The Holy Grail of Marketing: Make Me An Offer I Can’t Refuse?
“Why are you so upset?” my husband asked.
“Because this woman has been in the online marketing world for two years and she is teaching people things that are incorrect – flat out wrong” I replied.
Yes, I will admit it – it makes me freaking nuts when I see this kind of irresponsibility.
At first I say to myself; granted she is properly a nice person and she properly believes the curriculum she is out there hocking is accurate.
But after spotting her and tons of “Internet Marketers” doing the same thing, I need to shout at the top of my lungs – WAIT!
There are hundreds of GREAT direct response marketing tools: books, newsletters and white papers that have compiled over the years that do have the correct information in them. These resources do explain the fundamentals of direct response marketing, the tried and true strategies and methods.
These works of art are coming to us from the original masters like Ogilvy, Benson, Cialdini and Schwartz. Or more recent gurus and experts who took these strategies and had huge business successes like Masterson, Makepeace, Bly and myself.
If these self-proclaimed experts had only taken the time to study these masters and these fundamentals… If they had only taken the time to understand these fundamentals, apply them in a real business, then and only then should they go out there and broadcast themselves as experts.
Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I guess that is exactly what bothers me so much about her and so many other Internet marketing “experts”. They have never built nor run a real business.
Their businesses have always been watching what other Internet marketers do – duplicate it with a twist, add their own little flair and Shazzam – they’re an expert.
Well, guess what. It is a whole different ballgame when you are actually responsible for growing a business. When you are actually the one to brainstorm, test and rollout REAL advertising marketing campaigns. When you either hire the copywriter or write the copy. When you craft an offer and when you select the media.
But mostly it’s a real game changer when feeding your family is actually determined by your results.
Until you:
1) Understand what the direct response marketing fundamentals are (The Holy Grail).
2) Test, test and test some more.
3) Have a “braggable” track record.
You will always be looking for the next “magic button”, the next “instant fix”.
Well it’s time. It’s time as hard working moms, that we say no more B.S. That we say, let’s practice what we preach to our kids – that education is the key.
That is why this issue will concentrate on the “Holy Grail” – direct response marketing fundamentals.
Art and Science, The Perfect Marriage
All of your direct response marketing advertising campaigns are a mixture of art and science. The art is in writing the sales letter. The science is in tracking responses and using statistical computations to plan future campaigns.
Writing successful sales letters is a creative process—a matter of figuring out the market and devising a new promotion based on the customer’s current concerns. List and media testing and analysis, by contrast, are left-brain activities—tracking responses accurately and running them through statistical models to determine future mailings.
So to be successful, an entrepreneur needs to get both sides of their brain working: the creative and the analytical sides.
Although entrepreneurs should be comfortable with both sides of the marketing process, most tend to favor one side or the other. Those who are more mathematically inclined tend to focus on lists and media, while those who feel more comfortable as communicators pay attention to copy.
While copy is king and list and media selection are critical. What about the offer? Many give so little emphasis to the offer. Yet it is very important. Here’s why: A good offer can easily double response rates. A bad or botched offer can easily kill a campaign that would otherwise be profitable.
The Offer: What Is It Good For?
What is the offer? An offer is the deal you make with your customer and the terms of that deal. The offer is what he gets for what he gives you. It includes the product, the service, all the promises made about the product and service, and the guarantee.
The offer also includes the transactional details such as how the customer can buy the product, like an 800#, order now button, send payment to address.
All these details are important, and all of them should be spelled out through out the sales copy and in the order device. Failing to spell out these details properly and fully could be a costly mistake.
YOUR OFFER MUST BE “HERCULES” STRONG
Every direct response marketing campaign should contain a strong offer. The offer should be an incentive or reward that motivates prospects to respond to your campaign, either with an order or with a request for more information (depending on your goals).
To be effective, your offer must pass the “10 Tests” rules:
Test 1. Is your offer specific?: Will the prospect understand exactly what they get and how to get it?
Test 2. Is your offer exclusive?: Are you making your offer only to a select few (and making them feel that they are an exclusive bunch), or are you making your offer to everyone?
Test 3. Is your offer valuable?: Will your prospects perceive your offer to be of value to them? Your offer may be inexpensive for you to make, but it must have a high-perceived value to your potential customers.
Test 4. Is your offer unique?: Is the deal you’re offering only available through your business?
Test 5. Is your offer useful?: Your offer can be exclusive but useless, or unique and useless. Make sure your offer helps your prospects save money, save time, do their jobs better, or is something else just as helpful.
Test 6. Is your offer relevant?: Do prospects want what you are offering?
Test 7. Is your offer plausible?: Some offers are too good to be true, and others are just plain silly. Either way, your offer needs to lend credibility.
Test 8. Is your offer easy to acquire?: The harder you make it for your prospects to obtain your offer, the lower your response rates will be. So make your order forms clear, simple, and short; your toll-free telephone number obvious on the page; and your terms and conditions of purchase concise.
Test 9. Is your offer urgent?: Are you clear about the deadline of your offer? Is it an early-bird special or are you limiting it to only the first 250 people who respond?
Test 10. Does your offer have a guarantee?: Did you strengthen your offer with a money-back guarantee? Perhaps you could even allow the subscriber to keep all bonuses and/or issues up to that point, or make sure the prospect knows that there is no risk whatsoever.
Take a moment now to go look at the offers of all your current marketing campaigns.
If you are just starting out and do not have any of your own campaigns, look at offers that you have responded to, either in the mail or online. Examine each piece and circle how many of the above test rules the offer used.
Be conscious of the “10 Tests” rules while going forward – you will find that the more often you see an offer repeated, the more of the above components it contains. That’s because promotions that are getting responses and making money are the ones you see over and over again.
Mary Ellen has a history of teaching people how to build businesses by following their passion. She has discovered a business model that is quicker and 500% more profitable than blogging. Click here to learn more.
[Ed Note: MaryEllen Tribby has found great success in the business world and also manages to maintain her home life. Learn how she finds the time to live the best of both worlds on Working Mom’s Only.If you’re serious about starting your own business, I urge you to pick up my new book Reinventing the Entrepreneur: Turning Your Dream Business into a Reality today! It will supply you with EVERYTHING you need to know. It is literally a step-by-step playbook. Remember wishing is not a plan. Only by taking action can you make that dream of your business come true.]