E-Newsletter Plan- Make it or Break it

It's a new year - What's your E-Newsletter Plan?

Do you know a family member, say an aunt or a grandmother, or a friend of the family who always wanted to go to Paris? I know someone who always wanted to stand at the base of the Eiffel Tower and crane her neck upwards. She wanted to sit at a French café, order something sweet and foamy and people watch. She wanted to be surrounded by the beautiful French language and taste amazing cuisine.

She told me about a desire to be immersed in the culture. I visited her recently. She’s in her golden years now, and her health is not what it once was. I look at her and I don’t know if she’s ever going to make it there. I asked her recently, what about that dream? “Oh, Paris was a dream from my youth for a far away trip.  But life right here was pretty good. It still is. I have my grandkids and my kids and my ladies group.” But what about you, I asked, what about your dream? She says she just never got around to it. She says she doesn’t give it much thought. “Life and kids got in the way.” But the kids have all been grown up and gone for a long time. What happened? “We were always too busy. There were other things that were more important.” Maybe it doesn’t bother her. But it grates on me.

How sad is it that some people don’t live their dreams? Dreams are a good thing to have. A dream worth having is a dream worth achieving.

I just did a quick search on Travelocity and for a mere $516 dollars we could each travel to France and back. For about $1,900 we could get airfare and accommodations for three weeks! That’s not exactly breaking the bank.

What’s different between the golden girls that you and I know and all those people that are on flights to Paris right now?

I don’t think it’s about the money. I think it’s about planning a plan and working a plan. I think it’s about identifying something that’s important to you and finding a way to make it happen. Sometimes it’s about being tenacious, and sometimes it’s about hard work. Sometimes it’s about the difference between what’s urgent and what’s important. Sometimes it’s breaking up a big task into smaller ones. There are lots of strategies that you can use to be successful. Sometimes it’s about finding one way that works for you and other times it’s about mixing it up.

This isn’t just about achieving personal goals. This is about your business. I bet you can guess why I think that some businesses succeed and why some businesses fail. I know why some soar and why some merely exist. Do you know some business owners who are always energized? They have a spark, ok a torch, under them and they get things done. Most of the people I know like that are always sharing successes – new clients, new business endeavors, and cool stuff.

Is it fair – do they have the same chance as you and I? I think they do!

What can we do to get you some of that?

Ok – here’s what we can do today. Let’s create a calendar for your E-Newsletter. Let’s map out the topics that your E-Newsletter will cover for the next year. Take a piece of notepaper and jot down a quick list of ideas that will be helpful for your readers. Take a look at some of my previous E-Newsletters if you need ideas about how to come up with topics. Whether you publish your E-Newsletter quarterly, monthly or weekly having a list of ideas to draw upon is like having a well in your office. You may not always need a drink, but when you do its there for you. The E-Newsletter calendar does not have to be carved in stone. If something big comes up, just remember that you are the Editor in Chief. You can pull an article, stop the presses, or add in an Extra.