Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day

I recently signed up for a complimentary trial offer. Every few days, I get another email from that provider of said offer with tips on how to get the most out of my trial account.

The emails I get are very useful, an excellent branding and CRM practice. They don’t try to sell me anything just then. There’ll be plenty of time for that later in the sales cycle. But they do underscore the value of the service I’m testing out which will figure prominently in my decision to pay money for the service later.

It amazes me that such an obvious and inexpensive practice such as value-added, triggered emails isn’t employed more often.

In this era where every action must be accountable, I think companies feel compelled to ask for the sale at every turn in order to justify the expense of every move. Well, all too often, you can ask for the sale too early, and it’s my guess that many companies don’t realize or measure how many sales are lost by being too aggressive.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

Whether it’s B2C or B2B, online or offline, it’s a good idea to throw in one last value-add that wasn’t expected by the buyer.

A deal-sealer brings an unexpected point of delight to the buyer and is quite apt to wash away any last-minute reservations or buyer’s remorse thereafter.

When I sell ads in Web Digest For Marketers, I typically throw an unexpected bonus into the insertion order. It’s like getting a surprise inside of every box of Cracker Jacks, only in media sales. It also telegraphs a message to the ad buyer that I intend to treat him right.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

It’s understandable that an advertiser or its agency wants to use hyperbolic words to pump up an offer’s drama. But this often has a counter productive effect, as it can make the reader suspicious.

Especially in B2B offers, it’s typically a better idea to pack the offer with details instead of hype. How many tips in that white paper? Exactly who is speaking at the trade show and what are his or her bona fides? Who wrote that glowing testimonial, and what is their company affiliation?

Details are facts, while superlatives are much more subjective. Let the reader decide if it’s fabulous or amazing or out of this world. Unless you’re a trusted name, the reader has no reason to believe what you say, just because you say it.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

When you send out a direct mail package, you typically can start seeing results in a predictable amount of time. In a few weeks, you know how your DM package is performing. But it’s different online.

On the Web and in email marketing, you often know within minutes how successful you’re apt to be, but not always. With social media, such as blog launches or viral videos, it can be long after the launch… and after you think your effort turned up “bubkes.”

A video or blog can hit paydirt many weeks, or even many months after launch. Be patient.

Two years after a viral video was launched, I had a Gen X’er come up to me and say, “Dude, you have to see this video someone just sent me. It’s a riot.” He loved it, and so did his friends. The video in question had been panned in the trade press two years prior.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

When you advertise in your own media property or someone else’s, you naturally want to know the engagement of the user. A very simple rule of thumb to use is whether the information (be it B2C or B2B) is “lean-in” info or “lean-back info.”

If users lean in, they’re more apt to be highly involved in the content and your ad sandwiched in between that content. If the physical aspect of the user is leaning out, they may just be skimming or simply disinterested and less likely to get involved or even see your ad.

You don’t need focus groups to gauge the involvement of users, though it wouldn’t hurt, save for the expense involved. Look at your own posture and others who use a given newsletter, website, RSS feed, etc.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

I just had a firm offer me a $50 coupon in order to keep my business. I took them up on it. But then they acted like I was stealing their first born when I pointed out they didn’t credit me the $50.

This vendor gave me such a bad attitude about making good on an offer they proffered to me that I cancelled the relationship right then and there. They lost a relationship worth many thousands of dollars over a $50 coupon.

The lesson here: If you’re going to offer a win-back, stand behind it and don’t resent the customer for taking advantage of that which you offered. Be happy you got him or her back in the boat and think of how much you won’t have to spend on replacing that customer. It’s probably going to be a lot more than $50.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

I’ve been publishing Web Digest For Marketers since April 1995. Over the years I’ve noticed the deliverability #s always increase when we clean the list.

ISPs look favorably on clean lists and are much more apt to respect you and your IP address when you don’t send them so many bum email addresses.

When you deliver more emails, you’re likely to see increased response rates. It’s much better to have increased response rates from a smaller, clean list than fewer response rates from a larger list that doesn’t deliver as well due to poor list hygiene.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »

If your landing pages are not up to snuff, you are not only hurting your conversion rates, you’re also hurting your quality scoring with the search engines, who in turn could knock you down a few notches in their listings.

The search engines are obsessed with delivering a rich user experience, which more often than not is reflected in their quality scoring of not only your ads, but your landing pages as well. Yes, they know when users hit the back button and go back to the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).

The scoring of your landing pages typically lags behind the scoring of your PPC ads. So you may not see results in your quality scores immediately after you tweak your landing pages. Be patient and persistent. Avoiding the Back Button Blues is one of the hardest things to conquer in Internet marketing.

Tags: Tip Of The Day by Larry Chase
No Comments »