I remind you that this series that I have been putting together on how different publishers and content producers either help or hinder their efforts is based on how I receive information most effectively. I am not arrogant enough to think I can list your “Top 10 Content Deliveries” for you because content is extremely personal. How I respond to something is by no means indicative of another person born on the exact same day. Demographics don’t do content any justice at all, since demographics can’t respond viscerally like an individual who has distinct and varied tastes in content.
So, today I will be shifting gears, as I examine one of my personal favorites in the content generation game, Pastor Greg Laurie. For the record, I am a Christian, so my attraction to the pastor is obvious. Whether you agree or not with the content is not the point here. The point is that I have passion around something and I have chosen to receive the related content a specific way.
That specific way is e-mails. You see, Greg Laurie is a prolific writer and re-packager of his sermons and presentations. He has penned numerous books, he blogs, he is on Facebook and Twitter. In other words, he has covered all the bases.
Where I am hooked on his content, though, is through e-mail. Despite everything he has written and all of the sermons that are on DVD etc I know Greg Laurie most through a daily e-mail devotion and the old school method of radio. I’ll leave radio for another day because I want to talk about how this kind of content is so perfectly suited for e-mail.
Image by dampeebe via Flickr
It’s like this for me. I know just what my natural state is. It’s self-centered and self-absorbed. As a result, I forget what is most important—a lot. I have imperfection down to a science.
Because I have trouble staying on top of my spiritual health, I have become somewhat dependent on a daily e-mail devotion that comes from Pastor Laurie. It is the most important piece of information I have at the start of each day. I am able to benefit from it because of the convenience and the consistency of his daily e-mail messages. Honestly, I would be lost on many days if that devotion were to just stop arriving.
Now, this has not translated into me going to his Web site very often or buying any extra materials. I donate money to the ministry each month, and I get books and DVD’s in return. It really is amazing just how much content this guy generates. I don’t know how he does it and I honestly don’t care. I just care that my e-mail is there every day so that I can get put right at the start of each day.
E-mail works. Maybe your business wouldn’t generate the interest and passion that a pastor could but you have fans—otherwise you would be out of business. It works because people decide whether you are allowed to e-mail them or not (at least the ones following the rules). That conscious decision is an act that moves the vast majority of people taking that step much closer to being a “regular” for a business or organization.
It doesn’t mean that all of your e-mail subscribers are going to just take everything in an e-mail as the word either. That’s where you come in. What can you provide to them on a regular basis that they could look forward to? Is it a newsletter? Is it a daily product status or update? Is it something that reaches them personally?
Whatever the reason, it is up to us as marketers to ensure that we are providing something of great worth to those who take the time to care about our business. Sometimes it’s just consistency while sometimes it’s much more.
I thank God for Greg Laurie everyday. I thank Him for letting Laurie understand the various mediums that are available to him. His understanding of e-mail, traditional publications like books, Facebook, and Twitter allow me to join with him in the way that works for me. As a result, I am a loyal customer. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he has the best subject matter there is.
Are you talking in your customer’s and prospect’s language? Are you giving them the freedom to choose how they can hear about you and your passion around your business? Do you trust that even though they don’t get everything you put out there that they are still out there for you?
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to do a little role play and speak passionately about your business as if you were the pastor. After all, you believe in your products, so why can’t others also?
