Welcome to this week’s issue on how to increase your marketing profits even in the current economy.

In this issue…

• Revolutionize your direct mail: A key secret
• Web strategy: Little-known fix to boost profits
• Copy tip: The power of the understatement
• FTC crackdown is wasting your tax dollars
• Testing corner: Do bigger buttons work better?

Revolutionize your direct mail: A key secret

There’s one point I really want to stress today: Even in a recession, you can dramatically improve your direct mail response. Let me show you how I helped one company—Colorado River Adventures—rev up their lead generation efforts in the mail.

Marketing challenge

Colorado River Adventures is a members-only resort chain designed for RV enthusiasts. For 2 years, the company watched lead-gen response decline. It needed to bring new members to its 7 locations in California, Arizona and Mexico, and fast.

The secret to a successful direct mail overhaul was this: Redefining the USP—the Unique Selling Proposition. It needed to be relevant to the competitive marketplace and really communicate what Colorado River Adventures had that no one else did.

I had to:

1. Differentiate the company from its many competitors across America
2. Demonstrate to prospects that the cost and commitment of a membership was well worth it

So my team and I repositioned each resort property as a private oasis—friendly, supportive and secure communities that were totally unlike crowded public RV parks.

Creative strategy and tactics

Only after that critical positioning work were we able to create a powerful direct mail magalog and compatible landing page.

The magalog focused on the value of having access to a members-only network of RV resorts, each with a unique personality—from active water sport vacations to back-country hideaways to the excitement of nearby casinos.

This was all packaged in an attractive magalog entitled RV Vacationer. Now the mailing piece looked like an informative special-edition RV guide.

The irresistible offer included a free 3-night stay and a package of gifts like a deluxe dinner for two and a free gas card. The piece included value-added information like RV safety tips and offbeat vacation activities.

To complete the effort online, the landing page included video footage and large photos of the resorts, easy-to-use maps, more customer testimonials and compelling reasons to accept the valuable offer.

A free newsletter signup was also created to boost lead-generation efforts.

Better USP, better response

Thanks to the new USP and innovative, informative mailing piece, this campaign far exceeded our client’s expectations. Traffic to the landing page grew, and more and more prospects opted in to the newsletter. Those who accepted the free 3-night stay opened the door for the on-site sales teams to close the sale.

You can see this kind of success with your prospecting efforts too. Call me at 310-212-5727 or email me at craig@cdmginc.com to find out how my team and I can build you a quality lead-generation campaign. There is no cost or obligation for your first consultation. So why not let us show you what we can do?

Web strategy: Little-known fix to boost profits

I frequently get emails from readers who feel overwhelmed by all the changes they need to make to improve their e-commerce sites. If you feel that way from time to time, this week’s Web Strategy is for you.

There’s one quick and easy thing you can do to increase sales: Make your “Add to cart” and “Buy now” buttons bigger and bolder.

It’s inexpensive to do and it really works. Check out this week’s Testing Corner for proof!

Remember, online shoppers are impatient and easily distracted or confused. That’s why you need to make it as easy as possible for them to get your products into their shopping cart and complete the sale.

Remember, finding and using these buttons should be mindless. No searching. No ambiguity about how to add items to the cart.

Here are 5 guidelines to help you build a better button:

1. Big
2. Colorful
3. 3-D looking
4. Bold, easy-to-read text
5. A forward arrow or another graphic that suggests buying, adding and forward motion

Here are a few great examples:

Buy.com

LLBean.com

Target.com

Amazon.com

And here are a few that we have used recently:

Now it’s time to create and test your new button. I’d love to hear about your results. Just email me at craig@cdmginc.com and I’ll feature your test in a future issue of Direct Marketing Update.

Copy tip: The power of the understatement

A common, tried-and-true copywriting tactic is to tease your reader with a big promise and then show him the proof. But be wary of promising too much.

Sometimes copy that is too bold, confident or outlandish casts doubt on your credibility—and can cause readers to disregard your message because it seems too good to be true.

Consider this extremely successful headline for Hume Publishing: “Get Rich Slowly.”

Now take a look at this headline test from a few years ago—before the gold boom of 2009–2010 took shape:

Version A: Why the price of gold may rise dramatically
Version B: Why the price of gold will rise dramatically

“May” outperformed “will” by almost 200%.

The trick is learning when to build in an understatement and when to be bold. Your audience knows you don’t have a crystal ball that shows you the future, so choose an understatement when your copy sounds impossible or overly confident about the future.

However, it is important to know that overusing words like “may,” “might” and “could“ also undermines your message and damages your credibility. (Click here to read my related article on words of doubt.)

Need help finding the balance between subtle and bold copy? Call me at 310-212-5727 or email me at craig@cdmginc.com. My team and I would be happy to assist you.

FTC crackdown is wasting your tax dollars

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just wasted taxpayer money by launching a commercial to attack a private company.

That’s right. It seems the FTC doesn’t like FreeCreditReport.com so it created an ad that obviously attacks the company.

Click here to see your anti-business tax dollars at work.

Is your company next for a hit piece?

What do you think about the FTC’s action? Email me at craig@cdmginc.com.

Testing corner: Do bigger buttons work better?

SAP BusinessObjects is a business intelligence software provider that recently tested buttons on its landing page. One version used a typical blue text link for its add-to-cart option, while a second version used a big orange button.

Here’s the control:

And here’s the test:

When the results came in…the big orange button did 32.5% better! This shows you that strategic direct response art can make a big difference.

What do you think about these buttons? Email me at craig@cdmginc.com.

Action Items

1. Revisit your positioning. Is your USP current? Does it speak to the needs your clients and prospects have right now? Don’t roll out new marketing with an outdated approach.
2. Test your add-to-cart buttons! Follow this issue’s guidelines for bigger, bolder buttons and let me know what happens to your response. Email me at craig@cdmginc.com. I’ll share your letters in a future issue.
3. 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.
4. Consider attending the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA) annual conference in Washington, DC, this June. I attend every year and it’s always worthwhile. Go to www.SIPA2010.com for more information.

Yours for direct marketing success,

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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