A couple of weeks ago I saw a documentary called ‘Life After People.’ Grim title. But the gist of the documentary is about what happens on earth after humans suddenly become extinct.
Perhaps the most amazing thing about the documentary is that after 500 years, an alien coming to earth would never know that human civilisation had even existed.
The final scene in the documentary is 500 years after the extinction of humans. The Hoover Dam Shatters. A massive wall of water thunders towards the Pacific Ocean and the wetlands at the mouth of the Colorado River return. The last human monument gone – not a trace of civilisation left on the planet.
It talks of the massive power of persistence. Drip enough water on a stone and it erodes away, but it takes time. Lots of it.
Over time, water carved out the Grand Canyon. It will destroy The Hoover Dam – the most permanent structure modern man ever created.
Your newsletter works the same way – given enough time it can carve out your Grand Canyon – and in it will flow ‘a river of customers.’ Coming directly to you. Customers that are willing to pay any price you ask. And are ready to buy now.
The problem is one of time and persistence. A mentor of mine is fond of saying “Most people over estimate what they can get done in a year but underestimate what they can get done in 5 years.”
In our newsletter suitability audits we spend a lot of time showing customers just how little a newsletter has to do in the first 12 months in order to get a return on their investment.
Many times we neglect to paint a bigger picture because of our own short sightedness and that of others. Nobody starts a business with a plan to run it for a year. They are looking for something to sustain them over their lifetime. But most of us only look to getting through the next week, month or quarter.
Rarely do we think about long term market dominance and forging a strategic advantage that nobody can overtake quickly.
Persisting with a newsletter will carve out a grand canyon for you. Give it the time to work its magic. You’ll be the dominant player in your market; you’ll have so much good will built up that customers won’t think of shopping around. You’ll be the one they buy from because in their minds you are the only one who is out there.
Think Big. See the Whole Picture.
Zac Nelles.
P.S. Michael McLean took this Long Term view of his business and now gets a return on investment of between 2:1 and 7:1 on his customer newsletter mailing it 12 times a year to all his customers. We’ve just posted an audio interview with Michael McLean. Download it and listen to it and I’d be surprised if you only come away with one good ideas you can implement in your business.