How's your inbox? Stuffed and overflowing with unread mail?
If you are like me, you probably receive at least five to
ten valuable newsletters daily. Most of these are great,
and full of useful information.
But, I just can't read them all. If I read all the
"useful" information I received from newsletters each day,
I would spend at least half of each day reading!
If I'm reading, I'm not doing.
Doing creates profit for my business. I simply cannot
afford to spend half my productive time reading all the
wonderful information you send me!
I think the concept of the newsletter has gotten out of
hand.
If it takes me more than 30 seconds to read your message,
you are wasting my time.
When I send you a newsletter, you will never get the whole
issue via email. I will send you a list of the titles of
the relevant articles, and a link to the PDF for you to
print and peruse at your leisure. I want you to read my
newsletter when you are relaxing in your easy chair after
work, or spending a few quiet minutes with your morning cup
of coffee.
I heard something interesting the other day about the
difference between how children and adults listen. When
you tell a child a story, they will give you 100% of their
attention. That's why fairy tales are so useful in
teaching values to children. Instead of telling them what
to do (which all of us hate), you tell them about actions
and consequences. Children listen to stories, and then go
out and play. They have the leisure time to process the
information behind the story.
If you tell a child the story of Red Riding Hood, they will
at first be horrified that the wolf ate Grandma, and then
wonder why in the world Red Riding Hood didn't recognize
that the wolf wasn't Grandma before she even entered the
room. The story of Red Riding Hood teaches children there
are bad things and people out there, and they need to be
cautious and watch out for the hidden wolf.
If you tell the same story to an adult, they will think to
themselves, "Oh, what a sad story, and how terrible for
Little Red!" Their attention will immediately transfer to
what they will be having for dinner, which child needs to
be picked up next, or the bill payment they need to get in
the mail before tomorrow.
Adults are bombarded with so much information they learn to
filter out everything but the most urgent and important.
Back to email. If you know that the average adult will
only spend a few seconds on your message, why in the world
would you send them a page full of data? Since most of us
access email at work, we simply do not have the leisure
time to process your information!
If you want my full attention, give me snippets via email.
Don't try to sell me, or send me a book. Mentally, I have
too much to process. If your message takes me more than 30
seconds to read, I will probably ignore it. Instead, send
me the highlights, and a link to a PDF I can print and read
at my leisure. I keep reading material with me at all
times, while I am waiting for an appointment, or one of my
children.
When you put together your next promotional message, keep
this in mind. Thirty seconds, max. Anything more and your
message will go right in the trash.
----------------------------------------------------
Todd Jensen, "The Profit Engineer", has helped hundreds of
business owners make their business more successful and
profitable. For tips and strategies on how to boost your
business success as well as increase your profits, visit
http://www.theprofitengineer.com or
http://www.freebusinessstartupinfo.com
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