This document provides an overview of direct marketing principles and best practices. It discusses elements like headlines, copywriting, offers, creative design, testing, and lists. Some key points include:
- Headlines are very important in direct marketing and should promise a specific benefit to the target customer.
- The copy should focus on the customer's needs and motivations using "you" oriented language.
- Testing different elements like the offer, list, creative, and subject line is essential to maximize results. Only change one factor at a time.
- The customer list and offer are very important factors, accounting for 80% of success. The creative makes up the remaining 20%.
Out-Think | Marketing Start-ups, From The Ground UpBen Grossman
For most start-ups, budgets are slim and smarts are plentiful. This presentation covers how to approach marketing start-ups by using smart and sound strategy to OUT-THINK (rather than out-spend) competitors. This presentation was originally developed and delivered by Ben Grossman for the Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows 7 at the Microsoft Technology Center in Boston, MA.
Out-Think | Marketing Start-ups, From The Ground UpBen Grossman
For most start-ups, budgets are slim and smarts are plentiful. This presentation covers how to approach marketing start-ups by using smart and sound strategy to OUT-THINK (rather than out-spend) competitors. This presentation was originally developed and delivered by Ben Grossman for the Microsoft BizSpark Incubation Week for Windows 7 at the Microsoft Technology Center in Boston, MA.
Growth Hacking by Jordan Schlipf for Startupbootcamp Alumni CEO Summit 27 & 2...Startupbootcamp
Jordan Schlip - Partner at Founder Centric - gave a workshop about Growth Hacking at Startupbootcamp Alumni CEO Summit on 27 & 28 June '14 in Berlin.
Jordan Schlipf twitter: https://twitter.com/jordups
Jordan Schlipf linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jordan-schlipf/74/551/b8
Founder Centric: http://www.foundercentric.com/
Startupbootcamp: www.startupbootcamp.org
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
Success in Sales and Marketing Part 2- BASIS Marketing TrainingKenny Ong
Success in Sales
1. Sales Mindset
2. Laws of Selling
3. How to Influence other people
4. Tele-Sales Tips
5. Practical and Easy-To-Learn Techniques to increase sales
This Book are designed to present interesting, insightful
books for the general business reader and for professionals in the worlds of media, marketing, and advertising.
These are innovative, creative books that address the challenges and opportunities of these industries, written by leaders in the business
Wondering how to get a sense of how your customer experience ranks with respect to best practices? How do you incorporate new channels with the traditional channels? Here's 7 steps to get you started!
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
Confusing movement with progress is pretty common in business – with people often running around like headless chickens. But it’s not about how busy you are, it’s about effectiveness: trying to avoid all the timewasting trivia and focusing on the important stuff.
A lion sleeps for over 18 hours day, and yet is still the undisputed king of the beasts. It is the master of minimal effort, maximum return. This is at the heart of the Sleeping Lion approach. For over 12 years, I have been advising companies on how to simplify and improve sales, marketing and business development – through consultancy, workshops and facilitation.
There are a range of tools and exercises available here that draw together Branding, Customer Loyalty, Marketing, Sales, People Development, Productivity, Idea Generation and Business Ethics – everything you need to focus and align your product, people and communication strategies. If you require help with any of these, I can run bespoke training sessions.
Preparing Successful Sales Quotes: Experts Weigh In
It can take a lot of work to get a lead to the quoting stage. Don’t throw away all the effort you have put in managing your sales pipeline by preparing a sub-par sales quote. Providing a successful sales quote can often determine if you win or lose a deal.
To help you sort through it all, we’ve reached out to a panel of sales and small business experts and asked them all a single question: “What are the keys to preparing successful sales quotes? ”
How To Sell To Businesses - Sales Advice for StartupsNicolas Deville
How To Sell To Businesses: actionable insights from years in the trenches.
Sales Advice for Startups.
B2C vs. B2B
SME vs. Enterprise
How to differentiate yourself
How to get the first 10 clients
Presentation on 30th July 2015 in London to early stage startups, part of @WayraUK, Telefonica's startup accelerator.
32 Marketing Tips That Never Go Out of StyleRich Brooks
Tired of chasing the next “big thing” in marketing? Maybe it’s time to get back to basics.
It’s that time of year again. All the prognosticators are telling us what’s coming next. All the “10 Marketing Trends for 2015″ posts. All the advice to make you nervous that you’re falling behind.
But the truth is, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
So, in the spirit of uncovering timeless strategies, we asked 32 of our all-time favorite marketers to share with us their best tips that never go out of style.
OK, we included ourselves, but that’s just because we wanted to rub shoulders with these luminaries.
Is your “evergreen” marketing tip in this list? If not, make sure you share it in the comments below.
Growth Hacking by Jordan Schlipf for Startupbootcamp Alumni CEO Summit 27 & 2...Startupbootcamp
Jordan Schlip - Partner at Founder Centric - gave a workshop about Growth Hacking at Startupbootcamp Alumni CEO Summit on 27 & 28 June '14 in Berlin.
Jordan Schlipf twitter: https://twitter.com/jordups
Jordan Schlipf linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/jordan-schlipf/74/551/b8
Founder Centric: http://www.foundercentric.com/
Startupbootcamp: www.startupbootcamp.org
Back to basics: Creative brief workshop
Becky McOwen-Banks
Before great creative work can be done it's key to create the environment in which creative work can be produced.
In this pres we look at the processes and provide a few tips for those with a hankering for effective creative work. Skewed for the in-house relationships but applicable for anyone involved in the creative process.
Covers: structure, department relationships, Briefs, idea generation, evaluating creative work and feedback
Success in Sales and Marketing Part 2- BASIS Marketing TrainingKenny Ong
Success in Sales
1. Sales Mindset
2. Laws of Selling
3. How to Influence other people
4. Tele-Sales Tips
5. Practical and Easy-To-Learn Techniques to increase sales
This Book are designed to present interesting, insightful
books for the general business reader and for professionals in the worlds of media, marketing, and advertising.
These are innovative, creative books that address the challenges and opportunities of these industries, written by leaders in the business
Wondering how to get a sense of how your customer experience ranks with respect to best practices? How do you incorporate new channels with the traditional channels? Here's 7 steps to get you started!
How to Create a Killer Creative Brief with Wild AlchemyUnited Adworkers
United Adworkers had the honor of hosting Lynette Xanders with Wild Alchemy to share her incredible knowledge and insights on "How to Create a Killer Creative Brief". For more information about Wild Alchemy and Lynette Xanders, visit WildAlchemy.com.
Confusing movement with progress is pretty common in business – with people often running around like headless chickens. But it’s not about how busy you are, it’s about effectiveness: trying to avoid all the timewasting trivia and focusing on the important stuff.
A lion sleeps for over 18 hours day, and yet is still the undisputed king of the beasts. It is the master of minimal effort, maximum return. This is at the heart of the Sleeping Lion approach. For over 12 years, I have been advising companies on how to simplify and improve sales, marketing and business development – through consultancy, workshops and facilitation.
There are a range of tools and exercises available here that draw together Branding, Customer Loyalty, Marketing, Sales, People Development, Productivity, Idea Generation and Business Ethics – everything you need to focus and align your product, people and communication strategies. If you require help with any of these, I can run bespoke training sessions.
Preparing Successful Sales Quotes: Experts Weigh In
It can take a lot of work to get a lead to the quoting stage. Don’t throw away all the effort you have put in managing your sales pipeline by preparing a sub-par sales quote. Providing a successful sales quote can often determine if you win or lose a deal.
To help you sort through it all, we’ve reached out to a panel of sales and small business experts and asked them all a single question: “What are the keys to preparing successful sales quotes? ”
How To Sell To Businesses - Sales Advice for StartupsNicolas Deville
How To Sell To Businesses: actionable insights from years in the trenches.
Sales Advice for Startups.
B2C vs. B2B
SME vs. Enterprise
How to differentiate yourself
How to get the first 10 clients
Presentation on 30th July 2015 in London to early stage startups, part of @WayraUK, Telefonica's startup accelerator.
32 Marketing Tips That Never Go Out of StyleRich Brooks
Tired of chasing the next “big thing” in marketing? Maybe it’s time to get back to basics.
It’s that time of year again. All the prognosticators are telling us what’s coming next. All the “10 Marketing Trends for 2015″ posts. All the advice to make you nervous that you’re falling behind.
But the truth is, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
So, in the spirit of uncovering timeless strategies, we asked 32 of our all-time favorite marketers to share with us their best tips that never go out of style.
OK, we included ourselves, but that’s just because we wanted to rub shoulders with these luminaries.
Is your “evergreen” marketing tip in this list? If not, make sure you share it in the comments below.
The Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored this session for area business owners and leaders. The session was facilited by Tim McAdow, Director of Marketing and Communication for Integrity Insurance; Tom Clifford, Director of Digital Development at HC Miller, Susan Finco, Owner and President of Leonard & Finco Public Relations; Patrick Hopkins, President of Imaginasium; Robert Jahnke, President of Top Hat Marketing; Diane Roundy, Director of Business Development for Schenck SC
This is the hottest ad sales seminar around and has been for years ...targeted to magazine executives....FOLIO, the CRMA, hundreds of publishers sales meetings and ad sales conferance
How to think like an entrepreneur involves a ton of stuff...way too much stuff! Welcome to my brain dump of skills and traits and all kinds of magic that make an entrepreneur successful.
One of the secrets to being successful in business, regardless of whether you want to be an intrapreneur or an entrepreneur, is design thinking. We must empathize with our audience, listen to them, gain insights from them, develop our product roadmaps around their feedback & continuing to rinse & repeat.
In addition to design thinking, we must understand the blueprint of our business, and that is capturing the high level points in the form of a business model canvas. It may seem academic, but it is truly helpful to make sure you understand & can describe your business to others in a succinct fashion. Love it or hate it...it's helpful!
Lastly, we must all understand the buyer of our products and services so we know how to paint a picture around who to talk to when it comes to gaining audience insights, capturing the insights & keeping them fresh in our mind when we go to market.
Is this deck messy and jumping around a bit? Maybe, but I swear there's a method to the madness.
What's the point of creativity in Direct MarketingJohn Griffiths
The application of behavioural economics and herd theory to direct marketing with examples. Given to the Marketing in Direct Conference in Bucharest Sept 8th 2010
Used this marketing presentation while teaching a Business Canvas Model Workshop. Looking at the difference between branding and marketing. The changing nature of branding and the basics of sales.
Markedu founder, expert marketer Michael Leander presented his marketing keynote "9,5 tips to ROMI in front of the attendees at APPM's 17th National Marketing Congress in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Semana Nacional de Marketing 2015 (National Marketing Congress Portugal) was organized for the 16th time by APPM - Associação Portuguesa dos Profissionais de Marketing.
10 Modern Marketing Lessons from Don DraperBahia Nar
After seven seasons, the show came to an end. Despite all the cigarettes, the scotches in the middle if the day and the office romances, Mad Men is a great show and few marketing lessons can be learned from me.
Even if the time is different and advertising is different now, some rules are timeless.
10 special rules from Don Draper, just follow them
2. Marketing Syntax Headline / lead – If It’s for Me I Might Have Time for It Problem / agitation Promise -Solution Bullets (How) Proof Proposition Risk Reduction -Guarantee Call to action / Urgency / Scarcity
3. Translating Mentor’s Value to WIIFM Marketing Syntax: The Rosetta Stone of Copy Egyptian Greek English Marketing Syntax Message Prospect WIIFM
4. DM DIRECT MARKETING Salesmanship in Print Find out what they want and give it to them
5. DM is DIRECT MARKETING Communication designed to trigger a “most wanted” response in specific targets
6. #1 RULE Get all the pieces right or keep your money in your pocket.
7. HOW Learn the proven Principles of DM Learn what DM can and cannot do Know and use YOUR keywords Learn and use the DM Copy Syntax Learn to use the 40/40/20 Rule Learn that Headlines sell and to use an enough copy to sell the product Learn the mailing side is the most important side Learn all lists are not created equal Learn the role of DM Creative Test, test, test
9. DM Basics DM is selling, not branding, not feel good, not wishy-washy, not general advertising Customers buy to get benefits Be richer, safer, more successful, more attractive, be smarter, to self-improve, sex appear, profit… If not focused on benefits DM is wasting money Headlines are read 19 times more than anything else in DM Long copy sells better than short DM is instantly measurable
10. DM Basics DM doesn’t create desire or motivation… those already exist in the ear and mind of the target market Instead DM directs, channels and focuses a prospect’s already existing desire
11. DM Basics What Makes DM Work? Burning Problems Wonderful Answers Proof That It Works Compelling Offer Reason to Act Now Risk Reversal
12. DM Basics Write This Down: Knowing the burning problem a customer has is more important than ANYTHING ELSE you can know about a customer Know WHY the customer buys
13. DM Basics DM Knows: If its working Headlines with benefits sell more Optimize the headline to optimize the ROI by 20X or more Reverse type performs poorly Long copy outsells short DM doesn’t care about awards… just sales DM knows because EVERYTHING is measured
14. DM COPY The Principles of DM Copy Proven by the great copywriters: Claude Hopkins Mary Wells John Caples Gene Schwartz Clyde Bedell David Ogilvy Ed McCabe Hal Riney Shirley Polykoff
15. Claude Hopkins "Nobody, at any level, should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times. It changed the course of my life. " David Ogilvy
16. Mary Wells Plop plop, fizz fizz I can't believe I ate the whole thing (winner of the 1971 Clio Award) Try it, you'll like it I ♥ New York Trust the Midas touch At Ford, Quality is Job 1 Flick your Bic Raise your hand if you're Sure Friends don't let friends drive drunk [12]
20. DM COPY Things Change but the Principles Don’t 100 years after principles first established nothings changed WIIFM Yes No We-We, Do-Do
21. DM HEADLINES Written by John Caples in the 1930’s, ran for over 50 years unchanged, why? “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano But When I Started to Play…”
24. DM Basics You are not the target market; the only thing that matters is what the customer does If DM doesn’t work today it doesn’t run tomorrow The only thing that matters in DM is if it sells today (or gets the “most wanted response”)
38. MAIN POINT! If it doesn’t sell it’s not DM Strategic Planning Copywriting Designing Measuring and Analyzing Results
39. “The only person interested in your product or service is the one who needs or wants it” -David Ogilvy
40. DM Only the person who needs your product or service at that moment is interested Persuade that particular PROSPECT to buy… a few others may “get it”, but forget the rest Use as little – or as much – copy as needed to effectively accomplish the objective In Direct Marketing, copy sells the product or service – while design and graphics sell the copy
41. DM Any language will do… as long as it’s the customers WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?
43. WHEN DM? Use Direct Marketing to: Create and complete a sale – transactional Generate a Lead Bring a prospect to your website Get them to take a “Free Report” Motivate an action i.e. attend a webinar Conduct research Balance other marketing efforts Catalyze other marketing efforts
44. BEGINNING Know the objectives – most wanted response Know the targets Know the BIG benefit, promise or offer Copy and design must align with objective
45. BEGINNING Make the offer EASY to respond to Sell your benefits/story over and over again Test, Test, Test… list, offer and creative Track and Report Rinse and repeat
46. 40/40/20 40% of Success is the List 40% of Success is the Offer 20% is the CREATIVE
48. OFFER Call Attention to Your Offer Everywhere On envelopes/postcards Headlines Order forms Post-it notes on letters Email; top 2 inches and at the bottom Show it to make it real; coupon, Free item, etc. Tell and sell your offer as many times and in as many ways as possible and appropriate
49. Call Attention to your offer everywhere Always, always, always on the envelope, mailing panel or top two inches of the email
50.
51. OFFER Anything that’s valuable in the eyes of the target market Anything that’s hard to otherwise find Anything that will advance them Anything that’s nice to have; brand name anything Should not cost more than $25 in B2B
52. OFFER Must be trackable; PIN or PURL Squeeze page – Landing Page Register Opt-In Coupon Reply Some Response Mechanism
59. LIST Targets for Direct Marketing Targets like your ideal client Current customers Targets that look like current customers Target you want to test
60. LIST Types of lists Compiled Subscription lists; rented or purchased Association or membership lists Custom built; combination of the above House; your customers Validated & Maintained
61. 3% - 5% Per Month How Lists Decay Use it or Lose It
63. LIST Test multiple lists Price and quality do not necessarily relate DM Cost = List, Medium, Design, Graphics The better the list the lower the cost per response
64. CREATIVE Write to – talk to – a specific person The biggest failure of most direct marketing is to forget to communicate one-to-one to a specific person Know and use personas i.e. Sue Johnson is a 25 year old EMT that works for a large Ambulance company in a major metropolitan market. She is in it to help people and she hates technology. Talk specifically to Sue, her pains, her reservations, her perspective
65. TEST Test, Test, Test But only chance one thing at a time If you have a winner, keep using it until it stops working
66. CREATIVE Which Ad Pulled the Best? This is the paper for you! HOW TO GET THE OREGONIAN DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME
67. CREATIVE Which Ad Pulled the Best? This is the paper for you! HOW TO GET THE OREGONIAN DELIVERED TO YOUR HOME The ad above ran for 20 years and beat all of the alternatives. In particular it won in this comparison by a 3:1 margin
68. CREATIVE Winners: When you find a winner stay with it until it stops producing – i.e. Blue Blockers 20,000,000 pair sold and still selling
69. CREATIVE Most productive sales letter of all time Ran for over 28 years before another Ad beat it
72. CREATIVE Rosser Reeves USP Long running commercials when others thought they were “worn out”
73. CREATIVE Write and design to the customer Be credible, truthful, believable, sincere, genuine, authentic Write to one person … the user/buyer Write conversationally – “You” – oriented copy Remember to consider … What’s going on in the world? What’s affecting your target? What does she get in the mail these days?
74. CREATIVE Begin Right… Merge Left Engage on the right non-judgemental side of the brain first then move to the rational and logical left side The left side can reject any thought The right side admits all thought
75. CREATIVE It’s What’s Between the Ears One side needs to be able to see, hear, and feel what the benefit is. The other side hates confusion, is insecure, doesn’t like change and can lose focus
77. CREATIVE Ear Vs. Eye Which is a more reliable recorder of data? Your whole life you’ve been told, “we remember more of what we than what we hear.” But it isn’t true. In fact clinical tests have proven quite the opposite: the precise wording of what enters our ears profoundly what we see in our mind.
81. CREATIVE Tautology Paradigm Generic Eclectic Enterprise Philosophical Tasked Robust Avoid Harvard, use words the customer can “see”! Shark Sunset Roses Sailboat Alligator Watermelon Apple Rocket
82. CREATIVE Things to Avoid: Unusual or tricky formats that don’t add value Poor taste, double entendres, humor Cleaver or cute – be remembered for being on target instead Content that doesn’t align with your targets interests Over-designing for your equipment or the post office Beginning any sentence with “We”, “Our” or “Name of Company” – Use “YOU” liberally Writing to merchandise vs. market
83. Marketing Focuses on Customers and what they want, need and desire or are motivated to buy
84. Merchandising Focuses on the product, service or company vs. the customer’s wants, needs and desires
88. Lack of compelling headline, focusing on the problem or a specific OFFER. The large photo does NOT speak to your target audience . Lack of a clear and compelling CALL TO ACTION. Lack of testimonials… too much white space. Failure to repeat a CALL TO ACTION or OFFER
92. CREATIVE Here are the 10 most frequently used words in Vic Schwab’s “100 Greatest Headlines” You 31 Your 14 How 12 New 10 Who 8 Money 6 Now 4 People 4 Want 4 Why 4 You/Your Total: 45 New/Now Total: 16
94. HeadlinesSELL On average, five times as many people read the headline copy as read the body copy If you don’t sell the product in your headline, you have wasted 80% of your money. That is why the best headlines include the brand name and promise
95. Headlines The number one job of the headline is to stop your prospect by engaging her over a want, need, motivation or desire she has… Persuade her to read the next line of copy The objective of the next line is to get her to read the next, and so on…
96. Make Every Word Work HARD Headlines make advertising work – the initial headline is 19 times more important than the next 19 or 1,900 words Your target’s time and attention is precious… TEST Is each word important? Can you use a more descriptive or emotive word? Can you be more specific? Remember: Give the Customer what she wants, not what you want to sell
97. Read as a prospect – Edit Ruthlessly Is the headline in step with your primary prospect? Does it make a specific promise to your prospect? Is that ONE big idea visible? Is every word essential? Did you kill every “that”, adjective, adverb, “be verb,” and prepositional phrase? Did you use, “you” or “your” throughout? Is it conversational? Did you use nouns and active verbs? Are paragraphs 4-5 lines or fewer? Do lines have fewer than 45 characters? Is it believable?
98. 5 Questions Is it Persuasive; does it convince or induce the target to take action… Is it informative; does it build a case to for action? Is the information complete; does it include a who, what, when, where and why? Are the off ramps closed? Does it align with your brand?
99. Test, test, test Test to identify what factors contribute to success – avoid opinion Testing protects you from the power and the ignorant… test results can and should trump opinion What to test? Offer List Creative Subject line Etc. Dry run test – do a walk through of your target’s interaction with your piece Preview the sales team so they aren’t surprised and can act in concert Only change one factor at a time – otherwise you’ll never know what made the difference