Got to have a deadline

Happy New! Can you believe it’s already 2010?! Weren’t we supposed to be in flying cars by now like George Jetson? Last week we wrapped up our discussion on guarantees. To see that last post, visit the blog. Today we’ll start in on two big topics. Two that makes direct response marketing what it is. (Direct response is the kind of marketing I teach in these tips)

Those, of course, are deadlines and offers. These are what truly separates direct response marketing from main-stream, “Madison Avenue,” brand building advertising.

Pure and simple, if you don’t have a deadline you don’t have an offer. Most businesses that aren’t tuned in to direct response hide their deadlines in tiny sized invisible ink hoping you won’t see it. This is just the opposite that you want to do. You want to create ungency, you want them to act now, which is just the opposite of what most big, dumb companies do.

Something to consider with your deadline is people are more motivated by fear of loss than personal gain. So often times a deadline where they ‘lose out’ on something after an elapsed time is better than gaining something if they respond early.

Some ways to use deadlines are:

• Response required within “X” number of days
• By a certain date
• By a date stamped in RED on your letter
• Limited to the first “X” number

Deadlines are a great way to create urgency which is what you want to do, so don’t hide them and make them very clear to your clients or prospects.

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No Deadline, No Offer

We finished off the last post with “reason why” marketing in your offers. To recap, see the blog post below. Now we’re on to number 6 in our series of 7 tip for crafting an offer. This may be the most important of the 7 tips you’ll get, so pay close attention.

For an offer to really be irresistible, you MUST have a reason for immediate action. In direct response marketing, we call them deadlines.

If you don’t have a deadline, you don’t really have an offer. Most importantly, you don’t want to hide your offer. You can to make it big and clear. A headline is not something to hide from the client, hoping they don’t see it. It’s the complete opposite. You want them to know the deadline, make it big and clear to create urgency and an immediately response, NOW, not later.

Here’s an insider’s tip most don’t know. Multiple deadlines, especially if you’re deadline is not for a few weeks, can work very well with an additional bonus for a fast response. Here’s an example:

This offer expires on June 30, 2009. But if you respond by June 10th, you’ll get ________________________.

And fill in the blank with your incredible bonus gift, Free report, additional savings etc.

Having a reason why for the deadline is also key. Its can tie right back to the reason why you’re making the offer in the first place. If we use our vendor example from last week (see it here), we can easily say our vendor has only allowed us this offer until a certain date. This may not be the best reason, but it’s a BELIEVEABLE reason, which is all we’re really concerned with.

Here are just a few ways to create deadlines in your marketing:

• Within “X” Number of Days
• By “X”-Date
• By Date stamped in RED in the letter.
• Limited to the first “X” number
• There’s a Waiting List! You can’t even get it right now!

www.3DMailResults.com