Effective Communication: Misstepps Along the Way

Last week I wrote that within email newsletter sponsorships, "Longer ad copy leads to a more informed prospect and a higher probability of conversion."

Information and effective communication are also crucial for success in any relationship. As Psychology Today puts it, it's "a connection between people that allows for the exchange of thoughts, feelings, and ideas, leading to mutual understanding." At its core, mutual understanding requires active listening as much as speaking.

Dahlia often reminds me that my communication skills have room for improvement. I tend to leave out important details and sometimes fail to listen attentively. But I'm a work in progress, aiming for perfection before I die.

Good things can happen even without perfect communication. I remember when Matt Spiegel recruited me to L90 under the pretense that we'd co-manage the direct marketing division. After my first week, I asked Keith "Kappy" Kaplan about Matt's whereabouts, only to learn that Matt had left, and I was his replacement, now VP of Direct Marketing.

However, poor communication usually leads to problems. Early on at Wellput, we focused too much on "selling" and didn't listen to our advertisers' needs. We emphasized how our CPC model lowered their risk and how a dedicated account manager streamlined newsletter testing. While true, we ignored their concerns about click quality and budget concentration. Looking back, it's clear why we lost over forty-five brands since our launch (please come back; we're listening now!).

In Q1, we finally addressed these concerns. We introduced the "Default Newsletter Budget" and "Maximum Audience Percentage" to cap spending per newsletter and improve click quality. We're still refining these strategies, but our advertiser retention rate has improved significantly, with fifty-two active campaigns and counting!

At Wellput, we're committed to better communication. It's challenging with so many platforms—email (shocker!), Slack, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Skype, Google Docs, and the telephone. We record meetings with Fathom Video and hold weekly internal meetings to review priorities and strategy, as well as monthly meetings (though we've slipped a bit recently) to discuss accomplishments, vision, strategy, and roadmap. We also meet with advertisers monthly to review performance and plan for the next month.

There's still much to do. We're developing guidelines for effective communication and would love to hear your ideas (see what I did there?!). Guidelines we're working on include taking ownership of communication, using clear email subject lines, tagging people in Slack for urgent matters, mandatory response times, meeting etiquette, and more. Message me if you'd like a copy of the guidelines when we're done.

Like myself, Wellput is a WIP. Curiosity is a shared value here at Wellput; that means listening, learning, evolving, and sometimes laughing at our missteps. So, here's to better communication, healthier relationships, and more mutual understanding.