Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day

Just selling someone one thing, one time, is the start of a beautiful relationship, hopefully… but not necessarily.
How many of us are guilty of selling one thing to a list of customers and nothing else thereafter? DM insiders say that direct marketing is all about the second sale. Did the paying newsletter subscriber re-up for the second year?
DM guru Mac Ross says the first time, customers buy the promotion of the newsletter, but the second year is when subscribers really vote their confidence in the product they initially bought into.
Renewals are one thing, cross-selling, and upselling is another challenge. Some DM’ers start at a low price-point, maybe even breaking even on the first product, just so they can qualify their customers for downstream products and services.
Setting up a successful stream of products and services, with optimal pricing, takes lots of testing, experience, and a commitment to the product and marketplace. LC

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Common wisdom is that direct marketers don’t practice brand marketing. Well, whether they realize it or not, they do. Branding is about leaving good impressions on the target audience. The way DM’ers leave good impressions is through good customer service.
All the touchy-feely brand advertising in the world won’t change someone’s impression if he or she has had a bad experience with a sales rep, tech support staffer, etc. Brand advertising is expensive. Leaving good impressions on customers or prospects isn’t. – LC

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At the top of many direct mail sales letters, you’ll see a succinct paragraph explaining what the offer is. This is called a “Johnson Box” because it is generally acknowledged to have been invented by, though he denied it, the late great Frank Johnson of Time Life.
The upside to a Johnson Box is the reader gets a fast take on what the purpose of the mailing is about… sort of like giving the bottom line at the top line. But it may run the risk of allowing the reader to quickly dismiss the mailing and throw it out without getting enthralled by the body copy of the letter itself.
Still, in this “give-it-to-me-quick” day and age, it amazes me how few online marketers use the Johnson Box in their solo emails, especially when you consider how many recipients use their email program’s preview pane to determine whether to continue with that email or delete it.
In the FYI from Web Digest For Marketers mailings I send out for my advertisers, I find more people click on the link in the Johnson Box than on any other link in the mailing. The second most clicked on link is the one in the PS.
So if you’re sending solo emails out, seriously consider the use of a Johnson Box, and be sure to word that copy succinctly and correctly. LC

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What good is a link if nobody clicks on it? One variable you can control is testing different names or labels for that button. The copy for the link or button should promise or intrigue the visitor.
It’s a well-known fact that putting an action verb on the link will almost always increase click-throughs.
The first WDFM site (back in April 1995) had a link called “Other Sites to See.” I changed it to the tempting “Don’t Click Here if You Have a Life,” and the click-through rate went up ten-fold. LC

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The truth is people aren’t hanging on your every word. In fact, right now you’re scanning this as fast as you can, aren’t you? Of course you are. You’ve got things to do and email to delete.
That’s why people like:
Bullets
Tables
Check Boxes
Sub Heads
Since people skim and scan as fast as they can, they find the above bulleted items helpful, as it gives them a sense of what’s being conveyed. People like WDFM because it’s served up in small chunks.
Just remember to make the copy compelling enough to slow the reader down enough to consider what you’re saying and selling. If you make one of those sub heads or copy points compelling enough, it will possibly serve as a speed bump and shift the skimmer into a prospect. LC

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This is very good advice from DM guru Dan Kennedy, who observes that other people will quickly copy you if they see you’re onto something successful. How will they know? Because they’ll see you’ve repeatedly mailed out the same or similar campaign. If it weren’t successful, you wouldn’t do it again, would you?
So make your money in the dark. This is why Dan likes multi-step campaigns where competitors can’t see your whole offer right up front. LC

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It’s tedious, it’s hard work and it makes your head hurt. But testing separates the wheat from the chaff in DM. Real DM’ers test, and never stop testing. In fact, even a screaming success is a test that can usually be improved upon.
Many smart firms that have me send out solo emails on their behalf using my “FYI from Web Digest” service test first. They’ll first try 10,000 or 15,000 addresses before asking me to send to the whole list.
They test all sorts of things. They’ll test subject headers, different offers and the same offer but with different copy. They determine which “pulls” best, and then have me send out to the rest of the list with that which performed best in the test. If it were my money, I’d do the same. LC

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When shopping for new customers, know exactly how much you’re willing to pay for them. Sad to say, most firms looking to acquire new ones don’t know this most basic DM practice.
Without knowing lifetime customer value, you won’t know how much you can afford for new ones. BTW, all customers are not created equal. Some customers are worth more than others to you. You might consider getting rid of the ones worth less, in order to make room for the ones worth more. This is the “Feng Shui” approach to direct marketing. LC

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Want to see how classic direct mailers do the voodoo that they do so well? Subscribe to Bottom Line/Personal, or any Phillips or Agora publication, and be sure to read all their marketing materials: from the renewal letters to pitches for their ancillary products to cross-merchandising campaigns, as well as the editorial.
Notice the lead-ins and how short the paragraphs are, as well as the must-read, bulleted subheads. It’s all very well thought out and very successful. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be seeing it. LC

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