Michael Katz's E-Newsletter On E-Newsletters
October 27, 2006
Issue #161
Are You Being (Self) Served?
With the US elections just a few days away, the media is paying close attention to the battle between Democrats and Republicans. Me, Iíve been captivated this election
season by something decidedly less high profile… "Question 1" on the Massachusetts state ballot.
In a nutshell, Question 1, if passed, would permit grocery stores to sell wine.
Thatís right. In Massachusetts, you can only purchase alcohol at a liquor store (or "package store," as we like to call them). Iím not sure what the thinking was that put this
restriction into place way back when, but this observation by famous Massachusetts patriot and politician Samuel Adams may be instructive:
"Had I knowne that alcohol wouldst be sold in a common grocery shoppe henceforth, I wouldst not halfe waited so damn long to found mine own brewing
company."
Admittedly, Iím paraphrasing.
Samuel Adams aside, whatís caught my interest regarding Question 1 is not the debate itself, but rather, whoís doing the debating.
Because believe it or not, leading the charge on the "No" side (i.e. no wine in grocery stores), and largely on the grounds of preventing "underage youthís access to alcohol…
and drunk driving fatalities," is… (here comes the punch line)… the liquor store owners themselves!
Ha, ha! Itís enough to make you spill your daiquiri. In fact, the "No" argument that appears on the official ballot is attributed to "Wine Merchants and Concerned Citizens for
S.A.F.E.T.Y. (Stopping Alcoholís Further Extension to Youth)."
Personally, I have nothing against liquor store owners making a good living. And for all I know, their argument that a "Yes" vote would lead to bad things may in fact be true.
But it seems to me, that if youíre all that concerned about "stopping alcoholís further extension to youth," that maybe – and this is just my personal opinion – you shouldnít
own a liquor store to begin with!
Whatís this got to do with E-Newsletters? Hang on, Iím getting to it.
Think about this. When a liquor store owner argues against expanding alcohol availability on the grounds of "youth safety," two things happen:
- You reject the argument. Itís so plainly self-serving that you donít even bother looking further at the facts.
- You wonder what else heís not telling you. If he neglects to mention the obvious damage that passage of this law would have on his own profits (in the hope, I
suppose, that we donít notice), you start wondering what other aspects of the way he does business might not quite be what they seem.
Now take a look at your E-Newsletter. Does it provide real, useful, unbiased information, or do you subtlety (and not so subtlety) keep suggesting that readers engage your
services?
For example…
If youíre a financial planner, do you argue for the importance of risk management in general, or do you recommend your own, five step approach?
If youíre a mortgage broker, do you clarify the pros and cons of various financing options, or do you make the case for why hiring a mortgage professional is in the best
interest of readers?
If youíre an E-Newsletter consultant (watch it), are you explaining concepts that are of use to clients and do-it-yourselfers alike, or do you try to scare people into believing
they need to outsource to a professional? (Boo!)
You get the idea. With E-Newsletters, as with politics, the level of suspicion among the consuming public is so high, that unless you want items 1 and 2 above applied to
you, you need to go out of your way to avoid the appearance of being self-serving. All it takes is one reference to your "superior approach," or one water-tight explanation of
why the service you offer just happens to be the perfect solution, and readers will run in the other direction (permanently).
Bottom Line. I know that the purpose of a professional service E-Newsletter is to generate more business. And itís fine to promote yourself in the promotional sections of
your newsletter.
But in the main article, the section which you offer up as having purely valuable information, you need to resist pulling the trigger on self promotion. Unlike most other
marketing tools, this one only works if you can demonstrate to readers that youíre willing to put their best interests ahead of your own.
Strive to provide useful, interesting, opinionated-but-unbiased content with every issue. Just as a liquor store owner who came out in favor of Question 1 would instantly get
your attention and prove his credibility, youíll achieve the same when you help readers, without regard for whether or not they buy what you sell.
Nightmare on (West) Elm Street
Back in June, I wrote a newsletter (Sweet Home on The Market) describing my attempt to differentiate my house from all the other, similar homes for sale, by means of a detailed web site describing the property.
Iím happy (no, thrilled) to say that we sold it and close this coming Monday.
Did the web site help? Well, if this unprompted note from the real estate broker representing the couple who bought our house is any indication, Iíd have to say yes:
ìThey love the space and location, but were most touched by the sellerís own words about the house on the web site.î
Sigh. Another sign that marketing (anything) the conventional way is not always the best approach. Thanks to all of you whoíve checked in with me over the last few months!
About Blue Penguin Development, Inc.
Blue Penguin Development helps professional service firms get clients,
by showing them how to strengthen relationships with the people they already know.
I specialize in the development of electronic newsletters.
Click here for an overview of my services.
|
