Posted by Ben on June 17, 1999 at 18:42:26:
I got one too,maybe we can all give them to each other!
Newsletter offer from Russ Dalbey - Posted by Mark Vidales
Posted by Mark Vidales on June 15, 1999 at 15:03:54:
John and anybody else who wishes to comment. I just received an offer from Russ Dalbey in the mail where he is offering to write a monthly newsltter for me, 400 copies and let me distribute them to other professionals quarterly abouth the note business with the idea of getting referrals to me.
It’s more geared toward brokering notes but thought one could use this newsletter to get leads for ones own account.
Being a newly licensed agent I thought this might be a good way to market myself. I always thought about a newsletter but couldn’t find the time to write on a monthly basis about the private note business. Anybody get something from him also? what did you think?
Re: Russ Dalbey’s Great Idea!! - Posted by Me
Posted by Me on June 17, 1999 at 16:27:03:
Not you or a select few, everybody got the SAME offer who has been to his site or receives his e-mail ad!!
Imagine your newsletter looking like a copy of 50 or so others the same client received! You will look like something but not an expert! Yeah, Russ is a genius.
Re: Newsletter offer from Russ Dalbey - Posted by Ed Swartz
Posted by Ed Swartz on June 16, 1999 at 08:16:38:
Mark,
Here’s my 2 cents.
On the up-side:
1 The articles for the newsletter have already been written and professionally edited (saves you time).
2 The layout of the newsletter has already been designed (saves you time).
3 Paper and printer have been selected (saves you time).
4 Dealing with printing of the newsletter is taken care of for you (saves you time).
On the down-side:
1 You can’t add, delete or change the articles in the newsletter if you have a difference of opinion about the material.
2 The articles are selected by someone else. That means you’re not selecting the articles based upon your business marketing needs. You indicated the articles are geared toward brokering notes which implies that you are acting as a principal in buying notes. Sounds like the newsletter doesn’t match your needs.
3 The tone (attitude) of the writer might not match your preferred style.
4 Competing note professionals in your area might send the same newsletter to the same person. How is the receiver going to differentiate your services from someone else who has sent the same newsletter ?
5 You might prefer a different graphic design / layout.
I think the fundamental idea of a enwsletter is great. The psychology is that the reader thinks the writer of the articles is an expert on the subject.
Suggestions for writing your own newsletter:
1 Keep it short. I’ve seen “newsletters” printed on postcards (I think postcards can be up to 4 x 6 inches. Check with your local PO before designing and printing). Or use 1 sheet of paper double-sided. Select slightly heavy paper if you are mailing the piece as-is (without inserting in an envelope).
2 Select a simple design / layout. Use a 3 column format. Look at newsletters you receive for layout ideas.
3 Use MS Word to layout the newsletter (you don’t need special graphic design software like PagerMaker). Once the design is done all you do is simply insert the text for the next issue and tweak the issue # and publication date.
4 Print a master copy off your laser or jet printer and take to your local quick print shop.
5 If you keep the newsletter short (1 page or one large postcard) the writing time for the articles should also be short.
6 Article ideas should be easy to come by. During the month you’ll get lots of ideas for articles from reading the Cash Flow Forum, Paper Source and Noteworthy newsletters.
My preference is to write my own newsletter.
Ed Swartz