Posted by:
Troy White
July 4, 2008
Issue #452
Fellow Business-Builder,
Again, thank you for all the fabulous comments around the last two weeks’ lead generation articles.
Some of you had questions I wanted to help address. The way I see it, if I can help you double or triple the amount of leads you are getting, then convert them to sales, my articles have done their job.
First, lead generation ads done simple.
I am not a graphic design person (if you can’t tell :o) - - but I do appreciate an ad that is laid out properly. It helps draw in eyeballs and get them to at least start reading the headline. If the design is poor and the ad doesn’t stand out, your job just got harder.
Kari does my graphic and ad design, but I have picked up a thing or two about simple ad layouts for the average small business. The following references are from Word 2003 - they changed everything in the 2007 version, and I have not taken the time to figure out the differences.
(more…)
Posted by:
Troy White
June 27, 2008
Issue #447
In this issue:
- The easiest way to win over your prospects and convince them to buy from you for the first time …
- Small Business Mastery readers speak out …
- Templates and samples to use for creating your own sales system …
- And Much More!
Fellow Business Builder,
Thank you for your excellent response to my article “How to Write Lead Generation Display Ads”. Some of your comments hit a note with me and I first wanted to address these before moving on to the actual templates for creating your display ads.
Steve had said “I never even thought of doing non-traditional small display ads. I feel like a fool.”
My thoughts to you Steve are – don’t feel like a fool – feel like an awakening! Most people look at display ads in a certain way, and it can be difficult to see new ways of looking at them. Which is the problem. After seeing hundreds of display ads in a day or week, all following the same useless format, it’s no wonder we have a tough time seeing the alternatives. This approach works really well for small businesses. It is simple to implement. And it gets you solid results. Try it out and please let us know how it goes.
Olan said “Great article Troy. One question: Where is the Ad for the house painter that you wrote? I don't see it in this article.”
Hi Olan. As Mr. Burns (from the Simpsons) would say – eeeeexxxxxcellent! My house painter advertisement was so deceptive you didn’t even notice it was an ad! The point to running this type of ad in the Yellow Pages is to make it look like an article or warning notice. In the middle of all those same-old-same-old type of ads – yours will be the one and only that looks like something useful to those in need.
Carolyn said “I just finished writing a space ad for a company using this approach. I suggested they offer five free special reports, thinking that at least one of the five would hit a hot button and get the phones ringing. You can tell me if you think that was too much.”
Hi Carolyn. My personal thoughts are for you to space out all the reports and send them individually. Rather than receive all five at once (which chances are they won’t read them all) – send them 7-10 days apart. The overwhelm factor may kick in with too many at once, so this gives you multiple opportunities for follow up. But, this is something you need to test. With 100 of the leads – test sending each separately. With the next 100 send two at a time. The next 100 – all at once. See which version works best. (You must track everything you do to ensure the winner.)
Great questions and comments – thank you!
(more…)
Posted by:
Daniel Levis
June 18, 2008
Issue #440
Dear Web Business Builder,
Seems some people have a lowly opinion of us copywriters who write to sell …
There I was working away, minding my own business, when for some reason I became distracted and opened up an e-mail from Brian Clark — a.k.a. Copyblogger.
The subject line, “Warning: Narcissistic Marketing Can Be Dangerous to Your Business Health” caught my attention.
The article was what’s known as a “hit” in blogger parlance. Brian was challenging the point of view of another blogger, Julie Rubiner.
It seems Ms. Julie (BA in Creative Writing and Literature) had detected an editorial emergency on my website. I had been singled out as the lead poster boy, (ahead of Ron Popiel even) for everything she detests about hard hitting direct response copy that sells.
She says my copy is jivey … says I sound like a fair barker or used car salesman … and implies I must not care about my customers or have any desire to create long term relationships with them. Ouch!
Of course anybody who recognized where the copy in question came from could see that Ms. Julie was misrepresenting it to make her point.
She had deliberately taken bits and pieces from different parts of a 5,000 word sales letter and strung them together to make them look asinine. And then went on to say that putting numbers in your headlines is bad … implying there are “secrets” is wrong … exclamation points should never be used … ditto for dollar values and limited time offers … and other erudite nonsense.
Like Narcissus, (who died of thirst because he was so in love with himself he couldn’t bare to disturb his own reflection in the water long enough to drink) … people like Julie who are in love with the kind of copy they like to read would starve in a heart beat if their copy was judged by the sales it made.
They’re all about making an image. If their copy strokes their client’s ego, then it’s good copy. Whether it makes sales or not is immaterial.
(more…)
Posted by:
Julie McManus
May 23, 2008
Issue #424
Dear Business Builder,
Happy Friday and good to see you back!
Bigger isn’t necessarily always better … so there I’ve said it! Yet, there’s a drive in the direct response web marketing community to generate massive opt-in lists with very little pre-qualification. No matter the market, there seems to be a push to capture every Tom, Dick and Harry that’s willing to give you an e-mail address … so long as you can count them in your list total.
Perhaps it’s the age old story of the man with the biggest list … picks up all the babes at the bar. Isn’t that how it goes?
I’m not suggesting that everyone give up their list building efforts, and pack it in. But I am suggesting you take a closer look at your list building strategies to determine how to capture the most qualified leads that will convert quickly and ultimately give you a healthy and ongoing return on your investment.
Generating leads like a game of hide and seek!
First let’s classify our leads into 3 different (and brilliant) categories … there’s no sense making this harder than it seems …
Cold – You can generate cold leads in many different ways. Cold leads come on file knowing absolutely nothing about you, your company or your offers. Typically they’ve come on file because they wanted to give their opinion, entered a sweepstakes or generally been enticed by some carrot that is loosely (or not at all) related to your company’s offers. It stands to reason that prospects that come on file with little or no interest in what your company has to offer will potentially do two things … convert poorly and eventually report you as spam.
Warm – Warm leads are typically generated by offering something of interest to the prospect that is in direct correlation to a search they’ve done or the topic of a site they’ve visited. Warm leads may not be familiar with your company as the provider of what they’re looking for, but they’ve demonstrated a specific interest. Warm leads often come on file by responding to free offers for reports, white papers, newsletters or to receive access to specialized information your company can provide. Warm leads can convert really well when there is a strong conversion marketing series in place that is closely related to the original lead gen. offer.
Hot – In the lead generation arena everyone wants leads that will ultimately convert to a sale. No sense spending lots of money and time promoting to people that don’t open your e-mails and could absolutely care less about your offers. And of all the categories, hot leads are the most likely to succeed. Hot leads have put their money were their mouth is. They’ve responded to low price, shipping and handling or trial offers in which the actual product is shipped. Oftentimes, all it takes for a hot lead to convert to a full paying customer is one or two strong conversion promotions and a sweet upsell offer. I’ve seen hot leads convert from a low price trial offer to a full paying offer to the tune of a 70% conversion rate. And then a good percentage of those customers go on to become lifetime customers.
So now that we’ve classified our leads, let’s take a look at …
(more…)
Posted by:
Julie McManus
January 4, 2008
Issue #325
Dear Business Builder,
Happy New Year! It’s January 4th and I’ve been busy mapping out my resolutions and setting my goals for 2008. I hope this finds you doing well and setting your own goals and making your own resolutions for the New Year.
I’ve been reading a lot about goal setting and the importance of making resolutions this time of year. And one thing I’ve noticed is the gurus I consider to be the most successful swear by it. In fact, they attribute setting goals as one of the main secrets to their success.
If you don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions, perhaps it’s time to re-think your strategy.
Two of my biggest goals have been sitting on my to-do list for quite some time and I’ve decided this is the year I’m finally going to put the pedal to the metal. The first goal I’ve set is to finally launch my very own JV social networking site (more on that later). And my second goal is to meet as many new potential joint venture partners as possible.
So, if this is the year you’ve selected to finally start your own online business or skyrocket the growth of your existing business, you need to give some serious consideration to meeting new joint venture partners as well.
So here are …
(more…)
