Dear Friend,

  I want to introduce you to a new concept. It's based on an old principle.

  You shouldn't have to work so hard to get where you're going. And neither should your customers.

  Our old way of doing business is being replaced, but people are fighting it. I'm not talking about this Internet hype (that's what's being sold by many who simply don't understand that this is part of the plan, not a change of business), I'm talking about your customers.

  Entertainment is meeting the marketplace in a new way; while you are watching what you want, following your hobbies, up pops the possibility to buy.

  Look at television; we, the viewers, are creating new channels...the History Channel, the Outdoor Life Channel, the Food Channel, you name it, it's getting a channel.

  You don't turn on the history channel to learn about cooking.

  Now let's bring that back to the Web and what we're all doing here. Once you know what is going on at a site, you come back to visit. But you run into the same problems you would in the physical world. Can you come for a visit? Maybe something gets in the way. So you don't visit that day. Just like going to a real store, it's an effort to visit a Web site every day, it doesn't make sense.

  The one place you do go everyday is the mailbox; in the physical world, that's your mailbox. Online, it's your email box. You'll check to see messages, letters from family, business, and all the other messages that may surprise you. It has the same appeal as walking out to your mailbox (I have to, I'm in the sticks and my mailbox is down the road). I wonder what's waiting for me, sifting through the direct mail pieces, offers, magazines, and letters.

  My email box is also visited every day. As it likely is by customers you are targeting. If you focus on maintaining, following up, and contacting your customers via email, you'll make it easier on them.

  You might have to do a little work, but the benefits are tremendous. Invite them to your show, but keep in touch with them via email. Easy to use, makes less work on them, and puts the focus of where the real revolution is...

  Businesses are the ones looking for customers, building lists. Customers should indicate what they're interested in, then plug into the channel, your channel. Full of businesses with related interests, with specific ideas to share. Where the customers are made part of the Web site.

  See, it's really not the technology, it's finding the easiest way for your customers to work with you. Expect them to visit your Web site and you'll lose, unless you have mucho capital behind you. I'd rather have mucho customers and not sweat so hard.

  Give me a million hours, not a million dollars; if I live to be 72, I'm granted 630,720 hours. I won't make a million hours. So I need to get as many of them as possible while I'm here. Which means I have to have enough money to give me those hours free, free to do what I want, free to choose what I'd like to do with those hours. If I work for a million dollars, 60 hours a week for 20 years, I'll use 175,200 of those hours working. That's a third of my time; I sleep a third. So I get a third off. Will I have enough to enjoy my money? Or should I focus on making my third of the time larger while not costing me sleep?

Maybe it's better to create more time for yourself, with enough money to keep it going. I don't want you to work too hard and to enjoy what you have, while you have it. The worst thing is to look back and wince, "What might have been..."

If you focus on the first contact with a customer as one you want to maintain, you'll work less in the long run. And you'll provide better products and services. And you'll be able to work on increasing your third of the time.

Better hurry, clock is ticking.