Another Success Story - Shawenon Communications Newsletter

SHAWENON COMMUNICATIONS

Effective Messaging

No. 36
March, 2009

Greetings!

This month we focus on keeping messages short and relationships long. The first article is the fourth in our ongoing series of success stories--this one features a challenge many face. How do you keep your articles short enough that people will actually read them?

Our vacation reunion with friends of 30 years is the jumping off point for a reminder about how important it is to keep in touch in difficult times. As people leave their jobs, they may be lost to you. We have some ideas about how to keep in contact.

The 2009 contest is under way. You can receive a free hour of consulting and get a free 60-day trial of Constant Contact just by taking a few simple steps. Details are in the column on the right.

In This Issue

Word Play

Staying in Touch

Web Tips

2009 Contest

Success Story
Word Play

Steve Simons is never at a loss for words. "There is always something going on in my head that needs to be written," he says. "Often I use current events as a jumping off point."

Case in point is the article in the January 27 issue of his e-zine Get The Leadership Edge. Simons reminds his audience--business people at all levels of management--that Sully Sullenberger's amazing accomplishment wasn't an accident. It occurred because the pilot spent countless hours planning and preparing for just such an occurrence. Then he asks the "crunch" question: How much time do you spend thinking about what could go wrong in your business?

Steve's challenge is not finding words, but losing them. His readers like what he has to say, but they remind him: less is better. Typically, he writes an article and then refines it by cutting out lots of original text.

Hints for Brevity

Many people struggle for shorter copy in our over-communicated world. And it can be done. Here are some guidelines:

Narrow your topic at the outset
Trim tangents and unnecessary details
Edit overly long sentences
Watch for unnecessary words and awkward sentence structure
Identify hard-to-read phrases by reading your text aloud

Design and graphics play a huge role in readability. White space makes an article easier to read; subheadings provide a break in dense blocks of text. Shorter paragraphs help the Web reader move through the copy.

Outcomes

An e-zine has a simple purpose in life--to keep your offering in front of your audience. Steve heads THE LEADERSHIP EDGE, a management consulting firm with "an obsessive focus on results and behavior change." Focused on strategic development, Steve offers workshops, one-on-one coaching and assessment tools to improve organizational behavior.

Steve is also a professional speaker and credits his e-zine with getting him a national engagement from a local organization, just because he stayed on their minds. Recently Steve made a new acquaintance at a chamber meeting. When he called for an appointment, he got a firm "yes." The newsletter helped a prospective client see the value in a face-to-face meeting.

The results of a regularly published e-zine are incremental. The more you show up, the more likely your prospects will become your customers.
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This is the fourth in our ongoing series about winning e-mail marketing campaigns.

Previous articles were in Sept. and Oct. 2007 and Nov. 2008.

Staying in Touch

Back in the '70s when I was a brunette and Aspen was a little-known resort,
I met Connie and Henry on a skiing vacation. They were on home leave from the Foreign Service. The following year we ended up at the same lodging, totally unplanned.

For the next three decades, we exchanged post cards from our annual ski vacations. This year Will and I had a planned a ski vacation with them. That's staying in touch.

Bouncing

People disappear in times like these. Not literally, but their emails bounce. If you don't have another contact point, they may be out of touch forever.

For each mailing, Constant Contact provides a "bounce" list showing emails that got rejected by the recipient's server. I like to keep my list trimmed. It's a lot of work, but it's also an entertaining game. How many lost souls can I save?

I usually let the task slide for a few months and then take it on like a bulldog. Last month I even learned a few new tricks.

The easiest way to find people is to call them. If you have a home or cell phone, you might get them back on your list. Case in point: I called the business number for one contact. "He is no longer with us," I was told. No luck when I asked how I could reach him. In this case, I had a cell phone number. He returned the call a few days later, and we had a long chat. I was even able to offer some networking help for his job search.

But if you only have a business phone, you might have to be more creative. For the most part, my address list has been built from business cards. No personal information included. Enter social networking. I used LinkedIn, to look up the missing person. Then I noted the connections we have in common (there are sure to be some). Then I emailed the connections for the contact information of the person I was seeking. At last, a practical benefit of social networking.

Out of the Blue

An e-zine is a great way to stay in touch. I frequently get emails out of the blue from people who read my newsletter. I don't know it, of course, but they have been thinking about a Web site or e-zine for months. Then one day they are ready. Often their email comes as a response to an aged issue of Web Words that they've kept around in an "action" folder waiting for the right moment.

However you do it, keep connected. It's worth the effort.

Web Tips

Lists of top 10 fears don't include loss of computer data. But they should. If permanent detachment from your digital history frightens you as much as snakes, spiders and public speaking, then you need online backup.

There are lots of them out there and you can do your own research. Charles Lappen recommends Mozy. He should know. Charles' tagline is "Helping those who love their work but hate their paperwork," and he has a lot of client data on his computer. He doesn't dare lose it. Mozy is inexpensive and gets good online reviews for ease of use. PC Magazine favors SOS. Remember that backing up is one thing; being able to easily retrieve a lost file may be quite another.

If you have a favorite online backup solution, let us know, and we'll share it in the next issue of Web Words.

And Finally . . .

Shawenon Communications collaborates with small businesses, solopreneurs, professionals and not-for-profits to get their messages across in the written word.

We specialize in electronic communications, including e-zines and other forms of email marketing, and Web site content. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a business partner, we resell Constant Contact's email marketing service.

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