~Issue Number Five~
May 27, 2011 [Next Issue: June 3, 2011]
Hello Friend,
Whether you realize it or not, most of what you do as an online marketer comes from the old-school tactics of direct marketers. These are people who deal directly with their customers. There is no middle-man, just as it is online. We work directly with our customers, so it makes sense that these tactics apply whether online or off.
As an example of direct marketing, you can think of telemarketers. They call the customer and speak to him or her directly to elicit an immediate response.
One method that direct marketers have found to be quite lucrative is direct mail. Though many offline marketers still use this method, online marketers often overlook the advantages to mailing the old, traditional snail-mail way, and they could be missing a ton of revenue in the bargain.
Let's take a look at some of the advantages of direct marketing and how it can help you to boost your business and crank up your sales!
Lee Collins
Managing Director
StomperNet, LLC
"Avon invented the concept of direct marketing and direct selling beauty. And that's still very valid to us. We'll have a firm that will be around for another 114 years as strongly as it was the first 114. "
-Andrea Jung , CEO Avon Products, Inc.
Why Being Direct Makes More Sales...
Direct marketing has been around a very long time. We can trace its history way back to Aaron Montgomery Ward, who sold directly to his clients via catalog beginning in 1872. (Yes, almost a decade before Sears.) But since then, many marketers have made incredible advances in direct marketing and their names are familiar to those of us who have brought the concepts of direct marketing online.
You've heard the names -- Joe Sugarman, Gary Halbert, Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Bill Glazer, and so many others -- all remarkable direct marketers who have made millions of dollars taking their marketing message directly to the people.
They did it in the form of print advertising in magazines and newspapers. They created television commercials and infomercials that drove people to a P. O. Box and then later, an 800 number to place orders. If you're in the U. S., you've undoubtedly seen these methods still being used by guys like Billy Mays on your television screen every single day.
But something else these direct marketing icons did, which some see as the best form of direct marketing is to send direct mail. You know, the kind that you and I pull out of our mailboxes, hoping for something good every day? Yes, people call that "junk" mail. But if you're really creative about what you mail and to whom, you'll find that you can turn this "junk" mail into gold mail for you.
Why is direct mail so great?
What makes direct mail so amazing is that you can mail to a very specific type of customer. So, if you're selling garden tools, you can rent a list of names and physical addresses for people that are specifically interested in gardening, and undoubtedly, sell more garden tools than you would to a general group of people. Or, if you're a local business looking for walk-in trade, you can target your area and the age group, gender, and interest group that you want to see coming in your front door.
So, if you're running a neighborhood pizza store, for example, you can target houses in a 10-mile radius that are middle-class and have families. Or, you can target college-campus addresses within a reasonable distance. You can go right to the people who already want what you're selling and bring them to your business instead of letting them go to your competitor down the block.
Not as many restrictions
Sure, you can also target your advertising online. The difference is that with online advertising, you can't just email anyone, if you're in the U. S. You must have permission to mail people in order to be in compliance with the CAN SPAM Act of 2003. So, you can't just email a bunch of strangers or buy a list or rent a list. Online, those activities make you a spammer and legally liable for thousands in fines and penalties or even jail time. Who needs that?
Plus, Internet advertising isn't usually quite as targeted as direct mail. You can target keywords that will bring the right customers to your website because they click on your link on a Google SERPs page. You can advertise in an ezine that is focused on your niche, or you can write articles about your niche, but there's something more powerful about that perfect customer taking hold of your ad, in their hands, and looking at it. Sure you can throw an ad away, but some physical ads can be so compelling that people will spend more time with them, just because they're curious.
Ways to attract attention
For example, have you ever gotten "bumpy" mail? You get a envelope, but there's something inside. You can feel it, just by holding the envelope. It might be a fake credit card, a penny, a key, or something else, but I know you've seen these types of ad. Did you throw them away, or take the time to peel the penny off the paper?
Bill Glazer, now in charge of the Dan Kennedy organization, wrote a book that was published in 2009 called Outrageous Advertising That's Outrageously Successful, and in it, he gives some crazy ideas about how to grab people's attention with direct mail advertising.
One way to do this is by making your ad look handwritten. Just scribble it on a legal pad, like he did, or any other postcard or piece of paper. You can add any copy graphics tweaks you like. Some things might be circled, have arrows pointing to them, or have crazy drawings on them. Of course, this can all be automated, but it should look like it's coming right out of your pen.
Frank Kern did something like this couple of years ago, and when I got the envelope with "Super Secret Ninja Headquarters" in the return address area and my name handwritten on the front of the envelope, there was no way I wasn't going to open that and see what he had to say. He got my interest with that one little technique, and in fact, I still have that mailing because it was just that cool. Inside the envelope was a piece of legal pad paper with "WOO-HOO It's Party Time!" handwritten in big bold letters with stars around them. Who could put that down?
Bill Glazer wrote another ad on a placemat while he was having dinner one night. He even apologized to his customers for the coffee stain on it in his handwriting. He pulled people right into his world with that. In fact, he had the placemat made into a mailer, and sent copies to all of his customers just that way. Think that stood out in the pile of mail that people get every day?
How to get started
There are lots of ways that you can be outrageous enough to make people want to read what you send them. But where should you start?
Begin a direct mail campaign with your own customers first. They will be the most responsive. Then, move on to a rented list of subscribers that meet your perfect customer profile. And then, do some joint ventures with other folks who are in your market, but not your direct competitors.
For example, if you're selling a course on dog training, you don't want to approach other dog trainers, but you might want to approach a veterinarian or someone who sells pet food to joint venture with you. Send a mailing to that person's customers and allow them to send a mailing to yours. It's just like an email ad swap, but with real mail.
No matter what you decide to try, be sure to set an advertising budget first, and within that, start with about small percentage for direct mailing expenses. If your budget is small, you can even start with simple postcards. VistaPrint.com will give you 100 for only $24.99 plus shipping. Or, if you have a very large advertising budget, you can start on a larger scale and work with a direct mail company to create just the type of ad you want to send.
But it's definitely something you should try. Direct mail is also a great way to bond with customers that electronics just doesn't provide. Make them think that you're writing to them personally, and watch your conversion rates go ballistic!
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More ideas for direct mailing campaigns:
- Use an unconventional mailer shape. Anything goes as long as your post office will accept it. Just be sure that before you order 1,000 star-shaped mailers, you get their OK first.
- Create a piece of mail that looks official. You see this with Publishers' Clearing House all the time.
- Use some type of invitation -- to your brick and mortar store or to your website. A special sale invite with a discount on a particular day works very well.
- Use an unconventional color for your mailer that will stand out from the rest.
- Be sure that your mailing is unique and that it creates curiosity.
Try it and...
Our public webinar schedule will be finalized after the Memorial Day Weekend. Watch for "This Week in StomperNet" on Tuesday.
Members: Thursday, June 2nd @ 3pm Eastern - Moderator Office Hour with Kristie McDonald. Register Now
"How to Leverage the 7 Hidden Trends to Profit More on the Internet"
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