7 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving You Probably Dont Know

7 Fun Facts About Thanksgiving You Probably Dont KnowThanksgiving is a holiday that brings people together. Regardless of what your race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation is, its a time when we can all get together, enjoy good food and share what were thankful for. To get you prepared for this year, weve compiled an infographic with some fun facts about Thanksgiving you might not have known. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) )

Male Fertility Why We Need to Be Talking About It

Male Fertility Why We Need to Be Talking About It Infertility is unfortunately very common. A recent study showed that 22% of men and 26% of women in a large cohort had reported that they had been attempting to conceive for 12 months without success(Thea van Roode, 2015). According to the CDC, about 12% of couples will have difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term (CDC.gov). Tzu siche are many different ways to create a family and many different family structures.For purposes of this article, were talking about males and their female partners.We have all learned by now that a womans ability to use her own eggs to conceiveis directly correlated to her age. In other words, as a woman ages, her fertility decreases, and shes likely to have mora problems getting pregnant (asrm.org). And if we paid attention in biology class, we know that it takes both a healthy egg and a healthy sperm (as well as a few other factors) to make a baby.Yet, we spend a lot of time talking ab out female infertility and reproductive health and less time talking about male factor infertility, even though when heterosexual couples experience fertility problems, they are caused by a male fertility issue at least a third of the time (CDC.gov).The role of male fertility in the processSo, why is the discussion uneven when we know fertility problems can be caused by an individual and sometimes combined factors?And what harm does this lack of discussion and education potentially create?I know from working with women, men, and couples for years both at Progyny and in a clinic setting that knowledge is power and so much of what alleviates the stress around fertility is knowledge about the process. It can be confusing and daunting when you dont know what to expect, and the fertility process is no different.It can be frightening at first. There are a lot of unknowns about what is going to happen, why getting pregnant hasnt happened yet, and, fruchtwein importantly, what one can do to be successful.When we dont talk about the male partners role in this and male factor infertility, were only addressing half the battle.Facts about mens health and fertilityHere are some important facts to keep in mindwhether youre trying to understand the role your partner plays in the process, considering a fertility treatment, or simply need more information.1. Male infertility is common and fairly simple to diagnose. Usually, a reproductive endocrinologist, OBGYN, or primary care physician will order a semen analysis which is a test that analyses a males sperm quality. fruchtwein sperm banks or fertility clinics will perform the semen analysis, which can identify issues such as sperm count, sperm motility, sperm production, and semen quality, among other problems in fertile or infertile men. Testosterone levels can also play a role.2. A reproductive endocrinologist is an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and the specialist with whom most people and couples wil l start when they are having difficulty conceiving.3. A male partner who is diagnosed with any type of abnormality may be referred to a urologist for further diagnosis or treatment.4. Many male factor issues can be overcome by treatments such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF). In some cases, lifestyle changes can improve sperm count, testosterone levels, and other issues, and a specialist can work with you to identify what kinds of changes can influence fertility.Exploring treatments for infertile couplesIf family-building is important in your relationship, it makes sense to talk about it with your partner and start exploring your options as soon as you encounter difficulty. Keep in mind that the age of the female partner is important. Infertile couples should talk to their physician about both female and male infertility to ensure you can access the wide range of options for fertility treatment.For many, the first step is to talk to your primary ca re physician or gynecologist.You can also check your medical benefits and find an in-network reproductive endocrinologist who specializes in infertility.When you begin to see a fertility doctor, its important that you bring your male partner with you as many appointments as he can attend.He should be included in the decision-making in terms of the treatments you choose to undergo.Ask him questions about how hes feeling about this process.If it is a male factor issue, many men Ive talked to throughout the years report that they feel guilt and shameguilt because their female partner must undergo treatment she might not otherwise have had to and shame because its their biological imperative to create offspring and its not working out how they had hoped. Feelings of inadequacy can have adverse effects on the self-esteem and mental health of infertile men (Domar, 2011).Men sometimes feel their role is to fix things, and infertility is something they cannot fix on their own. Asking for he lp can be difficult, and the feelings of loss of control can be really confusing and anxiety-provoking.Talk through your feelings with your partner whether the fertility issue is male or female. Its ok to talk about this with him and assure him that you understand his reproductive health issues arent his fault.Make sure his opinions are heard and his questions are answered.Be open about your feelings too. If you are feeling frustrated and stressed out, be sure to tell him. Dont keep your feelings bottled up.Dont be embarrassed to talk about eggs, sperm quality, and all that goes into baby-makingWorking with your partnerIf you and your partner are going through infertility you know how disruptive it can be to your life, your relationship, your schedule, andif you dont have covered benefits through your employeryour finances. Besides the disruption it can cause in your life, the process can be disappointing (since in vitro fertilization and other treatments sometimes fail), and full o f ups and devastating downs.You will both feel less stress if you talk it through and lean on each other through this process.If you need some guidance, explore support groups in your area (RESOLVE is a good place to start).A lot of people say talking it through with others who are going through a similar scenario is very helpful.If you feel more comfortable outside of a group setting, seek out a couples counselor who specializes in infertility.You can find a counselor at resolve.org as well as other sites such as Psychology Today.The bottom line is, if you are on this journey with your partner, remember that you are in this together.Not talking about mens health and fertility, fully understanding your options, and carefully choosing your next steps can mean a delay in treatment, choosing the wrong treatment, or not accessing treatment altogether.Approach your infertility treatment as you would any other challenge you face as a couple.You might find that your communication is improv ed, that your relationship is made stronger, and that you end up feeling closer to your partner because of your journey together1 Cumulative incidence of infertility in a New Zealand birth cohort to age 38 by sex and the relationship with family formation van Roode, Thea et al. Fertility and Sterility, Volume 103 , Issue 4 , 1053 - 1058.e222 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009).Infertility FAQs. Retrieved May 23, 2018, fromhttp//www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/infertility

10 Productivity Tips to Improve Your Work Life

10 Productivity Tips to Improve Your Work Life Theres something really disheartening about reaching the end of a workday and feeling as if you didnt accomplish much. What many people fail to realize is that it is the little things youdo or dont do each day that impact productivity more than any major crisis situation. If you would like to get more done on any given day, take a look out these ten productivity tips.1. Be a Ruthless Taskmaster in MeetingsPeople think they hate meetings. They dont. People love meetings that are productive gatherings of relevant individuals communicating with one another and working towards a common goal.What peoplehate are meetings that go on too long because nobody is keepingthings on track. Be the person who stops conversationsfrom being sidetracked and who cuts off the meaningless chitchat. Your coworkers will appreciate your efforts, and youll shave time-wasting minutes off of every meeting you attend.2. Stop Checking Your emailleUnless you are expecting something that urgent, you are wasting your time checking your email or other messages more than three times per day. Dont turn checking your email into a nervous habit. Schedule specific times during the day when you will check your email, send replies, and compose new mail.3. Work From Home When Tasks Require Significant ConcentrationIts frustrating and a waste of productive time to deal with interruptions and general office noise when you are working your way through expense reports or other tasks that require undivided attention. When you are working on a task that requires little to no human interaction, consider ditching the office in favor of your home or some other, relatively peaceful space.4. Stop Using Email to Replace ConversationWeve all seen it happen. A simple email over a simple issue becomes an exchange that eats up an hour of time. You can resolve things much faster if yo u simply pick up the phone, knock on someones door, or make contact on Skype. Youll fix small misunderstandings and get your point across much more efficiently.5. Reduce Errors by Creating ChecklistsPeople who perform repetitive tasks often become too familiar with them. The result is that they go into autopilot mode, and they dont notice errors until several steps later. This is, of course, assuming that they see the error at all.By creating checklists, you force yourself to verify every step that you take before going on to the next. Youll reduce the overall number of errors that you make, and youll also catch any errors that you do make right away.6. Take Breaks and Eat LunchIt may seem like powering through the day without stopping is the best way to get as much done as possible. In reality, this is a formula for becoming distracted, irritable, and tired before mid-afternoon.If you take a few breaks at regularly scheduled intervals, youll feel refreshed and ready to concentrate when you get back to your desk. If you insist on skipping breaks, at least take a lunch.7. If You Take the Train, Use Your Commute Time to Get Things DoneThis is the perfect time to update your daily to-do lists, send importanttexts or emails, and check in with the people you are collaborating with. You can also spend this time reading relevant articles and checking up on your companys social media pages.8. Break Large Tasks Into Small, Manageable Sets of Sub-TasksIt is very tempting, when faced with a massive task, to procrastinate and avoid it. On the other hand, it can also be tempting to put everything on the back burner until you have tackled the big job or you have worn yourself out trying. The former means that nothing gets done. The latter means that other important tasks are neglected, and youll likely burn out.If you break big jobs down into smaller jobs and schedule time to work through these little tasks each day, youll get the job done in a reasonable amount of time.9. Prioritize Tasks According to ImportanceTry using this proven technique to prioritize the tasks that are on your to-do list.Categorize each task as you get it, and work on the tasks that are truly important before you work on anything else.10. Shut Down Distracting NotificationsAt the beginning of each day, go to your phone and laptop, and shut down any pop up notifications and dings. This includes email and text notifications, chat heads, instant messaging, and any other app that could pop up and disrupt your work.-It really doesnt take that much tocombat the little distractions and interruptions that keep us from being as productive as we could be. All you have to do is follow these simple tips, and youll become a super-productive all-star in no time

How To Do Employee Engagement Surveys

How To Do Employee Engagement SurveysHow To Do Employee Engagement SurveysHow To Do Employee Engagement Surveys Kelleher, author of LOUDER THAN WORDS 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive ResultsListen up leaders - I dont think you need to care about satisfying your employees. Frankly, it isnt an employers responsibility to satisfy employees.Now, if I havent lost you entirely, I do believe that employee satisfaction can be an outcome of a great company culture, but it shouldnt be your goal.Lets face it, you can always throw money or offer perks to boost employee satisfaction levels. However, the brde thing any employer wants or needs is a satisfied but underperforming employee, or satisfied employees working in a business that is underperforming.Its about Employee EngagementI define engagement as the unlocking of employee potential to drive high employee performance. According to Gallup, companies with highly engaged employees have 3.9 times the earnings per share (EPS) growth rate compared to organizations with low engagement scores. This link between company performance and your employees potential will help drive the performance of your employees and business.Companies need to focus efforts on building a mutual commitment between employee and employer - a commitment that is the foundation of employee engagement. Only when this foundation is in place will firms experience the secret sauce of a high performing business - the discretionary effort of employees.Are your Employees Engaged?Recent research by the Corporate Leadership Council is staggering only 5.9% of surveyed employees are giving their employers high levels of discretionary effort. WowAre your employees highly engaged? Are you capturing their discretionary effort? How would you know? As we slowly recover from this deep recession, some enlightened companies are beginning to ask their employees what do you think? as they conduct employee engagement surveys.Remember that employee engage ment surveys measure engagement - not satisfaction. I suggest that organizations conduct an employee engagement survey sooner rather than later to gauge their organizational pulse. Why? Because studies show that were heading into a high period of employee turnover. This has spawned the era of the disengaged but staying put within our ranks.The Magnificent Seven Lessons of Employee Engagement Surveys Lesson 1 Get buy-in. Do not conduct a survey unless youre convinced your leadership team is committed to listening and acting on feedback. If you ask employees what they think and then do nothing with the results, you will foster cynicism and skepticism with your employees. In fact, youll be worse off than if you didnt conduct a survey in the first place.Lesson 2 Partner with a professional. You want the ability to benchmark your results with other companies in your industry most survey providers offer both valuable benchmark data and confidentiality.Lesson 3 Set the stage. If youre con ducting a follow-up survey, I strongly suggest you promote specific actions, successes and progress since the last survey. Of course, if you have a vibrant and effective communications plan since your last survey, you most likely would have been doing this throughout the months since your survey This communication should play a key part of your overall survey communication plan, led by your best internal communicators. View this exercise as a terrific company branding opportunity - and the key to capturing higher levels of participation.Lesson 4 Establish a cross-sectional committee. This group will review survey results and make recommendations to management. The task team should include an equal mix of leaders and respected representatives from your employee base. This diverse team will reinforce an engaged culture.The committee will evaluate survey results and prioritize recommendations to the leadership team. Consider keeping this task team together to help guide and monitor pr ogress of key survey initiatives.Lesson 5 Act locally. Establish a cross-sectional sub-committee to review local results (departmental, business unit, functional, etc.) and appoint related champions. Your survey results will identify some areas of your business that score significantly better or worse than the company average follow up with an analysis at the local level and establish local action plans.Lesson 6 Keep it simple and execute flawlessly. The tendency after a survey is to overpromise and under deliver. Although born of great intentions, you run the risk of creating a skeptical work culture.To circumvent this, implement a rigorous review process that includes an itemized budget to fund priorities.Remember, a detailed engagement action plan will require organizational investments. In my experience, Ive often seen leaders who were reluctant to endorse a survey early on once the survey launches, they are eager to change the company culture overnight.An action plan that is to o ambitious will create organizational fatigue. Organizational follow up and follow through are key to successful implementation - and key to how your employees will judge your survey efforts.Lesson 7 Spend less up front - implement more. Invest less in your technology vendor and more in post-survey action planning its more important to concentrate on the interpretation, action plan, follow through, communication and branding.Dont spend a lot on survey bells and whistles If it fails, it will not because of failure to collect the right data it will be a failure to properly interpret the results, poor prioritization the lack of an action plan and follow up.To summarize it is vital to link employee engagement to high performance, not simply to make your employees happy (although that is often a by-product of engagement), but as an initiative to engage your employees in your business - to help drive business successAuthor BioBob Kelleher is a noted speaker, thought leader, and author of the just-released of LOUDER THAN WORDS 10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results, which climbed to the 3 Workplace book, 5 HR book, and 12 Management book on Amazon. Bob Kelleheris also the founder and CEO of The Employee Engagement Group and consultant on the subjects of employee engagement, workforce trends, and leadership.

Five ways to make your employees feel valued

Five ways to make your employees feel valuedFive ways to make your employees feel valuedI once had a boss tell me that I should learn to pat myself on the back.Aside from the physical limitations involved in that,this was said during a conversation about my performance,where he mentioned in passing that I had exceeded expectations. He explained that he didnt binnensee the need to offer any recognition, because he hadnt received it earlier in his career.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThat experience stuck with me as I started todevelop my own leadershipphilosophy. There certainly is truth to finding internal motivators and bedrngnis relying on others to develop your self-worth. With that said, I believe a managers role is to create a positive, productive environment that serves and supports kollektiv members. It doesnt require extraordinary effort or expense to achieve this goal and the results are worth it.Here are five ways to make your employees feel valued at work1. SHOW GRATITUDEPeople want to feel appreciated for what they do, especially by their managers. Thats because leaders have a broader view of organizational goals andevaluate employee performance, so their praise feels particularly relevant and lets employees know theyre on the right track. Here are some guidelines for expressing gratitude at workClearly state what your kollektiv member did well, how it relates to her unique strengths, and how it helps the organization. (In general, make it more about her amazing qualities and less about how it helped you- i.e., Your quick and creative thinking helped the event go off without a hitch, is way better than You saved the day- thanks).You should say it more often than you think so long as youre always speaking authentically and specifically.My favorite way to show gratitude is a handwritten note. In addition to the written message, the note itself shows an investment of your time. It brings me a lot of joy to see the note on an employees bulletin board later because Ill know that it was meaningful to her.Still not convinced about the significance of such a simple act of gratitude? In aHarvard Business Review article, Professors Francesca Gino and Adam Grant shared the results of an experiment where fundraisers who received personal thanks from their manager for their efforts and contributions increased their outreach metrics by 50%.Recognition and gratitude strengthen feelings of self-confidence and motivation and reinforce a sense of purpose.2. PROVIDE LEARNING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIESThe best bosses look for ways to augment their team members growth with external professional development opportunities, such as attending industry conferences, joining a professional association, or gaining a certification. As a manager, you may have limited resources, so focusing behauptung resources on employees who exceed expectations shows an investment in their potential.Dont forget Plenty ofprofessional growth and learning opportunitiesexist within your organization, too. You can take your direct report to coffee to talk about his career goals or introduce her to another senior leader in the organization for a beratung chat. When appropriate, invite the person to attend a high-level meeting with you to learn about a new area, or ask her to lead a strategy meeting on your behalf.When you personally participate in your employees learning and professional growth, you show you believe in them and want to help prepare them for their future success.3. CARE ABOUT YOUR TEAM MEMBERS AS PEOPLEIn my first managerial role, I made the mistake of focusing solely on the work. At that stage in my career, I believed conversations about extracurricular activities interfered with my lengthy to-do list.After receiving some wise counsel from my boss, I learned I needed to demonstrate that I cared about my team members as individuals before I expected their best work.By asking them about their weekends, their families, and their hobbies- and sharing tidbits about my own- I built trusting relationships. That allowed us to better understand our experiences outside the officeand helped us work together more effectively in the office, too.4. MAKE TIME FOR YOUR TEAM MEMBERSYou know the feeling when you have a list of things to finish in one 30-minute fraktion on your calendar- and right then an employee stops by. Do you give the person time to ask their question or share their story, or do you tell him now is not a good time?How you respond in that moment defines you as a leader. Your facial expressions,body language, and words will affect whether your employees feel supported by you- and it will impact their willingness to return the next time they have a question. Even if you cant meet right then, offer a time slot where you can connect later in the day.Remember, this distraction is your job as a le ader of people.You can create moreproductive interactionswith team members by proactively connecting with them, ideally in person. Walk the halls and have some questions ready to engage them. These are a few that I like to useWhats new?Its open-ended enough that they can respond with whatever feels right at that moment.What fires have you had to put out today/this week?This gives you a chance to understand what your team members face in their work and how you can help remove obstacles.How can I help support you right now?This shows you care (see 3) and creates a shared commitment to their success.Of note, I told my team in advance I planned to do this, so they didnt think I was checking up on them. And I add notes to my calendar to preserve time to WTH (walk the halls, ahem), so I can prioritize these conversations.Of note, I told my team in advance I planned to do this, so they didnt think I was checking up on them. And I add notes to my calendar to preserve time to WTH (walk the h alls, ahem), so I can prioritize these conversations.5. CELEBRATE IN BIG AND LITTLE WAYSDo you know the expression that the little things are the big things? Its true at work, too.Recognize your team members work anniversaries or birthdays. (Im a fan of balloons or treats at their desk so others stop by to join the celebration). Host a pizza party for the whole team when a sale closes, break out ice cream mid-afternoon for a surprise treat to bring everyone together, or organize a monthly coffee break with no work agenda.If you are looking for a more elaborate celebration, create a new tradition in your workplace. At our office, we started aNew Years Eve partyon the last day of the fundraising year to recognize the years accomplishments this could be easily adapted for your companys founders day or another special date.Whatever the occasion, find reasons to celebrate and bring joy to work.Try using one of these ideas each day for a week and see how it goes. Then you can start to add in others as you get a sense of what works best for you and your team.Finally, it is important to mention that you can and should ask your employees how they like to be recognized and what makes them feel most appreciated. (This can happen as part of aStay conversationwhen they first join your organization and throughout their tenure.) Ultimately, if your employees feel that you and the organization have invested in them personally, their job satisfaction and personal growth will increase, as will their work outcomes. And that all deserves a pat on the back for everyone.This article first appeared on Career Contessa.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Closing Cold Calls to Get Appointments

Closing Cold Calls to Get AppointmentsClosing Cold Calls to Get AppointmentsEvery salesperson knows that you have to close everysalebecause prospects arent going to doit for you. But what you may not realize is that its just as important to close your cold calls. In thecase of a cold call youre closing for an appointment rather than a sale, but the same principles apply. Dont Try to Close the Whole Sale Dont make the mistake of trying to close the whole sale during your cold call. It wont work. There is no way to fully qualify a prospect, collect information about his needs, and come up with a solution in a single brief phone call. The only exception to this rule is the rare occasion when you call a prospect who has already decided to buy but hasnt taken action yet. In that case, he may invite you to extend the cold call out so that you can go through the whole sales cycle in one call. However, this situation is rare and comes under the category of a windfall sale. In the vast ma jority of calls, your goal will be to get the prospect to schedule an appointment with you. This appointment may be face-to-face or it may be another, lengthier phone call, or even a virtual meeting by webcam. Your bonus cold calling goal is to at least partly qualify the prospect during your initial call so that you can reduce the chances of wasting your time (and theirs) if they cant buy from you in the first place. If you want to get your prospect to agree on an appointment, your task throughout the call will be showing him that a future meeting will benefit him in some way. Prospects dont care about your sales numbers and commission check they want to know WIIFM. And youll typically have just a few minutes on the phone to show them. So at every point in the call, you must exert yourself to show the benefits that you can offer. Have a Great Opener The first step to closing the appointment is getting the prospect to stay on the phone long enough. To that end, your opening stat ement is perhaps the single most important part of the entire call. If you can craft and deliver a really good opener you will catch your prospects attention and get him listening to you. If you dont get him interested right away, the odds are that hell make an excuse and hang up as soon as he realizes that youre a salesperson. Ask Questions Once youve gotten the ball rolling with a great opener and have piqued your prospects interest, the next step towards closing is getting his permission to ask a few questions. You can easily present this as a benefit to the prospect by saying something like, Before I take up mora of your time I want to be sure that my product is the right fit for you. May I ask a few quick questions? Now youve brought up the benefit of saving him time, so hes more likely to agree. How to Wrap Up If the prospect seems to be qualified, at this point you can start wrapping up the close. Again, its important to frame your upcoming appointment as a thing of v alue for your prospect. You can do this openly by offering him a freemium, free trial, gift or service. If thats not an option, youll need to give him a taste of the benefits your product will bring him. However, if you go on and on about your product in a cold call, hell lose interest. The idea is to give him just enough information to intrigue him so that hell actually want to hear more from you in your upcoming meeting.

Tips for Writing an Effective Direct Mail Letter

Tips for Writing an Effective Direct Mail LetterTips for Writing an Effective Direct Mail LetterIn direct response advertising, a great direct mail pack can work wonders for both the brandand the bottom line. Truly successful direct mail is targeted, says something in a way thats both powerful and memorable, and talks directly to the customer. And theres no better way to engage in conversation than with a letter. Yes, a letter. If youre thinking that no one reads letters anymore, think again. The great Howard Gossage famously said People read what interests them. Sometimes, its an ad. He could also have said, sometimes its a letter. But, the humble direct mail pack does face tough competition from the myriad advertising messages people receive every single day. They are bombarded with emails, texts, telemarketers, banners, guerrilla ads, TV spots, radio ads, and so much more. Does anyone really have time to open a piece of direct mail, let alone read the letter? Its easy to think tha t in this day and age of smartphones, instant gratification, and multi-media everything, a humble direct mail letter is not glamorous, or fun. Better to send a jazzy brochure and some lame freebie. But to ignore the direct mail letter is to turn your back on one of the fruchtwein tried and tested ways to engage a consumer and get a result. Its vital, and incredibly effect when written well. You just have to ensure that you give it a fighting chance by creating a direct mail pack that screams to be opened, and investigated. Do that, and the letter is the key to sales conversion. The Direct Mail Letter- Where Do You Begin? As mentioned in the previous paragraph, if you create a good direct mail pack, you will have already started the conversation on the envelope. The letter needs to pick up on that conversation and elaborate, in a way thats both engaging and persuasive. Its the salesman of the pack. Everything else is elaborate window dressing. Think of it this way. If militrisch er abschirmdienst Mens Don Draper were part of a direct mail pack, he would not be the brochure or the box it came in. He wouldnt be the sample of the product, and he would not be a tacky freebie. Don Draper would be the letter. Hed sell the hell out of the product or tafelgeschirr, using powerful words and a tone of voice thats aligned with the brand. Hed intrigue you, from the opening sentence to the final sign off or P.S. Hed engage you in a way that had you nodding your head, and thinking about ways to pay for this great new product or service. Hed seduce you. Then again, its easy to say all that. But in practice, when you are staring at a blank sheet of paper, it can be a scary task to fill it with the kind of language that will get the phone ringing or the website flooded with orders. But the blank sheet of paper represents infinite possibilities. This is your chance to speak openly, and persuasively, to the consumer. The fact is, people read the letter first. Its a hard habi t to break when someone sends you mail you want to know why, and the letter is the first place to look. So this blank sheet of paper is also the first point of contact with the brand. This is no time to show off, be clever, or pull a fast one. Its a conversation that can make or break the sale, and it needs respect. Dont be Tempted to Open With Crass Humor, Puns or Pushy Statements And dont write above or below your audience, either. You dont want to show your vast vocabulary, and you dont want to sound dumb. Speak as people speak, and never be afraid to break the rules of grammar. You are not writing a letter to win an English scholarship, you are writing to communicate. Want to use one-word sentences? Fine. Use the Golden Word- YOU People love hearing about themselves. The letter is the most intimate part of the conversation, so get up close and personal and tell them why this is important to them. Start talking about yourself too much and theyll switch off. Use YOU, and t hey are all ears. Tell them how this product or service directly improves the prospects life. You will mow the lawn in half the time, and without any stalls. You will make at least $100 by opening this account. You will see instant results, and you will have the best skin youve ever had. Its also important to open strongly. This differs depending on the audience and the product or service. If you are doing a piece of cold acquisition )meaning you have no former contact with the potential customer) you need to get them to quickly associate with a problem or situation. If its retention, or they have bought from you in the past, then build upon your relationship. But dont spend too long waxing lyrical about old times, get to the crux of the matter quickly. Dont Be Afraid to Write More Than One Page Someone recently said that good copy should be the same length as a skirt- long enough to cover it all, but short enough to be interesting. Well, thats good for print ads, but for direct mail you want it to be long enough to be persuasive. If you cant make your argumentinone page, dont truncate it and hope the brochure picks up the slack. The letter always does the heavy lifting, the brochure is simply the showroom. Get them interestedinthe brochure, but get them to call (or visit the website) with the letter. Your Letter Should Build to a Call to Action From your opening gambit, build a case for the product or service that is watertight. Do it in steps, and slowly but surely create a flowing letter that guides the prospect to theCTA.Take inspiration from the infamous speech by Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross- AIDA. Get their attention in the opening line or two, build interest, get them to make a decision, and then make it easy for them to act on that decision. AttentionInterestDecisionAction Make the Letter Pass the Quick-Scan Test It has been said that no matter what is written, consumers will scan it quickly, from top to tail, to pick out the pertin ent information and see if it is worth their time. You do it yourself, and no doubt you scanned this article and skipped over certain parts. Your subheads, aP.S., and the main headline will do this for you. If you cant grab them on a scan, they will likely not bother with the full letter. But make those relevant sections sing, and the prospect will read them all, or enough of them to get the idea and make the decision. Tell Them What You Want Them to Do Ask for the sale, as bluntly as is necessary. This is not a billboard, and direct mail is not in the business of brand awareness. The pack and the letter have a job to do. The direct mail pack is about ROI. Get them to sign on the dotted line. If you have a phone number, ask them to call it. If theres a website, tell them to visit it. And feel free to use a sense of urgency, including limited-time offers.They work. This is a brief insight into crafting a direct mail letter. For more advice on the subject, read the work of Steve H arrison. He is one of the best direct mail copywriters in the business. Examples of his work can be found in the latest edition of theDAD Copy Book,and in his excellent bookHow To Do Better Creative Work.If you can get hold of a copy, whatever the price, do so. Its one of the best books an advertising creative can own. Steve has also written a superb book solely on the art of writing copy, called How to Write Better Copy. Covering themes from blogs to billboards, and everything in between, it is highly affordable and well worth your time.