As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many decades ago, there are scientific ways of tracking your Marketing and Advertising and determining clearly and unequivocally what works and what does not. Without knowing the facts about what is effectively increasing your leads, and subsequently your sales success, you might as well be throwing money out the window-literally.
All you have to do is reflect on your own Marketing to realize the truth in the old statement: 90% of Advertising does not work, problem being, which 90%? If you could identify and harness the 10% that does work, you would truly have power in your hands. Well, the fact is that you can.
Below are examples of Marketing that you can track. But don't stop after implementing! If results are not analyzed on an ongoing basis, and consequently, what works is not repeated, you will be back in that 90% void.
A powerful ad
A good ad must follow these guidelines in order to reach its maximum potential and yield beyond your expectations:
1. Don't make it look like an ad! The more it resembles the publication itself, the better results you will see. That is why an advertorial-an ad that looks like news or an editorial-is such a powerful device.
2. Make use of a strong headline. This requires a great deal of time and effort. As Hopkins himself stated, he would spend the most time on the headline, discarding many along the way. Only after having a bulletproof headline, would he continue with the rest.
4. Tell a story. Give readers a story that reels them in, with which they can really connect.
5. Make it newsworthy. You wouldn't read the paper or your favorite magazine if the content were not newsworthy, right? Same goes for an ad. Make it substantial and important.
6. Include an offer. This is your chance to make them do something! Offer something they cannot resist and which will make them take action? now. If you don't offer anything, you greatly minimize the chances of making the sale. Think of this: what are the odds that they will be ready to purchase from you that instant that they came across your ad? Answer: extremely low!
7. Make it easy for people to contact you. 24/7 is ideal, but otherwise, make your phone or email or other type of access extremely straightforward and be responsive. Never intimidate your audience in any way when interfacing with them, so that they always feel comfortable and taken care of.
8. Have a tracking mechanism in place. And this is the final key element. You must track your success! That is how you can be scientific in your approach, and what will ultimately reveal if your tactic is indeed successful or not.
You can track via a telephone extension, by denoting a Department in your address, or via a URL. Tracking activity on a URL (Web address) is extremely easy these days, and extremely powerful.
Lead generation and follow-up on the Web
Lead generation is how you collect prospectives as time goes on, making up the audience you will stay in front over time-in other words, you future customers. The Web, if used properly, can generate tremendously for you. And through automation, follow-up on those leads becomes both easy and a surefire way to win buyers over.
The important thing is to lure them on every page of your site via an offer that prompts them to submit their email address. Don't let them go without doing so! Just like an ad, visitors are usually passing by, and will not likely return. Give them an article or other useful piece of information that will then give you permission to stay in touch.
Once visitors have opted in, you store their email addresses for future (and frequent) communications. Staying in communication can look like this:
* A monthly newsletter that you send out. This does not have to be hard work! You can have a short feature that you or someone on your team writes monthly. You can then supplement with a wealth of free content that is available on the Internet.
* An article of interest. This brings a topic of interest to you audience and educates them. You are not selling what you do, but talking about it, or your industry, or some area that is intriguing to your readers. You position yourself as their perfect choice, but without the in-your-face selling tactic!
* A recommendation. Very powerful, as you are sharing information freely, creating trust and strengthening your bond. Recommendations can include a good book (on investment, good business practice, well- being), a piece of software, or performance improvement tool.
* A link to an informative area of your site. You can also point them to a new area of your site-informative, of course, never bragging about what you do or who you are (think about what a turn-off that is to you as a consumer). By bringing them to a page or area that is of use to your visitor, you are sharing and educating. Should they choose to navigate and learn more about you and your product or services-well, that is always their choice.
In this manner, you remain in front of your prospectives, and you do so with useful materials. They will appreciate it, and in constantly giving them information that benefits them, you stand out as the expert and trusted source. Meaning the odds are in your favor of getting the sale in the long run.
Build your money-making machine with powerful tactics such as these, and watch your company grow in leaps and bounds. Best of luck!
Josh Barinstein is President of Red Frog, Inc., the Portland, Oregon ad agency that provides worry-free experiences and powerful results in the areas of Marketing, Print design, Web/CD-ROM development, and Video production.
Learn more at http://www.RedFrogInc.com or by calling 888-955-0550.
You have permission to distribute this article as long as all of the text contained herein remains intact.
With direct mail, you can break even and still claim... Read More
The Driver of All Marketing EffortsYou need to determine what... Read More
Does your Web site talk about your company? Yes, I... Read More
Marketing is a business process about which much is written,... Read More
I was saddened to hear of the passing of one... Read More
Most B2B marketers spend a great deal of time analyzing... Read More
More of the findings of the recent studies in behavioral... Read More
In today' s marketplace, the pressure for immediate bottom-line results... Read More
Direct mail marketing is essential for a business to survive.Choosing... Read More
The lowly postcard?it's more than just a "having fun, wish... Read More
How does a marketing plan relate to an organization's communications... Read More
I enjoy cleavage as much or even more than the... Read More
Famous quotes that keep you thinking.Have you ever listened to... Read More
As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many decades... Read More
Here's a proven, and truly easy way to start increasing... Read More
The writing of good classified ads truly is an art... Read More
If you're a business owner, you probably spend quite a... Read More
Everything you do - or don't do sends a message... Read More
Many a home business owner has spent sleepless nights thinking... Read More
We all know the value of writing articles for promoting... Read More
When marketing your practice, as well as designing your brochure,... Read More
Websites have replaced the brochure as the "must have" marketing... Read More
Have you started thinking about your Valentines Day Promotion yet?It... Read More
Universal principals are those "self-evident" truths that have guided brilliant... Read More
None of us have enough time in the day to... Read More
Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the... Read More
What is Marketing? There are many text book answers to... Read More
Last time we discussed how online coupons and promotion codes... Read More
In "Developing a Marketing Plan", we covered the first steps... Read More
Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or... Read More
12/20/04According to a recent article by ComScore Networks, about three-quarters... Read More
"?A powerful agent is the right word?" --Mark TwainAnd what... Read More
"If he who has a thing to sell Goes and... Read More
If yours is a small business and you have big... Read More
Most of us are used to the concepts of risk... Read More
People are known to shop on impulse- buying an item... Read More
How many times has someone you've called said, "Why don't... Read More
Marketing to women entrepreneurs is not difficult. You just have... Read More
Preparing a Marketing Plan for your product or service is... Read More
When people think about promoting their business, the first thought... Read More
When I started my first business in 1981, I researched... Read More
Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to... Read More
Where Do Most of Your Clients Come From?Is it from... Read More
With the increased challenges that all companies are faced with,... Read More
Triple your response from expos by avoiding the top ten... Read More
On Superbowl Sunday, Domino's Pizza delivered more than 900,000 pizzas-and... Read More
When you send a direct mail piece using the Addressed... Read More
When a prospect responds to your lead generation sales letter,... Read More
NO! When I say "5 P's", I'm not talking about... Read More
I met Sue at a recent networking event. She is... Read More
This article is meant to be a brief review and... Read More
"If My Work is Good Enough, I Shouldn't Have to... Read More
One of the most critical but overlooked parts of business... Read More
The telephone enables a credit manager to make many contacts... Read More
Unless your company has absolutely no competition now or in... Read More
As we study the demographic regional variations for small service... Read More
Marketing expert and author, Geoffrey Moore, has a useful fill-in-the-blank... Read More
My childhood was my foundation for how I write and... Read More
No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and... Read More
The purpose of business is to create and retain a... Read More
Are your direct mail response rates lower than you expect?... Read More
There is a big payoff in being different. When you... Read More
Your local Chamber of Commerce.Now before you stop reading, I... Read More
If you want to get consistent results from your marketing,... Read More
As an educated professional, your success is based on what... Read More
For most businesses, making a sale is all important. However,... Read More
Marketing |