Does Your Ezine Cut to the Meat, or the Chase?

I used to be a cut to the chase type of person. You know the sort who wants info products to get to the point, and not waste my time with personal notes and frilly graphics and random other people's opinions (usually called testimonials...LOL).

I get way too many ezines, and all that overly friendly relationship building stuff doesn't really get me feeling all warm and fuzzy about the sender.

This morning, after getting yet another formulaic ezine I realized that either I'm a terribly unusual consumer, a hard sell (both may be quite true), or I've already been sold and trying to sell me again is having a boomerang effect -- it's actually pushing me away.

The chase makes me run the opposite way. The excessive exhuberance comes off as a little desperate.

So for all my colleagues out there who are falling into the habit of formatting your ezines this way:

• personal note
• picture of family or some past event
• testimonial that promotes your latest program
• promotion about something you're selling
• finally!! the meaty tips that keep readers on the list
• another promotion
• another promotion for someone your list has never heard of
• another promotion for a joint venture partner
• no kidding, another promotion for another JV partner
• and yet a 2nd or 3rd promotion for what you're selling

may I suggest that you think about cutting to the meat of your message instead of leading with so much chase. Quality over quantity, ya know?

What Stops You?

Have you ever made a marketing plan that sounded good in your head or on paper, and discovered when you tried to put it into action that you have trouble forcing yourself into carrying out some of the items?

I developed a new marketing plan for a specific new project of mine this week, and have already found a pitfall.

Seems that what I thought I needed to do is requiring more effort to talk myself into than I anticipated. Does that happen to you?

What's the solution?

It's probably not the idea itself that's faulty. It's the assumptions behind it that haven't been completely made conscious, or thoroughly examined.

Sometimes it's the shoulds that get us. My pitfall action item is a should -- I thought I should attend more networking groups. But I hate those. I assume I'll feel awkward, I believe I won't know what to say. That brings up sabotaging fear. I reschedule, postpone, make excuses not to go.

Re-examining that should I remember that social networking isn't my strength. It's never going to be easy, I think. I'm never going to like it. Hmm, two more assumptions. Are they really true?

Will I be stopped on my road to achieving my goals by these assumptions? How can I coach myself (and you, if you're on the Should and Assumption road) out of this pitfall?

I ask myself (and you):

• When you've felt awkward and scared before, what did you do to overcome it?
  

I took flower essence remedy Madia to strengthen my communication ability, and created a mental mantra to reinforce the sense of feeling comfortable, having fun, feeling accepted by strangers.

• How can I make it easy?

I can start with small or purpose-focused groups, like workshops instead of meet and greets. That's easier because I can mostly listen. The pressure is off to talk about myself.

• What do I need to experience so that I can like it, and how can I manifest that?
  

I need to feel a sense of comfort, belonging, and control. I can manifest that with convenient time and place, getting there without traffic, imagining being / playing the role of an extrovert, making a game of how many names I can remember or cards I can collect, being able to leave when I want, using my interviewing skills to start conversations, etc.

What about you? How have you gotten beyond being stopped before? How can you make it easy? What do you need to experience, and how can you manifest that?