Why You Should Be Getting More Personal with Your Customers
- WEALTHY: 5 simple steps to finding a great job (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: Why protein bars could be the wrong kind of fuel (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Flora Whittemore on opening doors
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The Johari Window marketing technique (Alex Mandossian)
- Can you spot this apostrophe abuse? (Charlie Byrne)
- It’s Fun to Know… about birds
- Add "panopticon" to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
What Are YOUR Chances of Becoming a Millionaire?
Becoming a millionaire just isn’t as tough as it used to be.
Last year, in fact, the number of millionaire households in the U.S. jumped to 9.9 million.
That puts YOUR chances of becoming a millionaire at around 1 in 30.
Pretty good odds, don’t you think?
Of course, you can’t just sit around, waiting for millions of dollars to fall into your lap.
So what’s the best way to hasten your journey to financial independence?
Start your own business.
According to an Am-Ex Harrison survey, that’s how half of all millionaires made their money.
But don’t be intimidated. Starting and growing a business is easier than you may think.
And it’s your ticket to incredible wealth, freedom, and opportunity.
Find out how YOU could become a member of the Millionaires Club by the end of 2009.
Dear ETR: "I just want a job I love… What should I do?"
"I have been reading ETR for over a year now, and I love every issue. You give great advice on how people can move up in their careers by practicing a financially valuable skill, but I am having trouble making it work for my situation.
"When I graduated from college in 2001, during the beginning of the first recession, the only work I could find was in a call center for a not-for-profit electric company. There is a ‘marketing’ department, but most of what it does is community outreach and helping customers conserve electricity.
"I am interested in copywriting, marketing, and product creation, but there is no such thing at my current company. I study copywriting and marketing on the side, and have made some money as a freelance copywriter, but I have serious doubts about my ability to do so over a long period of time. My attempts to market my services to high-dollar prospects has been met with silence, and people who do contact me are only concerned with how much - or, rather, how little - I charge.
"I have recently started applying for marketing and corporate communications jobs, but with no success. I haven’t had any interviews, only the occasional e-mail rejection informing me I’m either under- or over-qualified. My wife and I barely make ends meet now, so an internship or a pay cut for any length of time are out of the question.
"I want the kind of financial success you’ve had. I know it takes money to really live life to the fullest. But, more important, I just want a job I love to do that allows me to work on my novel writing again. What should I do?"
Justin Black
Gainesville, GA
Dear Justin,
You graduated in 2001 and you are still working in the same call center that you settled for because of the "recession"? There is something terribly wrong with that. Something is awry. First of all, that recession was hardly a recession at all. And if you are willing to work hard and smart, no recession will keep you from getting a better job.
At your stage of life, you should either have a good job with a fast-growing company or you should be moving from one job to a better job every year or two. I can’t understand why you would be still at that one job after seven years. Unless there is something inside you that is holding you back. Or some condition you’ve been insisting on - like staying in the same geographical location - that you must learn to give up.
There are so many copywriting jobs that open up every year. AWAI is constantly advertising for staff copywriters and constantly running ads for other businesses that want to hire copywriters in their free e-letter, The Golden Thread. Have you applied for those jobs?
Here’s what I want you to do:
1. Buy Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting
2. Read Chapters 3, 4, and 5 on how to pick a career, get a good job, and earn a high income.
3. Follow everything I recommend in those chapters to a T.
4. Keep an exact record of everything you do.
5. If you don’t have a great job in three months, contact me again.
[Ed. Note: Reading Automatic Wealth for Grads is like getting your master's degree in financial independence - but without the exams and textbooks. Filled with real-life examples and practical advice, this one book will teach you the secrets to getting wealthy sooner than you ever imagined. Whether you want to find a high-paying job, get a huge raise, or even become a serious investor, you don't need a fortune - or anything in the bank - to get started right now.]
"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."
Flora Whittemore
Are You "Open" With Your Marketing Interactions?
The Johari Window is a cognitive psychology tool that was named after its two creators, Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham ("Jo + Hari"). It is used to help people understand their interpersonal relationships. But I’ve found this model to be especially useful for analyzing business interactions between entrepreneurs and their prospects or customers.
Let me show you what I mean…
The Window has four panes (quadrants) that divide your "personal awareness" characteristics into Open, Hidden, Blind, and Unknown. The lines dividing the four panes are like window shades that can move up and down or left and right as an interaction progresses.
The "Open" Quadrant (upper-left)
In the Open quadrant of the Window go things that both you and your customer/prospect know about you.
In an online marketing context, when a new prospect "opts in" to your list, the window shade in this quadrant is practically closed, since there has been little information exchanged between the two of you. But as you build rapport with that prospect by utilizing autoresponder sequences, blog posts, e-letter articles, teleseminars, and other marketing communications, the window shade starts opening and the Open quadrant gets bigger.
The "Blind" Quadrant (upper-right)
In the Blind quadrant go things that your prospect/customer knows about you (on a personal or professional level) that you are unaware of.
Let’s say you’re conducting a teleseminar and one of your callers hangs up in the middle because she has to pick up her kids from school. This information is in your Blind quadrant because she knows she’s hanging up the phone but you don’t.
If that same person calls you after the teleseminar and tells you she had to hang up before the call was over, the window shade in the Blind quadrant starts closing by moving to the right, which enlarges the Open quadrant.
The "Hidden" Quadrant (lower-left)
In the Hidden quadrant go things that you know about yourself or your marketing campaigns (in a business context) that your prospect/customer doesn’t know.
If, for example, you’ve intentionally withheld information about an upcoming marketing launch, this information is in the Hidden quadrant. But as soon as you inform your list about the details of that launch, you pull the window shade down, narrowing the Hidden quadrant and enlarging the Open quadrant.
Here’s the interesting part: As you get to know your prospects and customers better, it’s only natural for you to feel more comfortable about disclosing more intimate details about yourself, right? Well, in a Johari Window context, this process is called: "self-disclosure." In a marketing context, I call it "transparency."
Granted, it’s a little scary to be transparent with your prospects and customers the first time. But when you make a habit of it, you’ll discover that it’s the highest impact rapport "accelerator" of all marketing communication methods.
The "Unknown" Quadrant (lower-right)
In the Unknown quadrant are things that neither you nor your prospects/customers know about you or your business.
If you’ve ever done any public speaking, you know how much new information can be revealed to both you and your audience during the course of a typical Q&A session. An interactive situation like this almost always triggers personal growth.
In a Johari Window context, this process moves even more information into the Open quadrant, shrinking the Unknown quadrant. In a marketing context, interacting with your prospects/customers is a "win-win" situation.
So What’s Your Next Step?
Building rapport with your customers/prospects - expanding the Open quadrant of your relationship - is like the game of chess: It’s easy to learn the basics, but it takes a lifetime to master.
But understand this: Once you start communicating with your prospects/customers - especially when you muster up the courage to be increasingly transparent with them - you’ll find that the majority of those relationships will become long-lasting and profitable.
[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian knows a thing or two about building profitable relationships with customers. He has generated over $233 million in sales for his clients. And in the past three years, he increased his own revenues from $1.5 million to $5 million. At ETR's 2008 Info-Marketing Bootcamp, Alex will reveal a strategy that could ensure you marketing success like no other method you have ever seen. Reserve your spot at Bootcamp today.
You can get Alex's advice and practical marketing tips for info-publishers, small-business owners, and entrepreneurs for free at alexmandossian.com.]
Are You Embarrassed of What You Do for a Living - or Just Tired of Doing It?
One woman was both, and while her “acquaintances” at a dinner party snickered and poked fun, she had the last laugh. In as little as two weeks she started a new business for less than $99, soon had to hire additional employees to handle the work, and now lives a life without money worries of any kind.
Here’s how you can do the same, even easier and faster than she did.
Was Suzanne Spying on My Personal Life?
"I’ll have that copywriting article ready in the morning. Right now, Peggy and I are heading out to Byrnes’ Irish Pub for dinner and a Guinness."
I was sending an Instant Message to ETR’s Managing Editor, Suzanne Richardson, from our cabin up in Maine.
"I Googled that pub, and it looks great!" Suzanne replied. "Too bad the owner’s not related to you - you might have a little family reunion."
How could Suzanne have known the owner was NOT related to me just from looking at the pub’s website?
So I went to the site myself. And when I saw the logo, I realized what Suzanne had noticed: If one of my relatives owned it, it would be "Byrne’s Irish Pub." But (as I found out) the owner is Joe Byrnes, not Joe Byrne.
In a follow-up e-mail, Suzanne explained the rule: "It’s clear that you’re not related to Joe Byrnes because he’s got that extra ’s’ on the end of his name. I thought that might be the case when I saw the apostrophe in the name of the pub."
"Of course," she went on, "it was an incorrect use of the apostrophe."
How so?
According to Lynne Truss in her best-seller Eats, Shoots and Leaves, "Current guides to punctuation… state that with modern names ending in ’s’ (including biblical names, and any foreign name with an unpronounced final ’s’), the ’s’ is required after the apostrophe." For instance, "Keats’s poems."
As with most rules, there are exceptions: names from the ancient world (Archimedes and Achilles, for example), names ending with an "iz" sound (like Bridges or Moses), and Jesus.
So "Byrnes’ Irish Pub" should really be "Byrnes’s Irish Pub" - making it even more clear that Joe Byrnes and I are not related.
[Ed. Note: Have a sticky grammar or usage question? E-mail us at AskETR@ETRFeedback.com and one of ETR's editorial experts just may respond to your question in an upcoming issue of ETR.]
Soybeans, With a Side of Gasoline
What do protein bars, printing presses, and your gas pump have in common? Hexane!
Hexane is a byproduct of gasoline. It is used as a solvent for glues (rubber cement, adhesives), varnishes, and inks, and also as a degreaser in the printing industry.
You might be surprised to know that hexane is also used to extract edible oils from seed and vegetable crops - primarily soybeans. And that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), short-term exposure to hexane at high doses can affect the central nervous system. Neurotoxic effects have also been demonstrated in animal studies.
Manufacturers of natural foods use only expeller-pressed oils and fats that do not involve the use of hexane in the crushing process. However, the resulting "residual soy meal" is used in many soy protein powders that are turned into cereals, bars, smoothies, and other foods touted as "natural."
So how can you protect yourself against hexane exposure? Avoid all "conventional" processed soy foods, including foods made with hydrolyzed plant protein and soy protein isolate/concentrate. And when you do eat soy products, opt for those not processed with hexane, including fermented soy milk, fermented tofu, miso, tempeh, and soy sauces.
[Ed. Note: Part of staying healthy is knowing which foods to eat - and which ones to avoid. Making good choices can help you live a long and healthy life. Find more simple ideas about how to feel better and live longer here.
And talk about a healthy food that tastes fantastic... nutrition expert Kelley Herring has developed a chocolate cake so rich and delicious that you won't believe it's good for you. Get your own slice here.]
It’s Fun to Know: Bird Trivia
- In the Middle Ages, peacocks and swans were sometimes served at Christmas dinner.
- To scare away predators, giant petrels throw up on them.
- More than 100 million birds die each year in the U.S. by crashing into windows.
- Hummingbirds can flap their wings 80 times per second. They can also fly left, right, up, down, backward, and upside-down.
- Chickens can fly - though not very well compared to most birds. The world record for a non-stop chicken flight is a bit more than 230 yards.
(Source: funshun.com)
== Highly Recommended ==
How to “Unscrew” Yourself from Life’s Little Frustrations
(and the Big Ones, Too!)
When you get stuck in a royal mess – and we all do sometimes – here’s how to get out of it looking squeaky clean and grinning like a Cheshire cat…
Got a speeding ticket and afraid your insurance premiums are about to skyrocket? Don’t sweat it. I’ll show you the smartest way to legally beat the ticket – without hiring an expensive lawyer to plead your case.
Hate jury duty? Let me show you how to escape it – even if the court clerk refuses to grant you an exemption. Frustrated with airport waiting times due to tightened security? I’ll reveal how to cut your airport waiting time in half!
Listen: No matter which of life’s frustrations come your way, there are clever ways to easily get out of most of them. I’m even willing to share them all with you – FREE! Click here to learn why.
Word to the Wise: Panopticon
A "panopticon" (pan-OP-tih-kon) - from the Greek for "sight" - is a building (a prison, hospital, library, etc.) arranged in such a way that all parts of the interior are visible from a single point.
Example (as used by Mattathias Schwartz in The New York Times): "Almost everyone [on the Internet message board /b/] posts as ‘anonymous.’ In effect, this makes /b/ a panopticon in reverse - nobody can see anybody, and everybody can claim to speak from the center."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
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