Lifestyle Tradie Magazine Edition #44 by Lifestyle Tradie

No Need To Be Annoying...Just Effective /page 10

ISSUE #

JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH 2017

Social Media Takeover/page 14

Making Your Marketing Personal/page 4

Adam & Bec Collins ARC Electrical

VIP Platinum Members “Life before Lifestyle Tradie was hectic. Crazy might be a better word… We now have a master plan…We know where we want to be, and are constantly raising the bar we set.”

Proudly Australian

Cool iPhone Apps for Tradies

Failure NOT Fatal

From the Desk of

Welcome 2017!

OW I cannot believe that it is 2017! What a year this is going to be…with every new year comes a fresh start and a new beginning! Are you ready to SMASH 2017 with me? Before we move forward, I just want to share with you a couple of the many highlights from the last quarter… First and foremost was the Future Tradie events, which saw us meet hundreds of new tradies Australia wide, I cannot wait to do this again this year! We also had our ﬁrst ever R&R in the beautiful Manly and you can see all the pictures on page 10. But that is enough about the past, what are you going to do to step up and make 2017 the best year yet? It does not matter if you have not had the best year last year, we all have them and that is in the past now…On page 4 I share with you how failure is not fatal and the 7 reasons you need to get back on your feet! One of our members that is ready to have a cracker year is Adam and Bec from ARC Electrical. Adam and Bec have been with Lifestyle Tradie since 2011 and they have come so far! One of the keys to their success is planning! They have their whole year planned out and know exactly what they are going to do…have a read about Adam and Bec on Page 6. Every once in a while, we come across technologies that change how common people live and act. The ﬁrst one that comes to mind is Facebook – its completely changed the way we communicate with our friends and family. Could you ever imagine another social media app that could take over Facebook? We have a look at three apps that have the potential to do just that on page 16. We know that when you’re selling, you need to be persistent. But, that doesn’t mean you have to be annoying. If you want to get more positive responses from your potential customers, read page 12 where

we share with you the 3 things you should be doing to be effective….not annoying! Also 2017 is the year of personalisation…It’s time to ditch the batch and blast emails! Did you know that emails with personalised subject lines are 29% more likely to be opened AND have 41% higher unique click rates? Find out how you can simply personalise your marketing campaigns to bring you a better return on page 20. And whilst we are on the topic of your customers… An amazing customer service experience makes your customers feel like a priority… By exceeding their expectations you will not only secure a loyal customer but also their recommendation. Wordof-mouth can be a powerful tool for your business and could result in multiple new customers at a minimal cost. So what are you doing within your business to please your customers and secure their recommendation? Read page 18 to ﬁnd out! Our ﬁrst event of 2017 is fast approaching and before you know it we will be back in the beautiful Manly for the Absorb . Advance . Achieve Lifesytle Tradie R&R! For all the details for this event, check our page 8. Looking forward to catching up in Manly very soon! To your success,

Andy Smith P.S - If you haven’t already, make sure you register your attendance for the Lifestyle Tradie R&R! Simply log into:

mylifestyletradie. com.au > Events > R&R March 2017

What’s inside

ISSUE # 44 JANUARY - FEBRUARY - MARCH 2017 Failure NOT Fatal: 7 Reasons To Get Back On Your Feet After Failure

Lifestyle Tradie Member Profile: Adam & Bec Collins

ReIgnite & ReUnite

This 1 Simple Habit Is the Key to Working Smarter

No Need To Be Annoying…. Just Be Effective!

p 12

Is Your Business Live Yet? Facebook Is Ready For You

p 14

Could You Ever Imagine A Social Media App That Could Take Over Facebook?

p 16

Customer Service Done Superbly

p 18

Making Your Marketing Personal —It’s Time To Ditch The Batch and Blast Emails

p 20

Best Of YouTube

p 21

The Latest From My Man Cave...

p 22

Apps For Tradies

p 23

#44 / January - February - March 2017

Lay it on the Plate

Failure NOT Fatal:

7 Reasons To Get Back On Your Feet After Failure I

ts happened to all of us at some point… Failure. Dun dun duuuuunnnn…. But, it doesn’t have to be fatal. We have to expect failure s, as well as successes in our trade business life. In fact, every successful person is someone who has failed before. The big difference is, they don’t treat it as fatalistic - Mozart, Vincent Van Gogh, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates - all failed, and failed many times. But these geniuses are great leaders that all have one thing in common: They did not allow failure to keep them down. What does it take to keep your head up and battle through those failures? Here are some great tips: 1. Passion. At the centre of every success is passion. To succeed you have to believe in something with such passion that it becomes an unstoppable reality. 2. Perseverance. Success requires fearlessly facing storms, making mistakes, and failures, and staying the course with perseverance. As Winston Churchill said, “If you

are going through hell, keep going.” Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose. 3. Potential. Potential becomes meaningful only when you do something with it. Don’t get bogged down with instant gratiﬁcation, unlocking your true potential comes from continuous effort. 4. Humility. True success is measured not just by the position you’ve reached, but just as much by the failures and obstacles you have overcome along the way. When you feel like you’re down and out, you’re in the perfect position to get up and succeed.

5. People. No one becomes successful all on their own. Whether it’s for a moment, a day, or a lifetime, the people who come into your life can teach you, help you, inﬂuence you, and bring you strength. We need people who can help us get up when we fall and show us the way out when we fail. 6. Purge. Aristotle said, we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. Patterns in our lives can be positive, but some can be destructive. It’s about being aware of the ones that are destructive, purging them, and replacing them with patterns that feed your success instead.

7. Positivity. Our mind is a powerful thing, and when we ﬁll it with positive thoughts, our lives will change for the positive. Don’t let your struggles, failures or regrets deﬁne you, make sure who you are, and what you do come from the power of positivity. Just remember, we always have a choice. We cant deny our mistakes, or run from our failures. But the right mindset will make all the difference. If you expect the best, you can be the best – simple.

#44 / January - February - March 2017

Lifestyle Tradie Member Profile

Adam & Bec Collins ARC Electrical VIP Platinum Members 1.Tell us a little about your business, life and family. (If your partner is in the business, include when she joined and how she helps.)

3.Tell us a little about your life before joining Lifestyle Tradie? (What wasn’t working, what was holding you back or was in your way?)

Bec & I have been together 18 years, married for 12. We live in a place called Kearns in Sydney’s southwest with our 3 boys Harry who is 10, Ben who is 6 & Will who is 4.

Life before LTG was hectic. Crazy might be a better word. I worked long days, weekends and then spent a lot of nights past midnight in the office doing paperwork, and if you know me, you know how much I HATE office work. It I started ARC Group in 2002 doing General maintenance felt like I only saw the boys when they were asleep. & electrical, ably helped by my dad. We didn’t have a plan or direction on where we were We have since refocused our brand forming ARC going, it felt like groundhog day, every day, with a young nd Electrical & Data and have a 2 year apprentice. Bec family to support. has also become more involved in the company. 4. What specific results have you achieved 2. What do you love most about what you do? since joining Lifestyle Tradie? I enjoy the flexibility of owning my own business & the fact the work is very diversified. I love seeing a project come to life – and following it from start to finish, as well as seeing a customer’s reaction upon completion. I like that I can choose what work I take on.

We have had so many wins since joining LTG! Going paperless was the 1st thing we did, and we have not looked back! It has made each job more efficient onsite and has really reduced time in the office at night. We now have a master plan & have set both life and business goals. We know where we want to be, and are constantly raising the bar we set.

Our cashﬂow has dramatically improved and we are not chasing our tail with overdues. This has caused a signiﬁcant reduction in arguments also! 5.Where do you see your business in 5 years? We will have all our systems in place that allows us to have 4 vehicles on the road running independently with the help of office admin/ dispatch, allowing me the freedom to be as involved as I choose, and not as hands on with the tools!

“Life before LTG was hectic. Crazy might be a better word… We now have a master plan & have set both life and business goals. We know where we want to be, and are constantly raising the bar we set.”

I will be able to take family holidays regularly, and get to the snow a lot more than I currently am.

This has been a big learning curve for us, as Bec’s background is in big corporate business.

6. What are the top 3 things you have learnt LTG has helped us to define our roles. Knowing each about business that you would recommend to other’s personality type and acknowledging each other’s other tradies and WHY? strength and weakness has stopped a lot of petty fights and really made us communicate where we need, and Tip 1: & why make decisions confidently. Embrace technology & create good solid systems for better productivity from your team. This will stop you We have always been a great team in life, and we are getting busier and wearing many hats as you build your now seeing this within the business as well. business. And it will give your team confidence to do their job, and you confidence in them! Win/Win! 8.Tell us something quirky about yourself that your buddies don’t know? Tip 2: & why Andy & Ange are constantly saying this, and it is so true. I cannot float! I dead set sink to the bottom of the pool You have to know your numbers. Work out what your horizontally. actual break even figures are. It is so easy when you are busy to think the business is doing well, when in fact 9. If we were sitting here one year from now you don’t have the cashflow to pay your bills, or worse celebrating what a great year it’s been, what yourself ! Make the time to get this right! have you achieved (together)? (business/life). Tip 3: & why Have a plan and set yourself goals. Aim big, but also break it down into small chunks so they are achievable & don’t forget to celebrate the wins. It’s easy to see what is going wrong, and forget how far you have come. 7. Some say working with your partner is a challenge! How has being a member of Lifestyle Tradie helped with your relationship?

We have a huge year planned, and are looking forward to seeing where the next 12 months takes us. We plan to have all our systems in place and another 1-2 trucks on the road, allowing me to work off the tools some days in building the business up further. This will also free me up to take the boys to the snow for 2 weeks (without phone calls)!

#44 / January - February - March 2017

Our Next Event

Friday 10th March and Saturday 11th March, 2017

ReIgnite & ReUnite

Novotel Manly Pacific

Absorb. Advance.

ACHIEVE. I

t’s that time again, the Lifestyle Tradie R&R is fast approaching!

Make sure you take the time out of your business to ABSORB new ideas and strategies, so that you can further ADVANCE your business to make sure you ACHIEVE the results you want, not just in your business, but in your life! With a spectacular line-up of speakers ready to present on some hot topics YOU have been asking for… This is going to be AWESOME! PLUS Don’t forget about the Friday and Saturday night dinners…All the information you need for these can be found under the Social Events section on the R&R March 2017 page! But ﬁrst…Have you RSVP’d yet? 8

Our registration form is now ONLINE at mylifestyletradie.com.au, under ‘Events’ > ‘R&R March 2017’. So what’s your next step? 1. Go to mylifestyletradie.com.au, under ‘Events’ > ‘R&R March 2017’ and RSVP ONLINE 2. Call the Novotel Manly Paciﬁc and book your accommodation – be sure to mention you are attending the Lifestyle Tradie event to get the discounted rate (only for a strictly limited amount of rooms). 3. If you are travelling from interstate, book your ﬂights 4. If you have any questions or need assistance, send an email to us at info@lifestyletradie.com.au

31 This 1 Simple Habit Is the Key to Working Smarter

ip into the hard stuff, the work that requires the most concentration, ﬁrst, and EARLY.

How can I get into this habit? 1. For one week, keep a log of what you do during your peak times. Are you focusing on your important mental tasks? Are you learning new material, solving complex problems, reading, or writing? For most people, this time is usually spent commuting to work, checking email, making phone calls, watching or listening to the news.

We all have those hard tasks that we put off ‘til later in the day (or later in the week to be really honest)

2. Re-prioritise your peak brain performance time.

Doing your deep work early in the day allows your brain to focus fully on the problem at hand.

Think of ways you could rearrange the things you do early that are less important to your personal and professional development. Like to stay on top of the latest news? Save this activity for your lunch break or right after lunch. Emails are waiting in your inbox? Be careful of how much time checking email takes; it can seriously impact your day. Choose 2 blocks of time to go over your emails, one mid-afternoon and one closer to the end of your workday. It’s better to be proactive early (by doing your important work) and reactive later (responding to questions, providing input on discussions, etc.).

So when exactly? Many scientists say that the brain’s peak performance happens 2-4 hours after we wake up. If, for example, you wake up at 6, your peak times are between 8 and 10 AM. What are the benefits? Doing your deep work early in the day allows your brain to focus fully on the problem at hand, with fewer distractions, less inputs from your environment, and with a lot of energy that you’ve gained from a restful night. It’s the exact opposite of what can happen if you leave your hardest work for nighttime, after you’re done with all your daily activities and you are exhausted from the day.

3. Create more space and time in your day by implementing a morning routine that can help you be productive. The beneﬁt of a morning routine is that you jump start your day; you complete several tasks before moving on to work, school, or other responsibilities; you are more productive with your time; you feel more successful in what you do. #43 / #44 October - November - December / January - February - March 2016 2017

R&R November 2016

11th and 12th November, 2016

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. e t a r b e l e C November ReIgnite & ReUnite

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his R&R event was held in the beautiful Manly and was bigger and better than ever! More members, more fun, and more guest speakers! Marleen Veldhuis, Veronica Auld with George Hitchcock, Rhiannon Tuntevski, & Andrew Copeland all took to the stage to share their knowledge with us. Thanks for a great weekend everybody! Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see you all again in Manly in March for the next R&R!

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The boys getting into the Christmas spirit

Rhiannon Tuntevski shared her knowledge of Millenials with us!

d her is share best u h ld e V Marleen ow to get the nh insight o t of yourself ou

Andrew Copeland sharin g his story of Salon Mess To Systemised Success

Some of our newest members enjoying their ďŹ rst R&R

#44 / January - February - March 2017

No Need To Be Annoying…. Just Be Effective!

nderstand that sometimes when you’re selling, you need to be persistent. But, that doesn’t mean you have to be annoying. Some of the most obnoxious salespeople are actually doing the wrong things: a thousand emails and phone calls, an aggressive salesperson who just won’t leave you alone. 12

Annoying right? Why do salespeople do this? Are they crazy enough to think that this will actually work? Persistence isn’t an excuse for obnoxious sales behavior. Harassing potential customers without understanding their actual needs and taking the time to approach them with relative messages is

•

specific benefit or pain point that your product or service can solve. If you’re sending cold emails, you can add specific incentives for prospects to encourage them to respond to you in some way. Eg - “sign up to our newsletter to receive 10% off your first job”

2.Test New Messages and Sales Strategies Doing the same thing over an over again, even though you’re contacting them, doesn’t mean you’re being effective, or using your time very wisely for that matter. Instead of focusing on just going through the motions and churning out emails, take the time to ensure whether your approach is actually working – don’t mindlessly repeat the same sales activities over and over and expect to magically get results. Your messaging might be wrong, or you might even be reaching out to the wrong kinds of people. Find out what does work, do more of that, and cut back or stop what’s not working. 3.Try Different Channels for Reaching Your Prospects Your customers are not all the same, so how you communicate with them shouldn’t always be the same either. Different audiences have different preferences, so you need to test to determine which channels your audiences prefer, and respond to the best.

completely counter productive, and just wont work.

Cold calling may have always worked for you because you’re really good at it, that won’t matter if all your customers suddenly stop picking up the phone and start interacting on social media instead.

If you want to get more positive responses from your Think about your prospects habits and their usual potential customers, here’s what you should doing: behavior – are they glued to their phones, or don’t they usually answer their phones, are they always on Facebook or other social media networks? Do some 1. Add Value In All Your Communications research and then test out a few to see which ones give you the best results. Always strive to provide value to your prospects in all your sales communications, whether it be the ﬁrst Being persistent via different communication email, ﬁrst phone call, or seventh email. channels, with the right message, to the right prospect is a clever way to sell. And will completely Here’s some ideas: avoid you falling in the trap of being and ‘annoying car salesman’. • Focus a particular email or conversation on a #44 / January - February - March 2017

How to Use Facebook Live

Spill the Beans Is Your Business Live Yet?

Facebook Is Ready For You

You can probably think of a number of potential broadcasting opportunities already - you might livestream an announcement, a special offer, some other competition or participatory event, or you could aim for something more content-intensive like an interview. No matter what angle you take, there are a handful of best practices you’ll need to keep in mind:

ers

he ever changing ‘face’ of Facebook… yep, they’re at it again. The latest feature for its users capitalises on the recent trends of online video, and up to the minute updates. It’s called ‘Facebook Live’, and it just might change the way you approach your Facebook marketing.

Live • 250 View

Understanding Facebook Live is key if you market your trade business on social media; even if you don’t plan on using it, or Facebook in general, it marks an important trend in the social media and mobile technology worlds. Lets Have A Look At The Basics of Facebook Live Facebook Live is a basic feature that offers livestreaming video capabilities to users. By tapping the live stream icon, you can start broadcasting video live from your smartphone, and write an optional description for the event. Any users following you will have the ability to “tune in” to the broadcast. At the end of the video, you can tap “ﬁnish” to complete the video, at which point it will be posted as a permanently available feature on your timeline. The maximum time limit for a broadcast is currently 30 minutes, and you can block speciﬁc users if you desire. Early adopters are discovering that Facebook Live offers even better engagement than regular video content - and certainly much better engagement than photos and text-based posts. 14

2:54

Attract more followers: Users that follow you will be notiﬁed when you go live with a broadcast, so try to attract more regular “followers” on the platform. You can do so by presenting a quality livestream experience that your viewers enjoy.

Let your users know in advance that you’re planning to broadcast: It won’t do you much good to broadcast if nobody’s prepared for it. Make an announcement—preferably several announcements—in advance to let your users know what they can expect. Spontaneity is great, but if you know you’re going to be going live, tell your audience in advance. Also, you can tell your Fans to tap the “Follow’’ button during your stream so they’ll get notiﬁcations next time you’re live.

Write an awesome headline: It’s technically not a headline, but a description. Either way, it’s what people will read before they decide to tune in, so make sure it’s accurate and compelling enough to encourage people to watch. Be Purposeful: As with any communications tool, the medium can only be as good as the message. Before going live, seriously consider what kind of value your broadcast will bring to your users and brand. Engage with your viewers:

LIVE

155

Show appreciation to your users and attract new ones by engaging with them. Ask for feedback, respond to questions, and make the experience as participatory as possible. Stay Live a Minimum of 10 Minutes: The longer you’re live, the more time there is for users to tune in, get hooked, and invite their friends to join. Facebook recommends broadcasting for at least 10 minutes so that your audience can grow. Be Personal: Call out commenters by name and address their speciﬁc questions and comments. Facebook Live is an incredible tool for building personal, human relationships between your brand and audience. So, what are you waiting for? Give Facebook Live a go! We’ll see you online.

Check your connection: When you get ready to livestream, double check your connection speed and reliability, and use Wi-Fi if you can. The last thing you want is for your stream to cut out in the middle of an important moment. #44 / January - February - March 2017

Tech Talk:

Could You Ever Imagine A Social Media App That Could Take Over Facebook?

very once in a while, we come across technologies that change how common people live and act. The ﬁrst one that comes to mind is Facebook – its completely changed the way we communicate with our friends and family. So too has LinkedIn - it took business networking to another level altogether. Dropbox revolutionised the way we store and share our documents, and the list goes on… The best part is that these somewhat disruptive technologies are not restricted to a select few, from parents using Facebook to keep an eye on their children to children and teachers using Dropbox in the classroom, these technologies have reached and touched the lives of common people. So of course, eventually we are going to see new technologies to yet again pave the way, and take over these… lets have a look at three apps that have the potential to do just that: 16

1. Eva Eva is a new video sharing app (not yet available in Australia). Eva allows you to create videos using stateof-the-art video capturing and editing technology and share them to other social-media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and others. It comes with 36,000 ﬁlters, so you get the best and the most relevant video content.

The first thing that’s different about Eva is that you don’t have to register, users are encouraged to try the app first, and if they like the content and want to engage, they can go ahead and register. This might seem like a small thing, but it just goes to show how confident the makers are about their platform. Another thing that sets it apart is that it is purely video-based as opposed to text, and all your videos are stored on the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about your precious memory and storage being eaten into. With information overload that is happening on social media left, right and center, it is just a matter of time that a cloud-based video platform that interacts with other social networks that matter to you will be welcomed wholeheartedly by the world.

3. Besomebody Instead of trying to be just another social network with a few more features, Besomebody breaks ground by helping people live their passions and ﬁnd content related to their interests. Besomebody is a social network app with a mission. It allows members to learn, teach and live their passions with others who share similar goals. Many people have used Besomebody to escape from their boring job, to share their passions with like-minded people or earn extra income. The app is available in selected places only, but its marketplace is forever expanding The biggest beneﬁt of this app is that it allows members to live, share and monetise their passions so that it becomes more than just a hobby for them.

2. Listables Listable is a simple checklist application that allows you to create, share and review to-do lists. You can make time-sensitive lists like daily, weekly, monthly or annual lists.

The success of an app depends on a lot of factors other than its core idea. At the heart of it, all these apps have high disruptive quotient. However, they are still new, so we will really have to wait and see if they become as big as Facebook, Dropbox, Pandora, and their cousins, but we get the impression that these will be up against the big ones. Go give them a try.

Get the app. So what sets it apart? Well, unlike other apps, Listables is completely free. You can create unlimited checklists and share them with as many people as you want. But the most important differentiator is the transparency it brings to daily tasks. Instead of lumping all the to-do lists in one huge project, it allows you to take one day at a time and understand what you have achieved at the end of the day. It has a super simple interface, so the average user can master it quickly. And it tracks your progress to motivate and challenge you to improve your productivity and performance. #44 / January - February - March 2017

Customer Service Done Superbly A

mazing customer service can make your customer feel like a priority. By exceeding their expectations you will not only secure a loyal customer but also their recommendation. Wordof-mouth can be a powerful tool for your business and could result in multiple new customers at a minimal cost. So what are you doing within your business to please your customers and secure their recommendation? Here are 4 cost-effective things you could do today: 18

Send a hand-written thank you note Sitting down and spending time on writing a short thank you note that is personalised is one of the easiest ways to impress a customer. This act could be the difference between repeat business and losing a customer and in reality, should take less than 5 minutes to do for a great return! The customer will appreciate that you have put time and effort into thanking them for choosing your business to service their needs personally rather than sending an impersonalised blanket email.

Send a short, personalised email to ask if there is anything you can do

this that are not expected that will impress them and For those who are more cost conscious, a personalised keep your business refreshed in their mind! email can do the trick however needs to be done at If you have cash to splash and wanted to go a a random point in time.This email shouldn’t be sent step further for loyal customers send a more as a ‘thank you’ but more of a check-in to see if there personalised gift based on past conversations where is anything you can do for them.This should be at an unexpected time and avoid selling products or services they mentioned their interests, maybe a hat or shirt from their favourite sporting team? This route whilst within it- as hard as that may be! Instead ask them for costly would be a sure way to WOW them and some feedback from the last time you were there and sign off with a comment referring to conversation you secure a recommendation from them. had with the customer at the time of the job- did they Offer up vouchers or a free service at mention a family member or have any pets you can ask about? This check-in with a personalised comment random reminds them of your business in a pleasant way and Pick a time of the year where expenses for can often lead to them recommending you to friends customers are high, perhaps Christmas? Around or family! this time a good way to boost sales whilst also connecting with customers is to provide vouchers Capture their birthdate and send a small ($50 off your next job) or a free service (for birthday gift. Plumbers this could be a free tap service). Capturing your customers birthday when they request Providing offers such as this in periods where work a job or sign up for membership can be one of the may be slow due to holidays may be what convinces greatest assets you could get. Not only can you them to finally get the work done on their house use this in the segmentation of your target marketthey’ve been putting off. This doesn’t need to be another ballpark entirely, but you could also send offered to every customer- segment your customers them small gifts for their birthday.Whether this be a based on buying behaviour or demographics and small pack including some company merchandise and send to one or two segments. Start small and reap some vouchers or an inexpensive birthday letter with the benefits of not only increased profits but also a magnet the customer will not expect this and be the customer sharing their experiences with friends! wowed when they get it! It is the little things such as #44 / January - February - March 2017

In the Web

Making Your Marketing Personal —It’s Time To Ditch The Batch and Blast Emails “Always remember that you are absolutely unique — just like everyone else.” - It’s because of this belief, that batch and blast email is usually less effective than email campaigns that are customised to a segmented target market.

ways to do this, is to improve your sign up forms. It doesn’t have to be a major change. Just by adding in ‘Gender’ to your sign up form can instantly allow you to segment based on the individual needs of each gender.

Here are some facts to note: • Emails with personalised subject lines are 29% more likely to be opened AND have 41% higher unique click rates. • Marketers have found a 760% increase in email revenue from segmented campaigns. • 96% of organisations believe that email personalisation can improve email marketing performance • Personalised promotional emails generated transaction rates and revenue per email, six times higher than non-personalised emails.

A straightforward, effective way to segment your audience for personalisation is to simply ask the right questions. Asking customers their reasons for visiting your website, becoming a user, or subscribing to your email can be remarkably easy, but invaluable. It can give you insightful data that can lead to your trade business sending incredibly targeted emails.

For personalisation to be successful, it needs to be done well. But, it doesn’t have to be hard. If you’re thinking you’ll have to reorganise your whole database, that’s where you’re wrong. A few simple changes, can go a long way.

Segment Your Lists Segmenting your current list is a great way to get started with personalisation. For example, you could create a VIP customer segment of customers who have spent $XX at your business in the last six months. Once you’ve created that segment, you can easily insert a promotion or offer that will only be seen by those people. Or you could consider segmenting your audience by gender, age, job title, company size, industry, interests, and more. Here are some of the categories that marketers use to segment their lists: • Gender • Location • Age • Interests • Transactional data such as past purchases • Behavioral data such as customer vs. prospect

Get the right fields One of the best ways to increase the relevance of your email campaigns is to have a better understanding of your audience. One of the easiest

Limit your target market to a manageable size. If you go too far with segmentation, you could get frustrated and make your email marketing strategy more complicated than it really needs to be.

So how do you implement this personalisation into your trade email marketing campaigns? It seems a pretty daunting task… and what if you don’t have a lot of information about your database? It can be challenging… But let’s have a look at how you can engage with your database easily, and in a whole new way.

Email Software Make sure that the email software you’re using can support your personalisation efforts. You want something that can help you select which lists or segments of lists should see a particular email, and allow you to create several versions of the email for different sets of customers, based on what you know about them, all from within one campaign. Email software like ‘ActiveCampaign’ or ‘Mail Chimp’ can help you do this, and there’s many more out there. Personalised Messages So now you’re set up to do it, what will you send? Here are some ideas of what you can send your segmented audiences. • Reward loyal customers with discounts or special sneak peeks of products, or services. • Identify, and reward customers who praise you on social media or provide you with positive feedback. • Make an effort to bring back inactive customers. You can use a promo or a simple email with working like ‘we miss you’ or ‘its been a while’

•

– you can also try and ﬁnd out why they haven’t used you in a while. Make sure you put the customers ﬁrst name at the top of the message to quickly capture their attention, remind them of your relationship by promptly showing their names, especially important for mobiles where there is limited space. Always test your email campaign before sending. Having more than one pair of eyes review the email reduces the chance of suffering from an error. After making the effort to boost open and click rates with personalisation and segmentation, the last thing you want is to waste it on a typo.

While email personalisation can seem complex, modern tools have made it easy to make your emails targeted, personal, and more engaging than ever. Ultimately, personalisation results in a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your database, and it’s worth using in your email marketing campaigns, starting from… NOW!

Best of The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers… Organisational psychologist Adam Grant studies ‘originals’, those who think of new ideas and take action on them. In this TED Talk he discusses three unexpected habits of these people. Adam encourages the audience to embrace failure and states that “you need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few ones.” If you’re a procrastinator or simply want some extra motivation, then check out this YouTube clip ‘The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers’ - It will give you something to think about and some new habits to get into the groove of thinking of original ideas! Check it out via the link!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxbCHn6gE3U #44 / January - February - March 2017

The Latest from My Man Cave...

You Want:

A UE Boom

2013 blessed us with the UE Boom, a portable water-resistant speaker whose charge lasted half a day. Since then Techies have been hoping for a second model to be released- and it was deﬁnitely worth the wait. The UE Boom 2 physically looks identical to its original counterpart, however, its overall power is a completely different matter. From a 2.5-hour micro-USB charge you will get a whopping 15 hours of battery life. Its sound quality has also improved massively, with 360-degree audio and increases in the maximum volume this speaker is sure to get the party started. And for those of you who are a bit clumsy or like to go on adventures- one of its main, really awesome features is that it is now waterproof and dropresistant up to 1.5 metres! Worry less about getting it wet or dirty and concentrate more on enjoying your time at the beach with the family. 22

There’s also a complementary app that allows you to pair up another Boom 2 to create surround sound, set alarms, and pair up to 2 music sources through Bluetooth! This gadget is AWESOME. You want one don’t you – we do too! This speaker can be picked up at many stores such as JB HiFi or Harvey Norman and retails for $178.

Apps for Tradies

Vida Health Coach

here’s lots of ﬁtness apps out there, its hard to choose the right one, and know which ones are worth paying for. Vida Health Coach, is an all round professional Health coach that can help you reach your personal goals. It gives you access to a ‘personal coach’ who works with you one on one, no matter what your level or objectives are. Once a week, you can talk to your coach by phone or video conference, too, to get real advice. The coaches have a range of certiﬁcations and specialisations, so if you have, say, gestational diabetes, you’ll be able to work with someone who understands your special needs. So its really like having a personal trainer, in your pocket, and for only $15 a week. New year, new you? Download from the app store now.

Get the app.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vida-health-coachlose-weight/id917397071?mt=8 #44 / January - February - March 2017

Next Issue The One Weekly Habit To Boost Your Productivity Not only will you boost your productivity, you will improve your health and make yourself happier. If you think you do not have the time to adopt this one habit, the question is can you afford not too! We will share with you what this habit is, and how you can reap the full benefits of it!

6 Signs Of Communication Breakdowns As a leader a lot of your day is spent communicating with your team…but how can you tell if it is getting through to them, or if there is a breakdown. Do you know what signs to look for to spot communication breakdowns? You may be surprised what these 6 signs are!

Plus so much more...

Can’t wait to see you all at the upcoming R&R in Manly on 10th & 11th March!

Andy & Ange Don’t forget, want to share your hot tips, recommended suppliers or any other information that will benefit the Lifestyle Tradie Community. Drop us a line to

info@lifestyletradie.com.au

Lifestyle Tradie Magazine is published by and © copyright by Andrew & Angela Smith, Lifestyle Tradie Group Pty Ltd 2012. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter and any accompanying material are for general information purposes only. It is the responsibility of the reader to comply with any local, state or federal laws. The Publisher has taken all reasonable measures to ensure that the material contained within this newsletter is correct. The Publisher provides no representation and gives no warranty as to the accuracy of the information and does not accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in the information contained herein and shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising as a result of any person acting in reliance on information contained herein.

For more information, contact:

Lifestyle Tradie Group Pty Limited Ph: 1800 704 822 Email: info@lifestyletradie.com.au www.lifestyletradie.com.au