commercial and educational markets - aside from a single Eric Paul "All About Me" style pseudo newsletter that I include with my promo kit to these targets. I've always placed direct mail cards, flyers and holiday greetings in a higher priority over a monthly newsletter to these markets. You three have me rethinking this. I can see where I might improve these markets with a focused hard copy newsletter. I believe I'd have to go quarterly on the hard copy, though.

Is that the difference? Or do you believe that the family market would benefit from a hard copy mailing, as well? Since I'm not a big stage performer and I'm not really into traveling, I tend to focus on a tri-state region of schools, libraries, festivals and family celebrations...with the occasional comedy & military club thrown in. I'd love to hear your views.

Wow, Mike, great thread - thanks for starting this!

I see you guys are having a fun conversation. But to be honest, I do not understand a word you guys are saying.

Mike...as Dean might say...what can we clarify for you, brothah?

Hi Skip -

So far, you haven't really talked about the results your business is getting from the newsletter that you produce. You've talked about driving customers to other sites, giving them coupons to other businesses, and driving them to other activities.

But are they contacting you more often, and booking your shows, more often?

Because that should be one of the by-products, if the newsletter is serving it's true purpose.

If your newsletter is to drive people elsewhere, you have something that is more akin to a magazine or newspaper, and you are putting work into promoting everyone else and everything else. You aren't being paid to do so, and yet you are investing a decent amount of time. It sounds like you are making your own form of a parents magazine.

Unless you see the newsletter as a value-added thing, much like some magicians do with their activity pages, etc.

To be honest, I don't book a lot of shows by giving out activity pages (and at one time, activity books) at shows. But I do it to add value for my customers.

Are you seeing your newsletter in the same light? Or is it producing results for your business?

- Donald

P.S. I also have an odd question. By talking about free, discount, or low cost activities & services, and giving them coupons, doesn't that somewhat give your newsletter readers an expectation that you are a free, discount, or low cost entertainer? Wouldn't they tend to stay in a mindset of thriftyness? Doesn't it dilute your brand?

Absolutely! Why else would I put in this much effort. The point is that they remember where the information is coming from...my name stays fresh in memory so when they think family entertainer, they think about me. That's the whole point, isn't it?



Nope - you're looking at this all wrong - in my opinion. It isn't driving them to other businesses - it's making me the go-to guy for family fun. I often hear things like, "Thank you for telling us about the Thomas the Tank Engine exhibit. My son loved it!" and the like. Parents and kids remember things like this.

In the midst of this, I always include my own public appearances - but in a way that makes parents happy to see my newsletter in their inbox. It isn't "just another promo piece."

Judging from my family booking calendar (I do no outside advertising), the growing number of voluntary subscribers on my list and the open rate percentages - something's working. I'm as busy as I want to be with family events. In fact, I frequently refer shows to other performers because I'm booked through. I'd have to say that it works for me.

In this regard, I certainly am being paid to produce this item. This newsletter is the backbone of a valuable, economic and effective word-of-mouth viral marketing referral system.

I'd like to move more into the "fewer shows - bigger fee" markets though...and this technique simply won't work as well there. That's why you guys have sparked my curiosity about hard copy newsletters in this electronic age.



That explains my philosophy as well as anything - promote myself "subliminally" while giving the parents a valuable monthly resource.



You see, I had this issue as well. My activity books were just another freebie little giveaway or cheap souvenir with no intrinsic "Refer Back" value. The monthly "Family Fun" newsletter has real value to these parents. I suppose you could consider it more of a service than a promotional piece...but a welcome service that gets shared and promotes me. Does that make sense?



I don't think so. The offers are all cross promotions with my commercial clients and events so they all relate back to me. For example, one of my busiest restaurants will include a coupon for a free dessert with each kid's meal on one of my Kid's Nights each month. This one fills the place wall-to-wall with families and I generally wind up working an extra hour or so to visit with everyone. Worth every minute, though!

The local ball park will have a Happy Dan Magic Night with special offers. A cinema client hosts a Saturday Morning Kid's Movie Club with free popcorn on the days I'm there. One of the local ice & roller rinks hosts occasional Happy Dan Skate & Shows with discounted tickets to get new families through the door. A locally owned ice cream shop and a national chain store both offer free kid's cones on days I appear to attract new and repeat business. I'm currently running a cross promotion for a Happy Dan & Santa Brunch and a 6-Foot Stocking giveaway with one of my restaurants.

I'm not the one discounted - in fact, in my mind it justifies my fees by showing my character to be in demand. If anything it gives my brand greater credibility and visibility by linking it with these major area businesses. It also increases my credibility with my commercial clients by drawing customers and boosting their visibility and services. I've been with some of these commercial clients for nearly 15 years - I believe it's the win-win cross promotion strategy (and my modest talents) that continue to make that possible.

Ha! I knew we'd get the real-deal information out of you, if we just asked in the right way!

Who says we need to pay to hear your lecture, or buy your book?

- Donald