Content Triggers for Every Week in 2018

December 13, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Usually, when I tell people what I do, it goes something like this…

“I write copy and content to help businesses reach their markets: blog posts, newsletters, emails, sales pages, that kind of thing…”

If the person I’m talking with owns a business, I usually get one of two responses:

I could sure use your services.
I need to do that… But YUCK! Then they go on to tell me why it’s “yucky.” They dislike writing. They don’t have time to do that. They are in a boring industry and they don’t know what to write about, etc.

Well, if you’re one of those folks, now you don’t have to get creative. Just follow these writing prompts. I use these content ideas myself when I get stuck.

Scroll through these 54 content triggers and get your content calendar filled up for 2018.

My Team Connects Lucky Deck of Content Ideas from Jen McGahan

By the way, this task is easy peasy when you use CoSchedule to organize and share your content. Check out this app that has saved me tons of time and brought lots of new traffic to my website this year. Click this Coschedule link to learn more.*

2018 is coming, ready or not. There are new opportunities and unseen twists and turns ahead.

Time to get ready for a great new year!

Now, if you’re still wary of doing this writing, I’d can help. Give me a call, or simply fill out the form below and let’s set up a time to chat.

*Co Schedule has a referral program. If you sign up I may get a free month or some other small compensation. Just know that I would never refer something I did not absolutely LOVE and use myself!

And if you want more free stuff about content marketing and how to get your book, course or product out there, you can access the free content library here.

Sixteen Welcome Email Ideas That Really Engage New Subscribers

July 26, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Do you sign up for a lot of email lists, or are you discriminating about giving your email address? Hey, you’re here, so I’m going to assume that you sign up for useful emails!

I should admit that right at the start of this email that I sign up to a lot of email lists. As a result, I get to see a lot of welcome emails.

After you receive that first email from the sender, you know more about the company, the individual, or brand. With the first open, and all consecutive emails sent through a welcome series; you learn enough to determine whether you want to stay or not.

You might stick around to see what’s next, or you may unsubscribe for various reasons. Sometimes the email is boring. Sometimes the company sends too much email. Sometimes, the sender emails so sporadically that you forget who they are or why you ever signed up in the first place. In all cases, they fail to hold your interest.

Since this can be the case with email marketing, it pays to examine the welcome email and see if you can determine elements that hold your interest… and then try to copy some of those ways you can hold attention of our new subscribers.

There are some elements of awesome welcome emails that you should be using in your welcome email or welcome series to new subscribers:

Welcome them warmly.
Remind them of perks of being on your list.
Offer a deal or coupon code.
Use a strong call to action: download an app, allow the user to set preferences, click a “shop” button (or allow them to choose to shop for either men or women, etc.)
Make sure you’re mobile friendly. (79% of smartphone owners are more likely to use it for email than to make calls.)
Include social media buttons.
As a retail shop, design your emails to include navigation bars so readers can actually start shopping different departments — just like your website.
List what to do first, second, and third.
Link to other products and info.
Share a little about yourself and your team, your mission statement, etc.

This welcome email provides a great opportunity to connect some web content dots and build in warmth and engagement.

Have you ever met someone new and started up a conversation? Granted, this comes easier for some people than others, but if you’re friendly, you usually start by talking about the obvious. The event you’re attending or the food that is being served. Then, you take the conversation a little deeper. Perhaps one of you comments on the conditions of the soccer field, or the music program, or the ingredients on the table, and then… something else happens.

You make a connection that helps you get to know each other better.

The welcome email makes or breaks all your your email campaigns of the future because it sets the tone for your relationship.

Think of a real conversation you’ve had that started on one level and ended with the beginning of a friendship or a promise of a possible future action on the part of either of you.

Good networkers naturally do this. They ask questions that get the other person talking. They look for ways to share a book title, or a mutual friend’s name, or even a laugh. They may even try to discover how they can help their new acquaintance.

That’s what you want to do with your very first email. Right at the start, when you have the chance connect on another level with your content, make sure you do exactly that!

Not only does it break the ice, it brings the new subscriber into your community. As Jay Baer advises marketers, “You need to instead build a touch-point corral that allows you to surround your customers with messages from multiple venues and modalities.”

Besides including engaging elements within the email itself, think of other possible content you could share. Use content you already own to introduce people to your brand and to kick off a new relationship:

A Pinterest board.
A Facebook post that triggered a lot of comments or links to popular articles on your blog.
A curated list of books, movies, quotes with an interesting theme.
A useful infographic.
Some recent tweets.
A picture of your cat — for the ultimate connection!

Begin your relationship with something that allows you to meet your customer on different social channels or around a broader variety of interests… Then communicate authentically.

A welcome email is a great place to start off on the right foot, when your subscribers are highly engaged and interested. Don’t waste the opportunity to bring them in closer.

Why not take the first step in claiming your corner of the market? For a memorable first touch, get the FREE brand assessment before sending that welcome email campaign!

How Telling Your Story Makes It Easy To Ask

April 26, 2016 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

Children learn this as soon as they can talk. Telling stories usually gets you further along with other people than not talking.

They start early, learning the benefits of engaging people. Many of these people they tell stories to are the very people who can do things for them, like bring them food and toys, and help them go to sleep at night (a.k.a. parents). My middle child was, and is, an astute receiver of small favors. He was the four year old at parties who would ask a friendly-looking adult, usually a complete stranger, “Can you please make me a hot dog, because I would like a hotdog please.” Then he’d toss in some conversation like “Did you know snakes smell with their tongues?”

I miss those days.

Brands have figured this out, too, especially now that the consumer doesn’t have to take everything a brand dishes out as the gospel truth. The process of going from “Hello, stranger” to “Thanks for your business” can be a meandering path with no guarantees, unless you you have a plan to engage your customer.

Just as consumers have plenty of ways of getting information about you and your brand (like influencers’ blogs, reviews, and social media), the marketplace is increasingly full of competition from people who offer similar wares, information or services.

That’s why telling your story is the best way to earn your clients’ and customers’ business. Before the first phone call is made, before the purchase button is clicked, or before they walk through shop door, that’s mainly your content’s job.

A good story gets people nodding their heads, and sharing…

A good story is also the easiest way to get a “yes” to the first ask — like for an email address — provided your call to action is clear and compelling.

Good copywriting is a must, so please don’t think you can chatter away about your story without paying attention to conversion tactics you must use. But a little background history and content that adds value to is the way you develop customer loyalty.

In “real life” I know a local fashion retail shop owner who chats with everyone who walks through his door. Telling the story about his business seems to be an important pastime at the shop. Some benefits include:

Increases familiarity with customers
Helps to describe and sell his product
Naturally elicits feedback
Generates new relationships and referrals
Helps become memorable to his customers.

All of those positive perks intermingle with each other. In the physical world, telling your story also makes it easy to ask for an email address in person, so that you can continue your relationship online.

Let’s break this down for doing business in the world of digital content.

Generous with information, my friend the shop owner makes visiting his store a social and educational experience. He enjoys curating new fashions for his customers. For example, he shares something about the brand that makes the sweater I’m trying on, and tells me which line of jewelry introduces the most new styles each season. Before long he mentions one of his wife’s tips for packing light and fashionably for the Midwest. When I share that I, too, have ties to Nebraska, we discover a mutual connection.

By the way, he quietly hangs back if you’re just looking so customers feel unhurried, valued, and appreciated. Is that possible online? Of course. All of the topics above are great ideas for content if you’re in the retail business.

Fashion retail brands are able to design their sites to suit the personal styles of their shoppers. One brand that does that really well is Top Shop, a large site complete with an online magazine, separate departments of styles, and even a quiz you can take to narrow down the selection a bit. New styles are chosen based on your responses and dropped into your “personalized edit” page, inviting you to check back weekly.

Apparently, online shoppers also enjoy learning more about the people behind the products. Top Shop currently features a fitness line co-designed with Beyonce, including a video with the backstory.

The Email Ask

Due to the story telling and insightful information, both in an actual store and a virtual store; when I am asked for my email address, I am happy to give it. The shopper’s promised recommendations, coupons and/or notifications of sales. The online shop actually has an edge here because it already has your personal preferences in their digital bank. My shop owner friend down the street has his email addresses compiled in a lovely guest book on the counter next to an array of fabulous rings.

If you’re a local shop collecting addresses in person, don’t forget to check the spelling and send a welcome email immediately, if possible (your email service provider may have an app for that, like Mail Chimp’s Subscribe app), or at least within a day or two. You could keep a tablet handy for easy and beautiful email address collection.

The Brand Story

Being friendly and open with helpful content doesn’t necessarily equate to a strong brand story, but every time you tell your stories you contribute to your brand story. Slowly, over time, you add important pieces to the puzzle.

Meanwhile, the story telling itself becomes part of your brand. Customers will remember that friendliness, open-ness and sharing quality of your content.

I advise creating one foundational piece of content as soon as possible. That way your brand has a pillar around which your story can be told. As you layer on the stories and they take on a memorable theme or tone, that’s when your brand begins to stand on the legs of its own strong “brand story.”

Go ahead; don’t be shy. Tell your story at networking events, in blog posts, and on social media. Transparency and regular story-telling makes it easier to ask for email addresses, referrals, and even input regarding your offer, products or services. Asking for the business or the next yes, will feel natural to both you and your prospect.

Customers, expecting reciprocity will completely expect your ask and may even be a little miffed if they don’t get it. Just like the little kid asking for a hotdog “because he wants one,” a reasonable ask is the obvious request after you begin telling your story.

Five Cold Email Subject Lines Your Reader Can’t Resist

August 29, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

So you’re emailing someone who’s never even heard of you, never seen your email address in their inbox and hasn’t a clue who you are and how you can help them. Does your email even stand a chance of getting read?

If you’ve made it to the inbox, the next hurdle is getting opened and then clicked on. A good subject line makes an inroad possible; a bad subject line gets the door slammed in your face.

Here are five types of email subject lines that stand a chance of nudging open that door.

1. Timely: Triggered event-based subject lines using words about something that just happened.

In pop culture
Inside the recipient’s industry
Something that occurred inside their company, like an earnings report, an expansion, a department closing (you can find information in a company’s website or on recent press releases). The bigger the shake-up, the more attentive your reader will be to the reference.
Recent news that effects the reader’s business.

2. Personal:

Job titles: For specific position holders, the use of their title shows you know who you’re talking to, you’ve done your homework, and you understand what they do every day. (Put some effort into finding out what that is!)
Proper names: Some people advise not to use names in subject lines, but I don’t agree. Something about my name in print always stops me in my tracks. Pair it with one of these other ideas and you might make an instant connection. A personal reference works well, too. For example, “Stuart Rogers asked me to call you” (assuming the reader knows the referring party) compels a least a look.
Even using the word “You” in a subject line carries more weight than a generic implication. If it’s meant for everyone, then it might not be useful to you (your mind automatically filters everyone else out…after all, they’re not “you”) Whenever you hear the word “you,” you fill in the blanks because you know who they’re talking about. Make sense? The word “YOU” could make more of an impact in some situations than others. Try it on a couple of sentences and test it for yourself.

3. Insider info/lingo: Do you pay attention to your target market’s discussions? Is there a way to find out how they think and what they talk about? If you could hang out with them behind closed doors (warning: another cute cat pic), what would they say? Use the words they use with each other and your message will sink in like a familiar confidant’s, not a marketer’s tactic. On the other hand, if you want to repel a potential customer right off the bat, use buzzwords from your own industry. How fast can you say “Delete?”

4. Help them! Right now, in this very moment, show readers they can instantly get something cool out of your email. Don’t mention what you do…instead say what you can do for them. Results oriented subject lines get a second look because they hold promise. They don’t feel like they are going to suck the time and energy right out of you. Wouldn’t you rather read more about “How company X got 30 new accounts in 30 days.” rather than “We train sales people for success.”

5. Something quasi-controversial: Provocation isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Expressing an unpopular opinion arouses curiosity. I recently received an email with the subject line “Five questions you’ve never been asked.” I couldn’t delete it without taking a peek. One word of warning, though…keep this extremely NON-personal. You don’t want to offend, just plant a seed of interest. Unresolved issues, comments that raise an eyebrow, pointed questions (the kind you wouldn’t walk up and ask a perfect stranger) are all fair game. Just make sure the content is relevant and useful once the reader pulls the thread.

When you need to contact someone via email without any past correspondence, your subject line is the crucial entry point. Tweet this!

Try one or more of the attention getters above and then over deliver on the content of the email. Remember the mindset behind your first cold email, combine that with an irresistible email subject line, and you may rivet your prospects attention on the first try.

Photo: Flickr CC, Ross Berteig

Warming Up A Prospect With A Cold Email

August 26, 2013 by jennifer mcgahan Leave a Comment

You know it would be better to have an engaged subscriber — someone who opted in to your list. You even know the benefits of using an email service for your email marketing.

But the fact remains that sometimes you truly need to contact a certain demographic or even a specific individual to get the ball rolling. You have no choice because it’s part of the prospecting required to open the door for new business. You’re sending it from your personal professional email address to theirs — and it must impress them.

Sometimes you just have to send a cold email.

First, accept that even when your recipient knows you and and expects regular emails from you, the delete key is easy to access. Bet you do it too; delete emails with barely a scan, especially when you’re busy or you’ve fallen behind cleaning out your inbox. According to the Radicadi Group, a technology research firm, business people get an average of 108 emails every day, and they tend to pile up. How do you make sure yours stands out?

The best way is to become that sender who consistently send useful and interesting emails.

The second best way to get your emails opened is to make sure the person receiving your emails is expecting them. Rule number one in deliverability and list building is a confirmed opt-in.

But there are times when you want to try reaching out to someone you’ve identified might be a good fit as a business client or a partner in a project…the only trouble is, they just don’t know it yet.

You need to send a cold email to start a relationship.

A couple of days ago I tried this — only I wasn’t asking for his business. I wanted to give the guy MY business. Here’s the story:

Last week Mr. MyTeamConnects and I bought our first rental property. As a writer to and for investors over the past decade, I am excited to finally start investing my own money in real estate. (Woo hoo! )

Now, you’d think I would know what to do with a property after all the research, webinars, seminars and phone calls about real estate investing that I’ve been exposed to. But though I know the marketing side of things, I have a steep learning curve to climb dealing with actual property. Now that I own a tangible investment, I’m searching for a property management firm to get some questions answered.

Funny how it works learning something new…in theory, it’s easy-peasy. In practice, you really feel the bumps in the road. 😯

The first firm I contacted told me they don’t manage houses like ours that have septic tanks and wells, due to liability issues. (Hmmm, first road block.) But he referred another management firm — even gave me the owner’s direct email address. Cool! I sent an email to him on his buddy’s recommendation.

To his direct email address, mind you…name spelled out and everything.

I’ll bet you can guess what happened. No response. After waiting a couple of days I went to the firm’s website and sent an inquiry through the website. It was sent to “propertymgr@…” not the man’s direct personal email that his colleague/competitor gave me.

See, the gentleman my first contact recommended was not expecting my email. So it’s probably sitting somewhere in a junk folder. The email filter did it’s job, even protecting him from someone who needs his services! I even dropped his colleague’s name in the subject line: “Your colleague Bart at Bella recommended you.” Crickets. No response. He probably never even saw it.

Now imagine how difficult it is to get a response from a cold email when its purpose is to engage a possible customer — it’s even more challenging!

Many business people, especially B2B sellers, contact prospects via a cold email. They get their list of names and address from various sources:

Business cards from a conference, trade show or Meet-up they attended.
LinkedIn contacts
Purchased email lists
Online data-gathering services like Jigsaw or ZoomInfo

Whether you have a long list of cold prospects, or you’ve selected just a few to contact, your next hurdle is creating an attention-getting email. How do you capture someone’s attention within the first few words?

Tip #1, and I can’t stress this enough: Never forget that you are not “selling” anything with a first touch. All you’re trying to do is get them to read and respond in some way.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this first email is a one-time shot.

It’s a fantasy to believe that all you have to do is send a cold email, and someone picks up the phone and calls you. As I said before, you’re lucky if the email even lands in their inbox, let alone gets read. The type of response you’re aiming for with a cold email is more likely to be one of the following:

Reading it and simply digesting the message. It’s rare that a reader will remember and follow up at some point in the future, even if you’ have left a good impression. Plan to reach out at least a couple of times, spacing your emails a couple days apart. Remind them who you are and repeat your message.
Clicking on a link for more info: a white paper or web page. This is the ultimate response, because now you can ask if they would also like to receive updates, a newsletter, or a follow-up by phone or email.
Deciding to add you to his contacts on a social site — following you on Twitter, checking out your Facebook page or Linked In profile. Reinforce your message or campaign by repeating it on your social sites. That way, your recipient will see a common thread, something to hang onto and remember.

If you make an impression, that’s great, but guess what? The ball is still in your court. Oops, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to just getting that first cold email opened…

Now that you have the proper mindset, it’s time for the real work — writing a subject line that compels action when they don’t even know who you are.

Thursday’s blog post will give you five smooth moves you can use to get their eyes to lock onto your subject line and open your email. Stay tuned!