What Daytime TV Commercials Teach Us

The year 2009 was a rough one for me, involving about 3 months on various levels of bedrest.  Sometimes without much mobility, which nearly guarantees a lot of TV watching.

I used to think those culinary institute and community college commercials were completely out of it, not bringing up their website address or having a call to action that said “go to our website.” They ask you to CALL for a BROCHURE.  How 1980′s???

But.  I finally admit that I get it.

I get it.  You’ve got a demographic sitting on their couch, who may not be able or have enough energy to do much after potentially going to their website.  And the school knows it has the skills to draw you in.

If they can ONLY TALK TO YOU.  Engage.

Email you.  Send you something fancy in the mail.  Afterall, who doesn’t love a fancy, glossy brochure if they’re sitting on their couch, unemployed and uninspired?

So what I’ve learned is a very hard lesson for us all to learn.

Very well intentioned people, including you and me, will want to do something but never quite get around to it.

The only way we’ll ever “get around to it”, whatever the it is… is by having a sales pitch, a relationship, an email, something that breaks our drone life and makes us eventually act.

It is in that “building a relationship”, whether it’s the fancy brochure, or the emails, or the “IFO” (irresistible free offer) you see on websites, all for free, in exchange for your email address.

I admit it.  I’ve poo-pooed those email “free gifts” for a long time.  I’ve avoided building lists, collecting emails, or in any way being organized.

But you know the result?

Your unique awesomeness doesn’t get to the people who so desperately want what you have to offer!

One little email can, and does, change lives.

But first you have to figure out how to collect them, what would someone love to have from you, and how can you offer it while maintaining your authenticity?

That would enter us into a whole new blog post or consulting on that privately.  But I will give you an awesome tool.  Mailchimp.  (Not an affiliate link.)  It gives you 2,000 email addresses for free.  Most contact management systems start at $16-$30 a month, every month.  Mailchimp is free, has slick features, and if you actually get to 2,000 email addresses, high quality people who want to know more from you, then you should easily be able to afford the tools necessary to manage a bigger list.

Google for free advice on an “IFO”, a freebie giveaway.  Start thinking about what you could do if you had an email list of high quality, highly interested people who would love to know more about what you’re doing.  (Read: do NOT ask your Facebook buddies to sign up, do not ask your neighbor, or your church choir of 60 people to sign up.  This is meant to be a highly targeted list of ONLY people who REALLY want what you’re up to professionally.  It’s better to have 30 high quality names than 200 emails where nobody really cares about what you do but just wants to be your buddy and “help you build a list.”)

And if you’re not on MY list, my current free offer are 10 simple but savvy website tips PLUS an intro to getting high quality, free traffic (from a class that used to be $30).  Sign up here!