It’s true – just ask the University of East Anglia. In January 2010 they came under the media microscope for – allegedly – weighting the arguments in favour of climate change. It’s not a good place to be.
By now, of course, we all know that the idea of global warming is pure hokum. That winter’s blizzards were proof enough. (And just in case you weren’t sure, those last two sentences were in what I call ‘ironics’…)
Even so, the seeds of doubt were sown. Credibility was damaged. And waverers started to swing back towards doubt. Not a desirable outcome – certainly not for the University.
And the newsletter connection?
I’m sure you’ve worked it out: be very careful what you say, and even more careful about what you claim.
Of course you have a great product. Of course your service is a winner. And of course you’re entitled to say so. But should you?
Especially when you have other people to do it for you!
A better way
You may be reading this blog anywhere in the world. And if you’re reading it in the US, you may not be shy about talking up the benefits of what you do.
Even so, I’d advise against it. There’s a better way.
Talk to your best customers. Ask them what they like about you. What they’d say if they were selling you to someone else. Better yet, what they did say when they got you that top-drawer referral. Get it written down, word for word – theirs, not yours. And get their explicit permission to quote it.
Then use the structure I described earlier, in the article called ‘Is anyone reading your newsletter?‘
Outline the problem that particular client had – but avoid using the word ‘I’ or ‘we’. (More about that later.)
Tell it as a story. Try to make it suspenseful for the reader. Outline the problem, then elaborate, until we think (as we might do when reading a thriller) ‘How can she get out of that?’
And at that point, bring in your client’s account of what happened. The way you solved her problem. How you went the extra mile. How great you were.
Because she can say everything you can’t, with no holds barred. And even a UK audience (which actively dislikes people who talk themselves up!) can’t possibly object.
Credibility – sorted!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks