We’re continuing our segment on the 7 ad essentials you must include in your marketing. Last week we hit the topic of a deadlines and how vital they are to success in direct mail marketing. To review, visit the blog post below. Today we’ll move on to something I feel is completely overlooked by most marketers, a premium/free gift.
We’ll start with a quote from my mentor Dan Kennedy:
“Too many marketers deal with premiums almost as an afterthought. This is a huge mistake. I know for a fact that premiums can and do drive sales, and that a change of premium, with no other changes, can dramatically alter the results of a promotion. For this reason, just as much careful thought should be given to the premium as to the main offer.”
Research has shown that a direct mail letter with a premium/free gift offer can out pull a sales letter alone by as much as 300%! Before we get too far into why they work so well, you may be thinking, “What is a premium?”
A premium/free gift is anything of value your prospect/client/patient receives for taking some action that you want, and it doesn’t have to be just with a purchase. Many times it may be good to offer a premium/free gift just for responding to your advertising, with no purchase needed. Or, you may want to use the premium/free gift when an existing client refers a new buying client.
Often, the best premiums are not even tied to what you are offering! It’s often an unrelated item for the personal use of the buyer and not even for their business (if you’re selling B2B). The key is that is has perceived vale. It may not cost a lot, but it should look like it costs a lot.
It’s also wise to reveal the gift of give options rather than have a mystery gift. When you do reveal the gift, a picture is worth a thousand words. Always include a picture of the item, as this is much more effective than only describing the item.
Lastly, premiums can lower your cost per transaction. It likely seems nuts to you that premiums can actually lower your cost pre transaction,, but here’s how it works.
Let’s say you mail out 10,000 sales letters, with no premium and you get a 2% response rate. That would be 200 responders. Let’s further assume that you can be profitable with those 200 responders.
Now let’s say you offer the premium, and response goes up to 3%. This is not an out-of-the-ordinary response when you offer a premium. You now only need to send out 6,700 pieces of mail to get the same 200 responders as you did without the premium.
And, for easy math, let’s say each mailing cost $1.00. You would save $3,300 on just the single mailing. Your premium cost you $5 each for the 200 responders for a total cost of $1,000. You still save $2,300 over the offer without the premium!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
7 Ad Essentials - Deadlines
We’re continuing our segment on 7 ad essentials you must include in your marketing. Last week we talked about your basic business info, maps and directions and offers. In case you missed it, or if you’d like to review, visit the blog here. Today we’ll discuss a biggie, deadlines!
Last week we talk about having an offer. A deadline goes hand-in-hand with offers. 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 type hoping you won’t see it. This is just the opposite of what you want to do. You want to create urgency; 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 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 include:
It’s always great when you can incorporate “reason why” copy as well. This means you actually have a reason why, and you explain it for both your deadline and your offer. one of the best “reasons why” is an anniversary sale. In fact for one of our businesses, American Retail Supply, we just celebrated our 40th Anniversary. When you give a reason why, people will accept it at face value. They’ll think to themselves, “Oh, that’s why I’m getting a discount” instead of being cautious or skeptical.
You can also blame a “common enemy” as a reason for both a promotion and deadline. In the past I’ve used my accountant as the “enemy.” The story goes that I had a great idea for a promotion, but the “lousy bean-counting accountant” wouldn’t let me. So when he went on vacation,I did it anyway! Sure, it’s not a great reason, but it’s good enough, plus it gives me a great story to tell in my advertising. Everybody loves to read a story!
It’s always good to have a name for your offer. In the above examples we obviously named it the Anniversary Sale, and “My accountants Away” offer. There’s a ton of others you can use. Just a few are:
The power of taking something away over time is a very strong way to get people to act sooner rather than later.
Last week we talk about having an offer. A deadline goes hand-in-hand with offers. 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 type hoping you won’t see it. This is just the opposite of what you want to do. You want to create urgency; 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 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 include:
- 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
It’s always great when you can incorporate “reason why” copy as well. This means you actually have a reason why, and you explain it for both your deadline and your offer. one of the best “reasons why” is an anniversary sale. In fact for one of our businesses, American Retail Supply, we just celebrated our 40th Anniversary. When you give a reason why, people will accept it at face value. They’ll think to themselves, “Oh, that’s why I’m getting a discount” instead of being cautious or skeptical.
You can also blame a “common enemy” as a reason for both a promotion and deadline. In the past I’ve used my accountant as the “enemy.” The story goes that I had a great idea for a promotion, but the “lousy bean-counting accountant” wouldn’t let me. So when he went on vacation,I did it anyway! Sure, it’s not a great reason, but it’s good enough, plus it gives me a great story to tell in my advertising. Everybody loves to read a story!
It’s always good to have a name for your offer. In the above examples we obviously named it the Anniversary Sale, and “My accountants Away” offer. There’s a ton of others you can use. Just a few are:
- Birthdays
- Holidays or events
- “Empty the Shelves” event for overstocked inventory
- “One Week Only” Sale
- The list could go on.
This offer expires in two weeks, but if you respond in the next two weeks you’ll get an additional FREE gift.
The power of taking something away over time is a very strong way to get people to act sooner rather than later.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
7 Ad Essentials
I hope you had a fun and safe 4th of July celebration over the weekend. I certainly did, even if it did rain a little (only in Seattle!). So last week we briefly spoke about one of my favorite topics, the Robert Collier principle. If you want to review, or are unfamiliar with that term, you really should go check out the blog post here.
For the next several tips we’ll discuss what I call the 7 essentials for any advertising you do. The first few may seem obvious, but you’d been amazed at how many critiques I get and they’re missing some, or most of these essentials.
The first thing you always need is your basic business card information. You and your company’s name, full address, website(s), phone number, fax, e-mail, your Facebook page,etc. Again, this may seem basic as you read this but it’s amazing how often these little things get overlooked. Plus, be sure you have the information correct! I’ve heard horror stories of wrong phone numbers, misspelled websites, etc.
Next, if client’s coming to your brick-and-Mortar place of business is an option whatsoever, you MUST include a map and directions to your location. Not everybody knows where you are located or will remember, even your best clients. If you leave a prospect or client wondering or confused they won’t do anything!
If you don’t have an offer you don’t really have an advertisement. Offers are vital with any direct response and direct mail campaign. Quite frankly, it’s what makes direct response marketing what it is.
With offers, it’s almost always better to give them an ‘either or’ option instead of only one. For example, you may have a basic and deluxe version, Gold or Silver Editions, etc. These will almost always out-perform a simple yes/no option.
Here’s an advanced tip. When 65% or more of your clients start taking the deluxe option over the basic, add a “Best” option. You’ll want to keep the other two, but it’s been my experience that 10-20% will start taking the “Best” option when you present it.
Later in the week we’ll cover a few more of the 7 essentials all your marketing must contain.
About two weeks ago, I sent you a message about my friend Brian Tracy's moving day offer, and how if you acted fast, you could obtain a bundle of bargains on some of some of his best products during Brian Tracy's Moving Day Sale of 2010.
Check it out here.
Response has been overwhelming. I'm writing today because I want to make sure you get in on the deal. It's pretty straight forward. Brian moved offices recently and is up to his eyeballs in products. Until they started unpacking, they didn't even realize what they had!
Well, Brian's moving challenge becomes your windfall because he's allowing me to practically give away his products to you. You can find an abundance of some of his best stuff right here.
I'm on a tight 30 day limit for offering these savings to you, and they said they're already seeing quite a bit of space cleared out in the stockroom over there. Check out the deals here.
For the next several tips we’ll discuss what I call the 7 essentials for any advertising you do. The first few may seem obvious, but you’d been amazed at how many critiques I get and they’re missing some, or most of these essentials.
The first thing you always need is your basic business card information. You and your company’s name, full address, website(s), phone number, fax, e-mail, your Facebook page,etc. Again, this may seem basic as you read this but it’s amazing how often these little things get overlooked. Plus, be sure you have the information correct! I’ve heard horror stories of wrong phone numbers, misspelled websites, etc.
Next, if client’s coming to your brick-and-Mortar place of business is an option whatsoever, you MUST include a map and directions to your location. Not everybody knows where you are located or will remember, even your best clients. If you leave a prospect or client wondering or confused they won’t do anything!
If you don’t have an offer you don’t really have an advertisement. Offers are vital with any direct response and direct mail campaign. Quite frankly, it’s what makes direct response marketing what it is.
With offers, it’s almost always better to give them an ‘either or’ option instead of only one. For example, you may have a basic and deluxe version, Gold or Silver Editions, etc. These will almost always out-perform a simple yes/no option.
Here’s an advanced tip. When 65% or more of your clients start taking the deluxe option over the basic, add a “Best” option. You’ll want to keep the other two, but it’s been my experience that 10-20% will start taking the “Best” option when you present it.
Later in the week we’ll cover a few more of the 7 essentials all your marketing must contain.
Blog Reader’s Only Special
About two weeks ago, I sent you a message about my friend Brian Tracy's moving day offer, and how if you acted fast, you could obtain a bundle of bargains on some of some of his best products during Brian Tracy's Moving Day Sale of 2010.
Check it out here.
Response has been overwhelming. I'm writing today because I want to make sure you get in on the deal. It's pretty straight forward. Brian moved offices recently and is up to his eyeballs in products. Until they started unpacking, they didn't even realize what they had!
Well, Brian's moving challenge becomes your windfall because he's allowing me to practically give away his products to you. You can find an abundance of some of his best stuff right here.
I'm on a tight 30 day limit for offering these savings to you, and they said they're already seeing quite a bit of space cleared out in the stockroom over there. Check out the deals here.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Robert Collier Principle
We’re going to briefly going to talk about one of my favorite topics and strategies in marketing. In fact, we teach it and talk about it often in my monthly newsletter, The Copywriter’s Corner. It’s the Robert Collier principle.
Robert Collier is a famous copywriter and author who who said, as a marketer, you want to enter to conversation already going on in your client or prospects head. Using current events, holidays and borrowing from celebrity is a great way to do this. To steal a line from a political newscaster, “Which of these stories will they be talking about tomorrow?”
Current events are relatively easy, but you usually need to act quickly. Even big stories have a relatively short shelf life. As I write this, the oil spill in the gulf, and immigration are on the news, the next “Twilight” movie is due out any day and it’s expected to break all kinds of records.
Politics is always an easy target, regardless of what side of the fence you’re on (just be sure the match that message to your market, like we talked about last week here). Over the past few years we’ve had bail-outs, an election, cash for clunkers, and on and one. In November of 2009, we gave our Copywriter’s Corner members a ready to implement 3D mailer using gold medals to tie in to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Holidays are also a great way to get in your client’s head. There are the obvious ones like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, etc.
Using celebrity is also a great way to use the Collier principle. Unfortunately we know way more about Snookie than we should, and who knows what the Lohan girl will do next. See how easy that is?
I mentioned the Copywriter’s Corner above. This is sent to my 3d Mail Inner Circle Members. Each month we send you a turn-key, ready to implement 3D sales letter that use can use in your business. It’s part of our 3D Mail Sample Kit and Sales Explosion Guide. You can watch my short video here, and see if it’s for you.
Robert Collier is a famous copywriter and author who who said, as a marketer, you want to enter to conversation already going on in your client or prospects head. Using current events, holidays and borrowing from celebrity is a great way to do this. To steal a line from a political newscaster, “Which of these stories will they be talking about tomorrow?”
Current events are relatively easy, but you usually need to act quickly. Even big stories have a relatively short shelf life. As I write this, the oil spill in the gulf, and immigration are on the news, the next “Twilight” movie is due out any day and it’s expected to break all kinds of records.
Politics is always an easy target, regardless of what side of the fence you’re on (just be sure the match that message to your market, like we talked about last week here). Over the past few years we’ve had bail-outs, an election, cash for clunkers, and on and one. In November of 2009, we gave our Copywriter’s Corner members a ready to implement 3D mailer using gold medals to tie in to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Holidays are also a great way to get in your client’s head. There are the obvious ones like 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, etc.
Using celebrity is also a great way to use the Collier principle. Unfortunately we know way more about Snookie than we should, and who knows what the Lohan girl will do next. See how easy that is?
Blog Reader’s Only Special
I mentioned the Copywriter’s Corner above. This is sent to my 3d Mail Inner Circle Members. Each month we send you a turn-key, ready to implement 3D sales letter that use can use in your business. It’s part of our 3D Mail Sample Kit and Sales Explosion Guide. You can watch my short video here, and see if it’s for you.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Target Your Best Clients
I hope you’re enjoying our ongoing discussion on message to market match and the marketing triangle. So far we talk about the markets you choose and the message (what you say). You can review those links at my postings below.
Today we’ll move on to Media which means the devices you use to get new clients to your business and how you get past clients to buy again. Remember, we’re using Dan Kennedy’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
Today we’ll move on to Media which means the devices you use to get new clients to your business and how you get past clients to buy again. Remember, we’re using Dan Kennedy’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
By media, I’m talking about any means of delivering your message to your target audience (your market). These can include (but certainly not limited to):
- Direct mail
- Yellow pages
- Newspapers
- TV
- Radio
- Websites
- Blogs
- Videos
- Seminars
- Tele-seminars
- Webinars
- Car racks
- Signage
- Billboards
- Banners
- ValPak style mailers
The list goes on and on.
I know some of you probably have some pre-conceived notions about some of the media listed and think of some of them as bad or good media. To be honest, there is no such thing as a bad or good media, just as there is not good or bad tool in your toolbox in the garage. There are tools that are more appropriate than others, say if you want to pound in a nail, or screw in a screw. One does better than the other for certain jobs.
The same is true with your media. Here’s an example. If you’re targeting people over the age of 70 for vacation rentals in Florida during the winter, relying solely internet websites, online videos and e-mailis foolish. You’ll need to use other media to reach those people such as direct mail or magazine/newspaper ads.
However, if you’re targeting college aged spring breakers to come to Lake Havasu, then the web may be a perfect place and you’ll probably want to rule out the yellow pages, Val-Pak etc.
You want to limit yourself to those media that are paid the most attention to, and the ones that are preferred and given creditability by your target audience. And, most importantly, one you can affordable reach.
To know if they are affordable, that means you must track your lifetime customer value (LTCV) and short term customer value (STCV) as some media can and should be ruled out and make others more attractive.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Words You Say
Last week we started our discussion on “Message to Market Match” and I introduced you to Dan Kennedy’s famous marketing triangle. Last week we had a great discussion on the Market (who) side of the triangle. To review where we’ve been see my blog post here.
Today we’ll move on to Message (what), or the things you say or write to your market (who). Remember, we’re using Dan’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
Your marketing messages are the things you say or write about your business/product/service to entice people to do business with you. They can include your:
This is vitally important. For example, if you’re a charity targeting republicans over the age of 55, you probably don’t want to quote JFK. However,a quote, image, and extensive use of Ronald Reagan would probably be very appropriate.
On the flip side, if you’re the same charity targeting young democrats, quoting Regan is probably worthless. But using an image of Obama on the first page of your letter with a quote from him would almost certainly boost response.
The words, images, phrases, etc. you use play a vital role in having just an OK response and having excellent response. Later this week we’ll talk a bit more about howto craft your messages to match your markets.
Recently my friend Brian Tracy informed me of a problem he was having...
He has just moved his office, and found a supply of amazing products that he didn't even know were there! He has been in that office space for more than 20 years, so it was bound to happen; a lot can get lost or hidden in a 20 year period.
So he asked me to help. And now I'm asking YOU to help. Don't worry, you don't have to lift any boxes or move any heavy furniture...
All the hard work is done, all I need you to do is click here now to see how you can help yourself to all the wonderful valuables Brian and his team uncovered while moving and changing suppliers.
I call it Brian Tracy's Moving Day Sale of 2010, and it's all about you getting your hands on hi best products for just pennies on the dollar. I must give you fair warning, there is a tight 30-day window on this offer.
What are you waiting for? Check it out now.
Today we’ll move on to Message (what), or the things you say or write to your market (who). Remember, we’re using Dan’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
Your marketing messages are the things you say or write about your business/product/service to entice people to do business with you. They can include your:- Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- Unique Value Proposition
- Elevator Speech
- Sales letters
- Web site copy and images
- The offers you make
- The social proof you use
- Testimonials, etc.
This is vitally important. For example, if you’re a charity targeting republicans over the age of 55, you probably don’t want to quote JFK. However,a quote, image, and extensive use of Ronald Reagan would probably be very appropriate.
On the flip side, if you’re the same charity targeting young democrats, quoting Regan is probably worthless. But using an image of Obama on the first page of your letter with a quote from him would almost certainly boost response.
The words, images, phrases, etc. you use play a vital role in having just an OK response and having excellent response. Later this week we’ll talk a bit more about howto craft your messages to match your markets.
Marketing Tip Reader’s Only Special
Recently my friend Brian Tracy informed me of a problem he was having...
He has just moved his office, and found a supply of amazing products that he didn't even know were there! He has been in that office space for more than 20 years, so it was bound to happen; a lot can get lost or hidden in a 20 year period.
So he asked me to help. And now I'm asking YOU to help. Don't worry, you don't have to lift any boxes or move any heavy furniture...
All the hard work is done, all I need you to do is click here now to see how you can help yourself to all the wonderful valuables Brian and his team uncovered while moving and changing suppliers.
I call it Brian Tracy's Moving Day Sale of 2010, and it's all about you getting your hands on hi best products for just pennies on the dollar. I must give you fair warning, there is a tight 30-day window on this offer.
What are you waiting for? Check it out now.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Who's Your Who
Last week we started our discussion on “Message to Market Match” and I introduced you to Dan Kennedy’s famous marketing triangle. We briefly touch on the Media portion (see image below). There will be more to come on Media in the coming days. To review where we’ve been see my blog post here.
Today we’ll move on to the markets, or the ‘who’ in your business that you choose. Remember, we’re using Dan’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
The “Markets” side of the triangle refers to who you select and choose as your clientele, with a big emphasis on SELECT and CHOOSE. Believe it or not, you, through your marketing, advertising and other messages, select your own clients. To say it simply, if you have bad clients you have no one to blame but yourself.
There’s never been a worse time for an, “Anybody is my client” mentality. I can’t tell you how many times I’m consulting with clients and I ask the simply question, “Who is your client?” and they either say, “I don’t know…”or, “Everybody in Milwaukee.” (Assuming they’re in
Milwaukee.)
Quite frankly, it’s too costly to attract ‘everybody’ with one broad brushstroke. It’s a huge mistake to have too big a targeted market with too few resources. Leave that to big, dumb corporations.
So I’ll leave you today with a brief, concise definition of how you should target your ideal market:
Later this week we’ll tackle the ‘Message’ side of the marketing triangle. I’ll see you then!
Today we’ll move on to the markets, or the ‘who’ in your business that you choose. Remember, we’re using Dan’s Marketing Triangle as a basis for our conversation.
The “Markets” side of the triangle refers to who you select and choose as your clientele, with a big emphasis on SELECT and CHOOSE. Believe it or not, you, through your marketing, advertising and other messages, select your own clients. To say it simply, if you have bad clients you have no one to blame but yourself.There’s never been a worse time for an, “Anybody is my client” mentality. I can’t tell you how many times I’m consulting with clients and I ask the simply question, “Who is your client?” and they either say, “I don’t know…”or, “Everybody in Milwaukee.” (Assuming they’re in
Milwaukee.)
Quite frankly, it’s too costly to attract ‘everybody’ with one broad brushstroke. It’s a huge mistake to have too big a targeted market with too few resources. Leave that to big, dumb corporations.
So I’ll leave you today with a brief, concise definition of how you should target your ideal market:
A good market is identifiable, affordably reached group with shared interests, needs, fears, desires which you believe are well matched to your knowledge, product service and expertise.
Later this week we’ll tackle the ‘Message’ side of the marketing triangle. I’ll see you then!
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