CoryFossum.com

Are You Boiling the Frog?

Against my better judgment, I spent this past Sunday morning working in the yard. With the heat wave bringing temperatures into the upper 90’s by mid-morning, I knew I couldn’t start in the afternoon like I normally do.

So I got up early and started mowing the lawn around 7:30, while it was still just lukewarm outside. One project turned into another, and before I knew it, I was on a roll.

When my wife finally came out to check on me at 11:00, I was drenched in sweat, a little redder in the face, and it was hotter than blazes in the shade.

Oddly enough, I was so wrapped up in what I was doing that I hardly even noticed. In fact, I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I went inside. My body had simply acclimated.

This got me to thinking about the legend of the boiling frog. Perhaps you’ve heard of it before.

Rich Froggy, Poor Froggy

The idea is that if you place a frog in a boiling kettle of water, it’ll hop right out. But if you place the frog in there while the water is cool, and gradually turn up the heat, it won’t notice the change until it’s too late.

OK, it’s a little morbid. But in the context of marketing communications, it’s a very important concept.
When you get new prospects, you probably don’t want to hit them over the head with an immediate sales pitch. That’s like throwing a frog in boiling water. Chances are much higher that they will put their guard up and retreat for safety.

How to Avoid This

Instead, use effective marketing communication to gradually turn up the heat. Pardon the pun, but the key is getting them to warm up to you before you ask them to part with their money.

Remember, marketing and sales are about relationships. People do business with people they like, know, and trust. And these types of relationships take time to build. It’s a process.

Let your prospects get to know you, your company, and your products or services. Give them valuable information at no charge. Establish a bond. And get to know them as they get to know you.

When the time comes to make your pitch and start selling to them, they will be much more receptive and open to what you have to offer. And even if they knew they wanted it in the first place, they’ll be more likely to buy it specifically from you.

Why Your Post-Sale Copy Still Matters

I just ordered a copy of my friend Cory Cullinan's new CD "The Ballad of Phinneus McBoof" from an online independent music store called CDBaby.com.

It could have been a standard-fare process. Press the order button, go to a thank you page, and then receive a receipt by email with a line-item accounting of the purchase and a quick "thank you for your business, please come again" message.

And in many ways, it was. But it was also something so much more: an exercise in "Warm and Fuzzy Marketing."

CDBaby is a really simple-looking site. No bells or whistles. No huge branding platform -- except for a cute logo with a crying baby. It's just a really organized and straight-forward way to find the independent music you're looking for.

However, from the first time you order with them, you will quickly discover that there is indeed a brand. And not just that, but it is friendly, endearing, and just edgy enough to feel cool, without overdoing it. It makes you want to come back for more.

But how do they achieve this without splashy graphics and/or a cutting-edge Flash-based website and/or an insanely cool but totally complex user-interface?

Simple. They use great copy.

Here's the email I received to confirm my order:

- - - - - - - - -

Cory -

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

This is just a happy automated email to let you know a real person will email you as soon as your package is sent, and you will also receive a paper receipt with your order in the mail.

Please save this email in case you have any questions about your order.

** NOTE: if any of the info below looks wrong, please hit REPLY now to let us know!

Or you can always call us at: +1-503-595-3000 (California time)

THANK YOU!

--
CD Baby: sales and distribution for the best independent musicians
5925 NE 80, Portland, OR 97218-2891 USA phone: +1-503-595-3000
cdbaby@cdbaby.com / http://cdbaby.com <-- new music added every day!

- - - - - - - -

It has everything I need to know about my order, which is great. But it also has something most receipts don't: a voice.

A day later, I received this message:

- - - - - - - - -

Cory -
Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, Friday, October 5th.

I hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. We sure did. Your picture is on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sigh...

--
Derek Sivers, president, CD Baby
the little store with the best new independent music
http://cdbaby.com cdbaby@cdbaby.com (503)595-3000

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

All it needed to say was that my order has been shipped. But they took it a step further and decided to make a bigger impact on their new customer by using clever and charming copy. I smiled and even chuckled a little. I felt great about my order. I explored their site some more, which I wouldn't have done otherwise.

And then I wrote about it in my blog.

If your copy isn't having this kind of an effect on your customers, you need to re-evaluate what it says and what you are trying to accomplish. A few sentences in an email is all it took for CDBaby.com to grab my attention and turn me into a repeat customer. It's all part of the experience of doing business with you, which will lead to more business if it's a good experience.

Make your customers feel something positive about doing business with you, and they will return the favor in kind.

And also pay attention to when I received this warm and fuzzy messaging -- after I placed the order. Remember, your job as a marketer is not over once you make the sale. In fact, it's only beginning.

Do You Make These Press Release Blunders?

A successfully placed press release can lead to an overwhelming amount of free publicity. In fact, being mentioned in an article -- or better yet, being the focus of one -- can sometimes deliver better advertising results than buying an expensive ad in the same publication.

That’s because people put their advertising filters away when they read articles. They don’t expect to be sold to, which in turn makes them more open and receptive to your message.

Whether your business is big or small, you clearly have a lot riding on every press release you write. Which is why clients often ask me to review their drafts (or write them from scratch) before they send them out.

Over the years, I’ve encountered several common blunders which can prevent press releases from performing effectively. With so much at stake, you cannot afford to overlook them.

These are my top five:

Blunder #1: Not Minding the Medium

Before you send a press release to a publication, learn everything you can about it. Review previous editions, find out what kind of stories they run, and evaluate their space requirements. Jot down the names and contact information of the editors.

Also check to see if there is a special section devoted to content like yours. If you are launching a new product, perhaps they have an area devoted specifically to product announcements. Your news story might make a great addition to a News in Brief section.

The goal here is two-fold. You want to make sure that the publication will even be interested in the first place. And then you want to take the information you find and customize your release to make them so interested that they stop in their tracks and call to arrange an interview.

Blunder #2: Not Using the Proper Format

A good press release follows a very specific format. It is not the place to show off your design creativity or a good time to reinvent the wheel. If it can’t be easily identified by an editor, it will probably end up in the trash.

Blunder #3: Not Having an Angle

An editor’s job is to find stories that will interest readers and enhance their lives, not to give away free publicity. So do their job for them by making sure that your story has a compelling angle, or a unique way of looking at your topic.

For example, I just wrote a press release for a client launching a new line of colorful metal earbud headphones. But instead of just announcing the product with techs and specs, we focused on how they offer a stylish alternative to the ubiquitous white earphones that are so popular today. This gives the editors much more to run with.

Blunder #4: Not Using Quotes

Attributing a quote to an executive or key player in your company will humanize your press release, making it more appealing to an editor. It also lets you indirectly praise your product without editorializing.
In other situations, a quote from an expert in a related field can support your story and supply it with more credibility. It also suggests to the editor that someone is available for further discussion should the need arise.

Blunder #5: Not Expressing Urgency

Don’t give editors the chance to set your story aside, because they probably will. They’re on constant deadline to find newsworthy stories with immediate relevance. Everything else can wait for a while in that giant stack on their desk.

So in addition to writing “For Immediate Release” at the top (as opposed to a specific future date), try to give them an angle that is timely and pertinent. For instance, tie your story to a current trend in the marketplace, or a major news event.

How to Build a List from Scratch (Part 2)

In the previous post, I talked about why it's so important to create your own opt-in list of subscribers and prospects. Well, today I'm going to reveal 7 simple ways you can make it happen.

1. Offer information.

Everybody likes to learn something new, especially if it can give them a leg up in their business. So take something of value that you know and package it into a fr*e*e report.

It doesn’t have to be long and involved. The topic just needs to be enticing enough for your visitors to want to read. In exchange for their information, let your visitors download the report as a PDF. Even better, offer to mail it to them if they will supply their physical address.

2. Offer a newsletter.

Obviously, this one is close to my heart. Not just because I publish two newsletters myself, but because I subscribe to so many others, as well. I know first hand that people are more than willing to share their information to subscribe to a newsletter that interests them. And if you keep providing useful information, they’ll stick with you for years to come.

3. Offer a consultation.

If you’re in a service- based business, exchange a chunk of your time and expertise. I offer a complementary 20-minute consultation for new prospects. One of my clients is a personal trainer who offers a fitness evaluation to serious inquiries. You get the idea. The time spent on the consultations is often nothing compared to the dividends the contact information can pay in the long run.

4. Offer a demo.

If you have a product-based business, find a way for your prospects to get a demo in exchange for their information. Software trials can be easily downloaded off of a website. Or in exchange for a physical address, you can send an informational DVD or videotape.

5. Offer faster shipping.

Tell your visitors to opt-in and their first order will get overnight shipping on the house. This might require some backend work, but it’s nothing a good shopping cart system can’t handle.

6. Offer a catalog.

No matter how much the Internet invades our lives, people still enjoy the experience of a physical product catalog. It’s just too hard to “curl up” with a web site, no matter how interesting it is. But visitors will spend the time to get cozy with a catalog if they like what's inside.

7. Offer a brochure.

This falls along the same lines as the catalog, and it gives you a chance to really go into detail selling your product or service. Best of all, a brochure might end up sitting on a prospect’s desk for days at a time— a constant reminder to get back in touch with you and place an order. Or it could just as easily get passed along to a friend or colleague.

The importance of your mailing list cannot be overstated. These are people who have expressed interest in your products or services, and invited you to stay in touch with them. While you should never take advantage of this permission, you should do everything in your power to make the most of it.

So the next time you have a big traffic surge, don’t just measure your success in revenue alone. Instead, use the approaches above to gather as many interested names as possible. You will see the results of your efforts pay off handsomely and consistently in the long term.