Q: "As a consultant or business coach, why should I use a monthly newsletter?"

A: The cheapest way to boost business is by working with what you already have - your lists of prospects and clients. You've already had some contact with them and hopefully done a good job of showing how you can help them, now or in the future.

But you can't just sit back and hope they'll remember you when they're ready to buy. Just like consulting giants Bain & Co, you need to have a marketing program in place that reminds your clients why you're a great source of advice and expertise.

An email newsletter is by far the cheapest and most efficient way to do just that.

Q: "But aren't people getting sick of all those Emails?"

A: It's certainly true that people are getting more emails in their inbox than they did a year or two ago. And there's no doubt that unwanted emails - SPAM - are a big problem.

But you're not sending out millions of messages to random addresses in the hope of a .001% response. Everybody who receives your emails is on your list of prospects or clients. And you're not peddling Viagra or "Get-Rich-Quick" schemes. You're providing valuable services and useful information about something your prospects and clients are passionate about - achieving greater personal or business success.

The fact is, in the midst of all the controversy about SPAM, permission-based emails are hugely successful, and are a key part of company strategies in just about every market segment, from life insurance to semiconductors to restaurants to... well, consultants!

Q: "Do I need an AWeber account before I can use Web-O-Mation?"

A: With the relentless rise in SPAM in the last few years, major email services such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, Cox, Qwest, etc., have added more and more filters and authentication mechanisms to their systems. The result is that an increasing number of legitimate emails are ending up in spam folders, or worse, simply not being delivered at all.  In a situation like this, the large email providers have a built-in advantage since they have more leverage with their peers and can afford the hefty fees charged by third-party "Email Reputation Management" companies.

After much research and not a little soul-searching, we decided that our clients would be best served by letting them use whatever email service they were most comfortable with, and reducing the price of Web-O-Mation accordingly.

We evaluated the major email providers and concluded that AWeber would give our clients the best combination of world-class service at a low price. Their monthly rate is only $19 for unlimited mailings to a list of up to 500 subscribers. The standard Web-O-Mation newsletter is set up so that all of the personalization features will work seamlessly with the AWeber system once it is set up. 

You can sign up for AWeber here. Once you have an Aweber account, we will configure it for Web-O-Mation use and load your monthly newsletter free of charge.

Of course, you don't have to use any particular provider. Web-O-Mation will work with many popular services, either web-based or from the desktop. Contact us for more information. 

Q: "I'm so busy, I barely have time to turn around. How can I possibly fit Web-O-Mation into my hectic schedule? I don't have a single hour to spare!"

A: How about sparing zero hours? We produce a fresh newsletter to your prospects and clients every month. All you do is approve the mailing - you don't have to write a word if you don't want to. It just doesn't get any easier than that!

If you do have a little extra time, it only takes a couple of minutes to add your own special greeting or interesting tidbit. Or have one of your colleagues or business associates contribute an item every few months.

Q: "Our prices and service are way better than our competition. Word of mouth will bring me all the clients I need."

A: In today's crowded consulting market, simply having great prices and service isn't enough to ensure success. It just gets you in the game.

Yes, when you complete an piece of work for a client, they might be singing your praises. And they really do mean to use you again soon and recommend you to others. But over the coming days and weeks, they'll be exposed to a stream of messages from your competition and well-meaning advice from friends and colleagues.

So the next time your client needs a service that you might be ideally suited to provide, they'll have seen hundreds of persuasive messages from your competition - and none from you. It doesn't matter which one does the trick. All it takes is one right message from one of your competitors and your customer will go somewhere else. And if you don't know how to contact them, you won't be able to do a thing about it.

And how about the much larger number of prospects you encounter on a daily basis? All you are to them is a name and a face. In three months they will have forgotten you ever existed. Unless you do something to remind them.

Take charge of your business. Order Web-O-Mation today.

Q: "I don't know anything about marketing. How can I compete with the big consultancies and more established competitors?"

A: Don't let your lack of an MBA hold you back! The Web-O-Mation method is based on time-tested, rock-solid marketing principles, using the same techniques as the big boys, but only where they're appropriate. We won't waste your money on marketing strategies that are only effective for a name-brand consultancy with 45 locations in 20 states.

Use Web-O-Mation every month and you're guaranteed to:

** solidify your brand identity in the minds of your clients;
** build relationships with your regulars;
** shape customer spending patterns to make you the most money;

and much more.

You're using the same strategies and tactics as the big guys; except they're tailored to the needs of an independent consultancy, not a nationwide conglomerate. And, oh yes - at a cost that wouldn't cover their ad agency's Starbucks bill!

Q: "I don't know HTML or any of that other Web stuff. Isn't this hard to learn?"

A: Zero HTML required! We produce a complete monthly newsletter for you and send it to you for your approval.

With Web-O-Mation, though, you get the best of both worlds - you also have total freedom to make any changes you like to your upcoming newsletter before you let us know it's okay to mail.

It's easy to change your newsletter. You log in, then then click on "Edit This Month's Newsletter". The newsletter pops up, you place the cursor at the place you want to change and start typing. When you're finished, just save your work.

If you want to add some extra content, it's just as easy. You just position your cursor in your newsletter where you want the content to appear, then click on "Add Content." Pick an article, special offer, or other content from the pop-up window. Then click on "Select This Item" and it automatically appears in your newsletter. If you get stuck, just click the "Help" button.

Once your newsletter is ready, go back to the approval email, click the "Email OK" link, and you're finished for the month!

Q: "If my closest competitor buys Web-O-Mation too, won't my newsletter be the same as theirs each month?"

A: Good question. The short answer is No.

The long answer is that when you sign up to Web-O-Mation, you get a unique template that looks just like your website or other marketing material. You select your monthly article topics to uniquely reflect your business. Even if one of your competitors happens to select the same set of topics and quote themes as you do, your newsletter will still be unique to you, with a different appearance and different content.

Having said that, the quicker you sign up, the quicker you'll get started on your database, building relationships with your prospects and clients, and making more money !

Q: "I don't have a web site, graphics, etc. Can I still use Web-O-Mation ?"

A: You don't need a web site or fancy graphics to run Web-O-Mation.

If you do already have a web site and a consistent brand identity, you can use the material you already have. But if not, don't worry.

Just have your local office supply store make a graphic image of your letterhead logo, or get a photographer to produce a graphic of your sign, and you're all set. Or go to our Resources area to find an online graphic arts company that can design your logo for under $100. Or click on another link to go to a site where you can do it yourself for free.

Three things are most important:

** a professional and consistent look to your newsletter;
** quality content that reinforces your value and expertise
** regular communication with your prospects and clients.

Q: "It seems expensive - couldn't I even do this for free using my office computer?"

A: There are a few other custom newsletter services. If you compare them feature-for-feature with Web-O-Mation, you'll find that they offer less capability, but charge considerably more - up to $185 or more per month.

For your money, you will get a newsletter with a single article, but no added features such as a calendar, events list, "Thought Of The Month" or Offer Generator. In addition, many newsletter services don't allow you to make any changes or add content, or charge an extra fee for this service. The Web-O-Mation newsletter is unique because you get a complete, customized newsletter, yet you still have complete control over your content until you're satisfied and approve your mailing.

It is true, though, that if you're only looking for the lowest price, you can produce a newsletter yourself using a program such as Outlook on your home or office computer. Assuming that your ISP doesn't shut you down - most of them don't allow mailings to large lists.

Finding the time to producing a fresh newsletter every month can quickly become a big problem for many busy consultants. You can easily check this for yourself. Just go on the Internet and do a search on "online newsletter". You'll get a lot of hits. Then visit some of the web sites that feature client newsletters. How many of them haven't been updated in months, if not years? What kind of message does that send to your prospects and clients?

Do you like to write? Will you or your staff have the time to research new articles and produce a newsletter every month? How many hours will it take to sort through your material and search through websites looking for suitable material? And how much is your time worth? $100 an hour? $150? If you bill at $150 an hour, your Web-O-Mation newsletter costs you 36 minutes of your time each month.

Web-O-Mation is designed just for independent consultants. That means it has articles written just for your consulting practice area of expertise, as well as a slew of other features to save you time and make your life easier. Such as the calendar and Automail and the Offer Wizard. Remember - every hour you spend on research and writing is one more hour that isn't available for billable work.

Just add up what it would take to duplicate everything yourself, and you'll agree that Web-O-Mation is a great value. The icing on the cake is that because we keep our costs tightly under control, Web-O-Mation is less than half the price of competing systems.

Go ahead and research the competition. We've provided a handy checklist to help you compare. Oh by the way, look out for the little "extras" buried in their small print. Like a per-email charge. And a set-up fee. And a fee for sending out another mailing. And on and on.

If you care about keeping your marketing budget under control, you owe it to yourself to order now.

Q: "We already have all the business we need. Why do anything different?"

A: Congratulations! You should write a book! Seriously, though, keeping your business successful is a constant struggle. The market is constantly changing. Competitors come and go. So do your prospects and clients. Statistically, you'll lose up to 25% of your prospects and clients each year because they'll move away, pass away, or just plain forget about you. So you end up running just to stay in the same place. Putting a prospect acquisition/client retention program in place now, while you're riding high, is just smart business. Start building client loyalty now, and you'll have a built-in safety margin to help you prosper during the inevitable dips in the business cycle.

Q: "I tried a newsletter before and it didn't work. How do I know I'm not just throwing my money away on a useless program?"

A: Direct marketing to your existing client and prospect base works. It's been proven over and over again, not only in your business, but in many other fields. Just look at your mail every day. If you have an airline frequent flyer card, how many related offers do you get from them every week?

You already have a program in place to gather your prospects and clients' names and email addresses as part of your regular networking activities. If you don't, you're not giving yourself a chance. But hey - if it doesn't work for you in the first 90 days, you can get a full refund. So you've got nothing to lose but your success.

Q: "How do I know you won't spam my prospects and clients? And what about privacy?"

A: We take your privacy very seriously. Our policy is very simple.

** Apart from the information you type in your Member's Area or enter as part of the purchasing process, we don't collect any information that could personally identify you.

** We don't place cookies on your computer to track your usage patterns

** We won't supply any of your information to a third party for any reason unless we're legally forced to do so.

** We won't send any emails to your mailing lists that you haven't approved ahead of time. Ever.

Q: "How secure is my information?"

A: All of your credit card transactions are handled by a well-known online order fulfillment company (2Checkout.com) using state-of-the-art SSL encryption technology. We do not store, or have access to, any of your credit card numbers.

Your mailing lists and newsletters are stored in a password-protected database that is backed up daily.

Your password is encrypted - even we don't know what they are. If you lose your password, we give you a random sequence to get you started again, which you change as soon as you log in. Needless to say, it's up to you to keep your user id and password secure.

Q: "If newsletters are so great, how come none of my competitors are using them?"

A: We could make a number of "wiseguy" comments, but the fact of the matter is that your competitors probably don't use anything like Web-O-Mation. And many of them struggle just to get by, eventually give up hope, and jump back into the corporate world.

Is that what what you want for your business? We didn't think so.

Order Web-O-Mation today.