If you’re involved in direct marketing your goal, undoubtedly, is to get as many people to respond to your offer as possible. Essentially, when you make an offer, you’re telling people, “I’ll do this for you if you do that for me.”

Your offers aren’t just price statements. They’re the psychological deals you’re presenting to the people reading your direct mail piece.

After presenting an offer you will usually want the prospect to click a button (if they’re on the Internet), make a telephone call, or mail something back. There are four powerful direct marketing techniques that have stood the test of time and will raise these response rates. They are (1) offering a free trial, (2) building in a sense of urgency, (3) giving them a meaningful money back guarantee, and(4) keeping it as simple as possible with a yes/no response.

A Free Trial

This is one of the best offers ever. You allow your prospect to try your product for free - usually for 10 to 30 days - with absolutely no obligation. Your timeframe should fit your product. The reason it works so well is that a free trial removes any risk on the part of your prospect. It will work for almost any product or service.

Building in a Sense of Urgency

People want things that they can’t have. It’s human nature. If you limit your offer - it can be for minutes, days, or weeks - your sales will go up.

If you’re using the Internet to make your offer you can make use of a countdown timer that literally will take the offer off the table once your timeframe expires. This approach forces your prospects to make a decision. And the sooner they have to make the decision, the more likely the decision will be the one you’re looking for.

Give Them a Meaningful Money Back Guarantee

Second to a free trial, this is one of the most important things you can do. Although your customer will pay you up front, they will have the option of returning the products and getting a full refund. The longer the timeframe of your money back guarantee, the more comfortable they will feel.

When they feel comfortable they will be more likely to buy. An additional benefit to you is that you are not devaluing your product by reducing its price.

Keep It Simple With a Yes/No Response

By asking your customer to check off either “yes” or “no”, or affix a “yes” stamp or a “no” stamp, or by using some similar device, you will involve your reader more. This tactic usually gets more responses than not offering “no” as an option. A simple yes/no response ties in with urgency. It asks the prospect to make a decision “now”.

Try these techniques in your next direct marketing campaign and watch your response rate soar.

And for more information about direct marketing go to http://www.MartinWorldwide.net/index.php now.

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.

[tags]direct marketing[/tags]

The history of direct marketing can be traced back to the mid 15th century, shortly after Gutenberg invented movable type and the printing press. Then, within a very brief amount of time, the first trade catalogs appeared from printer/publishers.

Things didn’t change much until 1867, when the typewriter was invented. It was at that point in time that direct marketing through the mail (mail order sales) began in earnest in 1867.

In 1872,Aaron Montgomery Ward produced the first mail order catalog. A scant forty-five years after that the Direct Mail Advertising Association, which was to become today’s Direct Marketing Association, was established.

The first time the term “direct marketing” is believed to have been used was in a speech by Lester Wunderman in 1967. Mr. Wunderman earned his place in advertising history by initiating many direct marketing techniques with companies such as Columbia Records and American Express.

Over the years direct marketing firms have helped small companies as well as large increase their sales and their market exposure.

What Does Today’s Direct Marketing Firm Do?

Even though many direct marketing firms today focus on helping companies market their products and/or services on the Internet, the most common form of direct marketing is still direct mail. Sometimes known as “junk mail”, successful examples of this form of marketing integrate direct response adverstising and the postal systems.

Rather than sending out direct mail pieces haphazardly, the best direct marketing firms target their mailings to a specific audience. They send solicitations to a list of people whom they consider to be the most likely candidates to return a positive response. For example, a person who has shown an interest in fishing might receive direct mail pieces about fishing related products or about services that are related to fishing.

The goal of any direct marketing piece is to get some sort of a response from the recipient. It might be in the form of a request for more information, or it could be an order - a sale - or anything in between.

Direct Marketing Is An Ongoing Process

Direct marketing is an ongoing process where results are analyzed and mail pieces are refined.

All direct response advertising has four elements in common. They are the offer, enough information for the prospect to make some sort of a decision, a direct call to action, and a method of responding. Response might be via a postcard, a toll free phone number, an email, a place to click on a web page, etc.

The best direct marketing firm will do split tests. Split testing is a means of advertising where a single variable of a marketing piece is compared to the control piece. Then, whichever piece generates the largest number of positive responses becomes the control and a new split test is begun.

And for more information about a well respected direct marketing firm go to http://www.MartinWorldwide.net/index.php now.

Wendy Moyer is a professional writer.

[tags]direct marketing firm[/tags]

Flyer distribution might seem something of an old fashioned manner of communicating with prospective customers. But in reality, this method of getting a message to people is still a viable option. This article goes into what is entailed in organising flyer distribution, and what kind of businesses use it.

It is of course simply printed matter, so it is not just a case of giving out leaflets with some text on them. Effective flyer distribution requires some serious thought in terms of graphic design, copywriting and general tone of the message. Once the leaflet is in front of the prospective customer, you only have a few seconds to grab their attention, before your flyer is gingerly placed in the ‘paper’ recycle bag.

But how do you get the attention of your customer’s difficult-to-locate wallet? Well, you may well turn to the services provided by an advertising agency. There are many of these, and they are all likely to have web presence. If you want to save money you can write the message yourself - but as said before, you need to ensure that it grabs the reader’s attention.

When developing your flyer distribution campaign, it might well be worth coming up with a special offer, so that there is some compelling reason for looking over the flyer. An attractive image is always good - although full colour copying might cost a little more. But if you’re selling pizzas, for example, you really need to make sure you have a glossy colour photo of your most mouth watering pizza.

If you’re promoting a pub or club with your flyer distribution program, it might be a good idea to target young males with a glossy image of an attractive female model. Sex appeal is an age old method of advertising, and it is arguably as effective today as it always has been. Similarly, your flyer distribution campaign might be targeting young females for a club experience - nowadays also prolific drinkers - so an attractive ideal man type model might be appropriate.

Apart from that, you need an attention grabbing headline for your flyer distribution advertising technique. The more controversial, the better - so that your reader picks up the leaflet and does not put it in the bin.

In summary, flyer distribution seems to play a notable role in advertising, and many people would say that it is more effective than email communications, as it is much easier to filter out spam and marketing emails than it is to put a leaflet in the bin; at least you have a few seconds while the reader decides if your flyer is rubbish or not. So make your headline snappy and your images unforgettable - and you may well be on to a winner!

Thomas Pretty is a marketing executive with many years of experience in direct marketing. Find out more about flyer distribution at http://www.oakwoodstudios.com/

[tags]flyer distribution[/tags]

There are many arguments against why many of the traditional marketing methods work today; indeed many advertising and marketing executives will argue that unless the campaign is all over whichever social networking site is in fashion at the moment, with banner adverts on popular websites and expensive commercials on the multitude of digital television channels, they just might as well not exist.

These arguments have some weight behind them: people are spending more time at home recently due to the economic climate and consequently are watching more TV and spending increasing amounts of time on the internet, meaning that fewer people are actually going out to see the billboards or the adverts on the night buses, but the reasons that these currently favoured advertising methods can be successful are also the reasons that several traditional models such as door to door marketing work, without the possible drawbacks and pitfalls which many proponents of the new-school methods don’t think about.

Door to door marketing methods such as leaflet delivery are successful for many of the same reasons that the digital techniques would be, but with the advantages of reduced cost and being far harder to ignore. One thing that many people don’t think about when embarking on their exciting and costly digital-age marketing plan is that a lot of people simply do not see these adverts - the commercial break on television has long been the domain of channel surfing, toilet breaks and tea making and increasing amounts of internet users are installing advert blocking software - in fact some browsers will come with one pre-installed.

Put simply, this means that many of these expensive marketing methods - as exciting as they may be - simply are not being seen by much of their potential audience and this means that they are potentially missing much of their target market. Door to door marketing methods such as leafleting and flyers are much harder to ignore and avoid as their presence in the mailbox or on the doormat means that the recipient must at least look at them to pick them up. With the right design and concise, clearly presented information, a leaflet or flyer will catch the eye of the recipient and - if the product or service advertised meets their needs - they will be encouraged to either make a call, view the website or retain the leaflet for future reference.

Costing far less than a digital advertising operation and often more successful, a properly implemented door to door marketing campaign is an ideal avenue to take in the current economic climate. Though it makes sense to also apply some other marketing methods as well, it’s far too soon to sound the death knell for the traditional advertising techniques such as leafleting.

Anna Stenning is a marketing executive with many years of experience implementing many different kinds of campaigns. Find out more about door to door marketing at http://www.mailboxnationwide.com/

[tags]Door to door marketing[/tags]

Many people seem to think that traditional promotional methods such as flyer distribution, leafleting and door to door marketing are dead, eschewed in favour of trendy viral video campaigns on YouTube, banners on this week’s social networking site and expensive CGI-heavy adverts on the myriad of digital TV stations. However it is continually being proven that much of the time, the old methods simply work better.

There are examples of these modern methods working and working well, where several films and video games have had people talking about them for months, sometimes even a year before their release - the masterful ilovebees.com campaign for 2004 video game Halo 2 being a particular example; but while there are several notable cases of this style of marketing working spectacularly, there are many more instances of its failure.

Something that many business owners miss when deciding to forgo time-tested promotional methods such as door to door marketing and go in favour of the high-tech, high budget methods of the viral campaigns is their target audience. Successful viral campaigns tend to work because they are usually advertising video games or science fiction films and the demographic which plays these games and watches these films is usually quite tech-savvy and aware of current internet trends making the campaign more likely to reach them.

Door to door marketing methods including flyer or leaflet delivery are often far cheaper than these cutting edge campaigns and have the capability of reaching a broader audience. They are also more likely to reach your target demographic, unless you are looking to reach gamers or science fiction film fans.

The sad fact is that a lot of these more expensive, modern advertising methods simply do not reach their audience - many people change the channel or get up to make a cup of tea during the advert breaks on television, and more and more people daily are installing advertisement blocking software on their computers meaning that these expensive campaigns simply aren’t being seen.

There is a lot to be said for these modern advertising methods, even if just from an academic case study perspective, but there is no denying their effectiveness if targeted correctly. However, it is very difficult to implement them successfully and to do so often requires the budget of a big Hollywood studio or Silicon Valley developer, whereas a door to door marketing campaign can be just as effective without requiring the budget and it is much harder to ignore a flyer or leaflet in a mailbox than it is to change the channel or install an advert blocker.

As entertaining as the viral campaign can be, the traditional methods are still very relevant to today’s marketing climate and will most likely stay so for many years to come; often available for far less than you may expect and usually able to provide a much better return.

Thomas Pretty is a marketing executive with many years of experience implementing advertising campaigns. Find out more about door to door marketing at http://www.oakwoodstudios.com/

[tags]Door to door marketing[/tags]

This sample business letter is modeled after one of the most successful sales letter templates of all time. The beauty of this letter is that it can be adapted to virtually any business situation.

I like to send this letter as the third one in a series of letters. It is important to keep in mind that just a single letter sent once to a prospect who does not know you, will not usually result in any significant results. The key to success is to have a sequence of letters.

Although each letter is unique the call to action is the same. A less effective call to action is ask the reader to call you for a free consultation. That’s not a bad idea, it’s just that this should not be the first request you make. I would wait until after your prospect has opted into your stay-in-touch system to make that request.

The crucial element is to get prospects to opt-in to your mailing list. The most effective way to do this is to offer some sort of free report or other valuable information. Here is the letter that I recommend that you send out if the first two letters that you send don’t get your prospect to respond.

Dear (prospect) Take two (companies similar to the one your prospect is in). Both (similar in specific ways). Both (trying to accomplish a specific task). One (type of company) chugs along at an okay pace. Over time their business slowly grows, but the nagging feeling that “We could be doing better” never quite goes away.

By contrast the second (type of company) continues to steal market share from its competitors both large and small. Year after year it (achieves a particular goal). Why is one (company) so successful and the other so average?

We believe a large part of the answer revolves around the power and potential of (the type of work you do). When you dig down and really examine what accounts for the success of (these types of companies), a key differentiator is (how they effectively implement a solution) The bottom line is that the right type of (solution) can give you an enormous competitive advantage over your rivals, both big and small.

That is the reason I felt compelled to write you this last time to make you a final offer of our free special report (name of report). The report will take you less than 15 minutes to read and it will stimulate your thinking about:

(In this section you list the key benefits that the reader will get by reading the report. These might include the following:) What you should be doing to (achieve a particular objective). How to zero in on what’s probably making your (current solution) needlessly expensive.
The most important factor to focus on during any (situation that is about to happen). What the most progressive (companies in this industry) are doing to drive new business results.

At (name of your company) we assist (companies in this industry) achieve outstanding business results by leveraging the power of (what you do). Clients commend us for our willingness to dig deep and fully understand their specific business challenges before we offer any sort of recommendation or potential solution.

We know that at the end of the day, what you care about most, are solutions to the most vexing business problems you face. We believe that (what you offer) that will help you achieve your goals, but that first and foremost the business problem must be clearly understood.

Even if you’re completely satisfied with your current (approach to the particular business problem), I guarantee that you will find some useful and profitable information in this report. It’s free and you can receive your copy by visiting our website (name of website) or calling us at (phone number). I look forward to hearing from you.

I find that this letter when sent third in a series of letters motivates readers who read my previous letters but never responded to take the next step and request my free report.

There are many strategies for using sales letters and emails to get you more business and this is just one of them . If you want some “Battle Tested” templates that will get you as much new business as you want, you need to go here:
http://www.gentlerainsalesletters.com

[tags]sales letter templates, sales cover letter, free sales letter, introductory sales letter[/tags]

This example of a sales letter or email is highly effective when you read or learn that a prospect has been promoted or accepted a new position. I once landed a $750,000 account by sending this letter.

One of the best opportunities to initiate a new business relationship is when your prospect has accepted a new job. Not surprisingly, they tend to me in a very positive state of mind and are the most receptive to developing some new contacts. This is particularly true when a person has moved to a new company when they are often mandated with making significant changes.

I initially sent this letter to a prospect that I had been attempting to develop a relationship with for many months. Despite my repeated efforts I never was able to break through. However this letter prompted a call and a meeting which ultimately led to a multi-year consulting engagement. Hopefully it will do the same for you. Here it is.

Dear (Prospect), I read about your recent appointment as (title of new position) in (name of publication) and I wanted to drop you a short note of congratulations.

I realize that this is terribly self-serving, but I also wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself on the outside chance that the highly specialized nature of our business might be of benefit to you at some point in the future.

Our company focuses on working with (types of clients) on (precisely what types of projects). Our clients include (the more you can mention companies that the reader will relate to, the better) and other leading firms.

It’s been my experience that working with companies such as ours hinges on the relationships-of-trust that are developed well before the prospective client has an actual need. That’s why I thought I would reach out to you at this point in time to begin a dialogue.

I also thought that you would be interested in our latest publication; (Exciting title which usually emphasizes how to do something). It reviews, using actual case examples, a highly customizable (process for addressing a particular problem or issue). The report is free and you can request a copy either by giving us a call (phone number) or by visiting our website (your website address).

I’m sure you will find the publication to be helpful, and perhaps it will stimulate an interest on your part to learn more about how we might be of assistance to you. Regardless, I think you will find (name of your report or publication) to be valuable reading.

Again, my congratulations to you and sincere best wishes for continued success.

As mentioned previously, I’ve used this exact letter as a tool for developing relationships with very senior level decision makers. Give it a try. I think that it will work well for you too.

There are many strategies for using sales letters and emails to get you more business and this is just one of them . If you want some “Battle Tested” templates that will get you as much new business as you want, you need to go here:
http://www.gentlerainsalesletters.com

[tags]sales emails,sales closes,example of sales letter, marketing emails, marketing letters[/tags]

The key to writing sales emails that get you more new clients is to first put yourself in the shoes of your reader. If you remember no other point, it’s crucial that you keep in mind that “it’s all about the reader.” What exactly do I mean by this?

It’s very tempting in your sales emails to focus the content primarily on you. It’s easy to start talking about the services you offer, how long you’ve been in business and locations you serve. But that’s a mistake.

Your readers are not interested in you. What they are most interested in is themselves. Their problems, frustrations and business issues. Thus you want to start off your email by focusing precisely on that.

There is an old saying that the purpose of the first sentence of a sales letter or email is simply to get the reader to read the second sentence. The purpose of the second sentence is to get them to read the second paragraph. If we can get them to read that second paragraph them we have them going down the proverbial slippery slope and it’s highly likely that we’ll get them to read the entire message. So how do we get started?

As I alluded to earlier, the key is to focus on a specific problem your reader is facing. That is what’s most likely to get their attention and say to themselves, “I better read some more.” So let’s talk a bit about how to communicated that problem that gets your reader’s attention and makes them want to continue reading.

The opening sentence that has worked the best for me is the following: “I know from speaking with (people like you) that many of them are concerned about (a particular problem).”

Naturally you will want to put in the specific group of people that you’re targeting into the first parenthesis and a very specific problem in the second one. I cannot overstate the importance of having both your target reader and your problem be very specific.

Remember that everyone thinks that their problems are unique. From a practical perspective this usually isn’t true but people believe it all the same. Thus you want to make sure that your sales letters and emails convey the message that “I understand your unique issues”. If you do this is the opening sentence you’ll find that your readers will continue to read your entire message and ultimately do what you ask them to do in the last paragraph.

There are many strategies for using sales letters and emails to get you more business and this is just one of them . If you want some “Battle Tested” templates that will get you as much new business as you want, you need to go here:
http://www.gentlerainsalesletters.com

[tags]sales emails,sales closes,example of sales letter, marketing emails, marketing letters[/tags]

You may not have heard about these, but copy connectors are another very important part of any sales copy. These are what keeps your content connected between paragraphs, and they can have a great impact on the response your sales letter generates.

Simply put, copy connectors ensure that the different parts of your sales copy flow properly. There are two different types of copy connectors that you can use, mesmerizing copy connectors and psychological copy connectors.

Mesmerizing copy connectors help to trigger your reader’s imagination and appeal to their subconscious mind. Some of the most effective words I use for these transitions include terms such as, imagine, remember, or visualize. The power behind these words is that they put your reader into a persuasive state which makes them more likely to do what you want them to do.

Another trick for getting your readers into a persuasive state of mind is to use lots of words, phrases, and sentences that have a rhythm or cadence to them. I call these psychological copy connectors.

Psychological copy connectors allow you to tell your readers what to think or feel as they read your words, When used correctly your readers will actually start to think and feel a certain way because you mentioned it in your copy. Naturally you need to make sure that you only induce feelings that convince them to buy your product or service.

For example, you can use psychological copy connectors to get your readers to imagine what their lives will be like if they buy or don’t buy your product or service. You can ask them questions that will induce thoughts, memories, and feelings. You can tell them about all the goals they will accomplish and the benefits they will get when they purchase your product. Linking these to emotions such as happiness or sadness will increase the power your sales letters have on your readers.

Here’s another tip. It is a known fact that people are programmed to mentally answer questions when you ask them in your sales letter. Thus I make sure that I include a lot of them in my copy. Do you do the same thing? Why not?

Questions that assist readers in visualizing a desired outcome or avoiding a potential problem are the most powerful. Often times using questions can make problems seem bigger which ultimately makes it easier for you to make a sale. You’ve invested a lot of time writing your sales letter, don’t you want it to get the response you want?

Thus when you are writing your sales letters think about the language you are using to connect your paragraphs and make transitions from one area to another. The more that you use language or questions that enable your reader to imagine a desired outcome the more effective your sales copy will be.

There are many strategies for using sales letters and emails to get you more business and this is just one of them . If you want some “Battle Tested” templates that will get you as much new business as you want, you need to go here:
http://www.gentlerainsalesletters.com

[tags]marketing letters, sales letter templates, instant sales letters, sales letter examples[/tags]

Hand-to-hand delivery is still one of the best ways of marketing your product - even in the high-tech age we live in, a properly implemented campaign of flyer distribution is an excellent way of reaching your customers, or potential customers. But as with anything, there are potential pitfalls.

The first aspect which can cause a flyer distribution campaign to fail is simple - poor design or wording. If your flyers aren’t clear about what it is they’re promoting, they will probably go straight from the hand they’re placed in to the nearest bin. An eye-catching design with clear, concise wording stating exactly what it is that you are offering with easily-located contact details is essential, yet this is a mistake that many people make.

A too-cluttered design will make your flyer confusing and thus unappealing to someone who has received it on a busy city street. It may be worth putting less information on it for the sake of clarity. If someone in a hurry can get a clear idea of what it is you are promoting on a first glance, it’s more likely that they will keep hold of the flyer and either call for further information or look at your website if you have one. Depending on the size of your business, it may be worth looking into hiring a design company to take care of your flyers as this will ensure they are as good as they can be.

Another potential issue which can cause problems when implementing a flyer distribution campaign is the law. Always look into your local borough council’s laws when deciding whether to distribute flyers, especially in the town centre. Some towns and cities will be fine with it, whereas some prohibit it and punish with fines.

Make sure that your flyer distribution campaign targets the right people. Having someone put a flyer in somebody’s hand is a great way of reaching potential customers as it gives people a someone to talk to about the product, but if it’s handed to someone who most likely won’t be interested or affected by it, it’s a wasted flyer. Asking shops, bars or clubs to take some to put on their counters is another great way to target potential customers, especially if they attract relevant clientele. If the flyers advertise a rock night at a local nightclub for example, asking local music shops or stores which sell rock-style clothing is a great way to reach potential customers.

A well-implemented flyer distribution campaign can be an excellent way to reach both your existing and potential customers. If given the proper thought, following these basic tips can help your hand-to-hand delivery campaign is more likely to be a success.

Thomas Pretty is a marketing expert with many years of experience implementing hand-to-hand delivery methods. Find out more about flyer distribution at http://www.oakwoodstudios.com/

[tags]Flyer distribution[/tags]