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by Robert W. Bly
31 Cheyenne Drive, Montville, NJ 07045
(973) 263-0562, Fax (973) 263-0613
e-mail: [email protected], web: www.bly.com
Table of Contents
Section 1 The Magic of “Reciprocity”.....................................................................3
Section 2 Should You Charge Vendors for Client Referrals?..............................5
Section 3 When is it Time to “Put the Meter Down”?..........................................8
Section 4 Don’t You Hate It When a Customer Asks for Her Money Back? ....11
Section 5 A Low‐Tech Way to Prevent Customers from Illegally Copying
Your Information Products...................................................................15
Section 6 Avoid This Common Mistake When Creating
Information Products ............................................................................18
Section 7 10 Tips for Increasing Landing Page Conversion Rates ...................21
Section 8 Are White Papers Dead? .......................................................................25
Section 9 The Most Amazing Fact About Fundraising Can Help Make
Any Direct Mail Promotion More Successful—Including Yours! ....29
Section 10 Show Your Warts: An Honest Way to Make a Buck.......................31
Section 11 Free Gifts: A Proven Marketing Gambit That Almost
Never Fails ............................................................................................33
Section 12 Is Exhibiting at Trade Shows a Waste of Time?
Without a Good ROI, Yes....................................................................36
Section 13 Avoiding Sticker Shock .......................................................................39
Section 14 Avoid the Market Research Trap .......................................................41
Section 15 Confessions of a Mail Order Rip‐Off Artist......................................44
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Section 16 You Have to Understand the Prospect…Not the Other
Way Around. ........................................................................................47
About the Author ......................................................................................................50
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Section 1
The Magic of “Reciprocity”
Recently, Google Adwords expert Perry Marshall sent me a letter in the
mail.
Enclosed with the letter was a crisp, new $50 bill.
That certainly got my attention.
Wouldn’t it get yours?
But it did something in addition to getting my attention.
It made me feel obligated to read Perry’s letter—and to comply with
whatever he was going to ask of me.
The letter began: “The most important thing you need to know about this
$50 bill is there are more where this came from—a lot more.”
His offer: promote a free Perry Marshall tele‐seminar to my list—and get a
nice affiliate commission from sales of his coaching services to my subscribers on
the back‐end.
Perry sent the same letter to 23 people with e‐lists he thought would work
for his offer.
With a $50 bill in each letter, he gave away $1,150 in cash.
Did it work?
Yes.
Perry reports that 8 or 9 of the 23 recipients promoted his tele‐seminars to
our lists.
A couple who had to decline for one reason or another sent back the $50 via
PayPal.
If I had not accepted the offer, I probably would have done the same.
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But when you’re holding money in your hand, it’s hard to give it up.
I likely would have done the deal anyway…Perry is a friend and admired
colleague.
The $50 bill, however, caused me to give his request immediate attention—
and I might otherwise have put it aside for consideration when I had more time.
So in my case, enclosing the money certainly helped Perry get my
commitment to his promotion in a timely manner.
The bottom line?
Perry added 4,000 new subscribers to his e‐list…and closed coaching
contracts worth around $100,000.
All those new coaching sales were to his affiliates’ subscribers—buyers who
were NOT on Perry’s list.
Why am I telling you about this?
Because it demonstrates a principle that Robert Cialdini talks about in his
book “Influence.”
That principle is “reciprocity”…and it’s something Michael Masterson has
written and lectured about.
Reciprocity means you give something away to your prospects—and by
doing so, create in them a need to reciprocate in some way.
As a result, they feel obligated to—if not buy what you are selling—at least
consider your proposition.
It’s an old—and proven—idea.
Market research companies used to mail consumer surveys with a dollar
attached.
These companies knew the dollar wasn’t really important to the recipient.
The cover letter usually stated: “I know this dollar is not important to you.
But it may brighten the day of a child you know.”
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By keeping the dollar bill, recipients felt obliged to reciprocate by
answering the survey.
It boosted response rates…because many consumers felt it would be wrong
to take the dollar without filling out the questionnaire.
But you don’t have to give away a dollar—or even $1,150, like Perry
Marshall did—to use reciprocity as a marketing tool.
Anything of value you do for—or give to—your prospects or customers can
create a sense of obligation…and increase your sales.
For instance, you could give away a free white paper…a free CD…a free
book…a free calculator…a tele‐class…a free coaching session.
If the recipients find your gift valuable and useful, it doesn’t guarantee a
sale.
But it at least increases the chances they will listen to your sales pitch…read
your copy…or accept a free trial of your product or service.
Section 2
Should You Charge Vendors for Client Referrals?
For decades, I have made it a practice to refer my clients to vendors who
can provide services those clients need…and that I don’t or can’t offer myself.
I have also made it a policy never to accept a referral fee from any vendor,
though many offer it, and some even argue with me when I turn it down.
I do not accept referral fees for this reason: my primary mission is to give
my clients the best recommendations I can—and that means being totally objective.
It follows logically that I make recommendations that are the best for my
client, not the most profitable for me.
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And yes, sometimes what’s good for the client is not good for the vendor.
For instance, I have many people calling who are eager to pay me
thousands of dollars to write a promotion for them.
In many instances, I turn them down, advising that their idea won’t work
or their product won’t fly.
By telling them this, I am saving them from financial disaster…but I am
also talking myself out of a nice, fat copywriting fee.
Even worse, my recommendation that they not proceed is based on my
nearly three decades of marketing experience.
Therefore, the advice is valuable to them…but I am not getting paid a dime
for it, as they have not engaged me on a consulting basis.
I want my clients to know that the advice I give them is always in their best
interest…and if I took referral fees from vendors, it would create a potential
conflict.
I sincerely believe I would always recommend the best vendor for the job—
not the vendor who paid me the highest commission.
But could I…or the client…be 100% certain I was always motivated by their
interest, and not a juicy referral fee?
The reason I bring this up is that PF, a copywriter, recently contacted me
asking for referrals.
But unlike the many other copywriters who want referrals from me, PF was
offering me something in return—a free lobster.
Or rather, a $50 gift certificate to a Website selling Maine lobsters for each
new client I referred to her.
Now, while I am against taking referral fees, I do make it a practice to send
a small thank‐you gift to people who refer business to me.
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So if it’s OK for me to send a small gift to a referral source, it seems like it
should be OK for vendors to send small gifts to me when I am their referral source.
Now, I don’t want them to do it. And I openly discourage it.
But, if a nice gift arrives in the mail, I usually don’t send it back. I keep it
and thank the vendor for it.
I don’t think a small gift influences who gets my referrals—except, PF’s free
lobster offer sticks in my mind.
Actually, I don’t eat lobster, which I know is unusual.
Any food that comes in its own armor is not for me…and truthfully, I don’t
even like the texture or taste.
But…
My oldest son Alex loves lobster…and a $50 lobster would put a smile on
his face.
So when I am asked for a referral to a copywriter these days, by clients who
can’t afford my fees or to wait until I am available, I find PF’s name popping up in
my mind first.
Should you take—or give—referral fees from and to other vendors?
That’s up to you.
But my position on this issue is: make your recommendations “pure,”
unbiased, and objective—and let your clients know it.
That way you get something far more valuable than the referral
commission the vendor wants to pay you.
You get your client’s trust—and a reputation in your industry as someone
who is honest and trustworthy.
That’s something—unlike a lobster—that money can’t buy.
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Section 3
When is it Time to “Put the Meter Down”?
When you take a taxi, when do you expect the driver to put the meter down?
When you first step into the cab and give him your destination?
Or once he pulls away from the curb into traffic—and starts driving?
The actual difference in cab fare is negligible.
But the difference in the driver’s attitude—and the customer’s reaction—
can be huge.
In the first scenario, the driver is saying to you: “I want to wring as much
money from you as I can…you will pay for every second of my service!”
In the second scenario, the cabbie is telling you, “I want my customers to
get fair value for their money…I won’t start charging you until I’m actually
moving you toward your destination!”
In your business, the decision of when to start charging the customer for
your time…when to “put the meter down”…also has a profound impact on how
the customer views you.
For instance, I recently contacted a major press release distribution service
to get a quotation for distributing a press release to hundreds of magazines and
newspapers.
“We can’t give you a quotation unless you join us as a member,” they told
me, even though they are a service and not an association.
The membership fee, by the way, was $150.
So in effect, they were charging me $150 to give me a price quote on a
service I wanted to buy from them.
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The decision of when to “put the meter down,” of course, varies from
industry to industry—and even from vendor to vendor.
In some professions—such as home remodeling, business consulting, and
laser eye surgery—the initial meeting and estimate are typically free.
In other professions, vendors charge from the first second you meet
them…and some actually charge more for the first visit—to diagnose your
problem—than they do to treat it on subsequent visits.
Example: psychiatrists and neurologists who treat kids with ADD and
other behavioral disorders.
The decision of when to “put the meter down”—and start charging the
customer for your time—depends on several factors.
These include what’s standard in your industry…whether preliminary
assessment or diagnosis is necessary to determine fees or whether you can even
help the prospect…and how busy and in demand you are.
For instance, if you are desperate and need work, you’ll give a lot of free
estimates and see people without charge in the hopes of getting business from
them.
On the other hand, if you’re busy and in demand, you won’t.
The key is to position whichever tack you take as a competitive advantage.
If you are desperate and need work, don’t tell prospects you are desperate
and need work.
But do convey the message that you offer a free initial meeting, estimate, or
consultation because you care about clients and giving them a great value.
Put a dollar value on the initial appointment. And give it a value‐added
name. Don’t say “sales presentation.” Say “free consultation.”
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Say you are a consultant billing $1,000 a day. You meet with potential
clients for an hour or two in their offices without charge to determine whether
there’s a good fit—and convince them to hire you.
Offer an initial consultation. Note that it is a $500 value, but they are getting
it free.
On the other hand, if you put the meter down immediately, convey—in
your words and actions—how busy and in demand you are.
For instance, your assistant should never say, “Would you like him to stop by
today?”
Instead, say, “Let me see if I have an opening next month or the month
after.”
Prospects may object: “Your competitors will come and see me for free.
Why can’t you?”
A good answer is to ask them, “Why would you hire someone who is in
so little demand they will rush to you at the drop of a hat and not charge you for
it?”
There is an advantage in being busy, unavailable, and difficult to speak
with and to hire.
After all, if you needed brain surgery, which doctor would you be most
comfortable with?
The experienced, highly recommended neurosurgeon whose waiting room
was filled with patients when you visited it?
Or the neurosurgeon whose schedule—and waiting room—are empty?
On the other hand, there is an advantage to many potential clients in
dealing with a vendor who is available, flexible, and accommodating.
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You can’t be all things to all people. So be what you are. Whatever you are,
there are more than enough prospects out there to buy what you are selling, the
way you are selling it.
Section 4
Don’t You Hate It When a Customer Asks for Her Money Back?
4 Facts Every Marketer Needs to Know About Refunds
Many marketers, both large and small—and I include myself among the
latter—go bonkers when customers return products for refund.
BK, an executive with one of the biggest and most famous direct marketing
publishing companies, told me each refund request drives the company’s owner
crazy.
“Our books contain great information, incredibly valuable,” he says. “Why
should we allow someone to read the book, benefit from all that great content, and
then cheat us by sending it back for a refund?”
Perhaps you may feel similarly, or you’re asking the same question. If so,
let me share with you a few important facts about refunds in your business.
FIRST, a refund doesn’t mean your product is bad or the customer doesn’t
like it.
It may mean that, after reviewing your product carefully, they decide your
product is not right for them.
Example: a customer returns your $300 DVD set on investing in real estate.
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“It actually seems like a great program,” the customer says in his refund
request. “But after watching it, I’ve decided this isn’t a business I want to get
into…it’s just too much work!”
To me, this is a perfectly legitimate—and reasonable—position for the
customer to take…don’t you agree?
In this case, offering a refund is not only a legal requirement, but also
eminently fair:
Why would you want your customer to be out of pocket $300 for something
he can’t use?
SECOND, offering a refund doesn’t cost you money. It makes you money.
Novice marketers fret about offering a money‐back guarantee.
“If I do that,” they worry, “won’t some customers take advantage of me by,
say, reading my book, profiting from the information in it, and then sending it
back for a refund?”
Yes, some will.
But here’s the thing: offering a money‐back guarantee reduces buyer
reluctance and increases buyer confidence…resulting in more orders.
In almost every instance, the greater revenues and profits from the increase
you get in orders by offering a guarantee is MUCH greater than the small amount
of money you lose issuing refunds.
After all, would you buy a product for $30 or $100 or more—sight unseen—
without a money‐back guarantee?
Of course not.
THIRD, longer guarantees are better than shorter guarantees.
If you are currently offering a 10 or 15‐day money‐back guarantee, extend it
to 30 days.
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Already offering a 30‐day money‐back guarantee? Test a 60 or 90‐day
money‐back guarantee.
The longer guarantee term invariably increases response rates and sales,
because it eliminates the concern buyers have with short guarantees—specifically,
that they will forget to open and try the product—and by the time they get around
to looking at it, the guarantee will have expired and they’ll be stuck with it.
But amazingly, the longer guarantee actually reduces refund requests,
rather than increases them.
Reason: the buyer is in no hurry to evaluate and return the product,
because you are allowing him to try it according to a more leisurely schedule.
Result: the buyer soon forgets about the guarantee…and whether he
actually uses the product or not, just keeps it.
FOURTH, generous guarantees sell more product than miserly guarantees.
Ever see a guarantee that says money back if product is returned “in saleable
condition”?
The prospect worries that you’ll claim it arrived scratched or broken, and
won’t honor your guarantee because it’s damaged and can’t be resold.
Similarly, some sellers of information products offer a money‐back
guarantee, but only if you offer documented proof that you followed their system
and it did not work for you.
But what if I get your system, and something comes up, and I decide I don’t
have time to work through it—are you telling me I’m stuck with it because I
didn’t use it?
The more unconditional your money‐back guarantee, the higher your
response rates.
Conditional guarantees depress orders.
Here’s one interesting thing to consider….
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A year or so ago, I began selling e‐books online.
With a physical book, the guarantee is: if you don’t like it, return the book,
and we will refund your money.
But you can’t really return an e‐book.
I thought about eliminating the guarantee, but realized this is absurd.
So instead, I stress the fact that they can get a refund without returning the
product in my guarantee, rather than downplay it.
My standard e‐book guarantee reads:
“If you are not 100% satisfied for any reason—or for no reason at all—just
let me know within 90 days.
“I’ll refund your $29 payment in full. No questions asked. And you can
keep the e‐book FREE, with my compliments. That way, you risk nothing.”
Result: my refund rate on e‐books is lower than for any other information
product I sell, including CDs and hard copy books.
In fact, I get virtually no refund requests on e‐books, though one could say
my guarantee openly invites people to take advantage of me.
My conclusion?
Yes, there are a few con artists out there.
But most people—especially when you are open and fair with them—are
honest, and will be fair with you in return.
So, follow my advice on refunds in your business. Then watch your sales
volume—and profits—soar.
I guarantee it—or your money back!
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Section 5
A Low‐Tech Way to Prevent Customers from Illegally Copying Your Information Products
There are all kinds of high‐tech systems and devices for foiling consumers
who attempt to create bootleg copies of content—from music and movies to
software and information products.
And eventually, all of them are defeated by hackers.
But an easier way to prevent your customers from illegally copying your e‐
books, audio CDs, and DVD information products is to ask what motivates them
to steal your content in the first place.
Answer: aside from the Internet making it easy to duplicate and distribute
content freely, the main reason a consumer illegally copies any information
product has to do with price and value of that product.
By that, I mean that consumers are less motivated to pirate content that is (a)
reasonably priced and (b) gives a fair value for its cost.
For instance, if your 50‐page e‐book on starting a small business is only $29,
your customers—if they like it—will just recommend it to their friends. “You
should buy it here,” they’ll say, pointing others to your Website.
However, had you priced the same e‐book at $299, your customers might
feel that your pricing is too expensive.
So after they print out your e‐book, they pass on the PDF to a few friends—
illegally, of course.
Even when the price is high, you can still reduce illegal copying by giving
great value for that price.
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Say that 50‐page e‐book contained dozens of forms needed to start a
business…forms a lawyer might charge thousands of dollars to create or review.
In that case, $299 would be a reasonable price to pay. The customer would
feel he is getting a fair value, and therefore would not want to rip you off.
On the other hand, if your 50‐page e‐book was just general advice on small
business, $299 would be an excessive price for that kind of content.
In this instance, the customer could think you are ripping him off. He might
choose to get back at you by freely—and yes, illegally—sharing the e‐book with
many other people.
So really, the best way to prevent customers from illegally copying and
sharing your content is to create information products that are reasonably
priced—and give the buyer more than his money’s worth.
To further discourage bootleggers, my e‐books now carry this warning on
the title page:
————————————————————————————————————
This is NOT a free e-book!
Purchase of this e-book entitles the buyer to keep one copy on his or her computer
and to print out one copy only.
Printing out more than one copy—or distributing it electronically—is prohibited by
international and U.S.A. copyright laws and treaties, and would subject the
purchaser to penalties of up to $100,000 PER COPY distributed.
————————————————————————————————————
However, don’t be too much of a hard case enforcing this policy.
If a customer calls and wants to print an extra copy for his business partner,
brother, or friend, let him.
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The main reason to put the warning on the e‐book is not to frustrate the
buyer who wants to print out a few extra copies. I say let him.
The warning is designed to discourage unscrupulous online operators from
taking your e‐book and selling it—or giving it away—to his customers.
An even better idea is to make sure you profit from your e‐book or other
information product even if pirated copies do make the rounds.
How do you do this?
In your information product, put plenty of links to the micro‐sites for your
other products.
That way, the more your e‐book is passed around, the more clicks you get
on those links—and the more additional sales you make.
One other idea….
My colleague FG puts a boxed notice in his e‐books.
It says that the reader can go to a special URL and claim a valuable FREE
bonus gift.
The only catch is: he has to be a registered owner of the e‐book to do it.
FG says that people are so intrigued by the free bonus, those who already
have a pirated copy of his e‐book will go online and buy it—just to qualify for the
free bonus.
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Section 6
Avoid This Common Mistake When Creating Information Products
As we discussed in my last ETR article, the best way to prevent customers
from illegally copying and sharing your content is to create information products
that give the buyer more than his money’s worth.
Creating great information products gives you several other advantages.
For one thing, it minimizes refund requests.
It also creates loyal fans. These fans keep buying other information
products from you and recommending your products to others.
However, many information product marketers make a serious mistake
that results in less quality—and lower customer satisfaction. Let me explain….
What your customers want is solid how‐to information that tells them how
to do something, whether it’s saving money on a new car or becoming a freelance
copywriter.
The mistake many info marketers make is that they have written a “what
to” product instead of the “how‐to” information product the buyer wants.
To live up to the customer’s expectation of getting great how‐to information,
your product really has to tell the customer how to do the thing you are writing
about.
That means specific step‐by‐step instructions…recommended tools and
resources…and strategies, tips, and techniques for doing the thing better and
faster.
But too many info products I see tell the reader what to do—but not how to
do it.
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For instance, one small business advertising guide recommended
advertising on billboards.
That’s advice on what to do, which is fine as it goes, but not enough.
When a reader buys your specialized information product, he also wants
you to tell him HOW to advertise on billboards.
What are the dimensions of a typical billboard? What’s the most effective
word length for billboard copy? The recommended size of the letters painted on
the board for maximum readability?
How can I find the billboards in my area where I can advertise? Who do I
contact about renting them? What’s a reasonable cost I can expect to pay? Can that
be negotiated?
Why do so many information product writers produce “what to do”
instead of “how to do it” e‐books and reports?
It’s because “what‐to‐do” is easy to write, because you present only the big
picture (what to do), and not the niggling details (how to do it).
But it cheats the reader. In most instances, the reader already has some idea
of what to do.
He is buying your specialized information product on the Internet—often at
a premium price compared to books available in bookstores on similar topics.
Why is he willing to pay you more? Because he expects you to go into
depth he doesn’t get from “bookstore books.”
I hire a lot of freelance writers to write e‐books and reports for my small
online publishing business, CTC Publishing.
One of my pet peeves—and a classic example of what‐to instead of how‐
to—is when I read in a first draft a sentence that says, “For more information on X,
just search the keyword X on Google.”
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I tell the writer: the reason the reader is paying for our e‐book is because he
expects us to have done the research and present the results.
Telling your reader “look it up on Google” is the sign of a lazy writer who
has not done his homework—and a sin I will always ask my writers to correct.
One more point….
Even though information products buyers want “how to” instead of “what
to do,” you can often take the quality of your content to an even higher level.
You do this when, instead (or in addition to) telling the reader what to do,
you actually DO IT FOR HIM.
For instance, instead of saying “here are some points to keep in mind when
writing a collection letter to a customer who owes you money,” you actually
include sample collection letters in your product.
Listen: everyone is lazy. Me. You. Your customers. And your writers,
editors, and authors.
But the information product buyer has paid us to provide him with
shortcuts. As the customer, he has the right to be lazy.
As the seller in this transaction of information publishing, we—the
information product marketers—give up the right to be lazy.
Our customer expects us to do the work, so he doesn’t have to.
If we don’t, we are of little value to him. And he will let us know this by
asking for his money back.
Action step: read the latest information product you wrote or
published…or even better, the one you are working on right now.
Ask yourself on every page: “Is this text telling the reader merely what to
do, or am I actually showing him HOW to do it?”
If you are merely saying what to do instead of how to do it, rewrite to
correct the oversight.
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The result: top quality information products worth the premium price you
charge.
Section 7
10 Tips for Increasing Landing Page Conversion Rates
There’s lots of buzz about blogging, viral marketing, social networking, and
other new methods of generating eyeballs and traffic online. But all that traffic
won’t make you any money unless you can convert those unique visitors to leads
or customers.
Depending on whether you are selling a product directly from your landing
page, asking visitors to download a free white paper, or promoting a Webinar or
demonstration, conversion rates can range from as low as one percent or less to as
much as 50 percent or more. Here are 10 keys to writing landing pages that
maximize online conversion rates:
1—Build credibility early. People have always been skeptical of advertising,
and with the proliferation of spam and shady operators, they are even more
skeptical of what they read online. Therefore, your landing page copy must
immediately overcome that skepticism.
One way to do that is to make sure one or more “credibility builders” is
clearly displayed on the first screen the visitor sees. In the banner at the top of the
page, use your logo and company name if you are well known; universities,
associations, and other institutions can place their official seal in the upper left of
the screen.
Within or immediately under the banner, put a strong testimonial or three
above the headline on the first screen. Consider adding a pre‐head or subhead
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which summarizes the company’s mission statement or credentials. At
www.bnasoftware.com, the positioning statement is: “The nation’s definitive
income tax management solution.”
2—Capture the e‐mail addresses of non‐buyers. There are a number of
mechanisms available for capturing the e‐mail address of visitors who click on
your landing page but do not buy the product. One is to use a window with copy
offering a free report or e‐course in exchange for submitting an e‐mail address.
This window can be served to the visitor as a pop‐up (it appears when the visitor
arrives at the landing page) or a pop‐under (a window that appears when the
visitor attempts to leave the landing page without making an inquiry or purchase).
These are both blocked by pop‐up blockers. A “floater” is a window that slides
onto the screen from the side or top. Unlike the pop‐up and pop‐under, the floater
is part of the Website HTML code, so it is not stopped by the pop‐up blocker.
3—Use lots of testimonials. Testimonials build credibility and overcome
skepticism, as do case studies and white papers posted on the Website. If you
invite customers to a live event, ask if they would be willing to give you a brief
testimonial recorded on video. Have a professional videographer tape it, get a
signed release from the customer, and post the testimonial on your Website as
streaming video. Require the customer to click a button to hear the testimonial,
rather than have the video play automatically when the visitor clicks on the page.
For written testimonials, customers may suggest that you write what you
want them to say and just run it by them for approval. Politely ask that they give
you their opinion of your product in their own words instead of having you do it.
Reason: what they come up with will likely be more specific, believable, and
detailed than your version, which might smack of puffery and promotion.
4—Use lots of bullets. Highlight key features and benefits in a list of short,
easy‐to‐read bulleted items. I often use a format where the first part of the bullet is
22
the feature, and after a dash comes the benefit; e.g., “Quick‐release adhesive
system—your graphics stay clean and don’t stick together.” Online buyers like to
think they are getting a lot for their money, so when selling a product directly
from your landing page, be sure all major features and important benefits are
covered in a comprehensive bullet list appearing on your landing page.
When generating leads by giving away white papers, you don’t need a
huge list of bulleted features and benefits. But using bullets to describe the
contents of the paper and the benefits that information delivers can raise
conversion rates for download requests.
5—Arouse curiosity in the headline. The headline should either arouse
curiosity, make a powerful promise, or otherwise grab the reader’s attention so he
has no choice but to keep reading. The headline for a landing page selling a
training program on how to become a professional property locator makes a big
promise: “Become a Property Locator Today—and Make $100,000 a Year in the
Greatest Real Estate Career That Only a Few Insiders Know About.”
6—Use a conversational copy style. Most corporate Websites are unemotional
and sterile: just “information.” But a landing page is a letter from one human
being to another. Make it sound that way. Even if your product is highly technical
and you are selling it to techies, remember that they are still human beings, and
you cannot sell something by boring people to death.
7—Incorporate an emotional hook in the headline and lead paragraph. Logical
selling can work, but tapping into the prospect’s emotions is much stronger—
especially when you correctly assess how the prospect is feeling about your
product or the problem it solves right now.
Another effective tactic for lead‐generation landing pages is to stress your
free offer in the headline and lead. Example: Kaydon’s landing page shows a
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picture of its catalog with the bold heading above it reading, “FREE Ceramic
Bearings Product Selection Guide.”
8—Solve the reader’s problem. Once you hook the reader with emotional copy
dramatizing her problem or a powerful free offer, show how your product—or
your free information—can help solve their problem. For example: “Now there is a
better, easier, and more effective solution to wobbly restaurant tables that can
irritate customers and ruin their dining experience: Table Shox, the world’s
smallest shock absorber.”
To maximize landing page conversion rates, you have to convince the
visitor that the quickest route to solving his problem is taking the action indicated
on the landing page, and not—as you might be tempted to let him do—surfing
your site. That’s why I prefer landing pages to appear with no navigation, so the
reader’s only choice is to respond or not respond; there’s no menu of click buttons
and hyperlinks to other interesting pages to distract him.
9—Make it timely and current. The more your online copy ties in with current
events and news, the higher your response rates. This is especially critical when
selling financial and investment information as well as regulatory compliance
products in fields where laws and rules change frequently. Periodically update
your landing page copy to reflect current business and economic conditions,
challenges, and trends. This shows your visitor that your company is current with
and on top of what’s happening in your industry today.
10—Stress the money‐back guarantee or lack of commitment on the part of the user.
If you allow customers to order products directly from the landing page, make
sure you have a money‐back guarantee clearly stated on that page. All your
competitors give strong money‐back guarantees, so you can’t get away without
doing the same. If your product is good and your copy truthful, your refund rates
can be as low as 1 percent or even less.
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If you are generating leads, stress that your offer—which might be a white
paper, online demonstration, or Webinar—is free. Say there is no obligation to buy
and that no salesperson will visit.
Section 8
Are White Papers Dead?
It’s often the case that when a marketing technique is overused, it gradually
loses its effectiveness over time. When that happens, usage drops off, and
prospects are consequently no longer bombarded by the technique. Example: the
AOL CD mailings.
A year or so later, some smart marketer remembers the old technique,
realizes it hasn’t been used for a while, and decides to test it again. Sure enough, it
works, because the market hasn’t seen it for some time. Other marketers who use
it also start getting good results, and the marketing tool becomes popular once
more.
In the consumer sector, sweepstakes is a direct marketing technique that
varies in effectiveness over time. Now, in business‐to‐business, some direct
marketers question whether white papers are running out of steam. The concern is
that there are too many white papers—so that the offer of yet another one has lost
its appeal. As one white paper skeptic told me, “Prospects already have too much
to read; why would they ask for more?”
Yet the numbers tell a different story: namely, that white paper marketing
is alive and well and working. ʺThe demand for white papers has never been
higher,” says Michael A. Stelzner, executive editor of WhitePaperSource.com.
“During business downturns, corporations rely more on marketing to help them
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acquire leads and establish thought leadership. White papers are the secret
weapon for companies. Our organization has seen a major increase in white paper
use among businesses of all sizes, but especially those selling costly or complex
products.ʺ
In a survey of nearly 1,400 IT professionals, the majority said they were
more likely to download and read white papers than product literature. Over the
years, I’ve seen a number of direct mail and e‐mail tests in which offering a free
white paper or other free content increased response rates 10% to 100% or more.
White papers work; more than half of IT professionals say white papers
influence their buying decision. I do think, however, that we have to broaden our
notion of how to use free content offers, which is essentially what a white paper is:
free information designed to educate our prospects and motivate them to inquire
about our product or service.
To begin with, I think it’s not white papers themselves that are tiring but
the name itself. “White paper” signals to some prospects a document that is an
obvious selling tool. And with virtually every white paper in the world available
for free, white papers have a low perceived value as a giveaway.
The solution is to keep using white papers in your marketing but to call
them something else. The mailing list broker Edith Roman used to publish a print
catalog of mailing lists. But instead of calling it a catalog, they called it the “Direct
Mail Encyclopedia.” Offering a free Direct Mail Encyclopedia helped generate
more inquiries for their brokerage services.
Copywriter Ivan Levison calls his white papers “guides.” Marketer David
Yale uses “executive briefing.” I’m partial to “special report.” For consumer
marketing, marketing expert Joe Polish suggests “consumer awareness guide,”
and for a B2B white paper giving product selection tips, I’d change this to “buyer’s
guide” or “selection guide.” For a white paper giving tips or instructions on a
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process, I might call it a “manual.” If you publish a print version that fits in a #10
envelope and is saddle stitched, you can call it a “free booklet.”
All of the above are variations on the free content offer. Direct marketers
refer to free content offers as “bait pieces,” because they are used to “bait your
hook” when you go “fishing” for sales leads. Does what you call your bait piece
really matter? I think it does, because calling it a report or guide creates a
perception of greater value—after all, thousands of publishers actually sell special
reports and booklets for prices ranging from $3 to $40 or more. I often put a dollar
price for the guide or report in the upper right corner of the front cover, which
strengthens the perception that the freebie has value; I don’t think this would be
credible on a document labeled as a white paper.
What about the complaint that prospects already have too much to read? I
am reminded of a quotation from Rutherford Rogers: “We are drowning in
information but starved for knowledge.” There is more information on the
Internet than you could process in a thousand lifetimes. But good white papers
don’t merely present information; they offer solutions to business and technical
problems. Virtually every B2B sale you make is because someone thinks your
product or service is the solution to their problem. A white paper can help clarify
the problem as well as convince the reader that your idea or method is the best of
many options for addressing it.
Every marketing campaign has an objective, yet if you ask most managers
what the objective of their white paper is, they probably couldn’t tell you. Too
many see white papers as an opportunity to merely collect and publish a pile of
research material they found on the Web using Google. To make your white paper
successful, you must define the marketing objective before writing a single word.
For example, a manufacturer found that consumers were not buying their
do‐it‐yourself (DIY) underground sprinkler kits, because homeowners perceived
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installing the irrigation system by themselves as too difficult. Solution: a free DIY
manual on how to install an underground sprinkler system in a single weekend.
Clearly written and illustrated, the manual overcame the perception that this was
a tough project, making it look easy.
In the pre‐Internet era, bait pieces were mainly paper and ink. Thanks to
the PC and the Internet, bait pieces can now be produced as PDF files and
instantly downloaded online. But at the receiving end, they are usually printed by
the prospect and read on paper.
It may be that what’s wearing out is not free content, but the standard
white paper format: pages of black ink on 8 ½ by 11‐inch sheets of paper. To make
your bait piece stand out, consider using alternative formats: DVDs, CDs, audio
cassettes, podcasts, Webinars, tele‐seminars, flash cards, stickers, posters, software,
games, and slide guides. A slide guide is a cardboard promotional item with a
moving slide or wheel that allows the prospect to perform some simple calculation,
e.g., convert inches to centimeters or determine the monthly payments on a
mortgage.
Most white papers are 6 to 10 pages—about 3,000 to 4,000 words—but you
are not locked into that length. You can go shorter or longer, depending on the
content you want to present and the marketing objective of the bait piece. The bait
piece can be as short and simple as a list of tips printed on one side of a sheet of
paper. Or it can be as long as a self‐published paperback book.
Free content offers have been used effectively in marketing for decades, and
rather than tiring, they have been given new life, thanks in part to the information‐
oriented culture spawned by the Internet. “Every organization possesses
particular expertise that has value in the new e‐marketplace of ideas,” writes
David Meerman Scott in his book Cashing In With Content (Information Today,
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2005, p. 8). “Organizations gain credibility and loyalty with customers, employees,
the media, investors, and suppliers through content.”
Section 9
The Most Amazing Fact About Fundraising Can Help Make Any Direct Mail Promotion More Successful—
Including Yours!
When I first got into direct marketing, I took a course in direct mail
copywriting with legendary copywriter Milt Pierce at New York University.
One day a student asked, “Professor Pierce, why is it that, as soon as I give
a donation to a charity, they immediately send me another letter asking for more
money?”
Milt replied: “Because they know, from experience, that the person who
just made a donation is the one most likely to give again.”
Huh? This threw me. It seemed counterintuitive.
“But Professor Pierce, if I just gave money to a charity, then I would feel I’d
fulfilled my obligation for at least a while. And I might even be annoyed that they
are coming back to me asking for more.”
“Nonetheless,” Milt replied, “experience proves that the person who just
gave is the most likely to give again.”
He explained that this phenomenon was called RECENCY, and it held for
commercial direct response as well as nonprofit, and that it was part of a formula
called “RFM”—for “recency, frequency, and monetary.”
The first element, RECENCY, refers to how recently the person made a
purchase through direct response.
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According to RFM, those who purchased the most recently are most likely
to buy.
This is why it’s usually worth paying a premium to rent the “hotline”
names on any mailing list—the names of customers who have bought via mail
order within the last 12 months or so. The hotline names invariably outperform
the other names on the list, because of RECENCY.
The “F” in RFM is FREQUENCY—how often the customer buys.
Here, we know that the more often someone buys, the more responsive
they are to additional mail order offers.
This is why some mailing lists offer a selection called “multi‐buyers,” These
are customers who have bought more than once. Invariably, multi‐buyers
outperform the names of one‐time buyers on the list.
The “M” in RFM is MONETARY—how much money the customer spends,
or the size of his average order.
Here, you want to look for mailing lists where the average order is in the
same range of your product’s price.
Let’s say you are selling a video program on “Overcoming Infertility: How
to Have a Child When You’ve Been Trying Without Success.” The price is $99.
You rent a list of people who have subscribed to an infertility magazine for
$12. You mail to the list, and the mailing doesn’t pull. Why not?
The problem is this: while the people on the list have demonstrated (a) an
interest in infertility and (b) that they buy information by mail, they have NOT
demonstrated that they will spend $99 in the mail. Twelve dollars, yes; ninety‐nine
dollars, no.
The solution? Find a list of people who have, say, attended a workshop on
infertility or bought a test kit via mail order for $100. This might work, because not
only do you know that the people on the list are mail order buyers and interested
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in infertility, but they have demonstrated that they will shell out a large amount of
money for the right offer.
Section 10
Show Your Warts: An Honest Way to Make a Buck
Legendary adman James Webb Young, who started selling fruit by mail
around the same time that Harry & David did, tells the story of an apple‐growing
season where he was nearly ruined.
Violent hailstorms bombarded his apple trees with ice pellets, causing
bruising and pock marks.
He feared massive complaints and returns if he shipped the bruised fruit to
his mail order apple buyers. But if he didn’t ship the damaged apples, he would
have to refund all the orders, and his mail order business would be ruined.
The apples were damaged only cosmetically. The hail had pockmarked the
skin, but this did not affect the flavor or freshness.
Young went ahead and filled his orders with the pockmarked apples, and
in each box shipped, enclosed a preprinted card that read as follows (I am
paraphrasing):
“Note the pockmarks on some of these apples. This is proof that they are
grown at a high mountain altitude, where the same extreme cold that causes
sudden hailstorms also firms the flesh and increases the natural sugars, making
the apples even sweeter.”
According to Young, not a single order was returned. In fact, when orders
came in for next year, many order forms had handwritten notes that said,
“Pockmarked apples if available; otherwise, the regular kind.”
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Young’s story proves what experienced marketers know: Often, by being
truthful about your weaknesses and flaws, you can gain substantial credibility
with your buyer, increasing loyalty, sales, and customer satisfaction.
Years ago, an industrial pump manufacturer, Blackmer, used the “show
your warts” strategy with great success.
As a chemical engineer, I can tell you that not all pumps perform equally in
all applications. Instead of hiding this fact, Blackmer made it a primary
advertising claim.
Their trade ads showed a Yellow Pages ripped out of an industrial buying
guide, full of listings for pump manufacturers, including Blackmer; the Blackmer
name was circled in pen.
The headline of the ad read, “There are only certain times you should call
Blackmer for a pump. Know when?”
Body copy explained (again, I am paraphrasing), “In many applications,
Blackmer performs no better or worse than any pumps, and so we are not a
particularly advantageous choice.”
But, the ad went on, for certain applications (viscous fluids, fluids
containing abrasives, and a few other situations) Blackmer was proven to
outperform all other pumps, and were the logical brand of choice. Blackmer closed
the ad by offering a free technical manual proving the claim.
My old friend Jim Alexander, of Alexander Marketing in Grand Rapid,
Michigan, created this campaign and tells me it worked extremely well.
Another example: James DiGeorgia of 21st Century Publishing was initially
concerned that putting disclaimers and fine print required by regulatory bodies
would depress response to his e‐mail marketing campaigns promoting his stock
market and options trading newsletters.
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Instead of hiding the disclaimers in fine print, however, he put them in the
same size type as the rest of the e‐mail promotion. He found, to his surprise, that
being up front about the warnings and cautions actually increased response! The
conclusion: Instead of hiding a weakness, be forthright about it.
How to use this technique: Pick one weakness of your product or company.
Talk about it frankly in your marketing. Show why either (a) the weakness is not
really important or (b) how you have designed your product or service to either
overcome, solve, or compensate for the weakness.
For example (and this isn’t real, but just makes the point), if your
competitor in the window‐cleaning business has tall window cleaners who are all
ex‐NBA players and can reach higher windows, you can say that your window
cleaners are of average height and can’t reach as high up.
But, to make up for that, each brings a pneumatic lift to the job, which can
raise them dozens of feet higher than your competitor’s best basketball player can
jump. That’s an absurd example, but you get the idea.
Section 11
Free Gifts: A Proven Marketing Gambit That Almost Never Fails
In the late 70s, when I took my first marketing job in Baltimore with
Westinghouse, we had a secret marketing weapon we referred to as the “junk
cabinet.”
It was filled with all sorts of advertising specialties—favorites were golf
balls and golf tees—all imprinted with the Westinghouse “circle W” logo.
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My first thought was, “Who would want this cheap crap?” Turns out,
everybody.
Whenever a salesman was giving a high‐ranking general a tour of the plant
(our biggest customer was the military), he’d invariably ask us for golf balls and
tees.
I was fascinated to see that the presentation of these items—which only cost
a few bucks—thrilled the customers to no end.
Once, we sent Westinghouse customers a single cufflink with an invitation
promising they would get the matching link when they came to our exhibit at a
major trade show.
We barely had enough room in our giant booth to accommodate those who
came—almost all asking for their free cufflink.
Fast forward a decade or so. I am at a meeting of a marketing club. A man
who works for a pharmaceutical advertising agency tells me an amazing story.
His agency regularly used direct mail to invite medical doctors to symposia
on diseases treated by his clients’ products.
To see whether he could increase attendance, he decided to offer a free
pocket diary to doctors accepting the invitation. Cost of the item: a buck or so.
In an A/B split test, mailings offering the free pocket diary outpulled
mailings without the free gift offer 6 to 1!
The conclusion: people love to get free stuff. By offering a small free gift to
your prospects, you can significantly boost the response to your marketing efforts
at minimal cost.
If your prospect is an information seeker, then a free information
premium—a booklet, a white paper, a special report—can perform well.
If your prospect is not a reader, then use a merchandise premium. The
possibilities are almost limitless: coffee mugs, golf balls, T‐shirts, golf caps, tape
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measures, mini‐tool sets, pens, key chains, luggage tags, and calculators, just for
starters.
The cost of the premium depends on what you can afford to spend to
acquire a new customer. But in most instances, we’re looking for premiums that
cost $5 or less.
You can improve your response rates by offering a premium that has a
perceived value much higher than its cost.
A CD‐ROM can be a great premium, because the value of its content—
whether images, video, audio, or software—can be extremely high (software sells
from $19 to $500 or more per program), but the duplication cost is a few bucks
apiece.
On the other hand, a publisher did a promo that bombed where they
offered a deck of playing cards with the famous editor’s photo on them. Perceived
value is low: everybody knows a deck of cards costs about 89 cents in CVS.
Advertising Age magazine had a spectacular success offering a
personalized coffee mug with the subscriber’s name on it.
What made it work was that the name was incorporated into a headline,
“Bob Bly Wins Marketing Genius Award”—that was laser‐printed on a facsimile
of the front page of an Ad Age issue on the mug.
In addition to high perceived value, look for premiums that are unique. The
Sovereign Society, a newsletter on offshore investing, had great success offering
new subscribers an unusual premium: their own Swiss bank account.
I advise every direct marketer to offer a premium, whether you’re
generating sales leads or selling a mail order product.
By doing so, you can legitimately work the word “FREE” into your
headline or envelope teaser—and in doing so increase your chances of catching
the prospect’s attention and getting an inquiry or order.
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Section 12
Is Exhibiting at Trade Shows a Waste of Time? Without a Good ROI, Yes.
Early in my career, I worked as advertising manager for Koch Engineering,
a company that made mixers and other equipment for the chemical process
industry.
I liked a lot of things about the job, but one thing I didn’t like was
managing our trade show exhibits.
Unpacking and setting up the booth was a pain, and staffing the booth was
boring—a lot of standing around waiting and hoping real prospects would come
into the exhibit and express interest in our products.
But I did learn a few tricks about trade show exhibiting during my tenure
with Koch (I also handled trade shows for Westinghouse in an earlier job) that I’d
like to pass on to you.
First, nothing attracts people to your booth like action—whether it’s motion,
an activity, a model, or a demonstration.
At Koch Engineering, we sold “internals”—devices that went into the
innards of chemical plants where they helped liquids react.
We made a crude working model of a miniature chemical plant (about the
size of a large desk) out of transparent Plexiglas, filled it with our internals, and
ran water through it so visitors could see the liquid drip, bubble, and mist.
It was a fantastic attention getter—and more than that, it gave a live
demonstration of how our products worked, which was exactly what our
audience, chemical engineers, came to see (but rarely got at other booths in the
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show which featured mainly enlarged color photos of chemical plants and
exhibitor products).
Second, ROI—return on investment—is critical. Yet most companies spend
thousands of dollars on trade shows without measuring ROI to see if it’s all
worthwhile.
A common reason for companies to continue to exhibit at major shows is,
“If we drop out this year, people will notice we are not there.” Another is, “If we
drop out this year, we will lose our seniority and our preferential booth location at
future shows.”
Neither is a valid reason for spending time and money on a trade show.
The only reason you should be at a show is that you think the business you will
write—at the show if they permit it, or with follow‐ups to show leads after—will
more than pay back the cost of exhibiting (including booth space, travel and
lodging, exhibit design and production).
Third, surveys repeatedly confirm that the #1 reason your prospects come
to industry trade shows is to see new products. So make sure your newest
products (or at least the new upgrades and versions of old products) take center
stage in your display. Use the word “new” prominently in booth graphics.
Fourth, as you know if you visit trade shows, they can be dull and boring.
Anything you can do to liven up your exhibit will draw a crowd.
Example: To promote a new weapons system for a tank code‐named “The
Gunfighter,” Westinghouse hired a real‐life “gunfighter”—a professional cowboy
whose specialty was quick‐draw shooting—as booth entertainment.
As the gunfighter demonstrated how to rapidly pull a gun from its holster
and accurately hit the target, he talked about how our weapons systems could do
the same thing for a tank (using a script we had given him).
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It was the hit of the show, and every important buyer we wanted to reach
came to the booth to see him.
In another trade show (and remember, this was the sexist 70s—way before
political correctness became politically correct), we wanted to demonstrate a new
Aqualung—an underwater breathing device designed for military applications.
We had a gigantic clear Plexiglas tank built, and hired an attractive, fit
female model to demonstrate the product while swimming about in the tank—
wearing a bathing suit, of course.
Other things that work well at trade shows (even though you may find
them hokey):
• Giveaways of free gifts such as key chains, luggage tags, squeeze balls,
Frisbees.
• “Put your business card into the fishbowl” for a drawing to win a bigger
prize.
• Free food—typically candy and popcorn.
• Short marketing videos shown on endless‐loop VCRs. People get
hypnotized and drawn in by anything shown on a TV screen.
• Sleight‐of‐hand magicians and similar live entertainment in the booth.
• Product demonstrations.
One more tip: When someone approaches your booth, give him space. Don’t
pounce on him like a hungry piranha attacking a cow swimming in the river. Let
him look around a bit.
Once he is comfortably inside your space, it’s appropriate to say something.
Don’t say, “Is there anything I can help you with?” or “Do you have any
questions?” The prospect will say “no” to deflect you and quickly vacate your
booth area.
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Instead say, “What brings to you the [Name of Show] today?” His answer—
e.g., “We need to find a way to control air quality in our office building”—will
help you direct conversation toward any solutions you can offer.
Section 13
Avoiding Sticker Shock
“Sticker shock” refers to a price so high that when you reveal it to the
customer, she is flabbergasted—and immediately protests that “your price is too
high” or “I could never afford this.”
If your customer experiences sticker shock, it means that you have not
convinced the buyer that the price of the product is a “drop in the bucket”
compared to the value of the product.
Even if you’ve done a good job of communicating value, the prospect may
experience sticker shock if the price is extremely high or beyond their means.
Sticker shock reduces your chances of closing the sale: if the customer gasps
when she learns the price, she’s probably not ready to pay it.
If as a marketer or salesperson you can head off sticker shock before it
happens, your odds of closing the sale increase tremendously.
But how do you prevent sticker shock?
One way is to show the customer products in your line with higher prices
before showing him the product you want him to buy.
In his book “Influence,” Robert Cialdini describes how this is done in a
retail setting.
Say you want to sell $100 sweaters in your store…but are afraid your
customers will faint at the price.
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You put a table in the aisle near the front door and place three stacks of
sweaters on it.
As the customer walks into the room, she sees the first stack. All of the
sweaters in this pile cost $200.
“What a rip‐off!” she thinks. “No way would I pay that.”
Then she examines the second pile, which contains $150 sweaters.
“Phew,” she thinks. “That’s a little better.”
She continues to go down the table until she comes to the third stack—your
$100 sweaters.
By that time, she is so relieved that a sweater won’t cost her $200 or even
$150 that the $100 you are asking seems like an incredible bargain.
Breaking the price into monthly installments is another effective way to
minimize sticker shock.
For instance, the Franklin Mint was selling a collectible chess set.
The pieces were each hand‐painted pewter miniatures of civil war figures,
sent to you one per month.
For these hand‐painted collectible figurines, the price was only $17.50.
Seems like a bargain for a collectible item, right?
But if you multiply $17.50 times the number of pieces (32), the entire chess
set costs a hefty $560 (the board is yours free once you buy all 32 pieces).
If your ad had said, “Civil War Chess Set—$560,” how many do you think
you’d have sold?
Not many, right?
Another way to avoid sticker shock is to present the price at the
beginning—and get any price objections out of the way up front.
Most mailings for expensive products build desire and perceived value,
then reveal price once the customer is sold.
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An opposite approach is to state price up front and use the exclusivity of a
big number to weed out non‐prospects.
Example: “This service is for serious investors only. It costs $2,500 a year. If
that price scares you, this is not for you.”
An element of exclusivity and snob appeal is at work here.
Also, the more you tell someone they do not qualify, the more they will
insist they do and want your offer.
The classic example is Hank Burnett’s famous letter for the Admiral Bird
Society’s fund‐raising expedition.
The second paragraph states: “It will cost you $10,000 and about 26 days of
your time. Frankly, you will endure some discomfort, and may even face some
danger.”
Once the reader has heard the price and decides to continue reading, the
possibility of sticker shock is eliminated…because he already knows what the
product costs.
Surprise is eliminated…and sticker shock is all about surprise.
Section 14
Avoid the Market Research Trap
Big corporations routinely spend thousands of dollars on expensive and
elaborate market research studies designed to help them get inside the minds of
their customers.
These can include mail and online surveys, telephone interviews, and focus
groups.
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Entrepreneurs running small businesses become worried that if they don’t
do this kind of expensive market research, they won’t know how to reach their
prospects and will fail miserably.
But for many small companies, the cost of even one study from one of the
big market research companies would wipe out their entire marketing budget for
the year.
Relax. The good news I’m here to tell you is that focus groups and other
formal market research studies are completely unnecessary.
“But how will I understand my customers?” you may ask.
Simple: just use Michael Masterson’s “BDF” formula—which stands for
Beliefs, Desires, and Feelings.
The “BDF” formula says that you can understand your prospect by asking
yourself three simple questions:
“What do my prospects believe? What are their attitudes?”
“What do my prospects desire? What do they want?”
“What do my prospects feel? What are their emotions?”
There’s no market research required, because you already know these
things about your prospects…or else you wouldn’t have chosen to start a business
that caters to them.
Or to quote Dr. Benjamin Spock: “Trust yourself. You know more than you
think you do.”
For instance, a company that provides “soft skills” training to Information
Technology (IT) professionals was promoting a new on‐site seminar.
They sent out a flier where the headline was the title of the program:
“Interpersonal Skills for IT Professionals.”
It generated less than half a percent response. (The offer was more detailed
information about the program.)
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So the marketing manager and the owner brainstormed and asked
themselves the BDF questions.
Here’s part of what they came up with….
• IT professionals BELIEVE that technology is all important…and that they
are smarter than the non‐techies they serve.
• IT professionals DESIRE recognition…respect…continuing opportunity to
update their skill set in new technologies and platforms…job
security…more money.
• IT professionals FEEL an adversarial relationship with end users…they are
constantly arguing with them…and they resent having to explain their
technology to us ignoramuses.
Based on this BDF analysis, the company rewrote the letter and tested it.
This time, it generated a 3% response—outperforming the old mailing by 6 to 1.
And one third of those inquiries purchased an on‐site one‐day training seminar
for $3,000.
That means for every 100 pieces mailed, at a total cost of about $100, they got 3
leads…and one order for $3,000…a 30‐to‐1 return on their marketing investment.
Oh, and the headline based on the BDF analysis? It was this:
“Important news for any IT professional who has ever felt like telling an end
user, ‘Go to hell.’”
Says the company owner, “The BDF formula forced us to focus on the prospect
instead of the product (our seminar), and the result was a winning promotion.”
Amount of money spent on market research before the mailing? Not a dime.
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Section 15
Confessions of a Mail Order Rip‐Off Artist
I have a confession to make.
Although, as a businessman, I’m a direct marketer….
As a CONSUMER, I make a regular habit of ripping off direct marketing
companies!
And if you follow the advice I’m about to give you, you can—as a
consumer—get some of the greatest deals on Earth…by “ripping off” direct
marketing companies like I do.
But much more important, by following these strategies as a MARKETER,
you can generate truckloads of orders and sales…by making offers that seem so
irresistible to your potential customers that they feel as if they are almost ripping
you off by taking it!
Now, when I say that I have “ripped off” direct marketers, I’m not talking
about illegal or immoral rip‐offs, such as ordering a product and then not paying
the bill—knowing full well the direct marketing company is unlikely to ever
collect such a small debt from you.
I mean taking advantage of direct response offers, keeping the premium,
and then immediately canceling or returning the product…just to get the free gift!
For instance, Gevalia Coffee has the most incredible offer you can imagine
in their print ads.
You just sign up for their monthly coffee service, and get the first shipment
of two coffees for $10…plus a FREE coffee maker!
Well, I took the bait. Sure enough, you get two delicious gourmet flavored
coffees—well worth the $10 alone—PLUS a beautiful coffee maker.
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I immediately canceled the service as soon as I got the machine and the first
two coffees…so the whole kit and caboodle cost me a grand total of ten bucks—
INCLUDING the free coffee maker!
Where else on Earth can you get a deal like that? And what’s the lesson
here for you as a marketer?
It’s this….
Direct marketing companies routinely make overly generous offers on the
“front end” to get you in as a customer—giving extraordinary value worth far
more than the nominal purchase price they are asking.
Why are they so generous?
Not for their health. Or reasons of altruism.
But because they know that a large number of people who take the bait will
stay to buy more…and so the offer will be profitable in the long run.
Yes, a few consumers will take advantage and respond with no intention of
retaining their subscription, membership, or monthly deliveries.
But only a small percentage of buyers will do so…and the savvy direct
marketer knows that this is merely part of the cost of doing business.
These marketers precisely calculate how much they can afford to give away
on the front end, based on customer lifetime value, to maximize response while
maintaining a good ROI.
In fact, they WANT people to take advantage of the offer and send for their
generous freebies. And here’s why….
Even though many consumers may respond JUST to get the free coffee
maker, and then cancel—once they taste the delicious coffee, a large percentage of
those who just wanted the gift will remain with the program…buy expensive
gourmet coffee month after month…and spend a lot of money with Gevalia.
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(Despite just mainly wanting a good coffee maker, I almost stayed with the
program…except I am trying to cut down on caffeine. But I told several friends
about this great offer; and two are now regular Gevalia buyers…so my “rip off” is
already profitable for Gevalia!)
Another example of a direct marketer whom I have greedily “ripped off” is
Easton Press.
I accepted their offer of a beautiful leather‐bound edition of Moby
Dick…and paid just $5.95 (the average price of their leather bound classics is
around $50.)
I immediately canceled out of the continuity program (“The 100 Greatest
Books”), so you’d think I got something for (almost) nothing from Easton.
(Why did I cancel? I love books. But I didn’t want most of the volumes
selected for the “100 Greatest Books” series…so it was a matter of not being
offered the right choice of product.)
But…Easton Press kept sending me more mailings for other series and
single books that were more to my taste. Beautifully illustrated mailings—
irresistible to a book lover like me.
(That’s another direct marketing lesson, by the way: the people who bought
from you most recently are the ones you should be mailing to most frequently.)
And now there’s a pile of about $400 worth of gorgeous leather‐bound
books on the shelves of my home library—and countless hours of enjoyable
reading ahead for me.
So, who’s really coming out ahead here?
Well, I love the books. And Easton Press now has a regular customer—even
though I didn’t intend to become one. So it’s a win‐win scenario for both of us.
The bottom line is this:
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The goal of direct marketing is not really just to make money on a first
sale…although that’s nice to have.
It’s to get as many customers in the door as possible at a positive ROI—
based on average lifetime customer value, not the size of the first order.
So the most profitable testing you can do is on the front‐end offer…and
often, the more generous it is (to a point, of course), the more money you as a
marketer ultimately make.
Section 16
You Have to Understand the Prospect… Not the Other Way Around.
When I tell you this story, you may think it makes me look like a jerk.
But it conveys an important lesson for every entrepreneur and marketing
professional.
And the lesson is this: to communicate effectively, it’s incumbent upon
YOU to really understand the other person—what they think, what they want,
what’s important to them—and NOT the other way around.
Okay. So here’s what happened….
A person I don’t know called me at work out of the blue the other day—
while I was frantically writing to meet a deadline.
“I am reading your book,” he said, naming one of my books. “There is a
typo on page 383,” he said triumphantly, as if dropping the biggest bombshell
since Hiroshima.
“Thanks, but you don’t need to tell me about it,” I said politely.
He stammered, absolutely stunned.
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I knew it was not the response he was looking for.
From past calls like this, he expected me to write down the information he
was about to give me, and possibly engage me in dialogue…which a lot of book
readers want to do with authors.
Instead, I simply thanked him for calling, and ended the call.
I didn’t lecture him on the realities of life, but if I had, here’s what I would
have said:
“Sir, I don’t know you, and I am not sure why you feel compelled to take
time out of your day, call me up, and report that there is a typo in one of my
books—or what kind of satisfaction it gives you.
“But I’ve written 60 books, totaling more than 12,000 pages. I am sure there
are a number of typos within those 12,000 pages.
“The book you are referring to I wrote more than 20 years ago. It’s already
printed, and is not going to be reprinted again. So there’s nothing I can do about
the typo you’ve found.
“Also, I have a dozen projects on my desk this week, all with deadlines. To
finish this work and run my business, I have about a hundred tasks on my priority
list.
“So taking a look at my printed books—and fixing typos in them—
wouldn’t even make the list. In fact, it’s not even on my radar as far as ‘important
things to do’ is concerned. Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s the reality of life.”
As I said at the beginning of this article: you may find my response to my
anonymous proofreader offensive. After all, wasn’t he just trying to do me a
kindness?
In my experience, that’s possible.
But from two and a half decades of getting such calls as an author, I have
found that kindness is often not the primary motivation behind such calls.
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Often the caller revels in showing the published writer that he made a
mistake.
Or, he hopes that the author will become a friend or (unpaid) advisor—and
that pointing out the typo will open up a relationship in some way.
But the point is this: if you want to communicate with someone
effectively…and establish a relationship, whether personal or business…you have
to, as the cliché points out, “put yourself in the customer’s shoes”…whether
you’re selling a product, service, or idea.
As a marketer, it’s imperative that you understand the CUSTOMER…what
he thinks, wants, needs, fears, and desires…what’s important to him—NOT
what’s important to you.
In the example of my anonymous proofreader, for example, a better way to
establish the contact with me might have been as follows:
“Bob, this is Joe. I’m reading your book and I have one item in it I’d like to
briefly discuss with you. It will take less than a minute. Do you have time now?”
This approach, by the way, works beautifully in selling—either when cold
calling or following up on inquiries.
People are busy today, and they cannot abide it when others don’t respect
their time or understand just how pressured they are.
I ALWAYS ask when calling someone I don’t know: “Is this a bad time for
you?” If they say yes, I ask when would be a better time to talk.
He could have continued: “I found a typo in the book. Do you want to
know about it?”
This is also a good strategy in selling: before launching into your “pitch,”
ask the prospect for permission to proceed.
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If you want to communicate or establish a relationship with other people,
it’s your JOB to understand them and where they’re coming from…and asking
questions is one way to do this.
About the Author
BOB BLY is an independent copywriter and consultant with more than 20
years of experience in business‐to‐business, high tech, industrial, and direct
marketing.
Bob has written copy for over 100 clients including Network Solutions, ITT
Fluid Technology, Medical Economics, Intuit, Business & Legal Reports, and
Brooklyn Union Gas. Awards include a Gold Echo from the Direct Marketing
Association, an IMMY from the Information Industry Association, two Southstar
Awards, an American Corporate Identity Award of Excellence, and the Standard
of Excellence award from the Web Marketing Association.
He is the author of more than 50 books including The Complete Idiotʹs
Guide To Direct Marketing (Alpha Books) and The Copywriterʹs Handbook
(Henry Holt & Co.). His articles have appeared in numerous publications such as
DM News, Writerʹs Digest, Amtrak Express, Cosmopolitan, Inside Direct Mail,
and Bits & Pieces for Salespeople.
Bob has presented marketing, sales, and writing seminars for such groups
as the U.S. Army, Independent Laboratory Distributors Association, American
Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Marketing Association. He
also taught business‐to‐business copywriting and technical writing at New
York University.
Bob writes sales letters, direct mail packages, ads, e‐mail marketing
campaigns, brochures, articles, press releases, white papers, Websites,
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newsletters, scripts, and other marketing materials clients need to sell their
products and services to businesses. He also consults with clients on marketing
strategy, mail order selling, and lead generation programs.
Prior to becoming an independent copywriter and consultant, Bob was
advertising manager for Koch Engineering, a manufacturer of process equipment.
He has also worked as a marketing communications writer for Westinghouse
Defense. Bob Bly holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of
Rochester and has been trained as a Certified Novell Administrator (CNA). He is a
member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Business
Marketing Association.
Bob has appeared as a guest on dozens of TV and radio shows including
MoneyTalk 1350, The Advertising Show, Bernard Meltzer, Bill Bresnan, CNBC,
Winning in Business, The Small Business Advocate and CBS Hard Copy. He has
been featured in major media ranging from the LA Times and Nation’s Business to
the New York Post and the National Enquirer.
For a FREE Copywriting Information Kit, or a free, no‐obligation cost
estimate on copywriting for your next project, contact:
Bob Bly, Copywriter
31 Cheyenne Drive, Montville, NJ 07045
Phone: (973) 263-0562, Fax: (973) 263-0613
e‐mail: [email protected]
Web: www.bly.com
