An impersonal email got the thumb down from me
There was no reason for me to read some spam I received recently, but it was top of my spam folder and I glanced at it. The subject was “USB Inquiry” and the content was five paragraphs telling me how they could sell me USB keys for my customers (with my logo and presentation on the USB key).
From that email, I spotted a number of tips for writing a good sales letter/email:
Of course, even had she written a much better email, I still wouldn’t buy from her as I hate spammers and she didn’t meet legal requirements of including her address. Would you have ordered any USB keys from such an email? Had she followed my tips do you think you’d have been more likely to buy from her?
At least you know what to avoid when you next write a sales letter!
*Photo courtesy of 123rf
I posted earlier about the MYOB survey of small business owners’ response to the global financial situation, but am startled by another part of their survey.
Apparently, 60% of surveyed small business owners don’t have a website for their business. That is incredible. They surveyed 1,503 business owners with no more than 19 employees, so it is a reasonable number but perhaps not statistically significant compared to how many small businesses there are in Australia.
Not all businesses are internet based, obviously, but offline businesses can have a website and use it to good effect.
Why am I so surprised they don’t have a website?
A website can be simple and as short as one or two pages; it can be static and need little maintenance (although search engines prefer more active sites). Some online directories offer full page listings which can act as a website, which is better than nothing, but the URL may be long.
SO back to the original question? Do you have a website? Do other business owners you know have websites? If not, why not?
MYOB has conducted a survey of small business owners and found that 43% of them had experienced a negative result from the global economic situation. Which of course implies that 57% have NOT experienced a loss in turnover.
63% think a recession is coming, and I agree that is likely. I disagree however that it means small businesses are all about to fail or feel pessimistic. Many people actually thrive and do better during a recession , and it means many will just cut the excesses and find more efficient ways of doing things which is all good to me.
Their survey also showed 43% of people (I guess they weren’t the same 43%!) believe their business will perform better over the next 12 months. This may be down from 56% in June last year, but I still think it is a positive response.
Mr Reed, CEO of MYOB, said “Now more than ever business owners need to step out of the daily chaos and look at the ‘big picture’. There are many things they can’t control – they should accept those and put energy into what they can control. Business owners shouldn’t be afraid to seek specialist help, such as talking to their accountant about ensuring their business is running as efficiently as possible”
I think he is right – let’s accept that we can’t control the world finances but we can control our own businesses and attitudes. If the financial crisis does reduce profits and makes it tough for some businesses, being creative and looking for opportunities could help many small businesses survive and even thrive.
What do you think – does the financial crisis mean small business should worry or get conservative? Or is this the time to work on strengthening and refining your business to weather the storm?
Breath: the process of taking in air to get oxygen into the lungs; the air taken in or pushed out during breathing; small amount of air or wind
Taking a deep breath, she gave her manuscript to the printer
Breathe: the act of taking air into or out of the lungs. Also refers to letting air through a material (e.g. letting red wine breathe or choosing a fabric that can breathe)
It can be harder to breathe at high altitudes.
I just came across a blog directory site I hadn’t heard of before which includes a business section. I am going to make some time next week to sit and look at various blogs in that directory – I might find some great blogs or at least some inspiration for more posts and articles of my own!
Have you listed your blog in any directories to increase your exposure? Has it generated a lot of responses for you?
Michelle of Shel Designs added an article to her latest newsletter about where your domain name is registered. She states that where your domain name and hosting are located are not important for your site’s ranking. In fact, she writes “Where it is registered or hosted will not affect the way Google (and other search engines) rank your site.”
I have had clients advised to change their registration and hosting to improve their rankings and it really annoys me when I know they could improve rankings easily in other ways instead of paying a lot of money to move without benefit.
The only ways I think hosting affects a website are:
Next time someone tells you to move your website, remember that a reputable distant server/host is better than a close one you don’t know or trust. And it really doesn’t matter where you register your domain name, other than for your pocket (there is a huge variation in registration fees.)
Angel: a heavenly being, often depicted in white with wings and a halo; a person with admirable qualities, possibly above most people’s
She was an angel, visiting us everyday for hours while I was bedridden.
Angle: the difference in position of two intersecting lines
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is on an unusual angle for a building.
To develop sufficient trust in you, people have to have a sense of your integrity and credibility. Obviously, you have to be honest in order to show integrity.
Yet so many people claim things as part of their marketing and headings – things that sound great and attract attention. But if those things are not completely true, people lose faith in you when they find out.
Is your product/business really the biggest, fastest, easiest, most popular, smallest, most colourful or best value? If you aren’t sure or can’t justify it, think about how people will view it when they discover your claims were wrong?
How do you feel when you buy the “longest lasting torch” and it fails the first night you go camping?
The ones that really annoy me are “We’re Australia’s number 1” and similar. Who judged them to be number one? I also wonder what criteria goes with number one or the best at (number one in the list of businesses owned by them? number one of that service provider in their suburb?)
Of course, if you are listed as number one by some independent way, say so! For example, you’ll see big companies use a big heading “we’re number one at service*” and in smaller print define “as ranked by XYZ” or “according to ABC.”
So next time you think of making a great claim, or a marketing person suggests it, think about your credibility and repeat business. If it is a justifiable claim, great! If it may be questioned, perhaps add the justification to your ad or to your site/blog. If it is inaccurate, think twice about it.
Use your words wisely!
I write this post partly to warn people but also out of amusement!
Like any public blog, I get people adding spam comments occasionally. Most of it is caught by Akismet so it doesn’t bother me but I received some interesting ones today that I thought I’d share.
The comment was:
Hi nice post, i read your blog from time to time but i was wondering something. I also run a blog on a similar topic, but i get 1,000’s of spam comments and emails every day does that happen to you.. Any ideas to stop it? I currently have commenting disabled but i want to turn it back on.. Thanks!
Sounds nice enough doesn’t it? Which is why I want to warn people not to fall for it as it is not a genuine request for help.
There are two main reasons I know it is spam…
It amused me because it is appearing to hate what it is – very circular! And that the spammer has no idea of how silly it is to post it twice under different names in the same blog.
So if you get the same request, please delete the comment and don’t click on their links.
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