Tag: marketing

How to make sales from stuff happening to you

conorkelLeave a comment

Alright, so this note is overdue.

I would have sent such lovely musings to your inbox sooner, but last week my thirty-eight-pound 1957 laptop finally up and died.

(‘Big Berta’.  May she rest in peace.)

Fine, she wasn’t quite that heavy.  Or that old.  But she did outlast many of her contemporaries.

Mercifully, I managed to pull off a daring rescue op to save my files from the brink of abyss.   So you need not worry; no client or personal content was harmed in the making of this email.

Anyway, the point of such shenanigans?

We’ve all been thwarted by technology.

And we understand what it’s like to have our grand plans mocked by the computer gods.

There’s an old saying that goes nothing bad ever happens to a writer.

Tales of woe like this one (and indeed better, more woeful ones) are relatable and can help frame almost anything your ambitious heart desires to sell.  One of the best ways to dream up stories to tell in your emails and your sales copy is simply to ask,

When did things go wrong?

Next, all you need to do is connect it to something you sell (like I’m doing here) and PRESTO.

You’re in business.

(And THAT’s turning a frown upside down.)

One of easiest examples of this is when I sold personal training and would tell of my own failures on the way to getting fit.  This story got main-stage billing on my website, in my emails, and in public speeches.  You’ve probably seen this done.  That’s because it works.

But don’t stop there.

All sorts of stories of things that happen to you can serve as fodder for emails and other sales copy.

Bottom line:

You almost can’t go wrong by keeping the conversation in your prospect’s ‘world’.

That means telling stories they can identify with.

And plenty of them.

When in doubt just use my handy question above and you’ll be well on your way.

That’s all for today.

GOOD NEWS for those who have been asking: I have an opening for a new client next month.  If you’d like to set a time to discuss having me write some copy for your website, or emails for your distinguished biz, shimmy on over here to book your Free Brainstorm Call:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

The standards of direct-response marketing would dictate I remind you it is urgent for you to take action on this today.

But I don’t know that.

I have no idea your current situation or whether it’s even a fit.

What I CAN say is I expect this spot to go fast, and I’m almost always booked several months in advance.

Therefore, if it be the case that you ARE interested, booking sooner rather than later would seem wise.

Until next time…

Happy Storytelling,

Conor Kelly

P.S. There is one particular story “type” which I’ve discovered (after testing it in about a dozen markets) that converts so well it gives you an almost unfair advantage over your competition.

Alas, I reserve such secrets for my clients.

To learn more, book your Free Brainstorm Call here:

http://calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

I only have 1 spot open for a new client.

And time waits for no Sapien.

To hyperlink or not to hyperlink?

conorkelLeave a comment

That is the question today…

One interesting fact about the era we live in is how quickly the names of computer functions become verbs.

A point illustrated by my 7-year-old the other day when she misspoke and blurted out “Wait!  I need to backspace that” before correcting herself.

So in an attempt to remain cool in her eyes (although I’m reserving the right to make Dad jokes), we’re going to examine a question I got from a client about whether ‘tis nobler to ‘hyperlink’ your links vs. not hyperlinking.

If it’s not clear to you yet what I mean, here’s a conveniently self-promoting example.

A hyperlink would be if I were to ask you to:

Get Your Copy Of My Super-Cool, Outrageously Awesome Book Here.

(Which, ironically, is about selling with email by not using hype.  Ahem…)

VS.

Simply dropping in the real URL address, like so:

www.ConorKelly.com

Conventional wisdom would say that if you make your link a benefit-laden call-to-action, as in Get your free thingamajigger here, or Get the program at 96% off, or Double your sales with email, you’ve got a better shot at compelling the reader to take action.

Still others would argue that a plain old URL stands out.

It’s not congruent with the text of your email, and therefore weird or ugly or whatever other differentiating quality you’d like to ascribe to it.

Also, it’s possible that displaying the actual URL is reassuring.

If people know where you’re taking them, they might be more inclined to click.

However, IMHBMO (in my humble-but-muscular opinion) the point is somewhat moot.

It’s been my experience that once you’ve built trust with your list, neither one significantly affects clickthroughs.

See, if you have a healthy relationship with your list…and you have offers they want…you don’t need any fancy ‘tricks’.  They are clicking because you’re the one asking.  And part of building that relationship is consistently making sure what they see when they do click is what your email promises.

(That’s why I tend to lean toward not hyperlinking.)

Anyway, take such musings for what they’re worth.

If you’d like my help with an email campaign or sales letter, follow the yellow brick road below and add yourself to my email list to be notified when a client spot opens up:

https://conorkelly.com/from-leading-copywriter-conor-kelly/

Happy Linking,

Conor Kelly

Goofy’s entire family may be dead

conorkelLeave a comment

It’s sad to think about…

But according to a reliable source, i.e. the internet, it’s entirely plausible that Goofy – yes that Goofy, Disney character – suffered the tragic loss of his wife and most of the members of his extended family.

Why do I bring this up?

My subject line is the title of an article I came across a while back.

And I thought it was clever.

(The rest of the article is pretty amusing too.  You can find it via “the” Google if you’re interested.  It seems in cartoons during the fifties Goofy had a wife, but when Disney rebooted the character in the nineties with Goof Troop, he was found to be raising his son alone.  No explanation offered.  This prompted speculation online about her fate, and the fate of other family members who, similarly, are hinted at but never make an appearance.)

Back to the article’s title.

It implies tongue-in-cheek humor, curiosity…even a pinch of dread.

I mean, how does a cartoon character, let alone a Disney one, wind up with a biography like that?

Titles, like email subject lines, are meant to entice you to read on.

The best ones evoke an emotional reaction of some kind, just like you probably smirked a little or went “wtf?” when you read the subject of my email just now.

Anyway, something to ponder as you dream up your own subject lines, titles, and headlines.

If you’d like to go a bit deeper, I’ve included a brief article below (only about 500 words) that deconstructs this further by peering into deceptive media headlines.

And if you’d like a few simple formulas  for how to write subject lines and headlines that are almost impossible to ignore, my book Stealth Email Secrets is filled with concrete examples that can make your life easier (and more profitable) when it comes to marketing.

Get your copy here:

–>The Simplest System Ever Created For Writing High-Converting Emails On Command.

Until next time…

Happy Enticing,

Conor Kelly

 

A Copywriter’s Rules To Avoid Being “Duped” By Headlines

If you’d like to know a professional copywriter’s insider secrets to avoid being misled by the media’s headlines, then you might find this brief article fascinating.

You see, copywriters, like journalists, spend a lot of time breaking down, analyzing and learning how to write compelling headlines. This puts us in a unique position to understand what makes them “tick”.

The first rule is simply to not be confused about a headline’s purpose. Just like direct-response copywriters need people to read our sales offers, journalism is a business first and foremost. Media outlets need eyeballs on their content.

The headline’s job is not to inform. Rather, the job of any headline is to capture attention with the goal of getting you to read, watch, or listen to the story or message, nothing more. For this reason, there must be some important context which is left out; otherwise, why would you need to go deeper?

When you remember that headlines deliberately leave out details which are explained in the body of the article, and that these details provide necessary context, you’ll read openers with a more critical eye. The problem is most people don’t read whole articles; instead, they scan headlines, which can only give you an incomplete picture.

It’s also important to note headlines that do their job well typically pack an emotional punch. This often requires drama, a hint of the sensational, curiosity, wrenching on powerful emotions like fear and outrage, or some combination of the above.

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples in health reporting:

One is from The Toronto Star, Just 60 Seconds of Intense Exercise Can Boost Your Fitness Level. Why is this a solid appeal? The idea of getting fitter with such a small amount of exercise sounds counter intuitive, for one. That contrast serves up a little curiosity already baked in. It also speaks to the fantasy people have of getting fit more easily, or faster.

In the article, the study compared 10 minutes of interval training with 45 minutes of traditional cardio for its effects on V02 max. However, V02 max is only one small parameter of fitness. Even the study’s author said that “60 seconds is all you need” was not the right conclusion to draw, contrary to what the article’s headline implies.

The second is a press release entitled, Exercise, More Than Diet, Key To Preventing Obesity. The attention-grabbing features here are (i) “Key to preventing obesity” is a dramatic claim. Most people know obesity is a big problem. Also (ii) “Exercise vs. Diet” is an ongoing debate, so it’s topical.  But guess what?  The study wasn’t an even an obesity study. It examined metabolic indicators in rats to determine the impact of exercise on metabolism…independently of weight loss.

It’s also wise to inspect the source of the headline. Do they have an agenda? Truly objective reporting is an endangered species in today’s business and political ecosystem.

Bottom line: there’s an art to writing headlines that seduce people away from other stuff they could be doing and effectively “steal” their attention. With the tips in this article you’ll be better able to resist their subtle persuasion tactics.

When a headline hits you in the gut, let that be your cue to have a peak beneath the surface and scan the article or content. More often than not, you’ll discover some detail missing from the headline that can lessen its impact.

Hobbits and buy now buttons that change color

conorkelLeave a comment

In my last email I let you in on my ultra-secret New Zealand source for web design/layouts that convert visitors to clients at a very high rate.

I even gifted you a rare chance to have him “scour” your website for free:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

One of the things that immediately lept out at me when I first discovered Bnonn Tennant is how well he employs one the four “magic” action drivers of email I cover in my book Stealth Email Secrets:

Personality.

For example, he doesn’t shy away from celebrating several aspects his country’s “lore”, noting that he lives just 30 minutes away Hobbiton (the set built for the mythical village in the Lord Of The Rings movies)…and using the acronym FRODO in distilling his web-visitor-converting ways.

One of the tips I learned from Bnonn in that fateful web critique he did for me 10 years ago is to bestow your “buy now buttons” (or buttons for any other action) with a TACTILE quality.

This means that when someone hovers over your button, it should feel clickable.

It could change color.

It could morph in shape.

Or it could be as subtle as a slight shift in the image.

(If you go to the link above and place your cursor over the blue ‘enter the draw’ button, you’ll see what I mean.)

Point being, images that are static have less touch to them…

…And are therefore less likely to get clicked.

(Also, the Kiwi pronunciation of the word ‘tactile’ is so cool it should be all the incentive you need to enter the draw.) 🙂

Anyway, that’s just a hint of what you’ll discover should your name be pulled from Bnonn’s hat.

For your chance to win a free web critique with my New Zealand secret (a $299 value) go here:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

We haven’t set a formal deadline, but Bnonn won’t be keeping this page up forever.

(At some point soon he’ll need to pull it down and do the draw.)

So if you’re interested, act now.

Happy Converting,

Conor Kelly

4 Free Ways To Sell Services In A Down Economy

conorkelLeave a comment

If you’d like to know a few low cost or even free ways to market your services in a down economy, then here are four methods that I used starting around the time of the financial crisis of 2008 to build a multiple six-figure personal training business from scratch, in just a couple of years.

1. Public Speaking.

Public speaking has long been my go-to. First of all, it’s a “no-brainer” to get speaking opportunities by offering to teach something valuable to groups at no charge. I went to many local companies, community groups, and business networking meetings to present and they were almost always very receptive to the idea.

Not only that, but speaking in front of a room instantly gives you an air of authority. This is known as the “podium effect” in marketing circles. Even if you’re brand new in your industry, simply being willing to stand up and talk makes you come across as an expert and a leader. The key to making this all work for your business is to combine valuable tips with lots of stories. I always tried to give 3 or 4 tips in 30-40 minutes, and for each tip I’d walk them through a “case study” of one of my training clients.

PRO TIP: Always end every talk by offering them a valuable free gift in exchange for an email address (and possibly more contact info). A free consultation or a free report should do the trick. This will let you do the most important part of the sales process which is: follow up! More on that below.

2. Content Marketing.

Content marketing includes things like blogging, article marketing, YouTube videos, Instagram, email, podcasts, etc.  The idea is to routinely pump out great content which demonstrates your knowledge and the kind of value you provide for your clients – the more, the better.

You want to use all these formats to drive traffic back to your main website, where, hopefully, you have a way of capturing visitors’ contact info.

My advice is to focus on whatever format makes you feel most motivated. That way you’ll be more likely to stay consistent with it. If you enjoy talking and presenting, do video. If you’re more of an introvert, writing, and to a lesser extent audio (e.g. having a podcast) might be more your bag. In either case, it’s not hard to take that content and repurpose it across many channels and on all your social media (if you’re on those sites; this part in NOT required, contrary to what people will tell you).

3. Join Ventures.

At the highest level, you want to find someone who already has your clients and make a deal with them. Here’s an example. Around the time I was building my business, I had a colleague who sold in-home personal training. His stroke of genius was approaching home fitness equipment stores and adding value for them by letting them offer certain purchasers his free home training instruction.

His team would then convert a lot of those trial sessions to paying clients, and he built a sizeable business rather quickly off the backs of just two of these relationships.

Another way is to get together with other non-competitive but complementary services to cross-refer and cross-promote. As a personal trainer I was in a good position to refer to chiropractors, and over the years I’ve sent a couple of them quite a few new patients. This ideally would be a two-way street, if there’s enough trust between you.

To put this strategy on steroids, add other health providers to the mix as well. Imagine a dietician, a massage therapist, a chiropractor, and a personal trainer all cross-promoting to each other’s clients. This is standard in the direct response industry. But a lot of service providers don’t think this way. They’re costing themselves sales. Organizations like BNI are built on this principle and some of those groups are very productive. The problem is when the businesses serve different types of customers it makes mutual referrals a lot less natural.

4. Email Marketing.

Alright, here’s where it all comes together. In my way of doing things, all roads should lead to your email list. I built a list of 2,500 subscribers in a couple of years using the free methods listed above. And I’d keep in touch with tips, stories, and event invitations once per week. This is the persistent follow up I hinted at above. Don’t spurn this part!

There’s an art and a science to effective email marketing, but the idea is to combine content with promotion. Share a tip, reveal a common mistake they may be making, then link it back to how you can help them and don’t forget to include an offer for them to contact you! Keep the dialogue focused on your prospects’ problems more than the features of your service. And make it entertaining. The easiest way to do this is just to tell lots of stories.

There you have it. You don’t need a big marketing budget to make money. In fact, if anything I’ve found the leads that come to you via these methods are higher quality. There’s some leg work required with each of them, to be sure. But if you want to build a business that will provide you with freedom and feed you for years to come, get over it – and get out there!

P.S. Get your FREE copy of my book “Stealth Email Secrets: The Simplest System Ever Created For Writing High-Converting, Cash-Producing Emails On Command” and more free marketing tips by joining my email list here: http://conorkelly.com .

The New Zealand Web Conversion Secret

conorkelLeave a comment

A while back, The Muscle got props from a client re: one of his website critiques.

This client went as far as to say, “I received more than 10X the amount of value from Conor’s 30-minute video than I did from 3 full days at the [insert guru name here] copywriting workshop.”

I remarked on how that wasn’t all that surprising given I’d had a similar experience.

Here’s how I described it:

******

About ten years back I hired a copywriter/web conversions expert to critique my website.  Unless I’m mistaken, I paid him all of $275USD.  And it was honestly some of the best marketing training I’ve ever received.

Many of its lessons have stuck with me ever since.

******

A big reason for that is having a set of trained eyes pick apart your webpage (and make suggestions you then have to figure out how to implement) is more concrete than broad strategies or tactics.

Which leads me to the punchline:

That copywriter’s name is…drum roll please…Bnonn Tennant.  Bnonn is also a copywriting coach and web designer who helps you convert more of your website’s visitors to customers.

And even though you’ve probably never heard of him, he’s 100% brilliant at what he does.

He’s quarantining currently in scenic New Zealand (about 30 minutes away from Hobbiton…no joke) where he resides with his wife Smokey The Magnificent (as he calls her) and his “indeterminate” number of kids.

Well, Bnonn and I recently reconnected.

See, I wanted to find a way to introduce you to his “attention-thievery”, if for no other reason than I think you’ll benefit from knowing him.

Here’s what we came up with:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

When you travel to the web address over yonder, you’ll be prompted to type in your email address to be entered into a draw for a free SCOUR audit (A $299 Value).

This is the exact same lovely service that Bnonn performed for me all those many years ago, and that I subsequently raved about.

According to the man himself:

“The audit will work for any page: a homepage, a landing page, an opt-in page, a sales page, a product page—the framework is specifically designed to be flexible enough that it will work on whatever page represents the biggest potential lift for you.  Your audit will be 15–25 minutes of clear, concrete advice on changes you can make to the page’s layout, look, and content, to lift your conversion rate.”

(Side note: Bnonn has a gift for presenting his tips in a memorable way.  Plus, the charming accent doesn’t hurt.)

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can watch an actual video of one such audit he did for a client.  Even if you don’t go for the draw I urge you to check it out; lots of marketing insights in that simple video.

Finally, when you enter you’ll also be added to Bnonn’s email list, which – listen to me now, believe me later – is a GOOD thing.

He’s one of the few marketers whose content I readily look forward to both ingesting and learning from.

Here’s that link once more:

http://attentionthievery.com/scour/giveaway/

You’re welcome. 😉

Happy Auditing,

Conor Kelly

Naked Baby Doll’s gastronomic adventure

conorkelLeave a comment

All of this lately reminds me of a story.

At the time of the great Northeast blackout in ’03, I was renting a basement apartment from a Russian family in Richmond Hill.  They were sweet, red-cheeked little dumplings with much love for The Muscle.

Even had a pet name for me:

Pupsik.

It’s a Russian toy shaped like a naked baby.

(Don’t ask.)

Many stores were closed due to the power outage, so they insisted I come upstairs for a bite.   The family’s Babushka (Grandmother) brought forth a large crystal plate.  From what I could tell, it contained a gelatin substance with random floating chunks of mystery meat (which I later discovered is traditionally pig’s feet, cow’s feet, or chicken feet).

[Akwardly] Ah ha ha!  Yummy…

Being the Canadian paragon of politeness that I am, I powered through.  I took spoon to splotch, and went at it like a champ.  And with my eyes watering from suppressing the gag reflex, I politely asked for more bread, hoping to relieve some of the violent siege on my senses.

During this gustatory power struggle, I noticed the oldest son downing the meat-flavored jell-o like it was chocolate cake.  “What the…?  Is he enjoying this??”  I thought, as I nodded, forced a smile with high eyebrows, and flashed a thumbs up.

That experience drove home for me how varied taste can be.

Same basic DNA shared between us…but our amigos in other cultures will gladly shovel into their mouths forkfuls of fat which we’d normally discard AND vaporize with dish cleaners powerful enough to thin paint.

What does this have to do with you?

First, it’s just an entertaining story.

And we could all use more of those right now.

Second, the most common objection I get when encouraging business owners to up the frequency of their emails is,

“But I don’t want to annoy my customers.”

Here’s the thing:

It depends WHAT you’re sending them.

If you’re serving up the equivalent of ‘Mousse au animal-foot-fetish’ to North Americans, per above…then yes, more is not better.  But consider a different example:  Imagine your favorite food is chocolate chip cookies.  And every day I show up to your house in the afternoon with one freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, just how you like it.

How quickly are you going to love seeing me and hearing from me?

The point is to send them emails they like.

Then you almost can’t send them too many.

With that in mind, if you’d like a simple system for writing emails that your subscribers love reading AND buying from, then my new book Stealth Email Secrets might just keep you teetering on the edge of your seat.

It reveals no less than seven “magic” formulas to write emails that let you make more sales (and build more customer loyalty) at the push of a button. (HINT: I’m using one right now.)

And if you buy it now and turn to page 52, I show you a little-used secret that, if you do it correctly, can make your emails almost impossible to ignore.  In fact, if you’re not currently doing this, chances are good you are losing readers every time you hit ‘send’.

Grab your copy from Amazon to read about this secret today:

Click here to get your copy of Stealth Email Secrets.

Also, I just knocked 40% off the price of the paperback (Kindle is just $9.99).

Personally, I’d always rather have a physical book in my hands.

Call me old-fashioned.

I know you might prefer that too and understand many folks are tightening their purse strings right now so figured I’d help out.  I also know that for some this could be potentially business-saving information.  You can thank me by leaving an absolutely glowing review, should you feel so inclined. 😉

However, I won’t be keeping the price this low forever.

Don’t wait, get your copy now so you don’t miss out:

Order Stealth Email Secrets from Amazon.

And if you’re ever confronted with intestinal Russian roulette like I was, remember: loads of bread and water, minimal chewing, and SMILE…you can do this!

Happy Baking,

Conor “Naked Baby Doll” Kelly

Books to help you beat worry, anxiety, and stress

conorkelLeave a comment

Give the ol’ newsfeed a rest and feast your weary eyes upon these lovelies instead.

Here for your viewing pleasure are a few tomes that inform my own approach to managing stress, anxiety, and worry:

1. Grow Rich With Peace Of Mind by Napoleon Hill

This is my #1 Napoleon Hill offering.

His book Think & Grow Rich gets a lot more press (and is the best-selling personal development book of all time) but I like “With peace of mind” even more.  Hill was in his eighties when he penned this one, had lived through more ups and downs by then, and the hard won wisdom it reveals practically leaps off every page.

It’s also more concise, and his list of 43 characteristics of the ‘man who is consistently himself’ (Note it was published in 1967 – there’s good advice for the ladies here too) is one of the best things I’ve seen.

2. How To Stop Worrying And Start Living by Dale Carnegie

Again, Dale Carnegie is probably more famous for his How To Win Friends And Influence People, but I can’t get enough of this book.  I’ve given it to clients and they’ve made it mandatory bed time reading too.

Each chapter is easy to follow and it’s filled with great stories and examples of folks thriving by using these principles.

It was first published in 1944, so another one that’s stood the test of time.

3. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Speaking of being tested by time…

Now we go back even farther.

Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher and the emperor of Rome from 161 to 180 AD.  If you’ve seen Gladiator, he was the old emperor killed by his son Commodus at the start of the movie.

This one’s an outlier because it was probably never intended by its author to be a coherent whole.  It’s more like a collection of his notes that were compiled and published after his death.

Some say it’s cynical but I don’t agree.

Many of its ideas are based in Stoicism, and are all about practicing acceptance, not getting attached to things, and focusing on becoming the best version of yourself – all viewpoints which, if you embrace them as your daily MO, can make you almost “worry-proof”.

4. Biographies.

This one’s more of a category than a specific book.

One of the reasons I love reading biographies is they grant you such a long-term perspective.   You can read about a person’s life and all the setbacks they overcame.  And you can read about a life in another time.  Often reminds me there’s nothing new under the sun.

Every age has its shocks.

The world keeps ticking on.

In fact, Warren Buffet makes a practice of reading old newspapers for the same reason.  He says looking at long gone, sensationalist headlines about events that are now mere echoes in time keeps him grounded.

My favorite biography (and perhaps my favorite book) is Titan, the biography of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow.  I also loved Nelson Mandela’s autobiography A Long Walk To Freedom and the Walter Isaacson biography of Benjamin Franklin.

Something about getting lost in these amazing, epochal lives leaves me with a persistent sense of calm.

On a different-but-related note, having a solid plan for a free marketing channel (that more than 60% of business owners rate as their most profitable) could also give you a leg up on the next few months, as life burps and sways its way back toward normal.

Hence, I recommend my new book Stealth Email Secrets.

It reveals for the first time the complete email marketing system I use to increase sales and customer loyalty for my clients.  I honestly believe anyone can use this system to sell more of ANY product or service, in ANY economy.  You can read it in a single afternoon and start using its secrets to make more sales as soon as tomorrow, if you want.

(Plus it’s just an entertaining/informative read per my usual muscular style.)

Available in Kindle or paperback, you can grab your copy from Amazon:

Click here to get The Muscle’s NEW book.

Also, I just knocked 40% off the price of the paperback (Kindle is just $9.99).

Personally, I’d always rather have a physical book in my hands.  Call me old-fashioned.  I know you might prefer that too and understand many folks are tightening their purse strings right now so figured I’d help out.  I also know that for some this could be potentially business-saving information.

You can thank me by leaving an absolutely glowing review, should you feel so inclined. 😉

However, I won’t be keeping the price this low forever.

Be sure to grab your copy TODAY so you don’t miss it:

Get my Stealth Email Secrets book for 40% OFF.

Well, there you go.

Books to lighten the load, as it were.

I hope they’ll be as good to you as they’ve been to me.

Happy Stress-Busting,

Conor Kelly

“Best business email in response to the CV crisis I have received.”

conorkelLeave a comment

Question:

How well are you communicating with your customers during this time?

98% of what’s landed in my inbox as a response to the crisis from various businesses has ranged from pointless to inane, such as suggesting I sing the Happy Birthday song to myself twice when washing my hands (no joke, that was part of a real email a business thought to send me).

Most have had me running for the unsubscribe link.

With one of my clients this week we took a different tack.

Here’s just a sample of the responses we got:

====

“This is a wonderful message.  You will always have my business!”

“Thank you folks for reaching out and offering your generous support and good spirit to the community.”

“You are awesome.  So thoughtful!”

“That is the best business email in response to the CV crisis I have received.”

====

Now I have to give credit to this client because the initiatives were 100% his idea.  He’s good that way, and a smart marketer in his own right.  My contribution was knowing how to frame them effectively, and with a certain amount of flair.

Here’s the point:

You have an opportunity right now.  The word ‘crisis’ comes from the Greek krisis.  It literally means “turning point”.  So you have a choice; you can fall silent as some people will surely tell you to do.  Or you can use whatever platform you currently have to show leadership.

Now is the time to BUILD relationships.

Not let them go cold.

Think for a second about the relationship capital contained in responses like the ones above.

Case in muscular point: I started my personal training business in 2008.  Believe it or not the easiest and most profitable years, as far as marketing ROI anyway, were between 2008 and 2011.  One theory I have is when times are tight people clam up and stop marketing aggressively.  I was doing the opposite.  That meant less competition.  And indeed the business grew nicely during those years.

There’s no doubt about it, we’re headed for a recession.

You might need to make some sacrifices in the months ahead.

Don’t let it be your marketing, unless you want to fade into oblivion.

Alright, I’ll climb down off of my soap box now.

(And wipe it down thoroughly.)

If you’d like me to help you quickly grab more market share in the coming months while your competition is hitting the snooze button, go here to request your no-stress Free Brainstorm Call to find out if we’re a fit:

https://conorkelly.com/free-brainstorm-call/

But time is short.

My schedule is filling up.

And I’ll be marketing more, not less.

Happy Relationship-Building,

Conor Kelly

Weird St. Patrick’s Day

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This is weird.

With St. Patrick’s Day essentially canceled this year, here for your viewing pleasure are a few MORE strange St. Paddy’s Day facts:

*The original colour worn by Patrick and to mark St. Patrick’s Day…was blue.  It became green the more the party went global – ostensibly due to the Emerald Isle’s greenness, shamrocks, leprechauns, every Irish national sporting uniform ever, and the green in the Irish flag.

*Patrick’s real name was Maewyn.

Very Lord of The Rings.

*Herpetologists – i.e. folks who study reptiles agree that there probably never were snakes in Ireland for Patrick to drive out.  Too cold.  So the snakes of legend are thought to be metaphorical.  At least they weren’t the ironic kind – those smug bastards.

*Once upon a time, in the ol’ U.S. of A. the Irish were considered a migrant crisis.

Good one to remember.

As they poured in to the states on the Eastern seaboard, they were discriminated against harshly.  Now they’re a force in American culture and politics.

#Truth

*The world’s shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place in Hot Springs, Arkansas and is just 98-feet (or 49 leprechauns) long.

Crucially, this allows for more pub time.

*In the town of O’Neill, Nebraska (named for its Irish founder) residents wear green not only on St. Patrick’s, but on the 17th of every month.  That’s dedication.

*On the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, St. Paddy’s Day is a national holiday.  Montserrat boasts a rich Irish and African heritage.

Like me.

(The Muscle began in The Ivory Coast.)

*Finally, here’s a clip of one of my fave Conor Kelly productions.  It’s a workout routine I shot while vacationing in Ireland, with just about the most scenic backdrops of any workout video I ever done seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jWfldJTGik

It’s timely, as it can be done at home.

Well that’s all for the weird and the wonderful of the day.

If you’d like done-for-you emails like this one that both delight and SELL your subscribers, follow the rainbow to find your no-stress Free Brainstorm Call here:

http://www.calendly.com/conorkel/emailincome

And what a pot o’ gold she is.

Mark my words:

With everything that’s going on…and everything that’s coming…email is about to become that much more important as a marketing channel.  Don’t wait.  Start now, or your competition will figure this out first.

I’m currently booking projects for next month and I expect my calendar to fill up.

I leave you with this Irish blessing:

May love and laughter light your days

And warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours

Wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world

With joy that long endures

May all life’s passing seasons

Bring the best to you and yours

Happy St. Patrick’s Day,

Conor Kelly