Believe in What You're Selling; Sell What You Believe In

There's a small family-owned deli in our neighborhood that specializes in very high-quality foods.  Janet and I like to go in there just to smell the variety of aromas that waft through the air.  They import exotic cheeses and meats from obscure producers in the farthest corners of the world.  It's fun just to read the labels, even if we're not willing to splurge on an expensive treat.  This deli also offers reasonably priced soups and sandwiches for lunch.  We went there for lunch last week and they had two special sandwiches; a crab roll and a pulled-pork sandwich.  I'm a sucker for barbeque and I thought, if this place is selling it, it must be good.  I asked the owner about it and he said, "Well, we're not a "real" barbeque joint, but it's the best we could do.  It's okay."  He actually talked me out of ordering it.  Janet, however, ordered it and shared a bite with me.  It was delicious and I wish I'd ordered it.  When I challened the owner on his description, he said he was just trying to be honest about it.  I certainly appreciate honesty, but I wonder why he even offered it for sale if he didn't believe in it and, if he was going to offer it for sale anyway, why not come up with a positive (and honest) description.  For example, instead of saying what it's not, he could have said what it is:  "Our pulled-pork sandwich is a fresh, tender roll piled high with slightly spicy, slightly smokey shredded pork.  I really like it and we sell a lot of them."  See the difference?  It's the same sandwich, it's definitely not being oversold, but I'd certainly buy one off of the second description.  The first description, however, made me not only avoid the barbeque, but it even made me question the quality of the rest of their food.  If you feel the need to make excuses for what you're selling, don't offer it for sale.  If you're going to offer it for sale, describe it accurately and in a positive light.  Your customers come to you because they already believe in you and your business.  Always reinforce their decision to do business with you.

Make Your Email Newsletter Easy to Open and Read

In my life, I try to focus on the positive. You know...concentrate on what I want instead of what I don't want. It seems like, lately in this blog, I've been focusing on negative things...things you shouldn't do instead of things you should do. Frankly, that's because lately I've seen email marketers doing a lot of simple things wrong. Here's another one: When you send out email newsletters, focus on the contents instead of the container. I just received a newsletter that came as a PDF attachment to an email. I read most of my email on my phone. PDF readers on phones are clunky at best and, for all practical purposes, unusable. That meant I had to get to my computer to open it up (yawn) and read it. In today's world, most people are not concerned with pretty graphics and layout; they're interested in what you have to say. In other words, they're a lot more interested in the contents of your message than in the container that delivers it. If you feel that you must produce a fancy, graphics-intensive newsletter, knock yourself out, but please include a plain ol' text version (not an attachment) for those of us (an increasingly large number) who want to read it on the run...or risk losing us as subscribers.