IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Aug. 27 Co-op Mail Update -- Only 2 Slots Left!

2. Direct Mail and Brain Surgery

3. Stop, Start and Continue 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~ AUGUST 27 CO-OP MAILING UPDATE ~~

Only 2 slots are left in the August 27 co-operative
mailing. Call today (727) 397-2702 or email:
mailto:newradiance@earthlink.net if you'd like to reach
800 body-mind-spirit business owners in the Greater
Tampa Bay area -- and save time and money at the
same time.

All you need to do is contact me to reserve your space
in the mailing, send me your check for $211.68 plus 800
folded flyers, and I handle the "busy work" of stuffing,
sealing and stamping

Join in our New Moon mailing and get your info out
there for your fall classes and events, new books,
office relocation, inventory sell-offs...or your newsletter.

Go Co-op! More info at http://www.newradiance.com


I hope you enjoy this guest article by Robert Middleton
of Action Plan Marketing. His "InfoGuru Marketing
Manual" is an excellent tool for independent practitioners
and home business owners to really get a handle on
your marketing plan. He also offers a fr-e-e 24-page
Marketing Plan Workbook when you visit his site. Go to:
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=53722

I hope this article will help you put together a great
mailpiece for our Co-op Mailing!


~~ DIRECT MAIL -- IT'S NOT BRAIN SURGERY ~~

Or Is It?

Last week I found myself making a rather opinionated
statement about direct mail. I said that succeeding at
direct mail is more difficult than brain surgery.

After all, think about it; the majority of brain surgery, so
I'm told, is fairly successful. While direct mail, even
when it's successful, gets about a 98% rejection rate.
That is, only 2% of those who receive your letter
actually respond.

And that's *successful* direct mail. I've seen direct mail
sent by professional service businesses that got a 0%
response. So brain surgery seems like a walk in the park
by comparison.

Well, not really. Remember that a doctor trains for years
and years before he or she becomes a brain surgeon.
Not so with the amateur direct mailer.

The average self-employed professional gets the idea that
a direct mailing would be a good idea, takes about an
hour to write the letter, sends it out to an untargeted list
of strangers, and flops almost every single time.

So you ought to know what you're doing. But why try
direct mail in the first place? What's the upside?

It can be a great way to reach out in a very personal way
and speak to one prospect at a time. It can get a prospect
to pick up the phone, eager to learn more about your
services. It can reach hundreds or thousands of prospects
faster than almost any other marketing vehicle.

So, how do you keep the patient from dying on the table?
Here are seven guidelines you must follow, or suffer the
consequences.

1. Personalize your letter. Letters beat out flyers or
brochures by a big margin. Use the mail-merge function of
your word processor. And make it sound conversational,
as if you wrote the letter to just one person, the recipient
of the letter. Never write to a crowd.

2. Mail to those who know you, before you mail to a list of
those who have never heard of you. Letters mailed to an
existing list can outpull a list of strangers by several times.
If you buy a list, get a reputable list broker to assist you.
You can find them in the phone book.

3. Keep the envelope plain. No labels. Laser, inkjet or
handwrite the address directly onto the envelope. Your
company logo and return address is fine. You're not trying
to trick anyone. Stamps or a postage meter can work
equally well.

4. Don't sell your services. Sell the offer. Don't tell how
great your services are. Tell them what they will get
immediately if they respond today. Don't talk about you.
Talk about the immediate value they will receive.
(Read this point about 10 times. It's the BIG key.)

5. Make your offer something it's easy to say "yes" to
today. They probably don't need your services right
away, but they may jump at your free report, introductory
seminar or teleclass. This is the InfoGuru strategy of
giving something away as "bait" to get qualified
prospects to respond.

6. Give them multiple ways to respond. Phone, fax, email,
web. People like instant gratification. If they are
interested, they will want it NOW, so don't make them
jump through too many hoops. And make sure to capture
the contact information of every single person who responds.

7. Your email list can be used as a *virtual direct mail*
vehicle. That is, offers included in your monthly eZine can
be remarkably effective. Special, occasional mailings to
your list can get amazing response. Believe me, I've gotten
up to a 10% response from offers made to my subscribers.
(Don't even think of spamming an unknown email list.)

Will the above guidelines ensure that your mailing will be
successful? Not necessarily. There are so many factors
and variables. But these are good starting points, and they
are proven to work in my experience. 

Marketing Flashes on "It's Not Brain Surgery... Or Is It?"

A few more tips on the subtleties of direct mail.

* A lot of direct marketers prefer the long letter style.
But that really IS harder than brain surgery! If you're
offering something free in order to get an immediate
response to identify prospects, try to keep your letter
to one page.

* For the most part, don't include your freebie with the
letter. You want people to request what you're offering.
Those who take this action are now identified as good
prospective clients.

* The free report strategy can work wonders, but only
if the topic and the title of the report are compelling and
current. Offer something that they perceive will give
them a definite advantage *today.*

* Free seminars work well too. I've done one-day free
seminars that got 180 people to show up (and from my
email list, to boot). Again, your topic needs to be timely
and relevant. Those who attend can be great prospects
(and follow-up is essential).

* Complimentary consultations don't work so well in my
experience. Why? They are perceived as being a higher
risk to the prospect. They feel they will be manipulated
into doing business with you after meeting with you. Before
you make an offer, ask how you yourself would respond to
such an offer.

(By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please
visit Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com
for additional marketing articles and resources on
marketing for professional service business. Click on
the link below to receive a Fr*e-e 24-page Marketing
Plan Workbook when you visit his site. His newsletter
is top notch, too.) 


~~ STOP, START AND CONTINUE ~~

Thanks to Markus Allen's ezine "$10,000 Marketing
Tip of the Day" for this idea from his guest tipster Scott
Stratten.

Here's a very simple strategy called Stop, Start and
Continue.

Take a list of your current customers and ask them this
question:

"Here at ABC Inc., we value you as our client, and we
know that communication is the key to a long and
beneficial relationship for both of us. We would like to 
know from you what I should STOP doing, what I should
START doing, and what I should CONTINUE doing as
your XYZ (insert service here)."

You'll be amazed at the responses. If there is a negative,
fix it. If they're positives, mold them into testimonials. It
also keeps you in the forefront of their mind.

( You can subscribe to Markus Allen's $10,000 Tip of
the Day at http://www.markusallen.org )


Until next time,

Barbara Casey
HAPPY MARKETING!


Barbara Casey is an Inspirational Business Coach
who helps you focus your energy on the business
of your dreams. Why settle for work that doesn't
bring you joy or fulfillment? For a 2-1/2-hour intensive
"focusing" session, call 727-397-2702 or email:
mailto:newradiance@earthlink.net
SUMMER SAVINGS THRU AUGUST 31:
Just $147 for a 2-1/2 hour session (reg $180).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Radiance Updates is a twice-monthly newsletter
written by Barbara Casey and sponsored by New
Radiance Corp. -- Inspirational Business Resources
for Small Business Owners. Are you ready to break
through to the next level?

Previous issues beginning September 2001 are online at:
http://www.newradiance.com/newsletterarchives.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.newradiance.com
PO Box 86674, St. Petersburg, FL 33738
(727) 397-2702 newradiance@earthlink.net

Copyright 2003 New Radiance Corp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you received this issue of New Radiance Updates from a
friend, and wish to subscribe, please take a moment to
sign up now --
(1) by email to: mailto:newradiance@topica.email-publisher.com
(2) or use the sign-up box at http://www.newradiance.com.
Thanks!