Posted by: Clayton Makepeace
July 6, 2009
Issue #708

The Daily Beatings Will Continue
Until Response Improves

Dear Business-Builder,

Along the Carolina coast, in places where Blackbeard and other pirates once roamed, they sell tee shirts with a big Jolly Roger emblazoned on the back.  Underneath the skull and crossbones, there’s always a cute saying.  My favorite: 

“Surrender the booty!”

My second favorite:

“The daily beatings will continue
until morale improves.”

That second slogan reminds me a lot of online marketers, these days:  Folks who spend a not-so-small fortune to attract opt-ins for their e-zines – and then blindly go about bludgeoning their new prospects within an inch of their lives with high-energy e-mails or driving them to high-energy sales pages.

These marketers seem to believe that, by giving prospects a daily thrashing, response will eventually improve.  Sorry – but to me, that’s just dumb.  Nevertheless, I’m struck by how many clumsy, ham-handed online marketers do just that – and then wonder why their files are so unresponsive.

A much, MUCH better way …

Lately, I’ve been spending most of my time working on messaging to a client’s house file – the people who’ve accepted a free subscription to his daily e-letter plus those who, at one time or another in the last year or so,  have actually unlimbered their credit cards and bought something from him.

Now, I don’t mean to brag, but we’re doing quite well.  Our prospects are becoming customers at an almost unheard-of rate and our customers are spending more with us with every passing month.  Yes, even in this lousy economy.

The thing is, although we e-mail our names almost daily, we spend weeks on end NOT asking anyone to buy a single, blessed thing from us.  To the contrary:  We spend weeks at a time literally begging them to accept things of tremendous value from us for free.

Just recently, for instance, we spent two full weeks just asking the file to visit our blog and tell us what ONE THING would help them most, promising that we would move heaven and Earth to give it to them.  We got literally thousands of posts from grateful prospects and customers. 

Nearly every one of those posts thanked us for everything else we’re doing for them – praised our free information.  This, of course, quickly convinced every non-customer and newbie on the list who even glanced at them that this company is credible.  It delivers the goods.  It cares about them.  It can be trusted.

The majority of the posts also told us precisely what they needed to make more money in the stock market – and unsurprisingly, most of the answers were very similar.

So for the next two weeks, we dug deeper … asking them to tell us more … posing questions that would elicit more specific answers … and hinting that in a week or two, we would give them the answers they needed – all for free, all to help them make more money.

Then, it was time to take the next steps with them – again; patiently –  establishing my client’s concern for them and positioning him as their champion beyond the shadow of a doubt.

After about a week of engaging our prospects and customers on the subject of what they needed to succeed, we revealed that we would soon host a complimentary online video event in which we would deliver the goods – and then asked them to tell us precisely what they’d like us to cover in that event.

After another week, while continuing the conversation about how we could best help them, we announced that the event would take place two weeks hence … and began inviting them to grab a free registration to attend.

A week later – still continuing our engagement on the basis of their needs – we began counting down to the end of the free registration period with daily e-mails that progressively revealed more of what we would give them at the online briefing.

Each of these e-mails contained a healthy dose of “You asked, so we’re  delivering” – both to solidify our positioning as their advocate and also to remind them that we were pulling out all the stops to give them what they’d been asking for.

We also infused these e-mails with mystery:  Progressively, tantalizingly  lifting our skirts to reveal a bit more ankle or a provocative glimpse of calf each day.  And in each e-mail, we also used facts and quotations from third parties to establish the remarkable power of the investment secrets we were about to reveal. 

More than 60,000 people
watched that video event online. 

And we sold them absolutely NOTHING.

Instead, we asked them to visit our blog to tell us what they thought of the event … invited them to Part Two one week hence, telling them that because they participated in Part One they were already registered for it, again; for free.

And for the next week, we continued to engage those who viewed Part One with e-mails about all the wonderful things we’d reveal in Part Two … while using tons of glowing testimonials they left on our blog to convince the rest of our file that missing Part Two would be the dumbest mistake they’d ever make.

Finally, at Part Two of the online briefing … after five weeks of personal engagement with them … 35 days of listening intently to the file … of delivering tremendous value to them for free … it was finally time to offer them a product that was created to directly fulfill the very desires they had told us about.

The sales page, sent to viewers after the event via e-mail, was extremely low-key.  No copywriter lingo, unbelievable claims or screaming headlines – just credibility out the wazzoo, mouth-watering incentives for giving the product a fair try and of course a money-back guarantee.

That was last Tuesday, and response was off the charts:  Far as I can tell, it was the biggest day in the company’s history.  And if past experience is any indication, the response will continue at record-shattering levels for many weeks to come.

More importantly, when all is said and done, this cycle will be a huge win-win for everyone.  The company will have prospered.  It’s customers will have a product that directly addresses their most pressing needs now.  And most importantly, we will have bonded with our prospects and customers in powerful ways that will ensure that our next events and our next offering of financial solutions will do even better.

Hope this helps…

Yours for Bigger Winners, More Often,

Clayton Makepeace
Publisher & Editor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE

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16 Comments »

1. Comment by Beau Smith — July 6, 2009 @ 9:21 am

   Clayton,

   Beautiful. Simply beautiful. This takes “customer first” to a whole new level. That’s something we could all do a little bit better.

   Thank you for that, and for the detailed description of the time invested in this. I have always had doubt about the sequence and timing of a promotion like this, but wasn’t even sure what questions to ask. This spells it out.

   Keep it coming!

   Beau Smith

2. Comment by Sean — July 6, 2009 @ 10:04 am

   I am on your client’s list and watched the whole strategy unfold. It was quite a marketing lesson. Thanks.

3. Comment by Caleb Osborne — July 6, 2009 @ 10:25 am

   Ditto Clayton, I’ve been watching it all unfold too

4. Comment by Bruce Tuggle — July 6, 2009 @ 11:57 am

   This is one of the best articles I’ve read. And, I could read it when I wanted to - not at a specific time/date when I wouldn’t be available.

   It delivers just about everything needed to prepare and deliver an organized presenttion.

   Thank you very much.

   …..Bruce

5. Comment by Steve Newdell — July 6, 2009 @ 12:14 pm

   Me too, I couldn’t afford the price for the service when the offer was made but still, it was good to watch. thanks, sn

6. Comment by Beau Smith — July 6, 2009 @ 12:20 pm

   How do I get this client’s e-letter? If they’re telling people how to make more money in the stock market, sign me up! I think I’ve lost more recently than I’ve made in my lifetime. That’s part of the reason I’m out of the market now.

   Beau Smith

7. Comment by Tony M. — July 6, 2009 @ 5:11 pm

   Hi Clayton, I have a question.

   How did your client keep making sales in that 5-week timespan ?

   I do get your point on building reciprocity and goodwill, and it’s a very good point.

   But how can you go for weeks on end mailing your list for free ?
   Where does the money come from in the meanwhile ?

   Thanks for all the great things in TTP,
   Tony

8. Comment by Doberman Dan — July 6, 2009 @ 5:22 pm

   Holy smokes! Another step by step multi-million dollar marketing lesson given away for FREE!

   I’m printing this out and am going to completely rip off your process for one of my businesses.

   A great big huge THANKS!

   I sincerely hope your subscribers understand the value of the articles you share.

   All the best,
   Doberman Dan

9. Comment by Doberman Dan — July 6, 2009 @ 5:26 pm

   BTW, do you mind sharing the company you recommend for streaming the online briefings?

   Dan

10. Comment by Susan Connors — July 6, 2009 @ 7:23 pm

    Hello Clayton

    Thank you for being able to show a successful
    win-win situation for everyone involved.

    People crave quality content - me being one of them

    A low key, no nonsense approach, asking them what they want,
    listening and delivering answers to those questions - good choices to make.

    I agree with you on the hype marketing - bomb the email box everyday with buy this or buy that - you will get rich etc.
    Most of them don’t deal with the information I am after.

    The key sites that I find work for me are the ones like this which deliver quality content to the readers and interact with us.

    You don’t sit on a pedestal dictating to the masses this is how it needs to be done etc. You give us suggestions and food for thought. Many times this has gotten me out of ruts I had dug for myself.

    Being able to think outside the box is so important.

    Picture this - you walk into a room its all light around you. White walls glare at you giving you a headache. You cannot see anything as it is too bright. So you stumble around in the room, desperately looking for a door to escape and finding nothing.

    Something says stop. There has to be another way out! You think through the think tank looking for the suggestions in your mind.

    Then it hits you like a sledge hammer. You didn’t put your sunglasses away and they are in your pocket.

    So you take them out and suddenly everything looks different. Less frightening and you can see - a new perspective. As you turn around you can see the door you came in. So you head towards it, push the door and out you go.

    Slowing down and thinking, gave you a chance to find the ideas needed to get out. To be creative and use a less obvious means of solving the immediate problem at hand.

    Thank you again for your posts and quality content.

    All the best

    Susan Connors
    Australia

11. Comment by Yoav — July 7, 2009 @ 2:19 am

    Simply amazing.

    Clayton, you are the king.

12. Comment by Kammy — July 7, 2009 @ 12:00 pm

    Isn’t it amazing what happens when marketers actually care enough to build a relationship with customers?

    I watched a marketer use a similar approach. And when the finally tally came in after the launch, he seemed pretty surprised. When he released the results, others on his list went absolutely gaa gaa to get his secret. They were stunned by the results — yet didn’t “get” that they’d been seeing the secret in action all those months up to the launch.

13. Comment by brett kitchen — July 7, 2009 @ 6:36 pm

    Clayton, I’m not usually one for comments, but this was something special.:)

    Thanks a bunch.

    I have two quick questions…

    1. You often talk about learning to “create desire” in our copy. Is there a good resource you could point me to learn how to do this better? book? course? blog post?
    Thanks

    2. Can we get the name of the client you are working with on this?

    Thanks
    Brett

14. Comment by Clayton Makepeace — July 8, 2009 @ 11:46 am

    GLAD THIS POST HELPED YOU GUYS …

    BEAU SMITH: You can opt in at http://www.moneyandmarkets.com.

    TONY M: The key to this strategy is that your prospects and customers are NOT asked to buy things from you daily. You compress your sales appeals and cash flow into several weeks every couple of months.

    In-between, you build credibility and back-pressure on the file by delivering sterling content. So when you finally present prospects and customers with the opportunity to act, the response is explosive — far greater than if you’d been hammering them to make a purchase every day.

    However the client does receive renewal income from customers who have subscribed to his other services.

    DOBERMAN DAN: We use StreamLogics for our webcasts. Great reporting and they’ve been able to handle up to 60,000 attendees at a time.

    BRETT KITCHEN: Come to think about it, I do NOT have anything for you on creating desire. Great idea for a future article. We’ll jump right on it!

    Cheers, y’all!

    – CLAYTON

15. Comment by Denny — July 9, 2009 @ 4:04 pm

    Over 20 years ago I was involved with TV for a fundraising ad agency dealing exclusively with non-profits. This was after Wetergate, Jim and Tammy, Jimmy Swaggart, etc. People were clammering for something to trust.

    Our biggest client was a very large relief organization. Response was starting to dip and we were put on notice that either the next show needed to work better or they were walking.

    The creative director was using the same formula that had worked for 20 years of presenting the need and hammering the “call now” over and over and over. I pulled a few people together and told them that things needed to change. That the national climate had changed. People needing more information presented in a much less aggressive manner. We started producing more documentary style shows with less of the “ask”. The agency still has that client.

16. Pingback by SEO ROI » A Domain Name Gold Rush… — July 13, 2009 @ 3:59 pm

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