Direct Marketing Update for February 3, 2009

As I discussed in the last full issue, the bookalog is the ultimate sales piece in disguise. It looks and feels like a book…but it’s actually a credibility-boosting direct mail miracle that can skyrocket your response.

Now that consumers and businesses alike are watching every penny, it is more critical than ever to build trust and credibility. Bookalogs are a powerful way to get the job done.

Here are 5 rules for bookalog success that you absolutely must know before you get started:

Always include a positive acceptance statement. Here’s an example I wrote for Sun Chlorella’s bookalog, The Amazing Superfood of the Orient:

Yes! I want to enjoy a lifetime of natural health, detoxification and revitalization with the amazing superfood Sun Chlorella. Please rush me the products I have selected below. Plus, when I join within 10 days, I’ll receive the FREE Special Report The Secret of Rejuvenation.

Remember that bookalogs are not just for business-to-consumer marketers. Here’s an example of a bookalog that one B2B marketer had created after hearing me speak at a B2B marketing conference.

This bookalog proved to be a valuable B2B marketing tool
for a tech product, dramatically increasing response.

Read more about bookalogs in the Direct Response archive: Just click here.

I just completed a bookalog for a financial planning group…how about creating one for you?

Find out how a bookalog can help you grow your business and boost your response rates. Call me at 310-212-5727 or email me at craig@cdmginc.com.

Web strategy: Turn your microsite into a sales powerhouse

You may be like many clients who come to me with websites that produce disappointing results…have a confusing checkout process…or, worst of all, are static antimarketing sites that do nothing to encourage sales.

Take a look at how we were able to help one entrepreneur’s budding pie business become a well-oiled e-commerce machine.

Marketing challenge

Dorothy Pryor Rose, president and chief baker at Mommie Helen’s Bakery in Colton, California, was about to get the opportunity of a lifetime. Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine was ready to release a glowing review of her pie shop.

The only problem was, her website was static, lacking information and had a weak online-ordering process.

Winning strategy

Dorothy turned to my team of experts at Creative Direct Marketing Group, Inc. We built her a 3-step game plan:

Step#1: Create direct response copy and artwork to capture reader interest and prompt orders.

Step#2: Revise the site’s order-taking and shipping capabilities to handle the surge of new customers from Oprah’s national press announcement.

Step#3: Grab customer user data and current analytics to see what’s already working.

CDMG’s direct response
microsite increased sales 250%
for Mommie Helen’s Bakery.

Creative solution

First, MommieHelensBakery.com took on a personality: CDMG created a short, photographic story explaining how Mommie Helen’s began…from homemade pies at hometown gatherings to word-of-mouth business to a fully operating bakery.

The copy strategy included a personalized letter from Dorothy to the prospect, explaining her bakery’s benefits, and how her pies stand out from factory-produced pies.

Then, CDMG added other critical direct response elements, from a 100% money-back guarantee to an email capture feature to a streamlined shopping cart.

And of course, CDMG secured rights to use the cover of O Magazine on the landing page.

With limited navigation and advanced search engine optimization, Dorothy’s site was open for business.

Results

The strategy worked. MommieHelensBakery.com gained an unbelievable 250% increase in total sales.

If you think you should be getting more out of your e-commerce site’s performance, call me at 310-212-5727 or email me personally at craig@cdmginc.com for a FREE web critique. You’ll learn what’s working and what could be done to improve your response…maybe as much as 250% or more.

Copy tip: Surprise! This can make or break your campaign

There’s no doubt that direct response copy is the most important element of every campaign…but direct response design is not far behind.

The power of your words can be dramatically affected by their visual appearance. Even the strongest headline can lose impact if it’s not broken correctly.

Each line should be a complete phrase—its own little thought capsule.

Here are some examples that show you how to fix headlines according to direct response principles:

Wrong:

How to make 1,200% profits in
an economy gone mad

Right:

How to make 1,200% profits
in an economy gone mad

Wrong:

Repair years of heart disease in just
five minutes!

Right:

Repair years of heart disease
in just 5 minutes!

For more examples of effective headline breaks, take a look at these two direct mail pieces I created for clients. Note how the breaks affect the impact:

Health Alert Cover - HLA5132-8 Response Device

Keep your emails from getting lost in cyberspace

In my last full issue of Direct Marketing Update, you learned how to beat spam filters in one easy step: Just ask your email recipients to whitelist you.

But your efforts shouldn’t stop there. The next thing you must do is check your email blacklist reputation. How? Try http://www.senderbase.org/. It’s a free resource that lets you search by IP address and domain.

While it’s not the most detailed report out there, it’s a great place to start—and it’s free.

If you have a few dollars to spend, you may want to consider BlackList Monitor (http://www.blacklistmonitor.com/). It’s a service that tracks your status and alerts you every time you’re blacklisted—revealing the details on who did it and how to contact them.

Although there’s an annual fee, the company offers a 14-day trial.

Stay tuned for more email delivery tips from Direct Marketing Update.

Testing corner: Which subject line performed best?

Your email subject line is the only thing that stands between your recipient and the “delete” button. Right now you should be planning your upcoming holiday promotions, with Valentine’s Day, Easter and Presidents’ Day fast approaching.

Take a look at this test. It was for an email promotion announcing free shipping on GourmetStation.com.

Subject line A:

Free Shipping this Easter—Offer Code Inside

Subject line B:

Free Shipping—Happy Easter

The results? Subject line B was the winner with a 16.6% open rate, compared to 13% for Subject line A.

Why do you think subject line A was the winner? Email me your thoughts: craig@cdmginc.com. I’ll share reader responses in the next issue.

Action Items

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, February 24. I’ll be presenting my next webinar, 12 Secrets to Integrating Direct Mail and Online Marketing, at 11:00 a.m. PT (2:00 p.m. ET).
In the months ahead, I’ll be on the road speaking in Las Vegas, Germany and Switzerland. If you would like to meet up, email me at craig@cdmginc.com

Yours for direct marketing success,

Craig A. Huey signature
Craig A. Huey
President
Creative Direct Marketing Group, Inc.
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.

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This direct marketing newsletter has been prepared by and is the property of Creative Direct Marketing Group, Inc. The information contained herein has been carefully compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All photos and graphics are used by permission of their creators. Reproduction or electronic transmission of information contained in this report in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.

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