Subject: On The 4th Day of Christmas at the Dojo...

Friend,

On The 4th Day of Christmas at the Dojo...

...we sent out Christmas cards. I know, I know - it's an old-fashioned and outdated sentiment, right?

And besides, those "robo-written" cards are just tacky, and no one keeps those anyway.

Well, not quite. See, we're not going to send out robo-written cards. Instead, we're going to send out a card with a hand-written message to each one of our students.

Is it work? Again, yes. But it's a nice touch, and hardly anyone does this anymore. It's just one more way to go the extra mile to demonstrate to your students that you're not just another strip mall dojo out to make a buck.

And here's another thing - if you teach kids, this is an excellent retention tool. Especially if you write a personal note directly addressed to each student in every single card.

In case you didn't know this, kids love to get mail. My wife paid (no idea how much) to get a letter sent to my kid from Santa at the North Pole this year (postage marked "West Palm Beach FL" - but he didn't notice it), and he thought it was the greatest thing since peanut butter and jelly in one jar.

So consider how cool your students will think it is to get a hand-written Christmas card from their instructor, with a personal note addressed just to them inside each card.

Now as for your adult students, living in a digital age means that few people take the time to do things with a personal touch. Believe me, they'll see the extra effort you put into sending out those cards, and they will appreciate it.

Of course, sending out hand-written cards takes a bit longer to do, and it'll represent anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours worth of work. The good news is that you can use the mail merge function in your word processing program or school management software and print out the mailing labels, which will save you a ton of work and effort.

Regardless, the sooner you get started on this the better. So, head out to the store today to get several boxes of some nice Christmas cards, and set aside an hour today and tomorrow to write those cards out. 

Oh, and be sure to have the mailing labels printed out ahead of time, so you can write and address them to each student as you go. Otherwise, you're going to have a heck of a time sorting them and addressing them later.

Until next time,

Mike Massie
MartialArtsBusinessDaily.com

P.S. - Trust me, these little personal touches are what make the difference between a dojo that grows and a dojo that doesn't. Most school owners are just mailing it in every day, and few will put in the extra effort. So remember that you only have to be 10% better to outpace your competition. 

P.S.S. - Conversely, your competitors only have to be 10% better than you to move you out of first place, and it's your job to keep them from doing so. Is the extra effort worth it? You bet it is, if it means that your dojo becomes and remains THE dojo to attend in your town or community.

P.S.S.S. - The quickest way to do this is to set up an assembly line where you fill out the card itself, then your helper takes the card, stuffs it, seals it, and affixes the mailing labels to the envelope. It's much easier and faster doing it that way than it is to do it by yourself. 
MD Marketing LLC, PO Box 682, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620, United States
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