When was the last time someone referred a product or service to you? Last week? Today at lunch? Chances are, you recently made a purchase based on the opinion of a family member or friend. Whether their suggestion was for a new movie, a salon service, or a great mechanic, when it comes to getting […]
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As The Newsletter Pros, we always begin our consultations with a comprehensive look at your current marketing strategy. All too often we hear prospects say, “Well, sure, I’m staying in touch with my clients each month. I send out an e-newsletter!” But are you really seeing results from that ezine you’re sending out via email […]
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Teeco Solutions, out of St. Louis, Missouri, sells one major product: tent washing machines, which are sold to party and tent rental companies across the U.S. Not built for the purpose of washing the average camping tent, Teeco’s smallest tent washing machine can wash up to 900 square feet of tent at a time, while […]
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When I first started The Newsletter Pro in 2011, the company was actually called Solution Marketers. We sold three products: The first product was a direct mail campaign to restaurants; the second was a direct mail campaign for dentists; and the third product was newsletters. About 18 months into Solution Marketers, I realized I needed to […]
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“Start, fail fast, and move on. Keep learning. You have to be willing to take risks and fail if you want to succeed.” —Shaun Buck to aspiring entrepreneurs. With The Newsletter Pro’s 5-year anniversary fresh on our minds, I sat down with our company’s CEO, Shaun Buck, to reflect on what he’s learned from standing at […]
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I once took a survey sent out by a company whose products I buy on a semi-regular basis. You’re probably familiar with these kinds of surveys. Sometimes they pop up on the company’s website, sometimes they show up in your inbox. In this instance, the survey was from Lego. If you know me, this comes […]
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Well, you’ve done it. You’ve made the decision to start mailing a newsletter. You listened time and again as professionals in your field sang the praises of direct mail, explaining how their custom newsletter increased their retention and helped them stay top of mind, and you finally jumped on board. Congratulations! Now what? How will […]
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Can you handle the truth? You can throw all the money you want at your marketing campaign. You can spend tens of thousands of dollars on branding, landing pages, funnels, Facebook, sales letters, and postcards. But still, the best new customers are referred clients. According to a study conducted by the New York Times, 65% of companies’ […]
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Back in 2009, Tim Cook stepped up to fill in for Steve Jobs at Apple during what everyone assumed would be a single medical leave of absence. The temporary stint turned into a permanent position starting in 2011, and now, almost 10 years later, Cook is thriving as the tech company’s CEO while carving out […]
Have you ever interacted with a business and known it is different? Take Vistaprint, for example. If you’ve shopped there before, you know it’s a step above. It’s beautifully simple to customize products, and the company offers free return shipping if you’re not happy with your item. Costco is another good example. Its employees are […]
We’ve probably all been through the job-hiring process. Securing a job can come with all sorts of obstacles for even the most qualified applicants. But for job seekers who have disabilities, were incarcerated, or are otherwise marginalized, these can be insurmountable obstacles. Many of the people who fit one of those descriptions want to work. […]
Does your company have a mission? If you’re passionate about a cause, finding a way to link that zeal to your profits could be your secret to success. Even if you don’t have a charity in mind to champion from day one, don’t dismiss this strategy. You could end up finding it along the way. […]
There’s an old expression that says “business isn’t personal.” Many business owners live by these words, though not always intentionally. They don’t really work to maintain the customer relationships they have. They are just there to provide products or services. However, the more time you spend working with customers, clients, patients, and everyone who walks […]
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” You’ve likely heard this phrase in leadership training, at morning meetings designed to “invigorate” participants to have a productive week, or from your physical education teacher as you slogged your way through a group activity. Unfortunately, this phrase has been overused so much that it […]
Lead nurturing takes time. There is no greater truth in the marketing world. Well, there might be, but for today, there isn’t. We’ve all been there: We chase leads in the hopes that they convert with minimal cost. Of course, that doesn’t happen. Some leads will convert to sales in a matter of weeks, and […]
If you’re like most other small businesses, your most valuable asset is your customer list. It tells you who your customers are, who hasn’t bought yet, how much they spend when they do buy, how often they buy, and much more. It really is the lifeline of your business. Many people have asked me what […]
In order to maximize the ROI you’re getting from your newsletter, the first thing you need to do is double-check your mindset. Here’s what I mean. The #1 question I get when I sit down with another company’s team to talk about their newsletter is this: “How do I track new revenue?” This is a […]
There are countless entrepreneurs who aspire to found the next Facebook, Uber, or LinkedIn. They have a big idea that they want to share with the world. They just have to get that big idea out there — and people have to respond. So, what differentiates startups that come and go in the blink of […]
Anyone who’s heard my backstory knows I’ve always had a passion for entrepreneurship. I started selling pagers in high school and later ran a dry-cleaning business that led me to newsletters. I thrived being my own boss, running my own company, and managing my career — until I didn’t. Passion Is Key Early in my […]
A trip down the cleaning aisle of the grocery store 30 years ago was like strolling through a chemical plant. You’d be hard-pressed to find a cleaner that wouldn’t harm your kids, pets, or the planet. But today we see plenty of cardboard cartons and shiny green bottles with “sustainable,” “green,” and “eco-friendly” labels. How […]
Last year, I got into a discussion at my Scale-Up Business Bootcamp about lifestyle businesses versus growth-focused businesses. Of course, there are some who set out specifically to have a lifestyle business. But in my experience, some entrepreneurs suddenly shift from “Let’s grow a company” to “I want a lifestyle business.” When this happens, they […]
A few years ago, pre-pandemic (time has gotten weird!), I attended 24 or more conferences per year. That was way too much. But it gave me a good sense of current marketing trends. For the past year or so, there’s been talk about a hot new tool that is disrupting online marketing. Want to take […]
One growth strategy implemented in the earliest days of The Newsletter Pro still continues over 9 years later: strategic partnerships. Strategic partnerships have always been an important part of how we operate and how we’ve grown as a company. Too often, small-business owners and entrepreneurs overlook the value of partnerships. They want to go it […]
