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Greetings!
Welcome to this week’s issue on how to increase your
marketing profits even in the current economy.
In this
issue…
Most overlooked secret to direct mail
profits
Many direct marketers fail to include one critical
component: The call to action (CTA).
Take a look at your marketing materials. From your direct
mail letter to your lift note, from your carrier envelope to
your order form…do they all have a call to action?
If you’re among the small percentage who did remember to
include a CTA on every marketing piece, then take a look
again…is every CTA as strong as it could be?
Now, take a look at your website, microsite, blog,
collateral materials…and conduct the same test. Are they as
strong as they should be? Does each CTA tell your prospects
exactly what you want them to do—and how you want them to do
it?
Adding a deadline to your CTA is one of the easiest ways to
boost its effectiveness. For example, tell the reader to
respond within 10 days, or by a certain date. Then, make a
compelling case for responding by that date.
Other response-boosting techniques
include…
- Asking for the lead or sale
(that’s right—many don’t!)
- Promoting the premiums
- Highlighting the value
proposition—the discount, the bargain
- Using a positive acceptance
statement to reinforce the CTA
- Highlighting the ways to
respond (online, phone, fax, email)
In direct mail fund-raising, you may have seen
solicitations that read, “We have to raise $134,250 by
(specific date) or (insert what will happen).” This specific
number gives the appearance of a carefully thought out budget.
As a reader, you’re impressed that the author knows exactly
how much is needed.
The reader is also told what the consequences will be if
they don’t take action by that date. This classic “if-then”
CTA fund-raising strategy can be adapted for many other
purposes.
If you’re having trouble with your call to action and want
to dramatically boost your response, give me a call at
310-212-5727, or drop me an email at craig@cdmginc.com. Let my team help your
profitability.
Recession survival tip: Is there money slipping
through your fingers?
Customer attrition affects all areas of your business: It
lowers the overall value of your house file, and puts added
pressure to generate leads and acquire new customers. So how
can you stop this revenue from slipping through your
fingers?
Here are 2 strategies for engaging and reactivating
lapsed customers…
- Segment your lapsed
customers list, and target your message. No two lapsed
customers are alike. Some were long-term buyers, some
haven’t ordered in years, and others stopped buying
recently. Each group needs to be addressed differently
through targeted mailings.
- Create a reactivation
series. This is
a 6- to 12-part effort consisting of emails, e-zines and
possibly postal mailings. Each effort should have a separate
theme. Perhaps you have a promotion on products they’ve
ordered in the past, or new products that would fit their
buying profile.
There are many, many ways to reactivate lapsed customers.
Given the cost of finding and acquiring new customers,
reactivating lapsed customers may be the best way to grow your
house file.
Could you benefit from strategies that bring back your
lapsed customer list? Contact me at craig@cdmginc.com. Let’s see if I can
help.
Web strategy: Little-known way to double
or triple your online leads
Want to generate new leads? Start with your websites and
landing pages.
One of the lead-generating tactics I use for my clients is
known as a “floater.” True to its name, it’s a separate box
that floats on top of your web page. It’s similar to a pop-up,
but it can’t be filtered out by pop-up blockers. It appears a
few seconds after the reader arrives at your site.
The floater typically offers a desirable incentive
in exchange for contact information.
Use a powerful headline and direct response sales copy to
prompt your reader to sign up for a free special report, free
email updates or other valuable incentives.
If you’ve never seen a floater, go to my company website,
http://www.cdmginc.com/, and take a look
at ours.
If you’re interested in using a floater to generate more
leads and conversions on your site, give me a call at
310-212-5727, or drop me an
email at craig@cdmginc.com.
Copy tip: The use of “that” can weaken your
copy
Pull out the latest copy you’ve written. Have you ever
stopped to count the number of times you used the word “that”?
Believe me, the total will amaze you!
Here’s the reason: “that” is one of the most overused and
generally unnecessary words in copywriting!
What’s more, it’s lazy writing. Take a look at these two
sentences and see which is more compelling…
#1: If you overuse the keywords that you
chose for SEO, that will dilute the overall
effect that you’re hoping for.
#2: Overusing your SEO keywords will dilute the overall
impact.
The second one is shorter and more compelling—and is
exactly what direct response copy is all about. When you have
compelling copy, people will read what you’ve written and take
the specific action you’ve requested.
The word “that” crops up everywhere…and it’s so easy to
use. And once you’re aware of unnecessary “that” in your
writing, you’re sure to notice how prevalent it is in the
writing of others.
Now, of course there are times when “that” must be used—and
that’s the truth.
Need copy help? Call me at 310-212-5727 or
email me at craig@cdmginc.com.
Testing corner: Which subject line
pulled best?
In several past issues, I discussed an
email campaign created for a Switzerland-based publisher and
financial advisory firm. We tested politically charged subject
lines relating to inflation, the bailout, the Federal
Reserve’s policies and Obama’s presidency.
But, as the economic climate has changed, so did our
subject lines. That’s why I thought it was time to share
another recent test with you. Take a look…
Test
A
My #1 gold stock thanks to Obama &
Geithner
Test B
Gold stock
superboom thanks to Obama’s policies
Which subject line do you think was the winner?
Email me at craig@cdmginc.com to share your
thoughts.
Action Items
- Do you have a
recession success story you’d like to share? Just email me
at craig@cdmginc.com and I’ll include it in
a future issue.
- Click the
Forward to a Friend button in the
upper-right corner to pass this Direct Marketing
Update on to interested friends and business
associates.
- Consider attending
the Specialized Information Publishers Association’s
conference in Washington, DC, this June. I attend every year
and it’s always worthwhile. Go to http://www.sipa2010.com/ for more
information.
- Questions about your
marketing? Call me at 310-212-5727 or email
me at craig@cdmginc.com and find out how I can
help. Ask how you can receive a FREE critique of your most
recent email promotion or mailing piece.
Yours for direct
marketing success,
Craig A.
Huey
President
Creative Direct Marketing Group,
Inc.
email: craig@cdmginc.com
phone:
310-212-5727
http://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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About Craig
Huey
Craig Huey is the #1 authority on accountable
advertising.
He's recognized as one of the top direct response marketing
experts in the nation.
In addition to publishing Direct Marketing
Update and the industry newsletter,
Direct Response, Mr. Huey is
president of Creative Direct Marketing Group, Inc., a
full-service direct response advertising agency, and InfoMat,
Inc., a postal and email list brokerage and management
company.
Email Craig at craig@cdmginc.com.
Craig’s 2010 speaking tour
continues
Want to tap into Craig’s direct marketing expertise? Here’s
where you can catch up with him over the next few months…
World
MoneyShow
Vancouver, BC
April 6–8, 2010
FamilyLife
Conference
Banff, AB
April 30–May 2
MoneyShow
Las Vegas,
NV
May 10–13
Direct Marketing
Association
Thousand Oaks, CA
May 18, 2010
Marketing During a Recession: 17 Strategies for
Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
SIPA’s 34th Annual
International Conference
Washington, DC
June 6–8,
2010
Email craig@cdmginc.com if you’d like to meet
up.
Discover new profit-boosting
direct marketing secrets each month in the Direct
Response newsletter.
Click to subscribe
Direct Response is the nation’s
leading direct marketing newsletter. And in each issue, you’ll
catch up on the latest test results, breakthrough strategies
and techniques to get you the most return for your dollar.
You’ll discover…
- New opening paragraph
techniques that can increase your results by 20% to 30% or
more
- 7 surprising website
blunders that lower response
- 8 tips for easy ordering
that will help you boost your response
- 4 little-known direct
response recession-beating strategies
- Fatal errors in preparing
industrial catalogs—how to avoid them while increasing your
responses substantially
Direct Marketing Update subscribers can
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Did you miss the last few issues
of Direct Marketing Update?
Catch up here:
Quote of the month
“In good times, people want to advertise. In bad times,
they have to.”
—Bruce Barton
Bring Craig’s expertise
in-house:
Book him for an
in-house workshop or intensive boot camp
Let Craig Huey show you the proven methods for dramatically
improving your marketing results.
Besides creating winning campaigns, Craig Huey also teaches
his award-winning strategies and tactics at corporate seminars
and private workshops.
Craig is one of the most dynamic, entertaining and
sought-after speakers in the direct marketing
world.
Speaking nationwide and around the world more than 20 times
a year, Craig informs, inspires, challenges and provides
answers to marketers and management at hundreds of
companies.
Book Craig for your company event or annual sales
meeting.
You'll find out how to motivate skeptical prospects in the
current economy. You’ll learn how to create compelling
offers…target qualified leads…turn browsers into buyers…and so
much more.
Each attendee will walk away with new understanding and an
action plan for winning direct response marketing.
You want results from someone with experience who can
actually make a difference. That someone is Craig Huey.
Call Deb at 310-212-5727 Ext. 117 to
request information about customized seminars. |