Copywriting Courses

Following on from last week, here’s…
17 Ways to Ramp Up Profits – Mailing Lists

Last week I gave you a valuable 17 Point Checklist to getting your client’s and prospect’s attention… This is the same checklist that I myself use before sending out any direct mailing material.

Especially in these uncertain economic times, when every cost must be considered for its value to your business, the last thing you’re going to want to do is to waste dollars on sending out ineffective marketing material.

You want to ensure you get the most impact for your money – and this means finding out what works for your market. What works for your ultimate client, and how to get a steady stream of them coming to you, wanting to give you money for what you can offer them.

But first you need to get their attention, and so your marketing’s ability to do this is vital to its success.

So I’m going to go through each of the 17 Points outlined in last week’s Rant… Beginning with:

1. Mailing Lists

My Platinum Members know very well that I am constantly ranting about building and looking after your “herd”. This is because I strongly believe in the importance of a “herd” of clients who you can count on to be interested in what you have to say, and want what it is you’ve got.

In fact, it’s the most valuable thing a business can have.

Ultimately it is your list of clients who will ensure you remain fed and clothed, and the maintaining of your herd will help you to sleep at night regardless of the economic climate. So long as you keep giving a particular group of people what it is they need and want, for so long as you are creating enough value for enough people, you can be sure to remain in business – not just getting by – but extremely well.

Most business owners make the mistake of putting a lot of effort into the cosmetic details of their business such as their logo, signage, pretty doo-dads on the windows etc and while all of these things do improve the physical appearance of your business, they don’t necessary bring clients to you.

Only by having the ability to send out targeted information on great products and services that you offer, directly to people who want to know about them and will appreciate receiving such information, can you ensure a steady stream of clients to your door.

I like to call it a marketing “tap” that you can turn on and off at will. When you “get” this stuff – and it generally takes my Platinum members about a year to really “get” it and implement in their own businesses – it really is the stuff of dreams for the business owner. Imagine being able to ramp up the number of clients coming through your doors to do business with you any time it suits you?

That’s magical stuff, folks. And only possible if you take the effort to collect and maintain a list of qualified prospects who you know are interested in what it is you’ve got to offer.

So what does this have to do with getting your client or prospect’s attention?

Simple. You must be careful to be sending information out to people who are actually going to be interested in getting it. There’s no point taking all of the names out of the phone book and spending hundreds and thousands in trying to get their attention about something that simply has nothing to do with them.

So where your list is concerned, try to keep it as specific and qualified as possible. Be cautious of the quality of rented lists which may be dubious and not your target market. You’ve got to know exactly who you’re marketing to, and make sure you actually market to them.

Otherwise your hard earned marketing dollars will just end up in the trash with the rest of the clutter.

So how do you know who is going to be interested in what it is you have to offer? Well it’s actually not as hard as it sounds – the best clients to market to are those who have actually done business with you before. And the best way to have a list of these people is to…

Collect the names and addresses of everyone who has done business with you! A simple competition works well to do this, or even a birthday club works a treat.

So what are you waiting for? Get started today!!

…Then once you’ve got your list of highly qualified clients, next week I’ll show you how to get your letter opened.

All the Best,

Mal Emery

Committed to Elevating the Financial Wealth and Wellbeing of Society
Through Entrepreneurial Excellence and Guilty of Conspiracy to Create Capitalism

Measure Twice, Cut Once

I promised to give you a valuable 17 Point Checklist to getting your client’s and prospect’s attention… Why? Because in difficult times like ours, there will be a direct correlation between your success, and your ability to get your client’s or prospect’s attention.

So let’s mush on…

Before sending out any direct mail offer (a printed ad, an email message, etc.), you’ll want to review your effort to make sure that you have applied each of the following 17 points properly. These will significantly enhance your chances of having a successful response rate.

Remember that any marketing you do, and any money you spend on that marketing is wasted unless it grabs your prospects attention and gets them hammering on your door wanting to do business with you.

So before you send out anything, be sure to check the following to maximise your return on investment…

1. Mailing Lists
Identify a prospect universe interested in your products or services.

2. Get Your Letter Opened
Use a live stamp, hand written personally addressed envelope, and use teaser copy on the outside.

3. The Headline
Must be meaningful, specific and urge the reader to read on.

4. What’s In It For Me?
They are interested in you for 30 seconds. The rest of what you say should be about WIIFM?

5. Write Like You Talk
Don’t use Mister Professional fancy words

6. Don’t Be Afraid of Long Copy
Copy is not too long, only too boring.

7. Use Advertorial Style
This increases your readership 100 of a %

8. Use Subheadlines for Dual Readership
Some people “scan” your copy, this ensures you cater to that individual.

9. Typestyles
Readership goes up, depending on the font.

10. Use Non-Round Numbers
For some reason, sales go up if you do.

11. Guarantees
Remove the risk for the prospect or buyer, and they will buy much more, more often.

12. Use a two-step process
One shot advertising is the greatest waste of money a business owner can do.

13. Write to One Person
Enter the conversation in your perfect prospect’s mind.

14. Have One Objective Only
If you confuse them, you lose them.

15. Test and Improve
Test small, then adjust according to your test.

16. The Postscript
This is the most read part of your sales material.

17. Code Everything
For testing and measuring, so you can track your results.

Now, those of you who have been around me for a long time may already know what each of these mean.

For those who don’t, be sure to keep an eye out for next week’s Rant, when I go into each of them in more detail and explain exactly how you can use this checklist to make sure your marketing is getting the attention you need in the marketplace, to not just survive but also thrive during these uncertain economic times.

All the Best,

Mal Emery

Committed to Elevating the Financial Wealth and Wellbeing of Society Through Entrepreneurial Excellence and Guilty of Conspiracy to Create Capitalism