There was a time when I was once an innocent trainer with a very humble view of what it meant to be a trainer.  I was looking at what everyone else was doing and based my plan off of that.
So like everyone else, I was “working hard”, hustling for clients, and goofing off the rest of the time.  Then I decided to start my own training business.  Not too long after that, I decided it might be nice to actually make some money at it.  I then discovered DIRECT MARKETING.  Nothing was the same again.

You could say that’s the day I lost my innocence, because it was then I stopped being one of the sheep and instead became a hunter.  If you want to make the same change yourself, Direct Marketing is the only kind of marketing you should be doing.  It will force you to think aggressively about who you’re selling to, track how much you’re spending, how much it’s pulling in, and the effectiveness it’s having.  Get this right, and it’s the closest to printing money you can ever get.

BRAND ADVERTISING

When you’re growing up, everything you see around you is usually dominated by brand advertising.   Every commercial and most magazine ads can be put in that category; they’re just an effort to get the brand into the customer’s head.  The statistics show that they’re usually not very successful at it.

The problem is when a lot of small business owners start to advertise, they just follow what they’re used to and what everyone else is doing.  But if you’re a reader of this and other industry blogs, you’re probably starting to get it. You’re starting to understand the difference between Brand Advertising and the Direct Response Marketing you should be doing.  In case you don’t know, I’ve put together some general concepts for you that will help you understand exactly what it is and what you should be trying to achieve.

This post is kind of answer to the mistakes I see a lot of the small business people I know making, as well as the questions I’ve got from hundreds of speed coaching sessions I’ve had with SIX-FIGURE owners.

Hopefully it’ll get you thinking very critically about the subject and make you some money.

 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIRECT MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

A simple definition is that advertising sells products, and direct marketing sells offers.  If  you need a bigger and broader definition, take this:

Advertising seeks to change behavior; direct marketing seeks to repeat or model it.

Advertising deals largely in emotional imagery. Direct marketing deals almost exclusively in facts (specific benefits derived from enumerated features, backed by proof, including performance comparisons, user testimonials, etc.)

Advertising design is often image driven.  Art and photography are frequently the primary communicators.

Response design must be functional and disruptive.  It supports the copy as the primary communicator.

If advertising is an art, direct mail is a science.

THE SALES FUNNEL

Your goal in direct marketing is to take an individual that you decide to target down your sales funnel.  Here’s what the sales funnel looks like: SUSPECT > PROSPECT > CUSTOMER > CLIENT > ADVOCATE.

You are looking to create a relationship that guides them down this course.  As a suspect, they are someone that you can potentially direct your marketing at.  A prospect is someone that has raised their hand, and indicated they are interested in what you have to offer.  A customer has made a purchase from you.  A client has made repeated purchases from you. As an advocate, they have done repeated business with you and now help you bring more people into the funnel.

MEASUREMENT

Measurement is the cornerstone of all Direct Response Marketing.  You need to measure what you’re spending, who’s responding, and how much they’re worth. This will then dictate how much you continue to spend, leading to an ongoing cycle of testing and tracking.  If you get this wrong, or rely only on hunches instead of accurate measurements, you’ll only be doing a fraction of what you could be.  Get it right, and you’ll be able to print money.

THIS WILL START TO INFLUENCE EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE

When you measure the ROI of your campaigns, you will start to make these mini-assessments on all of your other business activities  You’ll start planning your time better.  You’ll change how you communicate with employees.  In general, direct response takes over your brain and starts to change how you think – it all becomes about measurement and results, and nothing else.

 

INTERNET MARKETING IS A SCAM

The first thing to know is that direct response marketing is bigger than any medium that you find it in.  Whether it’s the internet, print, television, or sky-writing, they are all only mediums – they have nothing to do with the message.  Whenever you hear internet marketing referred to as the be all and end all, that’s just a savvy marketer creating a message – it’s a technique they are using to get sales, but doesn’t tell you how or why buying happens.

If you learn the basic principles behind direct marketing, such as what goes in to a powerful offer, what people buy, and why they buy, you and your family will never go hungry.

INTERNET MARKETING IS NOT A SCAM

Despite the fact that the internet is just a medium, it’s probably the greatest thing that’s ever happened to direct response marketing.  You can put an offer up immediately, get immediate sales data, and the entire process is nearly free.  There are so many benefits to it, that it would be foolish for you not to master this medium and everything that’s possible with it.  It can be your stepping stone to understanding and mastering all other aspects of marketing.

DON’T GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE

The goal of advertising is to “get your name out there”.  With direct response, the goals is to get their name in HERE.  They key is to market to just the people that want to be sold to.  For that, WHO your leads are is the most important thing.  Find out who they are, and get their names in here so you can sell to them.

PROJECT SUCCESS DEPENDS ON:

Your List: 50-80% – who you’ve decided to target.  The quality of this list is also a big factor.

Your Offer: 25-50% – whether what you have to sell is compelling enough to buy.

Format: 15-25%  – the medium you chose, and how you use it.

Copy: 10-15%  – copy, what most amateur marketers spend the most of their time on, is the least important.  If you were selling to thirsty people in the desert, the only copy you would need is a big sign that says WATER.

 

THE OFFER

The offer consists of everything that impacts the value or perceived value of the product or service, and everything that impacts the process of getting it from seller to buyer.  It’s the “deal”.  The quid pro quo.  I’ll give you a free trial, a demo, a free issue, a free report, an on-site needs assessment, a video, a calculator, a video, a calculator, a sweepstakes price, a special, a limited time price.

A GUARANTEE IS ESSENTIAL

With any offer, you need to make a guarantee.  Or else you’re just blowing smoke.

YOU WANT ACTION, NOT AGREEMENT

With your marketing, you don’t want approval or agreement, you want ACTION.  That’s the difference between direct response and advertising.   You wan to tell your prospect: THIS IS WHAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO DO, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU STAND TO LOSE IF YOU DON’T.  You’re not just looking for a positive response; you want immediate action.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE UGLY

Good direct response ads won’t win a style contests; they get results.  To the world at large, your friends, and peers, your ads won’t look good.  But the right headline will scream out to the person looking for it.  Think of how you read the newspaper, or the next time you see someone reading one, watch them do it.  They don’t read the articles that look the best – they read the articles that apply to them.  They are hynpotically drawn to them, based on the headline and opening body of text.  That’s the response you’re looking for.

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Adhering to these principles has allowed me to beat the pants off of anyone that doesn’t know them or chose to achnowledge them.  Keep them in mind with all of your marketing, and you’ll be doing the same.