The Carfisher; Don't Take the Bait!

[The Carfisher]

Good morning UKBF community!

I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jason, and I run a car buying company based in the East Midlands. I have just launched my newsletter 'The Carfisher; Don't Take the Bait!'

The newsletter is geared towards helping people sell their car, and also give updates on the current market. When thinking about selling your car it is a minefield and as described in one of my posts, a very stressful time! The aim of the newsletter is to arm the reader with everything they need to know, tips and tricks to avoid and to take the hassle out of the sale.

I'll be joining in with this community as much as time allows, offering any advice where I can and will also be asking for help and advice in here on how I can grow my newsletter.

I've covered topics such as:-

• Who can I trust when selling my car?
• How much is my car worth?
• Understanding documentation.
• A Review of August and how the cost of living crisis has affected the value of used cars.

I look forward to building some lasting relationships on here and would welcome any feedback on my newsletter.

 

[fisicx]

Hi Jason and welcome to UKBF.

Why a newsletter? Why not just put the articles on your website/social media. This will give a much bigger potential audience.

 

[Shopclicks]

Welcome to UKBF.

If you want more eyes on your newsletters, you need to start your own blog and YouTube channel if you're up for it. Personal branding is important to gain trust.
Google likes unique expert content. You should learn about SEO and use your posts to target search queries.
Are you looking at monetising your expertise?

 

[pentel]

When I saw the title of this post "the-carfisher-dont-take-the-bait" I was expecting the post to be about you being ripped off and a warning to others about "the carfisher".

 

[The Carfisher]

Thanks for your reply.

I chose a newsletter that goes out every Friday at 8am. It was free to create and I am in full control of the subscribers email list. The newsletter is promoted through our social media platforms driving customers to our newsletter. The landing page of the newsletter acts as a blog, showing all previous posts.

Social media platforms come and go, and the algorithms are continuously changing, where as email has been a constant for the last however many decades.

Also, newsletters such as 'The Hustle' and 'MilkRoad' sold for multi-millions of dollars in a short space of time. I'm not saying that ours will, BUT you never know. Also there are opportunities to monetize the newsletter once we have grown the subs.

 

[The Carfisher]

Welcome to UKBF.

If you want more eyes on your newsletters, you need to start your own blog and YouTube channel if you're up for it. Personal branding is important to gain trust.
Google likes unique expert content. You should learn about SEO and use your posts to target search queries.
Are you looking at monetising your expertise?

Thanks for your reply.

The newsletter provider i'm using is Beehiiv and they have a landing page with all my post on which acts as a blog and is searchable in Google.

I will be looking to monetize the newsletter in the future.

 

[The Carfisher]

When I saw the title of this post "the-carfisher-dont-take-the-bait" I was expecting the post to be about you being ripped off and a warning to others about "the carfisher".

To be honest, I've been buying cars for a decade now and there are many underhand tactics used to knock the value of cars down so this is why I titled the blog this, it's to try and help and educate readers so it doesn't happen to them!

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I've Googled Carfisher and can't get past links for CATfisher sites?

However, on tracking you down via another search and reading some of the reasons that Carfisher says makes one car worth more than another appear to be the sort of thing that most people would know already? Things like service history, Mot status, condition......

What are you saying that's different?

 

[The Carfisher]

I've Googled Carfisher and can't get past links for CATfisher sites?

I know. Will need some time for Google to rank it. When i type it, it gives me a link saying 'did you mean The Carfisher?'. However, the URL is thecarfisher co uk

 

[Shopclicks]

where as email has been a constant for the last however many decades.

What is your open rate? Everything I've read and heard points to a decline.

The newsletter is fine but you're not showing it to anyone at any sort of scale.

The newsletter provider i'm using is Beehiiv and they have a landing page with all my post on which acts as a blog and is searchable in Google.

No, your platform is not acting as a blog. Your posts don't show up for any search terms with significant volume. You need a blog if you want traction.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Hello Jason and welcome

The usual suspects on this site don't sell their cars they have normally driven it into a tree before it gets to that point ??

 

[The Carfisher]

What is your open rate? Everything I've read and heard points to a decline.

The newsletter is fine but you're not showing it to anyone at any sort of scale.


No, your platform is not acting as a blog. Your posts don't show up for any search terms with significant volume. You need a blog if you want traction.

Average open rate is 52% and I believe the average is around 20% so not bad. The average click rate is 16% against an average I believe of 10%?

Post Covid there has been a huge decline in the industry as a whole and this is what has prompted me to start the newsletter. There needs to be more support and advice for people wanting to sell their car. There are so many car buying companies paying to be listed highly on Google but each company only promote why you should sell to them. I want to give vital help and support with this newsletter. More than ever we need it. I work with some of the best dealer groups up and down the country and know how hard it is both for them and for consumers currently. The decline generally is down to cost of living, interest rates etc.

The newsletter was free to start and get content out there. Not having experience in creating blogs they cost money. This is why I'm on here now as I want this to grow so if needs be, it will turn into a blog/newsletter.

Currently I've started the newsletter for free and use LinkedIn to repurpose the content and drive people to the newsletter. Always open to advise though, that's why I'm here

 

[Ozzy]

Hi and welcome @The Carfisher

No, your platform is not acting as a blog. Your posts don't show up for any search terms with significant volume. You need a blog if you want traction.

Adding to this comment from @Shopclicks I agree, using the email platform to host copies of the newsletters and hoping that Google will pick them up IMHO isn't going to achieve what you hope it will. As as been suggested, posting your content online and then use a newsletter to compliment a marketing strategy towards whatever your ultimate commercial goal is.

For UKBF we run a newsletter which exists to drawer attention to content on this site.

Side note, what about lease? As this is a site for business owners and many business owners may prefer lease over ownership, perhaps cover that?

 

[fisicx]

Newsletters are less useful than they were a while back. The email should just be a pointer to your blog posts and articles.

Not sure beehiiv is going to work for you. You would be much better off getting your own site. You will have far more control.

 

[The Carfisher]

I've Googled Carfisher and can't get past links for CATfisher sites?

However, on tracking you down via another search and reading some of the reasons that Carfisher says makes one car worth more than another appear to be the sort of thing that most people would know already? Things like service history, Mot status, condition......

What are you saying that's different?

These were just initial posts to start the newsletter. I've been buying cars for over a decade now and you would be surprised and what people don't know when selling their car.

The post about 10 forms of documentation, to many on here may seem obvious, however the amount of cars I have gone to and they say 'yeah it's been serviced as and when it's needed it' and then you ask for the service invoice or stamp in the book and they say 'ooooh I don't have any records of it' or when the car has finance and you are there ready to pay for the car and they get their 'App' out with the finance amount. A dealer will need a full finance settlement letter, which includes agreement number and finance bank details etc.

I know to many on here it seems obvious but to many i'm still having these conversations with.

 

[The Carfisher]

Hi and welcome @The Carfisher

Adding to this comment from @Shopclicks I agree, using the email platform to host copies of the newsletters and hoping that Google will pick them up IMHO isn't going to achieve what you hope it will. As as been suggested, posting your content online and then use a newsletter to compliment a marketing strategy towards whatever your ultimate commercial goal is.

For UKBF we run a newsletter which exists to drawer attention to content on this site.

Side note, what about lease? As this is a site for business owners and many business owners may prefer lease over ownership, perhaps cover that?

Thanks for the welcome Ozzy!

This newsletter has been 3 months in the mind, and have now finally taken the leap. When I first set out I wanted to start a blog! I follow Blog Growth Engine on Youtube which used to be Adam Enfroy and was hooked and a Blog is the way I wanted to go.

I want to produce content surrounding the motor trade in general with a focus on the painpoint of selling your car.

When speaking to blog creators and the cost involved i came across newsletters and then started researching them. If you search 'newsletter 2023' you will see my reasoning and that later down the line there would be an exit. Nearly every channel I watched was saying Newsletters will be big business in 2023, so with it being free to start and jumped in.

I think switching to a Blog would be a little easier now if that is the best route to go as when i was speaking to people about creating a Blog for me, they wanted me to have 10-15 blog articles ready so that when they created the blog it would look busy, so at least now I have 5 pieces of content ready.

Lease over ownership is a great topic! Something we will be covering. Also EV is something a lot of people want to know about. Business owners for example wanting to switch to EV.

 

[fisicx]

Cost of a blog is zero. All you have to pay for is hosting and that’s cheap as chips.

Install Wordpress and your blog will be up and running 5 minutes later.

Take everything you hear on YouTube with a pinch of salt. It’s mostly garbage. Especially advice that newsletters will be big in 2023.

 

[The Carfisher]

Cost of a blog is zero. All you have to pay for is hosting and that’s cheap as chips.

Install Wordpress and your blog will be up and running 5 minutes later.

Take everything you hear on YouTube with a pinch of salt. It’s mostly garbage. Especially advice that newsletters will be big in 2023.

Is WordPress the best platform in your opinion, or just the easiest and cheapest?

 

[fisicx]

Is WordPress the best platform in your opinion, or just the easiest and cheapest?

Easiest (relatively) and free. There are better but not as well supported or with the range of the free themes and plugins. Most hosts have a 1-click installer so you can be up and running in minutes.

 

[Shopclicks]

Is WordPress the best platform in your opinion, or just the easiest and cheapest?

It's ideal for your purposes. Hosting can cost you as little as £100/year. Wordpress is completely free. I will say there is a learning curve as with any platform, to get the best out of it. But there are thousands of YouTube video tutorials if you don't want to pay someone to build it for you.

 

[fisicx]

Hosting can cost you as little as £100/year.

Fasthosts are offering 50p/month for 6 months. Will probably suffice while @The Carfisher shops around.

 

[Shopclicks]

Fasthosts are offering 50p/month for 6 months.

That's desperate

 

[14Steve14]

Average open rate is 52% and I believe the average is around 20% so not bad. The average click rate is 16% against an average I believe of 10%?

If people have to signup to receive your newsletter why is the open rate so low. Its obviously something that they want to receive so why not open it. This is one of the things that are fundamentally wrong with newsletters. People say they want it then never open them. You will constantly need to find new subscribers, and thats not easy.

 

[The Carfisher]

If people have to signup to receive your newsletter why is the open rate so low. Its obviously something that they want to receive so why not open it. This is one of the things that are fundamentally wrong with newsletters. People say they want it then never open them. You will constantly need to find new subscribers, and thats not easy.

I completely agree with this. It's a relatively new newsletter and i have been getting to grips with the platform. I found that the emails were hitting peoples junk folders from the platform i'm using. A lot of people don't check their junk. There is a sign up email i've created now so when people sign up they receive an email which explains they need to move the email into their inbox to receive further emails etc.

It's a pain but it's still higher than the average 20% i guess.

 

[fisicx]

But....

If you bin the newsletter and just blog your news you will attract far more visitors to the site.

 

[Shopclicks]

If you bin the newsletter and just blog your news you will attract far more visitors to the site.

Or do both but choose a better email marketing provider.

 

[fisicx]

Indeed. But don't put the articles in the newsletter. Just provide the links.

Better still, duplicate the articles as poscasts and youtube videos. Spreads the net even wider.

 

[Socio South West]

Good advice on blogs, Wordpress etc

Keep your URLs search engine friendly, and use a plug in to get your SEO on the right lines, and you will be picking up traffic in no time.