The Business Builder - Issue 97

Disappearing Vacation Days, Questions in Space, and So Many Twins

Author

Bill Brelsford
August 18, 2023

Attention Is Not Enough

Go Ichabods!

That’s a subject line trick I’ve been seeing in my inbox recently.

Both email and LinkedIn.

The idea is to get my attention by demonstrating they looked up the weird name of my alma mater’s mascot.

But attention won’t last long without interest.

Most outreach messages fail to generate interest. Here’s why…

It feels efficient to write a generic message that will appeal to the masses and then add a touch of personalization. Now you can blast it out and play the numbers game.

In order to be effective at generating interest, you’ll need to tailor the body of your message to each prospect as well.

That’s one of the reasons I recommend the Dream 100 approach to outreach. In a nutshell, that means selecting who you want to do business with and reaching out to them rather than taking a shotgun blast approach and seeing who responds.

Yes, getting the attention is important. But to grow your business, you need to work on creating interest as well.

Bill

913.962.9261

P.S. - If you’d like some help with your outreach messaging, just reply to this email to start the conversation.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Vacation Day

According to this study, Americans don’t take week-long vacations anymore. I hope you are bucking that trend.

Text-to-HTML Ratio Doesn’t Matter for SEO

That’s according to Google’s John Mueller. He’s actually said it a number of times over the years, but the ratio still shows up on reports and plugins, so I guess he felt the need to say it again.

iOS17 Filtering Click Tracking Links

There’s been a lot of concern about this new filtering from Apple, but it’s probably not as bad as you have heard. This article does a nice job of explaining exactly was does, and does not, get filtered out of your click reports.

25 Ways to Keep Your Newsletter Off Blocklists

You work hard on your newsletter. When you hit Send, you want people to see it. That won’t happen if you are on a blocklist. Follow these tips to stay off blocklists.

And this…

Seventeen sets of twins will be starting school in one town in Scotland. That’s right, seventeen sets.

Featured Picks

📚️ A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload

Is our current way of working broken? Cal Newport thinks so, and in this book he shares some principles and instructions for fixing it.

🛠️ Boast

Boast’s all-in-one video testimonial software makes it easy to capture and share praise so you can build trust with prospects and increase sales.

📷️ Question Mark in Space

This photo from the James Webb Space Telescope has been making a splash on the internet. What do you think - are the aliens messing with us?

Like this newsletter?

Let me know. Just hit reply (I read every reply), I’d love to know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Bill

913.962.9261

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business.

1) Map Your Growth Engine

The first step towards predictable growth is understanding and documenting “How Clients Happen” in your business. Reply to this email with "Map" if you’d like to learn more.

2) Get Your Own Newsletter

Newsletters are a great way to win clients, generate referrals, and establish authority in your marketplace. Now you can have a newsletter without the hassle of writing and publishing it yourself. Learn more here.

3) Get more leads from your website 

If your website isn't delivering enough leads, reply to this email with "website leads," and I'll send you the details about my Website Leads Audit.