Dear Direct Marketer,
Welcome to this week's Direct Marketing Update. In this issue, you'll learn more little-known secrets to skyrocketing response rates.
Plus we continue our series that shows you how to stop making the most costly direct mail blunders.
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Direct mail can profitably generate leads and sales in today's market. But there are 7 common blunders that are costly, waste time and depress response.
The #1 destroyer of a great direct mail piece is a poorly constructed offer. In the last issue, we covered blunders 2 through 4.
Click here to learn how to avoid Blunders 2, 3 and 4. The 5th major blunder is writing to your target audience without first defining exactly who that is. Universally, you have three target audiences: Customers from your own database, prospects and rental list names. Customers have bought from you before. Prospects usually originate from your lead generation efforts or word-of-mouth. They know who you are and what you have to offer. And rental names don't have a clue. What's more, these potential clients are not waiting for your direct mail to arrive. People don't care who you are. Unless what you have to say speaks directly to their needs, their frustrations or their fears, human beings won't sit up and listen. The first split-second thought every reader has is the same. "What's in it for me?" So for each of our three list segments, you must first uncover the uniqueness of your prospect. Here's how. Before writing a single word of copy, ask yourself "What is my prospect like?" To answer this question, think about who your prospects are.
- How old are they?
- What's their yearly income?
- Where do they live and/or work?
- What keeps them up at night?
- What are their desires and dreams?
- What do you need to do to convince them to buy...a product picture? A story of how your product was made? Your track record?
- What are their hot issues and emotional triggers?
Basically, you want to know as much as you can about your prospects. Visualize them. Create a 1- to 3- paragraph profile of just one person who has the characteristics inherent to your direct mail target audience. The most successful copywriters know that pinning a picture of their defined target prospect on the wall helps them write the kind of one-on-one copy that generates consistent "buy" response. If you find answering these questions difficult, talk to your past customers. Peruse online forums and check out what your prospect is talking about.
Study your competitors' magalogs. Read what he reads...do whatever you can to gain good insight into what's going on inside your prospect's mind. The idea is to write your copy to just one...making it sound person-to-person. But this isn't all you need to know. Tone and feel are important. Each audience segment has their own. When addressing a customer database, your direct mail needs to be pleasurable and amiable. It's relational. There's a specific tactic I like to use when personalizing correspondence that's worked very well. To solidify a personal relationship, I reference a customer's past purchase. This gives us commonality. Prospects, on the other hand, need to overcome their reluctances. To do this, give them a lot of proof. Make your prospect copy--in postal letters or email blasts--aggressive. Building credibility with facts and figures is the goal with this group. Click here to read my article: The #1 Key to Gaining Your Prospects' Trust Rental lists present the biggest copy challenge. Here you need the most powerful copywriting. Cover all the proven direct response rules. Often this calls for the longest sales copy. Bottom line: Too many direct marketers use an anemic copy approach because they don't understand direct marketing. Repeatedly, I've found the error is in writing to the 3 target audience groups at once, which doesn't work. If you find yourself guilty of Blunder 5, make sure you clearly identify your prospect, then address your target audience with the right approach.
Save yourself time, headaches and money. Stay tuned for Blunders 6 and 7 in our next issue.
And if you need help with copy, contact me at craig@cdmginc.com. I'd love to talk to you about creating a powerful direct response mail piece for your next campaign.
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Reader Response to Last Week's Test: Do Web Videos Help or Hurt Response? |
I posed the question why readers thought a video testimonial posted on a credit counseling company's shopping cart webpage pulled better than either a text testimonial or no testimonial.
Reader response:
I think that the video for the credit counseling pulled more because with a video you may have seen a real live person, which makes the company more "real" and "believable."
How do I know what will happen to my money? Why should I connect with only an email and not connect with a real human to decide what I should do with my very personal money issues? Thanks for the fantastic information.
--Frances
Publisher's response:
Yes, that's a major reason a video works...the powerful impact of one person talking to another. With the right scripts and the right spokesperson, videos will increase your response.
If you're interested in putting video on your website I can help. Email me at craig@cdmginc.com.
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Web Strategy: Overcome a Hidden Shopping Cart Depressant |
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Last issue, I told you that the more you follow direct response copywriting and art tactics, the more ROI you'll make from your shopping cart. ( Click here to read the story.)
This week, what I have to say may surprise you. One of the depressants in shopping carts that's often overlooked is including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). If you've been reading Direct Marketing Update for awhile then you know that I've been negative about placing FAQs anywhere else but in your shopping cart. Why? Because FAQs are a diversion of your sales message. In direct marketing, if it's not needed, it depresses response. But sometimes FAQs near the shopping cart can have a helpful effect. So how do you decide what to do? The way to know whether or not you need FAQs in your shopping cart is to first ask yourself, "Do I really need FAQs in this section?" If you feel you need FAQs in your website shopping cart, write each one as a stand-alone sales piece. Every Frequently Asked Question should be written as if it were a sales piece. Frame the questions from a sales perspective. What can you say in your FAQs to help close the sale? Use direct response copy to help reinforce your close by being specific, persuasive and writing with customer benefits in mind. This will make your FAQs savvy and sales worthy. Your FAQs will help you or hurt you. Have you reviewed what you're doing on your website? If you'd like me to take a look at your shopping cart for a FREE critique, please give me a call at 310-212-5727.
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Copy Tip: The Secret to Putting Power in Your Writing |
No other form of writing demands greater precision in word choice, structure, language and meaning than direct response. In a word, it's vigorous.
A sentence should contain no unnecessary words; a paragraph no unnecessary sentences...for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.
This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, but that every word tells.
Here are some examples:
- Don't say: An example of this is the fact that
Say: For example
- Don't say: Due to the fact that
Say: Because
- Don't say: In reference to
Say: About, regarding
- Don't say: In view of the fact that
Say: Because
- Don't say: 1:00 a.m. in the morning
Say: 1:00 a.m.
- Don't say: May possibly
Say: May
- Don't say: Plan in advance
Say: Plan
- Don't say: Refer back to
Say: Refer to
- Don't say: Reason why
Say: Reason that
- Don't say: Reason why is because
Say: Reason is that
Email me at craig@cdmginc.com if you'd like some help with your copy. |
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Testing Corner: Price vs. Revenue Test |
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A web-based information publisher tested its price points with very interesting results. For unlimited access to its website, the publisher's control was $69.95.
Several different fees were suggested and then equally rotated among site visitors. Here are the results:
Price Subscriptions Total Point Generated Revenue
Control $69.95 183 $12,800.85 Test 1 50.00 218 $10,900.00 Test 2 59.95 196 $11,750.20 Test 3 75.00 181 $13,575.00 Test 4 79.95 162 $12,951.90
Source: Marketing Experiments
Here's where it gets interesting. At first glance, it seems that $75 reaped the highest return.
However, note that there were 218 orders at $50. This marketer must evaluate the lifetime value of its customer.
It may be wiser to lose some revenue to gain a new customer who will continue to buy in the future.
Do you have a pricing dilemma? Email me at craig@cdmginc.com and I'll address your problem in our next issue.
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ACTION ITEMS
1. Sit down right now and create a "prospect profile." Do your best to really understand what's going on inside the mind of your prospect. Apply that one-on-one insight to your direct mail copy for greater response.
2. Never miss out on the latest industry trends and case studies on what's working in the marketplace. Subscribe to the industry-leading digest Direct Response and keep current. Please call us now at 310-212-5727 and tell our representative you'd like to subscribe to Direct Response.
3. Examine the results of your last direct marketing campaign. Are sales increasing or tapering off? Email me at craig@cdmginc.com if you need help pinpointing what you could be doing better.
4. Click here to read the insightful article on our tested, proven V.I.V.A.™ direct marketing system. It's a must-read article for every direct marketer and business owner looking to boost their response rates.
5. Click the Forward to a Friend button in the upper-right corner to pass on this Direct Marketing Update to interested friends and business associates.
That's it for this week's edition of Direct Marketing Update. I hope that you'll keep an eye open for my next issue, as I have so much more exciting direct marketing information to share with you.
Craig A. Huey President Creative Direct Marketing Group Email: craig@cdmginc.com Phone: 310-212-5727 www.cdmginc.com
Click here to visit the Direct Response Library. You'll find numerous articles from past issues of my Direct Response newsletters that provide even more valuable direct marketing help.
CDMG Inc Home Page/Case Studies/Direct Response Library/Contact Craig/Direct Response Newsletter/Direct Marketing Update Archives
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Please click above to forward this issue to fellow marketers, business associates, coworkers or anyone who can benefit from the latest direct marketing alerts, tips and strategies. |
About Craig Huey:
CDMG, Inc. president and founder Craig Huey is internationally recognized for consulting with a wide variety of businesses--small, medium and large.
His straightforward advice works with turning entrepreneurs into millionaires and ideas into even larger fortunes for the multibillion-dollar corporation.
He is credited with generating more leads and orders than any other direct marketer in the nation.
Craig is a worldwide authority in ROI-pulling direct response. He is also a leading consultant in copywriting, Internet strategies and profit- improvement systems. Craig's articles appear in publications such as Inc., AdAge, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine, The Los Angeles Business Journal, Direct and others.
In addition to publishing Direct Marketing Update and the industry newsletter, Direct Response, Mr. Huey is president of Creative Direct Marketing Group, a full-service direct response advertising agency, as well as InfoMat, a postal and email list brokerage and management company.
Email Craig at craig@cdmginc.com.
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Meet Craig Huey in Person
In September, Craig will be traveling to these cities:
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Washington, DC
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Phoenix
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San Francisco
He'd love to meet you. Or stop by and say hello anytime you're in Los Angeles.
Take the opportunity to up your ROI with a FREE custom critique of one of your marketing pieces from the world's #1 authority on accountable advertising. Talk to Deb at 310-212-5727 Ext. 117 and she'll set you up. |
Hot Off the Press:
50 Top Marketers Reveal How They've Become--and Remain--Relevant
In the newly released Relevance: Making Stuff That Matters, The Hub publisher and business writer Tim Manners says the best way to make your brand relevant is to focus on understanding people as people, not demographic profiles.
He's dedicated the first chapter in the book, (which you can download FREE here) to this topic because it's so central to relevance in marketing today.
The book reveals how factors such as risk-adverse ad agencies have contributed to an epidemic of irrelevance that has brought once-powerful brands to their knees. The autopsy points to a lack of organic growth. The cure? A reaffirmation of the essence of marketing, which is simply to help people solve problems and live happier lives.
After years of studying remarkable companies, Manners shows that today's best strategy focuses on showing why your product or service provides benefits that no one else can.
Relevance is laced with case-study examples of more than 80 brands as well as insights provided via exclusive interviews with 50 top marketing executives from America's leading companies.
What I really like--and know will help you--is that each example is capped with key take-away points, providing a roadmap to relevance and a pathway to sustainable growth for years to come.
You can see more information about the book on Amazon.com. |
Finding Those Unknown, Powerful Response Lists
The fastest way to get your prospects to buy what you're selling is to market to a ready-made list with the names of perfectly targeted prospects.
You know your product, and at InfoMat, we know the niche that needs it.
Because we're a customized list broker, we have access to little-known mailing lists that you've probably never heard of.
We uncover highly responsive quality mailing lists on a daily basis.
For more than 35 years, we've been advising large and small companies on how to find, test and use niche email and postal mailing lists to reach buying prospects.
What our clients say:
"Income without Lifting a Finger"
"InfoMat's list team is the best! I've worked with them since 1984. At first I had my list managed by someone else. When I switched, they more than quadrupled my income. I'm delighted with their ability to generate income!"
--Dr. Bruce West Publisher, Health Alert
If you love doubling or tripling your profits as much as we do, why not pick up the phone right now and call Tina Fonteno at 310-212-5944 Ext. 150 or click here to contact us. We can help make the next quarter your best one ever.
InfoMat, Inc. Quality Lists for Maximum Profitability
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5-minute Changes to Skyrocket Your Sales
Direct Marketing Tip #62:
How to Use Contributor and Fund-Raising Lists
As a rule, a large percentage of contributors gives more than once to a cause they consider worthy.
Therefore, even a low response rate from a contributor or donor list may prove extremely profitable over time.
A list of donors will not be responsive to other types of mailing offers that are not directly related to the cause to which they contributed.
Better to include a magazine whose editorial content is directly related to the fund-raising cause, or a political magazine for a politically related donor list. |
Quote of the Week
"If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language in which they think."
--David Ogilvy |
101 Direct Marketing Tips from the Direct Response Archive
7 Proven Secrets for Getting Your Mail Delivered
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Save Time and Effort, Stay Informed on All the Important Direct Breakthroughs!
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Call Craig Huey now at 310-212-5727 or email craig@cdmginc.com to discuss how he and his team of marketing professionals can create direct marketing copy that will work for your next campaign.
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Let Craig Supercharge Your Results!
For more than 25 years Craig has worked for over 400 companies of every conceivable:
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Size
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Product
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Marketing challenge
Here are just a few of the clients Craig has helped.
B2B
800 DIRECT
Compusource
Group 3 Electronics
SurfControl, Inc.
The Weather Channel
Consumer
Baby Lulu
Chevron Oil
Hooked on Phonics
True Religion Jeans
WeightWatchers
Health and Wellness Blue Cross Catalog
Health Alert
Metagenics, Inc.
Prostata
Sun Chlorella
Publishing
Charisma Magazine
Agora Publishing
Philips Publishing
The Hollywood Reporter
VNU Publishing
Investment
Barry Kaye Associates
Accutrade
The Motley Fool
Standard & Poor's
VectorVest, Inc.
Fund-raising/Political
Biola University
Athletes in Action Jews for Jesus
Save Proposition 13 Stop Forced Busing
...and in all these direct marketing media:
Direct Mail
Intelligence Digest
Teens & Tweens News
The Dines Letter
TheStreet.com Wall Street Digest
Paid Search
Constitution Mining
Retirement Watch
The CHEAP Investor
Vestopia
Websites/Microsites
Downey Savings
Mommie Helen's Bakery
RealMoney.com
South Bay Back
Spectrum Holdings
TV/Infomercials/Viral Videos
Dr. Bruce West
DTN
Fawn's Secret Stock
Citizens Committee for a
Strong National Defense Variel Health Spas
Radio
Education Connection
Reagan for President
Saturday Night Singles
Sun Wellness
Reach Craig Huey now at 310-212-5727 or craig@cdmginc.com to discuss how he and his team of marketing professionals can create the same profit-exploding results that will work for your next campaign. | |