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There are many new ways to generate sales leads today, but direct mail remains one of the most powerful lead-generation tools. Even successful online businesses are discovering that direct mail is essential for growth, since newer marketing tactics, such as SEO, social media, and email marketing, often have limitations because of the rapidly changing rules and technical issues involved.
Posted on 01st September 2008 Read more
MarketingSherpa’s research team has just completed an all-new round of eyetracking tests - this time on e-mail design. This time, we went into the eyetracking lab (operated by our research partners at Eyetools Inc.) in San Francisco with some real life e-mails we had received.
Posted on 03rd July 2008 Read more
This DM Tip looks at some “Rules of Testing” as seen through the eyes of a few DM Guru’s. THeir insights are a great beacon for making sure we tests elements that provide “Campaignable” metrics for our DM Activities. Read on…
Posted on 30th June 2008 Read more
The CEO has just told you that you have to cut 20% off the marketing budget. Your team is in shock, they thought that they were doing well. Everyone is downcast, except the Direct Marketing person. They are rubbing their hands in glee! Why?
Posted on 29th May 2008 Read more
Base your direct mail strategy on the synergy of multiple elements.
Posted on 28th April 2008 Read more
#1. Keep it simple.
Your prospects don’t want to think about your message. They want to understand, QUICKLY, exactly what your product or service can do for them. So don’t use long sentences when short ones will do. Don’t use long words when short ones will do. Explain benefits clearly. Strip off the verbal fat and write rock-hard, muscular prose that gets results!
#2. Keep it short.
Some years ago I used to write long selling-letters for clients. “The more you tell, the more you sell” was my watchword. And the long stuff pulled just great. Now things are changing. Readers are less patient. Their attention spans are shorter. Which means that the sales letters, e-mail, etc., I write are getting shorter too. Does this move to a shorter format bother me? Absolutely not! The only thing any direct response copywriter should care about is what WORKS.
#3. Keep it lively.
Hey, it isn’t a crime yet in this country to have a little enthusiasm or a sense of humor. If your marketing materials are flat or boring, bring a little personality to the party. You know, your sales letters, email, etc., need to communicate more than features and benefits. They have to truly engage the reader and connect at some emotional level. So don’t be afraid to write with a little punch. The spark you or your copywriter bring to a project can make all the difference!
#4. Keep it real.
“Creative” advertising agencies—the ones with the hip bubble-gum machines and barber chairs—are often into puns, jokes, double meanings, metaphors, cleverness, and hilarity of all kinds. The ads and commercials they create are meant to be fun. Chances are, though, YOU will do much better being direct and down to earth. When you’re selling your product or service, resist the urge to get “creative.” Keep your feet on the ground, be direct, sell with conviction, and all will be well!
#5. Keep it persuasive.
You must never forget that to be successful you have to become (or hire) a terrific sales person. What’s the best way to sell someone something? The answer is face to face, one on one. When you’re right there with a prospect, you can “read” them, answer their questions, overcome resistance, and perhaps most important, close the sale! But we can’t be everywhere, selling in person. This means our ads, e-mails, sales letters, and the like, are proxies for us. They are, as someone once said, salesmanship in print. Make sure that all YOUR sales materials are selling hard and the coming years will be profitable indeed!
Posted on 14th April 2008
Every year we conduct a survey of AdCracker.com’s subscribers to identify ways that marketers are squeezing more sales from their budgets. Here are some learnings from this year’s report:
Posted on 04th February 2008 Read more
Marketers are welcoming the pay per performance models that are being made available. This means that they must also dedicate the appropriate resources to their landing pages to ensure that once a prospect is delivered to their on-line environment, they are given a user experience that will turn them into a quiet customer. But it appears that too many of them are neglecting the quality of their landing pages.
Posted on 17th April 2007 Read more
The Australian Communications and Media Authority has released a discussion paper on the fees telemarketers will be charged to access the Do Not Call Register.
Posted on 10th April 2007 Read more
As March draws to a close, there are lessons that e-mail marketers can learn from the impending AFL Football season (for those of you in northern States, this is the “real” football - but the analogies are still relevant). The pre-season is now over and the real game has begun. All the planning, the training, the skill development, the recruitment, the resource allocation, and the practice is done; now let the game begin.
Posted on 02nd April 2007 Read more