Monday June 25th, 2007: Issue #815
I talk to a lot of businesses who have a website of one kind or another but who don’t see much in the way of results from it.
In fact, part of my offline business is consulting with these companies to help them refocus what they hope to achieve from being online and then changing their site to bring it in line with those hopes and aspirations.
One of the most obvious mistakes that many companies make (and it applies to people who have websites but don’t consider themselves to be ‘companies’ too) is that they make little or no attempt to capture their site’s visitor’s contact details.
They don’t build a mailing list and they don’t make any efforts to communicate with their existing or potential customers and clients.
Apart from the biggest reason for this omission (”Oh, I never thought of THAT!”) there are three big problems for many people:
1. They don’t have the time to write a newsletter.
2. They think it is a complicated business and so not for them.
3. They are scared off by the thought that they have to actually write something that people would want to read.
If any of that sounds familiar, or if you are someone who would like to have your own newsletter but are worried that you may not be able to consistently write it yourself, I think I may have the answer.
I’m just floating this idea, so feedback on it would be appreciated.
Over the years, Kickstart has amassed a pretty big database of short, snappy articles on a wide variety of subjects. Most of those articles are written to be timeless - they are what’s known as evergreen.
How good would it be for you if I could provide you with 52 pre-written issues of a newsletter based on the successful and popular format of Kickstart. The only thing you’d have to do would be to write a short introductory paragraph each week to personalize it from you or your company.
Everyone who bought this ‘white label’ newsletter would get a different mix of articles and sections and there would be a cap on how many people in total could buy it.
I’d also provide everyone who buys the package with a set of videos that explain how to use the files, how to set up an autoresponder, how to capture email addresses on your website and whatever else you’d need to know to really start communicating with your customers and clients.
There is nothing to buy right now though - this isn’t a sales pitch! I’m just hoping to get some feedback from you on whether this is something that you’d find useful.
So please let me know!
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I’ve had some great feedback from folks who took a look at the pilot issue of ‘Kickstart Today on the go’ - the version I’m thinking of creating for people who view the Internet on mobile media such as PDAs and cell phones.
I may change the name to Kickstart Mobile.
So far, all the feedback has been positive, but it has ALL been from people with PDAs. I haven’t heard from a single person with a cell phone or a Blackberry yet.
The URL might be a problem. It’s too long (it IS just a pilot) to comfortably type in.
If I launch this officially the URL will be much more user friendly!
Please take a look (on a phone or PDA). The URL is http://www.kickstartdaily.com/mobile/kst21-6-07.htm
It isn’t intended to be viewed on a PC or laptop, so if you do take a look on one of those, it’ll look terrible!
All feedback will be gratefully received.
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My new ebook, ‘Total Time Control in 14 Days’ is now happily on sale through ClickBank.
It is packed full of practical ideas and proven strategies that make the time in your life work for you rather than against you.
Feedback has been very positive. One comment in particular warmed my heart: “Martin, my time management skills are woeful and my life has suffered because of it. I’m very aware that the success I would love has always eluded me because I’m so disorganized where making the best use of my time is concerned. Your book has opened a window for me. The ideas you write about are real and workable, not fuzzy, complicated and dry like so many other time management books I’ve tried to read. At last I can see that I can start to take control … and it really is down to you. Thank you.”
That was part of an email from Alan Cooper who has gracefully said that I can quote him.
The URL for my book is http://www.totaltimecontrol.com
If you enjoy it and find it useful, you can even make some money with it!
For the next week or so I am paying affiliates 70% commission for each sale they make (After ClickBank fees).
All you have you do is join ClickBank, if you haven’t already, and get your own ClickBank affiliate id.
Then use this link: http://xxxxx.mravis.hop.clickbank.net (replacing the xxxxx with your ClickBank affiliate id) to send everyone you know to the sales page. Every sale you generate should make you personally about $23, which you’ll receive direct from ClickBank according to their terms and conditions.
I’d love to get a high ranking in the ClickBank marketplace and it would be great if you can help me - and make some money while you’re at it!
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Good things can happen to deserving people.
Last week there was a reality TV show on British TV called ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. For a while there I was sure that they’d got the name wrong because talent was the last thing that most of the entrants had.
But eventually a few stood out, and the overall winner was a nervous unassuming guy called Paul Potts, with a terrible suit and even worse teeth, who was a broke cell phone salesman who so lacked confidence that he almost didn’t enter.
Remember that classic headline: “They all laughed, but when I sat down at the piano and started to play …”?
Paul Potts sang opera and when he stood up to sing the hairs stood up on millions of necks. the guy is good. Amazingly good.
So good that he has already signed a million pound record deal and is already in the studio making his first album (which is due for release on July 11th, making it one of the fastest albums to market in history).
Look up Paul Potts on You Tube. You’ll be glad you did.
Dreams CAN come true!
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An Inspirational Thought
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I don’t know what the source of this is, but it bears reading every few days to remind ourselves of what is important:
“Take Time”
Take time to work, it is the price of success.
Take time to think, it is the source of power.
Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom.
Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness.
Take time to dream, it is hitching your wagon to a star.
Take time to love and be loved, it is the privilege of the gods.
Take time to look around, it is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.
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Who do you know who would love Kickstart Today?
Don’t keep it to yourself - send them to
http://www.kickstartdaily.com today!
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The Quote of the Day
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Eleanor Roosevelt said,
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.”
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Today’s Power Thought
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How do you react to change?
I must admit that I am not totally comfortable with things changing around me. When I worked in offices the hardest thing I had to deal with was when things I’d become comfortable with were altered in some way.
I suppose that in some subconscious way I felt out of control and that pushed me outside of my carefully created comfort zone.
Yet, nine times out of ten, the very changes that I internally and externally fought against proved to be changes for the good.
Eventually, I came to understand that the world does change, that situations do shift around and that it isn’t all some giant conspiracy to make me uncomfortable.
I’m much more able to embrace change now that I’ve stopped being quite so paranoid about it.
Are you feeling on edge today because things seem to be changing around you and you have no control over it?
Here is a method of coping that I have found very helpful:
When change is threatened, your initial reaction may be to stick your head in the sand and pretend it isn’t happening. Perfectly natural, but ultimately pointless.
Instead, muster up all your courage, go against all your instincts and seek to learn everything that you can about the new ways. Become an expert in the changes.
There is no doubt that once you take an objective view, you will find something about the change that you actually agree with.
Grab hold of that thing and become its greatest advocate.
Once you’ve found one positive thing to hook your mind onto, the rest is easy.
Sure, there is always good and bad with change, but unless you are in there approving and working with the good, your voice will never be heard about the bad.
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Fascinating Facts
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There is one seven-letter word that contains nine other
words without any of its letters being rearranged.
The nine words contained therein are:
the
there
he
in
rein
her
here
ere
herein
And the seven-letter word itself? THEREIN.