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Be
Yourself Marketing™
Weekly Marketing Wisdom
January 12, 2003
by Kendall SummerHawk
In
This Issue
• Weekly
Marketing Wisdom
New
Legal Information On Publishing An Ezine
•
It's
Your
Turn
Readers write in with their toughest marketing questions
•
Personal
Reflections
Just what it sounds like
•
Marketing
Tools
Need A Compelling Web Site? Try Website Wisdom
•
Marketing
Articles
Want An Article To Publish On Your Website?
Use One Of Mine
Weekly
Marketing Wisdom
~
New Legal Information On Publishing An Ezine
~
My
colleague, Alexandria Brown (AKA "The E-zine Queen")
makes it a priority to know the ins-and-outs of ezine publishing.
Whether you already publish an ezine, or are thinking
of publishing one soon, the new laws regarding email publications
effect us all. I thought you might find her tips on staying
within the law particularly useful!
Here
is the official word from the Ali, The Ezine Queen:
(Ali's article is longer than the ones I usually write for
you. Next week, we'll be back to the regular "short and
sweet" format you love)
Have you heard? The new CAN-SP&M Act becomes law on January
1, 2004, and it pre-empts most state regulations governing
commercial e-mail. (CAN-SP&M stands for Controlling the
Assault of Non-Solicited P0rn0gr&phy and Marketing.)
E-mail publishers are calling me in a tizzy,
worried they'll be jailed for simply continuing their publication.
I'd like to be first to say that you should NOT panic, as
long as you're sending out a true, content-laden publication
and not just promotional junk.
But ... you SHOULD use this alert as a wake-up
call. It's time to do a check-up on your publication.
CAN-SP&M defines commercial e-mail as
that whose primary purpose is to sell something. It doesn't
define e-zines or e-mail newsletters as commercial e-mail,
even if they contain ads. However the jury is still out how
this can be interpreted. For many of us, our prime reason
for publishing is to promote our own services and products.
The good news is that most small business
owners are going to have a much easier time complying with
this law than big companies with many different marketing
lists and vendors.
Here are seven points you should address now,
before the new year. Please remember I'm not an attorney,
so you'll want to view the CAN-SP&M law yourself at www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html.
1. Make sure your FROM and REPLY e-mail addresses
are correct and valid.
If you publish your e-zine with a fake or
inactive reply addresses, that's a no-no after Jan. 1. If
you don't want to use your normal e-mail address as your FROM/REPLY,
create a new one, but make sure it's one that you will check
regularly. If you don't know how to change your FROM/REPLY
address, ask your list host or e-mail publishing system representative.
2. Add your POSTAL mailing address to every
issue of your e-zine.
This is now required, and is good practice
anyway. Remember the more "real" you appear to your
readers, the more business you'll do in the long run. I list
my full mailing address, and I also include my phone number.
If you w0rk at h0me and are uncomfortable publicizing where
you live, rent a mailbox around the corner. (That's what I
do.)
3. Honor UNSUBSCRIBES ASAP, and make sure
it's easy to get off your list.
The new CAN-SP&M law also requires you
to remove a name from your list within 10 business days of
receiving the unsubscribe request. If you use a list host
or e-mail publishing system, this should happen automatically
and instantly. The only way you could get into trouble on
this one is if you do them by hand or if you have multiple
lists to cross-check, which could take you longer. Also, look
at your e-zine and make sure it's very obvious to the reader
how to be removed from your list.
4. Remind your readers they're getting a publication
(not junk), and publish regularly.
If you are a publication, then act like a
publication by being official and publishing regularly. Also
remind your readers how they got on your list. Example: "Published
on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. You are
receiving this e-zine because you signed up at our Web site
or have purchased a product from us." (Also, consider
getting an ISSN to register your e-zine with the Library of
Congress. It's free and makes you look very official! www.issn.org)
5. Consider going double opt-in to protect
yourself.
While CAN-SP&M does not require this,
it's your safest option with all the problems going around.
If I sign up for your e-zine at your Web site today and that
puts me on your list, that's single opt-in. If I'm required
to reply to an e-mail confirmation before I'm added to your
list, that's double opt-in. Yes, you will lose some signups
due to people who will not reply to the confirmation message,
but your list will be much cleaner and safer in the end.
6. If you DO send out occasional pr0moti0ns
to your e-zine list, make it clear that's part of the deal.
What if you mostly publish regular, content-filled
issues, but send out the occasional pr0m0tion for a special
event or new product? My advice to you is to make this clear
where people sign up, at your Web site or elsewhere. Example:
"Along with our biweekly e-zine, you will also receive
a spec1al 0ffer just once a month that is available only to
our subscribers. We will not share your e-mail address with
any third party."
7. Be cautious if you have multiple lists.
Here's where things can get messy. Suppose
you publish your e-zine with one system but maintain your
customer lists with another, such as your shopping cart system.
If customer Jane Doe unsubscribes from your e-zine but two
weeks later receives a special promotion you sent only to
past customers, she may be mad because she thought she'd be
removed from ALL your lists.
The best solution is obviously to use one vendor for all your
list needs, but if that's not possible, make it very clear
to your readers what they are (and what they're not) unsubscribing
from.
Wait, Is That It?
No. This is only the beginning, and thanks
to some of the gray areas of the CAN-SP&M law, I'm sure
there will be new developments in 2004. So keep your ears
perked here for new information as it's released!
(c)
2003 Alexandria K. Brown
Now
it's your turn!
Kendall
P.S.
If you want to learn the secrets of publishing an ezine from
The Ezine Queen herself, check
out Alexandria K. Brown's award-winning tutorial package,
'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.'
You can see it here:
http://www.netofficetoolbox.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=84046
I
have it and love it!
P.P.S.
In case you missed last week's Marketing
Snapshot tool, simply point your mouse here and get your New
Year Marketing started right:
http://www.kendallsummerhawk.com/marketing-wheel.pdf
It's
Your Turn
~
Readers Share Their Toughest Marketing Questions! ~
This
weeks Reader question is different than what I'm usually asked,
but I think the answer will be helpful to you, no matter what
business you're in. Here goes...
'What would be the best way to market to a non-profit
who serves
homeless people. Let me explain: I want to set up 1/2 day
training classes that I would do for free with the intent
of making some of the homeless sub-contractors for me. The
agency has offered in the past a lot of job training (as well
as other services), but a substantial amount of their grant
money has dried up. I cannot make these people employees,
but I can give them an opportunity to make living wages that
would get them out of their homeless situation. However, I
anticipate opposition to the sub-contractor (commission only)
paycheck on the part of the agency."
Signed,
Help Is On It's Way
Dear
On It's Way:
At first blush, this seems like such a win-win situation,
I can't believe marketing to the agency would be difficult
at all. But since you took the time to write me, I'm going
to guess there is some obstacle that isn't immediately apparent.
Marketing
to anyone always boils down to finding out what the client
(which in this case is the agency) really wants
to accomplish, and what they see as an obstacle. Don't be
shy about unearthing the obstacles. The sooner they are discussed,
the better off you'll be. It's too easy to waltz around the
dance floor to the tune of surface level issues when the real
theme to be addressed hums beneath the surface.
For
example, let's say the agency might see you as trying
to take advantage of people without paying them. What do you
do? Demonstrate how the training you'll give the homeless
folks will make a positive, lasting difference in their lives
with skills they can carry forward no matter who they work
for. You can point out that their increased self-esteem and
self respect can make the difference in getting off the street
that much sooner.
Your
mission is a worthy one! Stay focused on the outcome you share
with your client - the agency - and there's a good chance
you'll have that win-win after all!
Have a tough marketing challenge? Send it
to me and see it published right here, along with specific
coaching to solve it. kendall@kendallsummerhawk.com
Personal
Reflections
~
My Thoughts On ... ~
A
lot of people marvel at how many products, programs, articles,
you name it, that I produce. From the outside, it
can look like I just blink my eyes and wiggle my nose and
poof! A new idea has come to fruition.
I
wish that were true! The truth is, I work on an idea
for a long time. I mull it over, visualize what I want the
end product to look like, talk to my support team about it,
read everything I can get my hands on, get feedback from people
I trust, then site quietly (or ride my horse) to create the
final steps I need to follow to make it real. I don't really
waver from this process. The only thing that changes is the
start-to-finish time line. The bigger the project, the longer
the time line.
Right
now I'm working on creating an innovative new coaching program.
It's a business mastery level program for entrepreneurs who
are working to much, burned-out, or plateaued with their business.
A voice inside them says, "I thought it was going to
be better than this!" Okay, sounds good, but not really
unique.
Except
that the program I'm designing is modeled on the wisdom of
horse whispering. With horses, force, pushing, and
overwork will get you no where. Hmmm...sounds like a lot of
business owners I know. With horses, you have to listen, offer
choices, and trust. From there these incredible animals will
joyfully give you their very best every step of the way.
For
years I've joked that I was going to write a book called,
"Everything in life I learned from dressage."
Dressage is the type of riding I do. It's intricate, difficult,
and exhilarating. It's often called "dancing with your
horse." You can imagine how happy and satisfied a lot
of business owners would be if they felt they were dancing
with their business instead of feeling like it constantly
stepped on their toes!
By
the way, I'm looking for a name for the program.
Somehow, The Business Whisperer doesn't quite cut it. Any
ideas? Let me know! Right now, I have the program visualized
in my mind. Now it's time to put pencil to paper (yes, I mean
literally - I do my best creative work away from the computer)
and create the specific strategies that tie together the wisdom
of horse whispering and running a business that each of us
amply in terms of time off, money, recognition, and satisfaction.
By
the time it's ready to launch (early this spring)
it will look like I did that Bewitched nose thing again and
pulled the program out of a hat like magic. But that "magic"
will have taken 8 months of thinking, planning, and imagining
to pull it off. Ah well, it beats going to a "real"
job every day!
..Until
next week, Kendall
Marketing
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If
you're ready to say "goodbye" to amateur sites that
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Articles
You
are welcome to use one of mine - for free -
just be sure and include this "author's box" at
the end:
'The difference between ho-hum business growth and extraordinary outcomes? Be smart. Be remarkable. Be rewarded!
Kendall SummerHawk is renowned for creating fresh, innovative programs and products for entrepreneurs who want
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