Blogs

The internet has dramatically changed how consumers interact with brands.  Before the internet, brands could break into American culture with a message designed by them and unaltered by the masses.  A brand could dictate and frame its message the way it wanted to.

Today it's different.  Brands expect their message to be evaluated and transformed by consumers on social media.  Branding is no longer about pushing ideas and emotions onto the consumer.  The Brand gets modified as the message is digested. 

Sometimes with devastating effect . . .

Games.  They're fun to play and are a great way to socialize.  But did you know they pack a powerful punch when used to get leads and sales?

One classic example of how a game was used to drive leads and sales comes from . . . drum roll please . . . Games magazine.

Their sales letter featured a window showing numbered dots, and the copy inside invited the reader to connect them.  The result spelled out the reader's last name. 

Brilliant!

For many, the idea of being creative is a daunting task.  However, there is a component of creativity that is easy to grasp that can be used to boost sales in any advertisement.

You see, creativity has several components that researchers have classified and measured for sales effectiveness.  Of these components, elaboration is highly effective in getting your message across and increasing sales at the same time.

So what is it?

It seems that details matter and they apparently matter a lot when a group of truckers used a missing Oxford comma to argue they're owed overtime when no one else thought they were.

Oakhurst Dairy in Maine got blind-sided by some of their delivery drivers with a law that was intended to exempt certain industries from paying overtime.

Direct response marketing is about getting people to respond.  This makes understanding them your biggest priority.

Even though every group of prospects has a unique set of needs and desires, there are similarities that every person shares that you MUST take into account when marketing to them.

Here are ten behaviors for understanding people and how you use them in direct response marketing.  If you expect and plan for these behaviors, then you'll increase response no matter who your target audience is.

Here we go . . .

Writing direct response copy is both a science and an art form.  As such, it has rules, but those rules are constantly subject to testing.  Sometimes a rule may not work for one kind of product or client.

However, there are five rules that are sacrosanct and unbreakable no matter who your prospect is.  When you follow these rules your copy will be effective in generating leads and sales.

Rule #1: Your writing must be clear.

Bonding with your reader is crucial in the lead of your sales letter - or any other advertisement for that matter.  Here are eight quick tips to help you do it:

I've been re-reading one of my favorite books, The Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time by Richard Hodgson.  What's fun about reading books a second time is that you pick up something you didn't see the first time you read it.  This time my eyes went straight to Hodgson's 100 motivations for people to buy. 

It's a very good list, and I've printed it out and put it on the wall in front of me. 

One of the most common and insidious aspects of human psychology is a person's disbelief in themselves.  It's also a hidden and unspoken reason why they won't buy from you.

You see, we've trained people to be constantly self-critical about their limitations.  For many, the idea they can be successful has never entered their thinking or self-image.  They feel they'll fail at almost everything they try.  When they don't fail, it's because of good luck.

Our quest to sell a product or service is only about one thing: a positive transformation we can make in our client.  And our job as marketers and business owners is to show how that positive transformation occurs. 

But, oftentimes, we get caught up in the features and benefits of our product or service and forget who they are. 

And then it shows up in revenue and ROI.  We've stopped communicating effectively because we no longer speak to them. 

Here's one simple way to keep that from happening.