THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING LIST

Lately I've been spending time standing on a foam pad in a corner of my office, eyes closed, moving my head up and down, up and down.

No, I have not had a psychotic break.

I'm doing an exercise. It's for balance.

Brain surgery last March removed one of my balance nerves. (No violins, please. The tumor was benign and the surgeons were amazing.)

To force my other balance nerve to compensate for the lost one, I have to focus all my efforts on it.

The Power of Focus

Removing 2 of the 3 sources of balance – my vision and sensations from my feet – forces the nerve in my right ear to do all the work of keeping me upright. No help from outside. FOCUS.

I get nauseous after about 8 seconds. I start grabbing the walls soon after.

A teeny-tiny movement affects me profoundly.

Guess What This Reminds Me Of

This idea of getting a potent reaction by focusing applies to e-newsletter subscribers, too.

Your e-newsletter subscriber list should be highly focused. It should consist of only your VERY BEST patients. You must eliminate the detritus to get optimum benefit from your e-newsletters.

Who's the detritus?

• Bossy patients
• The unrealistic
• The overly demanding
• The litigious
• The price-shoppers
• Patients you have to wrestle to the ground before you can make a dime out of them
• Everybody who just doesn't "get" you

Who needs 'em? They only make your professional life miserable.

Your Biggest Fans

Gradually, your list is limned down. Finally, it consists of only YOUR BIGGEST FANS.

Your Fans Buy From You

These people are on your wavelength. They trust you. They know that if you bring a procedure to their attention, it's probably something they'd benefit from.

Since they already trust you (and let's face it, you're in the MOST HIGH-TRUST BUSINESS on the planet), selling to them is a breeze.

Small Is Beautiful

Thus, contrary to popular wisdom, the best e-newsletter subscriber lists get SMALLER AND SMALLER.

Accept the Counter-Intuitive Truth – Big Is Inefficient

When my clients worry about their list size, or (worse yet) pump up their lists with addresses of people who haven't agreed to receive their messages, I know they're living in the past. They're thinking "old media" -- television, print, the mass media of the pre-Internet era. Those non-targeted messages were "broadcast" to huge audiences to capture just a few sales.

E-newsletters are about "narrow-casting": sending targeted messages to special people, to capture many, many sales.

Don't Spin Your Wheels

Before I went to physical therapy I tried fixing my balance by spinning around and around. Since my goal was to master spinning movements (for my hobby, salsa dancing) I figured I just had to force myself to spin. Eventually I'd get better.

It didn't work, not even slightly.

It was only when I brought focus to the problem that I started to improve.

A small, focused list is your best bet for pulling in repeat business.

1. Don't be afraid to get rid of opt-outs, bounces, undeliverables and other dead wood in your subscriber list.

2. Don't send to people who haven't requested your e-newsletter.

3. Don't worry about list size.

Yours in continued prosperity,

Joyce Sunila
President
Practice Helpers