I'm sure it's no surprise to you to hear that the people most likely to buy from you in the future are the people who've bought from you in the past (or came close to buying).

That's why you'll hear so much advice telling you to get back in touch with your ex-clients, your old contacts or your “nearly bought” prospects. And then to keep in touch with them.

The problem is, it's hard. Really hard in my experience.

The reason most of us aren't in regular contact with old contacts and clients isn't because we don't know how valuable it is. It's because we find it difficult.

Few of us have the front to just call or email people we haven't spoken to for ages and ask what's up. 

We feel like we need a proper reason to get in touch otherwise it'll be a bit embarrassing and feel self-serving.

And coming up with a “proper reason” every time is really hard work.

So we don't do it.

We tell ourselves they'll call us if they need us. And of course they don't. They have their own worries and concerns and we slip to the back of their minds.

Then they hire someone to do something they'd actually have preferred us to do if they'd have remembered. 

The best way of staying in touch on a regular basis is not to need a reason. It's to pre-establish it as something that people expect.

And although it feels a bit old fashioned these days, it's what an email newsletter does brilliantly.

Once you sign up to get regular tips from me, I show up in your inbox every week.

I don't need to think of a “proper reason” every time. I just press send.

Of course, it's not the same quality of interaction as calling someone and chatting about old times and asking about what they're up to.

But it's infinitely better than doing nothing, which is what actually happens otherwise.

And it's usually enough to keep top of mind and to build credibility and trust too.

Publishing on Linkedin or Youtube or wherever your audience is works in a similar way too. You keep top of mind and build credibility with people who might need your help.

Establishing a regular habit of publishing isn't trivial. But it's way, way easier than coming up with a good reason for getting back in touch person by person.

(And there's no reason you can't do the personal thing on top too. In fact the newsletter can give you something to talk about).

If I had to give one piece of advice these days about building a sustainable business as an expert I'd say “make publishing a habit”.

And in the next few weeks I'm going to focus my tips on how to do that. Starting with a little bit of a survey to see what you'd like to know the most or what you're struggling with.