In the last post I talked about the phenomenon Pants on the Ground and other successful viral videos. While he’s on minute 14 of his 15 minutes of fame, Larry Platt got so much press that he now has many more business opportunities. While you may not have the platform that launched Larry Platt’s viral video, you certainly have the same potential for your business.

So where do you start?

Start with actually creating videos!

The key is to produce videos on your products & services and on your area of expertise.  Ideas and concepts for viral videos start with your outcome. Your outcome should be to add value,  solve problems, and communicate your ideas and concepts. When you create something of value the marketplace will decide if it’s going to go viral or not.  But it starts with you creating the videos.  So focus less on making them go viral, and more on getting the experience creating videos that add value.

Here are a few more considerations to help you harness the power of viral videos to build and promote your business.

Create how-to videos that showcase your expertise. This will serve as a free teaser to how you can help people.  And, if you do a good job, you will turn prospects who found your video useful into potential customers who are willing to purchase your products or services.

Create a blog post and turn it into a video. Use your blog posting basically as a script to create a short 1-2 minute video. Often, it’s easier for people to watch a short video than spend time reading a blog posting. If it’s on a topic people find relevant, useful, and is something they haven’t heard a million times, they will forward it on to their friends. At the end of the video, mention your website or how people can get more information about you or your services.

Remember, a key component is to tie in a very subtle outro scene to the end of the video that includes your company name and website. This will not only get your name out there, but it will send traffic back to your company website. If  it’s too blatant of a promo then it won’t get forwarded and thus won’t go viral.

In the world of Web 2.0, when there are countless tools you can use to promote your business for virtually no cost, it is imperative that you start exploring new ways to get your name out to targeted prospects. Creating videos is a good start. Don’t think you can’t do this because you don’t have the American Idol exposure. Think about your target market. Viral within your market might only need a few thousand views to have the same impact.

Take action today: Go create videos.

My next post will focus on how to leverage your YouTube channel to get targeted exposure for your videos.  In the meantime… How else have  you seen videos used to successfully promote your business?

This blog is about both, because when you make your marketing materials more effective — you’ll increase your bottom line.

I’m a big believer in systems, formulas and concepts… anything that’s proven to produce positive results. Here is a basic formula that you probably have heard of… or at least are familiar with if you’ve ever read any good sales material.

It’s called the AIDA Formula.

AIDA is an acronym for the formula used in creating powerful and effective marketing communications, sales letters, and is widely used in advertising too.

A – Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer. Stand out!

I – Interest: raise customer interest by demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits.

D – Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.

A – Action: lead customers towards taking a specific and measurable action.

Gather up a few samples of your marketing materials or view your website and ask yourself these questions:

1. What’s the PURPOSE for the specific marketing Piece or web page? Again, the AIDA formula applies to your website, print materials and Radio or TV advertising too!
   1. Is it to provide information & support the sale? – Is it to help prospects gain knowledge? Or…
   2. Is it to get the prospect to take immediate action? – For selling & promotion?
2. Is there an attention getting headline? Sub-head?
3. Is there a clear Benefit Message?
4. Who is Your Target Audience?
5. Is it designed with Your Prospect in Mind?
6. How would you score this piece on effectiveness from 1 to 5 stars with 5 being very effective-and 1 being boring and a cure for insomnia?
7. Always ask yourself: “Does this convey the message I want my reader to get?”

Now, make a note of this Action Step: Review all of your materials and see if they follow the AIDA formula, and then identify your super stars! You might be surprised by what you find when you look at your materials through the AIDA formula. This exercise will help you identify which pieces are designed well, and which ones need to be re-designed.

Of course the best measurement for any marketing materials is the response it generates. But when you’re planning your designs you’ll have a head start when you follow the AIDA formula.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s see what you should do when planning new marketing materials? Our goal is to follow the AIDA method. Remember, regardless of your role in the process, if you’re the CEO, Marketing Director or staff member, it’s important for you to understand and use these strategies even if you’re only using desktop publishing or creating more elaborate materials.

Plan ahead by answering the 5 W’s… This is very important.

Get focused on:

Who are you designing to? Who is the target prospect?

What do you want them to know or do?

Why should they care? Why should they pay attention?

Where can they get more info?

When should they respond or take action?

It’s helpful if you actually create a Word Document or template with the 5W’s… Who, What, Why, Where, and When? This will help you and/or your designer understand the purpose of the piece.

Now that you’ve have an understanding of AIDA and the 5W’s, I’d like to explore the two main parts that make up every marketing piece or advertisement… The first part is crafting a compelling message-writing the copy (the words you’re going to use to communicate value). The second part is the layout & design.

Subscribe to this marketing blog’s RSS feed in the upper right hand corner to be notifed of future blog postings where we’ll explore more on how to design effective marketing materials. And of course, post your feedback below!

Whether you’re an actual designer, the CEO, Marketing Director, Entrepreneur or on the team, I’ve got success strategies for every stage in the development process. I am going to assume you already know who you target markets are, and have a clear understanding of your products and services… If not, that’s the first thing to put on your list of action steps.

There is only one reason to create marketing materials… to get your prospects to take action.

This blog posting and video comes with a little warning… because I’m not known for sugar coating my marketing advice. My philosophy is “add value-make a profit” and I want to give you insights that can make a positive impact in all of your marketing efforts… without worrying about your ego or office politics. So if you’re feelings are easily hurt when someone gives you constructive feedback… you may want to read a different blog posting. But if you are ready to get better results-come along as we explore how to improve your results.

I’d like you to make a list of the marketing materials and methods that you’re using now:

Here are a just a few ideas to get your list started:

• Websites
• Ezines
• Banners
• Blogs
• Auto-responders
• Thank you Pages
• Brochures
• Flyers
• Sales letters
• Direct Mail
• Postcards
• Sales letters
• Newsletters
• Catalogs
• Presentation folders
• Media kits
• Signage
• Point-of-Purchase displays
• Product Packaging
• Advertisements in different forms, like radio, tv and print, And so on.

Why do you think most marketing materials don’t get the results you expect?

Well, let’s see if this scenario sounds familiar?

It’s Tuesday morning and you’re gathered around your conference table with your marketing staff, (which might be just you) and your goal is to create a new marketing brochure for one of your new products or services. So you start by spreading out all of your competitors marketing materials to get your ideas flowing.

You read the headline on their brochure, “Full line of Services” so you jot down “Complete line of Services” on your note pad. Next you look at their stock photos and graphics and think, we’ve got something similar to that we can use and away you go! You finish with a nice looking piece… copied after your competitors, with no way of knowing if the competition’s marketing piece was actually effective.

Or maybe, you’re lucky enough to hire an ad agency to help you with the design. Wonderful, they should be experienced to help you create a masterpiece. You give them your objectives and ideas. They create the collateral materials for you. You pay them well for their services. Everyone’s happy. Or are they?

The customer might not be so happy. Why? Because the typical ad agency is in the business of creating “image” type advertising pieces that makes the company look good-often times without effective marketing messages or specific action steps. So they design your piece with a big picture of your building, your logo, or your company president/CEO. Heck, maybe all three.

The problem is that the customer doesn’t really care about your building, logo or even the CEO-they care about what’s in it for them. They want the benefits of your products and services. They want to be informed, entertained and educated. They want solutions to their specific wants and needs.

I heard it all before… “My agency has won several awards”-but awards don’t sell products-marketing messages do. And if the person in charge of the creative hasn’t spent their own money learning the hard way or isn’t experienced in marketing tactics, then you’re doomed to the crap that’s filling up most land fills.

Copycat marketing hurts you and your customer.

Lastly, you cannot measure the performance of your marketing piece or website by how much you spend on it. It’s not what it costs; it’s the response it generates and the profit that it produces that makes it worth it.

So, now that you have your list and materials… go through them through the eyes of the prospect. Ask yourself if you have a compelling headline, sub-headline, attractive offer, social proof, testimonials, and specific measurable action step? Rate them from 1 to 10 with 10 being best. Then strive to improve your results.

Do have examples of great marketing materials or sites? Post a comment below with a link and tell me why you think it worked or didn’t work?

Let’s explore the three critical elements in every direct mail campaign.

They are: the LIST, the OFFER, and the CREATIVE.

Think of it as the WHO, the WHAT, and the HOW. Don’t worry, we’ll go to into depth with each one. Without a doubt the LIST is the most critical. Please write that down. The LIST is your single most powerful and most important element for direct mail. If you are going to be profitable with direct mail you must make certain that the right audience gets your message.

For example, don’t waste your time mailing me anything on cooking. I’ve grown up on my own, eating out a majority of my life. When I built my house I asked if they could leave out the kitchen because I don’t use it. The architect thought I was joking. The only thing I cook is if it says, unwrap and rotate every 30-seconds. So no matter how creative your package, I’m still not interested in anything related to cooking offers.

On the other hand, YOU CAN send me anything related to outdoor activities. I love hiking, camping, cycling and sailing, so offers related to those activities will definitely catch my attention. If I send my innovative and outstanding package to you on a topic you are not interested in, you won’t open or read it. But if I send you a mediocre mailing with an average offer on a subject that you love, there’s a good chance you’ll read it and possibly respond.

You can send an okay offer to a great list and make money, but even the best offer to the wrong list will fail.

Think about marketing LISTS in two categories. First is your in-house list. Your in-house list should be made up of responses from your outbound marketing, website, contact management system, past leads and customers. These are people that are qualified prospects that have either requested more information or have already purchased from you. They are contacts that you already own and can mail to when you want. This is your in-house database that should be set up to track relevant variables, like complete contact information, demographics, purchase history, last contact and last sale date. How frequently do they order, and how much have they spent with you are important questions to know when you’re creating offers for your in-house list.

Make a note right now to create a backup of your list. Protect your customer database as one of your most important assets. There are way too many horror stories I could tell you of customers who failed to follow this advice, only to have their list stolen by a disgruntled employee or corrupted from poor list management. Yes, you have to manage your lists. If you’re the type of company that has multiple database lists in various software systems, make it a priority to get them organized so you can use them. You need to clean your lists to maintain list accuracy.

As your database ages, you will be wasting valuable marketing dollars by mailing to bad addresses or outdated contacts. Typically, 3% a month move, retire or die. That means a 1-yr old list is only 75% accurate, and a 3-yr old list is only 50% accurate. And to capture discounted postage rates, the Post Office requires you clean your list using National Change of Address services, also known as N.C.O.A. and C.A.S.S. certification. Another way to help clean your list is to mail First Class with the mail piece marked with Address Service Requested. Undeliverable mail will then be forwarded or returned to you so you can correct or delete bad contacts.

The second category of lists is a RENTED LIST. These come in every imaginable size, source and criteria available allowing you to pin-point new prospects. There are list brokers that can help you identify the most responsive prospect lists for your mail campaign. Typically, you rent a list for a one-time mailing, with any contacts that respond to your offer being added to your in-house list, thus becoming yours to market to again and again.

One of the best sources for finding a reputable list broker is the Standard Rate and Data Service’s (S.R.D.S) direct mail book, which can be found online or at your local library. A list broker will help you find a list that will meet your criteria with minimal waste. Subscribe to the RSS Feeds to be notified of new posts. Use the link in the upper right corner and post your comments or questions below.

I was at my desk when my new assistant brought me a stack of the day’s mail. She said, Don’t you want me sort this out for you so you don’t have to waste your time with the junk mail? I said, no thanks… I’ll like to look through it all. Why you may wonder? Because I know that new marketing ideas are found everywhere… especially in direct mail pieces. Sure, I sort my mail over the waste basket like everyone else. One stack for keepers and one for the trash, except my sorting process is a bit different. I keep the regular business correspondence & interesting mail pieces. I pay attention to the design and marketing messages of the mail pieces that catch my eye.

To me it’s not Junk Mail… It’s Idea Mail.

I like to study them for ideas. Ideas I can model to find new concepts that can be adapted to projects I might be working on. Key word– adapted–not copied. I look for interesting headlines, teaser copy, and creative designs. Companies spend millions on direct mail because it works… While a vast majority of it may end up in the trash, it’s your job to make sure that if you’re going to use direct mail, you do it effectively… otherwise you’re just killing trees and filling up landfills… and worse…wasting a lot of money.

I’ve worked with several clients and students of my marketing boot-camps that say direct mail doesn’t work. It certainly does work, but you need to follow the rules that we’re going to explore today. I use direct mail in conjunction with a multitude of other marketing methods to generate leads and sales. Recent statistics show that even with increases in postage and paper costs, marketers are continuing to spend over 70 billion, that’s billion with a B, on direct mail.

This blog posting is about making your direct mail efforts profitable.

First, a few clarifications are in order. The terms, direct marketing, direct-response and direct mail are easily confused by many people… even experienced marketers. So, to clarify, direct marketing typically refers to marketing efforts directed at the end-user when a retailer or distributor is in the middle. Direct-response advertising is any advertising method (print, broadcast or direct mail packages) that invites the recipient to contact you directly. with a specific call-to-action. Direct mail uses the mail service to deliver your sales piece directly to the mailbox of your prospect. I specialize in direct-response marketing because it allows me to solicit direct responses, hence the name, which is specific and measurable. By measuring the results, I can tweak the process until it’s profitable… thus creating a virtual lead-generating cash machine.

By the end of this show, you’ll never look at direct mail quite the same way again. You’ll be armed with the secrets of successful mailings that you can use to grow your profits. My goal is to help you increase your response rates, lower your cost per qualified lead and make you more money. If you’re using direct mail, do you know your response rates? Do you know how much you’re spending to generate a lead from the number of pieces that you’re mailing? Without measuring the costs, responses and profitability of the mailings you cannot insure your success.

Oh, one more quick clarification. Direct Mail is really categorized in two types. Internet-direct Mail (sent via EMAIL) and Traditional Direct Mail sent through the post office or shipping company.

Today, our focus is on traditional direct mail, but many of the strategies apply to both methods. Direct mail offers unique advantages over other media. You can selectively target a list of customers within your market. It can be personalized to your prospects allowing you to provide detailed information required to motivate them to take action. It can help you build a database with valuable information to help your sales efforts. It’s flexible because you can send small or large amount of marketing messages in a variety of printed formats, including letters, postcards and brochures. And as I’ve mentioned it’s measurable allowing you to quantify the results.

Think about your goals for direct mail… You may want to drive traffic into a retail store… Or generate traffic to a web site. Maybe you want to build your database, improve customer service or build relationships through special offers? Certainly you have products or services that can benefit from power of direct mail.

Subscribe to the RSS feed to be automatically notified for Part 2 on Free Publiciy.

Oh, and follow me on twitter.com at www.Twitter.com/Prime_Concepts

In today’s competitive marketplace-it’s critical that you make the most of your marketing efforts. A great way to accomplish this is with a solid marketing plan, combined with a marketing calendar. It sounds like common sense, but some things that are simple aren’t always easy-however, they can be with the right strategy.

If you’re like most of the businesses we work with you want to grow your business? Maybe you want to introduce a new product or service? Or differentiate yourself from the competition… or maybe you just want to sell more to your current and new customers…

Well, you’re watching the right show. Grab your note pad and pen and let’s get started!

I’ve used a four-step system to measure performance & generate millions of dollars sales. It starts with a basic understanding of these four questions.

Second question: 2. How many of these prospects get converted into customers?

The third question is: 3. “What’s the up-front profit on the first sale?

And the forth question is 4. “What’s the long-term value of the customer/client?”

Can you answer those questions about your business? Take them into consideration as you implement new marketing strategies.

To apply this system, select a specific promotion and then track your results!

For example, if you send a postcard mailing to 2,500 prospects and the mailing cost is $ .65 each, then the answer to question #1 is $1,625 dollars. That’s (2,500 x .65).

If you get 50 new customers from the mailing, then you know how many leads were converted and have the answer to question #2. Take the 50 Customers divided by the 2500 prospects and you get a conversion rate of 2% percent. That’s (50 / 2500 = .02 or 2%)

If you earn $100 on the first transaction-you raised $5,000, that’s (50 customers x 100 each=5,000) and you have the answer to question #3. This also let’s you calculate gross profit on that mailing. Take the $5,000 revenue MINUS the expense of $1,625 and that leaves you with a profit of $ 3,375 dollars.

Next, consider the long-term value of gaining a new 50 customers. Question #4 is the most important question. Sometimes you may lose money or just break-even on the actual promotion, but in the long-run with referrals and repeat sales, you can be very profitable.

Sure there are other considerations too, like the overlap of other promotions, different time frames and the synergistic effect of your other marketing efforts. Don’t let the math scare you. The point is to make sure that your marketing efforts are producing profitable results.

“No one plans to fail… but many fail to plan” Face it. Having a marketing plan saves you money, saves you time, keeps you focused, and says that you’re serious about your business. “Planning without action is futile… Action without planning is FATAL”

Is your business acting without a marketing plan? Do you feel overwhelmed, over-worked, or frustrated trying to get it all done? Well, a marketing plan won’t solve ALL of your problems, but it will help your organization increase the chances of success.

A marketing plan is a road map detailing the route you’ll take to get your business noticed by potential clients. By following a properly crafted plan, you’ll know what to do and why you re doing it, while avoiding some of the mistakes that can cost you money and future growth.

Subscribe to the RSS feed or follow me, Ford Saeks on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Prime_Concepts

Start by putting yourself in the mind of your prospect.  Think about what they want and why they would take action.

Most importantly, target your message to each type of specific prospect.  This applies to your website, print materials, and multimedia.

Sending the same marketing message to multiple markets waters down the message and will most likely reduce responses.  Aim for sending specific messages to specific audiences.

For example, I’m promoting my Profit-Rich Marketing Event to three specific target markets; Professional Speakers, Corporations, and Non-Profit Organizations. Each target market has unique reasons for attending. One message simply won’t work.

The headlines and sales copy for each target market is unique.  Here’s what I mean…

Market #1:
Professional speakers, authors, and consultants — Headline:

Earn What You’re Really Worth!
Get More Bookings! Sell More Products! 
Create Residual Income from Your Expertise!

Market #2:
Business owners, entrepreneurs and marketing professionals — Headline:

How to Ignite Creativity, Improve Your
Marketing & Sales, Grow Your Customer Base,
Get a Competitive Edge and Increase Your Profits!

Market #3:
Non-Profit, Not-for-Profit Organizations & Associations — Headline:

How to Grow Your Non-Profit Organization, Increase Membership,
Reduce Attrition, Attract Funding and Make the Most of All Your Marketing Efforts!

Each message is tailored to the specific audience. You can see the examples of this target marketing technique at http://www.marketingmasteryevent.com/

Think about your business… are you trying to send the same message to multiple markets? The benefits that appeal to consumers are not typically the same benefits that appeal to dealers, distributors, and retail stores.  

Target Marketing Action Items:

1. Review the sales and marketing copy on your promotional materials and website to ensure that it’s targeted to the specific type of reader.

2. Remember, you want to attract their attention using benefits and then substantiate your claims with features.

3. Set up tracking key codes, special links, phone extensions, etc. so you can track responses.

4. Work to improve your conversion rates.

Any questions? Enter your comments or questions below.

Prevent Web Design Disasters

Way too often people focus on the actual “design” steps of web design — the look and feel, colors and so on — and completely miss the mark when it comes to creating an effective design that evokes the proper actions.

Here are a couple of key points to keep in mind the next time you’re planning to create or re-make a website.

First, you need to get clear on what you want the site visitor to do when they visit.

What are the main types of visitors that you want to attract and what information do they need? So often, designers focus on the company or the products and they forget the main point of the site… to communicate something, to get the visitors to take some sort of action, like fill out a form, buy something, interact, read through a series of pages, download something, etc.

My point is that, as a designer, you should get clear on the OUTCOME and PURPOSE of the site and make sure you design the site with that in mind.

Second, before you even design, you should mind map the site either with software like mindjet.com or use 3 x 5 cards, using one card for each page and lay them out on a table or wall so you can determine the best flow and organization for the site. This helps you understand how many sections you’ll need, what type of forms, the navigation scheme and what major graphical elements are needed.

Third, help the client compile the “page titles” and “top keywords – keyword phrases” that you’re going to use when designing the site. That way, you can make sure that each page has the proper page titles to help the search engines properly catalog each page. Sure, there are tons of other SEO stuff that you can do, and as a designer, you need to incorporate that in the process if you’re really going to help your client or for your own website.

Now some designers will tell you that it’s not their responsibility to do the marketing and SEO type stuff and if so, then just make sure that someone is in-charge of the marketing messages on your site, because without the benefits, keywords and action steps, the site won’t produce results. Oh, and if you think that this only applies to sites that sell something… you’re mistaken… because every site has a purpose and if not, why make it?

Keep in mind that colors, photos, graphics and other design elements are there to help you get the visitor to READ the “text” or “copy” (the words) on your site. Text is what sells… Graphics and Photos attract attention. You need to use both of them in balance to make a great site. A great-looking site with the wrong copy is worthless and even the best copy in the world on a poorly designed site won’t be good either.

Of course, as a marketer, I’d tell you to do your research on what your target audience wants and expects to make it congruent with your industry or profession. Then test, test, test and modify elements that aren’t performing, continually tweaking things until you get the best results.

Got any other ideas or suggestions? Post your comments below.

If you ever made up a story for your children, you’re a copywriter. If you’ve ever gathered with friends as a teenager and told ghost stories, you can write copy. Great copywriters simply paint visual pictures of events. Events that happened in the past, events that may happen in the future, or events that won’t ever happen, unless you buy their product. You either paint the picture of the joy the prospect will get using your product, or you paint the picture of the hardship he will continue to endure without it. Why?

Because people love stories. No one is interested in dry facts and statistics about your product. But they will be captivated by a story that tells them how it will impact their life. And the more emotion that you bring into that story, the more compelling it will be to your prospect.

The reality is that if you can talk, you can write great copy.

Start right away… go get some of your marketing materials or look over your website and see if you are writing emotion-based, conversational-style copy using stories that people can relate to in their life.

A great source for learning more about copywriting is Randy Gage’s “How to Become A Copywriting Stud” home study course. Get the details at www.cashcopywriting.com It’s mandatory for all of my sales and marketing staff and I know it will help you too… that is if you want to increase your sales and profits!

“How to Become a Copywriting Stud!”

Write Killer Copy for Sensational Sales of Any Product or Service, Even If You Flunked English…

This time I thought I’d offer you a few “secrets” I’ve found that can help grow your list fast. These 10 list-building tips may sound obvious, but too often they are overlooked by novice Internet marketers. In part 1 of this blog, I’ll give you the first five, and then in my next blog, I’ll reveal the remaining five.

Secret #1: Add a Refer-a-friend form to your site. Consider placing these forms on your subscription and order “thank you” pages. Remember to add links in your footer navigation too. Using these helps make your viral marketing efforts easier. Many shopping cart services include tell-a-friend forms and there are several free ones that your webmaster can find online.

Secret #2: Offer incentives to give visitors that “extra push” to subscribe or fill out a form. Create a free e-book or special report as a bonus that has an opt-in form for your e-mail list, and then give it away like crazy. When people give it away, those who download it will become members of your list too. A free e-book is relatively simple to create, and can become the foundation of a strong list-building campaign. The key to making this work is that you must be willing to give away something with a real perceived value to encourage people to sign up to your lists.

Secret #3: Your website must have an effective landing page design. A landing page is simply what marketers refer to as the page your prospect visits to read and take action. You can have multiple pages offering your sign-up box. The key is to position it predominately on a page without overwhelming the other content on that page. I like to position our subscription boxes in the right-hand column of our sites and place the “Contact Us” link at the top and bottom of each page. Test different placements, pop-ups, graphics, and text to see which combination works best for your site. 

Secret #4: Create leverage. You get leverage and grow your list through Joint Venture (JV) deals. Joint Ventures are one of the most powerful ways to build your list fast. Who do you know in your niche that reaches your type of prospects but who is not one of your direct competitors? Contact them and set up a deal where they send a message of value to THEIR list with links promoting your site or ezine. You need to offer something so compelling or informative that your new JV partner will want to send it to their list. They benefit by providing their subscribers with exceptional content and YOU benefit from the increased traffic. Another JV method is to swap sign-up forms on your “thank you” pages. Every time someone gets to a “thank you” page you then have the opportunity for that prospect to opt-in to your competitor’s list (and vice versa). The key is to check your stats so that’s it’s a win-win relationship.   

Secret #5: Use mini-sites with squeeze pages offering “Free Courses.” A mini-site is a smaller website that specializes in super-specific content with one purpose in mind–to capture your visitor’s e-mail address. While these types of sites probably won’t get very good rankings by the search engines, they can be excellent viral and JV marketing tools. For example, my company Prime Concepts Group sells a product line of prosperity-related books, CDs and DVDs, so we created a mini-site at http://www.freeprosperitycourse.com/. It’s a one-page site offering one prosperity lesson a week for six weeks from prosperity guru Randy Gage. When prospects subscribed to the free course, they got two best-selling e-books and free success coaching software. Next, we wrote a compelling sales letter in the form of an article about prosperity that included links to our mini-site offering the course for free. The final step was to contact other site owners and encourage them to promote the course to their lists by placing a blurb about it in their “References & Links” sections. The results were phenomenal! We generated over 20,000 subscriptions in the first month of that promotion. Those subscribers received the lessons and bonuses… and were automatically added to a series of auto-responder messages that not only delivered the lessons, but also promoted up-sell offers.

Are you starting to see how many of these ideas overlap to give you exponential power in building your list? In part two I’ll offer you five more secrets to powerful e-mail list building.

For more Internet marketing techniques to help you increase search engine rankings and generate more traffic to your site, check out the “Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers: 101 Proven Tactics & Tools You Can Use to Build Your Business.” Visit http://www.internetprofitkit.com for details.

I’m frequently asked what the number #1 secret is for building a large, targeted e-mail list. To my mind, it would have to be QUALITY CONTENT and benefits that drive the most new subscriptions to a list. Get clear on who you’re trying to reach and what information do they need or desire. Make a list of benefits, solutions, or resources and then make sure your site, contact forms, and subscription boxes communicate the reasons why prospects should give you their e-mail address.

Set up a business-related newsletter and offer it to those who those who opt-in to your lists. Make sure the content is well-written and relevant, and think about including a place where readers can respond. Look at your content through the eyes of your prospect. Is it just shameless promotions or helpful messages to educate, entertain and move them along in the sales process? 

The next secret for effective list-building is to Build Trust and Credibility with your subscribers. Do what you say, deliver what you promise, deliver helpful content with purpose and you’ll bond the relationship. Keeping them on the list is important so you can market to them in the future and keep the relationship alive. 
  
The third secret is to improve your e-mail “P” FACTOR (that’s “P” as in “Personality”).  As an action step, go look at your website and see if there is any personality that helps you connect with your target audience. Is your site boring with impersonal manufacturer-type instructional language, or does your site reflect a human factor, filled with conversational copy? Use graphics of people to enhance your website and attract attention to the information, but don’t get carried away with overused stock images. Help visitors feel that real people are behind the site, waiting to communicate and help. 
 
The fourth secret is strong COPYWRITING. It seems I mention this in every blog, but it’s so important and relevant when it comes to list building. It’s important for you to review the words you use to entice visitors to subscribe to your lists. Make each word you use descriptive and important. Remember that text is what sells and graphics attract attention. Review headlines, offers, and action steps. Read and rewrite your sign-up forms, thank you pages and opt-in messages to make sure they are compelling, interesting, and informative.

The fifth secret of list building is to implement the 90/10 RULE, which states that 90% of your e-mail correspondence to your list should be value-based content, with 10% used for promotional purposes. Like any rule, there are exceptions, but if you blatantly and repeatedly just try to sell, sell, sell, you’ll burn out your list. By delivering helpful information that your subscribers want to get, you’ll keep them subscribed to your list. If you offer real value, they won’t mind if you offer resources to learn more. Review your recent e-zine if you have one, and see if you’re following the 90/10 Rule.

Secret number six is to create a VIRAL MARKETING effect. This method refers to the engineering of word-of-mouth e-mail referrals. Ask yourself what could you do or offer on your site that would be so compelling that people would talk about it and tell their friends and colleagues to visit your site. To build your list virally, offer a product that has a viral aspect to it—for example, it can only be downloaded if the person downloading it has to recommend it to three friends to get the download. Imagine the viral impact of something like that! You can grow indefinitely in an exponential fashion.

I’ve just given you six powerful secrets for list building. Start implementing them today and you’ll be well on your way to a larger, more relevant list that will help you sell more product faster. Good luck!

For more Internet marketing techniques to help you increase search engine rankings and generate more traffic to your site, check out the “Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers: 101 Proven Tactics & Tools You Can Use to Build Your Business.” Visit http://www.internetprofitkit.com for details.

Is it the offer itself, the graphic design, or maybe the copy? Nope. The single most important element of every direct-mail campaign is the completeness, accuracy, and relevance of your mailing list.

Without a doubt, it’s the quality of your list that will make or break your direct-mail campaign. If you are going to be profitable with direct mail, you must make certain that the right audience gets your message.

For example, don’t waste your time mailing me anything on cooking. I’ve grown up on my own, eating out the majority of my life. When I built my house, I asked if they could leave out the kitchen because I don’t use it. The architect thought I was joking. So no matter how creative you make your offer, I’m still not going to be interested in anything related to cooking.

Before you do anything else you must determine where your list is going to come from. There are basically only two kinds of marketing lists—in-house and rented.

Your in-house list should be made up of responses from your outbound marketing, website, contact management system, past leads, and customers. These are qualified prospects that have either requested more information or have already purchased from you. Your in-house database should be set up to track relevant variables, like complete contact information, demographics, purchase history, last contact, and last sale date. How frequently a customer orders, and how much they’ve spent with you are pretty important things to know when you’re creating offers for your in-house list. 

This is as good a time as any to remind you to protect your customer database–it is one of your most important assets.  I’ve heard way too many horror of businesses that failed to follow this advice, only to have their list stolen or deleted by a disgruntled employee, or corrupted from poor list management (yes, you have to manage your lists!).

If you’re the type of company that has multiple database lists in various software systems, make it a priority to get them organized so you can actually use them. Clean your lists periodically to maintain their accuracy and avoid wasting valuable marketing dollars by mailing to old addresses or outdated contacts. As a rule of thumb, figure roughly 3% of your list relocates, retires, or dies every month. That means a one-year-old list is only 75% accurate, and a three-year-old list is only 50% accurate. How old is YOUR list?

To capture discounted postage rates, the U.S. Post Office requires that you clean your list using National Change of Address Services (N.C.O.A.) and C.A.S.S. certification. Another way to help clean your list is to mail your materials First Class with the piece marked with “Address Service Requested.” Undeliverable mail will then be forwarded or returned to you so you can correct or delete inaccurate contacts.

The second kind of list is a Rented list. These come in every imaginable size, source, and criteria available, and allow you to pin-point new prospects. There are list brokers who can help you identify the most responsive prospect lists for your mail campaign. Typically, you rent a list for a one-time mailing, with any contacts that respond to your offer being added to your in-house list, thus becoming yours to market to again and again.

One of the best sources for finding a reputable list broker is the Standard Rate and Data Service’s (S.R.D.S) direct-mail book, which can be found online or at your local library.  A list broker will help you find a list that will meet your criteria with minimal waste.  

A few questions you should ask the list broker when searching for Rented lists include what is the deliverability guarantee (in most cases it’s 93 %.)? How much will you be compensated if your return rate from incorrect addresses is higher than expected? What is the source of the list (was it compiled or is it a response list?)?
A response list means it was created from actual responses to an offer; usually yields better results. Are the responses from mail, phone, TV, radio or other media? How old is the list and when was it cleaned? What kind of selection criteria is available? Is a sample mail piece required for approval prior to rental? 

Again, your list is the most critical component, so take time to search for the best list based on your criteria. 

To select the criteria for your list you have to know the audience you want to reach. Who are your best customers? Where do they live? What do you know about their habits and behaviors? The more you know about your current customers, the better use you’ll be able to make of your list broker’s experience.

Use rented lists ethically.  Most lists are rented for one-time mailings (although you can usually pay for multiple uses) and have minimum purchase requirements. Don’t even think about using the list to more than once—most are salted with fake names that allow list brokers to track who’s mailing without authorization. 

A clean, comprehensive, and accurate list is more important than any other aspect of a direct-mail campaign. You can spend thousands of dollars on expensive paper, neon colors, and irresistible copy, but if your message never gets to your prospects, you’re just throwing good money out the window. And you’ve got to have better ways to spend your money than that, right?

Ford Saeks is the president and CEO of Prime Concepts Group. In addition to being a professional speaker, published author, and regular contributor to industry magazines, Ford is an expert in direct and Internet marketing, having helped his clients sell millions of dollars of products through his innovative marketing and branding campaigns. If you would like to schedule an appointment with Ford, call him at 1-800-946-7804 or 1-316-942-1111.

The Online Aspect

Second only to the actual copy you write for your website, having an easy-to-navigate layout and attractive design is critically important. I always recommend that clients take enough time to think about how they want their website to function and “look.” Only with an easy-to-navigate design and solid marketing copy will your prospects “see” your entire marketing message.

I also recommend to my clients that they start out with a thumbnail sketch of their ideal website. The benefits of this approach are that it is fast and that captures the “feel” they want for their site. Even if you’re a skilled graphic designer and love using your computer, you’ll still get more benefit from creating a rough sketch first. If you’re the person in charge of the project, but not the person who will actually create the design, a thumbnail will also help make sure that your designer understands your overall vision.

After you have a rough sketch of your entire site, it’s time to start creating mock pages. As you progress, keep in mind the “visual syntax”—that’s a fancy term that simply means the visual order of the elements on each page. Just like words and language have an accepted order, so does design. Scientific studies have shown that if you hand out a flyer to a group of people, most of those people will read it in roughly in a  “Z” pattern that goes from the top left to right, then down to the bottom of the page, again reading it from left to right.

The way your designer arranges the elements on a page (photos, the size of the text, the font styles, graphics, illustrations, colors, boxes, lines, etc.) determines its visual syntax. If they don’t follow the “Z” pattern of most readers, you could easily end up with a confusing design with misplaced elements that leave readers confused and your message completely lost.

Confused visual syntax is the biggest issue I see with typical ad agencies and especially with in-house desktop publishers. Remember, pictures attract attention, but prospects still have to be able to read and follow the flow of your copy to do what you want them to do!

Once your visual syntax is in place, you need to focus on the message itself. The content of your website—and all of your marketing materials—needs to evoke a feeling of strong emotion in your prospects. When done right, prospects should finish reading your words thinking “I want that product!” “I need that product!” and “I need it right now!”

After visual syntax and emotion-driven content, there are a few other “musts” to keep in mind. Even if you’ve already got a website up and running, why not take a couple minutes to review this list and then see how your site compares?

• Include a tracking element . A tracking element is a unique code that tells you where prospects are coming from. It can be a special telephone extension, a person’s name, etc.—anything that helps you measure the response to your marketing pieces and tells you where the traffic is coming from. Tracking is essential if you want to test your piece’s success.

• Check your work. Just like when you were in school, spelling and grammar counts. In fact, since an embarrassing typo or poor grammar on your website can actually turn customers away, it’s even more important because it’s costing you money! Save yourself the agony and embarrassment and double (or even triple!) check everything for completeness and accuracy. A website with a six-digit phone number or the address of a previous location won’t generate sales, but it might cost you some.

• Don’t forget the basics. Customers don’t buy products, they buy solutions. They have needs, and are willing to pay you to have those needs fulfilled. The most-successful marketers know that solution-based content is king; it helps your visitors—and the all-important search engines!—find you. Make sure to have redundant and clear navigation throughout your site. Use titles, keywords, alt tags and meta tags on every single page.

Be sure to include sections that cater to specific audiences, such as retail, wholesale, etc. Interactivity is a great way to get prospects involved in your site, so include something for your visitors to do–fill in a form, take a survey, watch a product demo, etc. And make sure every page on your site includes a clear and specific action step that tells prospects exactly what it is you want them to do—buy a bedliner, sign up for your ezine, or ‘click here’ for special online savings.

Don’t Stop With Your Website

Even the best, most incredible website in the world can’t reach its full potential without the consistent and coordinated support of your other marketing methods (sales letters, brochures, direct-mail pieces, and p.o.p displays, advertisements, etc.). These have been around a long time because they work, and when well thought out and designed to support your website efforts, traditional marketing methods will help you connect with more customers, more effectively. Following are some tips for your traditional marketing tools.

• Sales letters. Write the letter straight through, in a “conversational” style, then go back and edit it later. Alternate short and long paragraphs to satisfy both kinds of prospects—those who take the time to actually read your entire piece, and those who just scan it. Letters should be as long as necessary to get your prospect to take the desired action. Include a post script (P.S.) restating the main benefits or specific call to action.

• Brochures. Use color! In most cases it improves response. Be sure that your message draws the reader in, and flows like a fireman’s “bucket brigade,” logically transitioning from one paragraph to the next. When designing a brochure, don’t forget its visual syntax. Write meaningful, informative captions that call for action—don’t just label them with people’s names or product names. Put your complete contact info and action steps on the inside and the outside (front/back).

• Direct-mail pieces. Direct-mail marketing campaigns are only as good as your mailing list. After a current and accurate mailing list, the next most important element is the envelope you’re going to send it out in. If your direct-mail piece doesn’t get opened or delivered to the proper person, it doesn’t matter how wonderful the offer is… it’s still going in the trash. Test various envelope sizes and colors to see which get the best response (stay away from red envelopes, as post office scanners and sorters often have trouble with them). Make it clear why prospects should respond and use action steps to tell them exactly how to do it.

For maximum effectiveness, make sure your marketing campaigns are coordinated and multi-layered. Yes, a website is critical, but just having a site isn’t enough these days. Yours must have a visitor-friendly design, easy-to-use navigation and interesting copy. Once you’ve got the look and function you want, continue to support your online marketing efforts with tried-and-true traditional marketing methods such as sales letters, direct mailings, and brochures to make sure you’ve got all the bases covered.

You stand a far better chance to rank well with specific keyword phrases where there’s much less competition. The resulting traffic–because it is more highly targeted–should also be a much higher quality too.

From industry-dominating Google, to Yahoo, to MSN Search, and all of the various other search engines, each search engine has a different keyword density calculation. Some search engines permit heavier keyword numbers and density on the page, while others (like Google), have much more strict density levels allowed. The placement of keywords, in any number of locations on the page, has different results on the various search engines as well. 

Another factor in your search engine rankings is the proper use of Keyword Text Links (also known as Anchor Text links). For example, if I wanted to create a link for one of my products–let’s say the Internet Profit Kit–I’d link the words “internet profit kit” and not the words “click here.” That’s because the words “Click here” don’t mean anything to the search engines.

As an action step… take a moment and go through your website, looking at the words you used in your links (not just to pages within your site, but pages with links off your site as well).Remember content is king, and using keywords in your hyperlinks helps your search engine rankings.

This brings us to the concept of Link Exchange Reciprocity & Popularity.

Having links from other popular sites to your site is preferable to having a bunch of links OFF your site. While it’s true that links are very important to helping a site gain visibility and search engine traffic, in the long run quick-fix link schemes aren’t going to increase rankings for your site. I know this is a touchy subject and there are many theories as to the validity and value of reciprocal links. In my experience I’ve found that it depends on your topic and niche, but generally it’s helpful if you have keyword links coming into you from popular sites.   

Think about your target audience and how you can let them know your site exists. It’s really just marketing, plain and simple. You have a website and a business that is presumably better, cheaper and more friendly than other sites out there and it needs to be marketed. You may even have to spend a little money to publicize your site with traditional direct mail, newspaper, magazine, and even TV ads. 

And then of course there’s Pay-Per-Click. When used properly PPC can be highly effective. The more visible your site is, the more it will be talked about in the right circles, and the more links and traffic you’ll get.

The point is people have to find your site one way or another while you’re waiting for your search-engine optimization elements to start working. It’s up to you to figure out how to get in front of your prospects as often as you can.

For more Internet marketing techniques to help you increase search engine rankings and generate more traffic to your site, check out the “Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers: 101 Proven Tactics & Tools You Can Use to Build Your Business.” Visit http://www.internetprofitkit.com for details.

What are your favorite websites—and why? Make a list of the top five that you visit and once you’re finished reading this blog, go visit them again and evaluate them through the mind of an “Internet Marketer.”

As a marketer, being able to get inside the mind of your prospects is critical. You need to understand the behaviors and habits of your prospects (what do they buy, how do they buy, what factors influence their buying decision, etc.).

Over the years, I’ve worked with many entrepreneurs, small businesses, and major corporations to help them improve their sales and profits. Through that experience, I’ve realized that it was not uncommon for many of them to be under-utilizing the four stages of the buying process. Yes, there is more than one stage in the buying process; the actual purchase is just one of four main stages.

The concept of multiple “stages” in the buying process applies to all types of selling, but especially for the web, where marketers will need content to address each stage in the buying process. This not only helps your visitors have an improved experience, but it also helps the search engines catalog you as a good reference.   

Here are the four stages of the buying process.

Stage 1—“Recognition that they have a problem.”
Every sale begins only after your prospects realize that they have a need. Once your prospects recognize that they have a “problem” (i.e., they are aware of a need or desire!), then they will begin their search for a solution to that problem.  Sometimes, as marketers, we need to help them see the problem… we need to point out their headache before we can sell them the pain reliever.    

Stage 2—“Research and comparison shopping phase.”
You can help guide your prospects through this phase by including on your website an archive of helpful, free articles they can read to learn more about a particular product or service, “specials” landing pages, and content devoted to helping them along through the purchasing process.    

Stage 3—“The purchase.”
This is the stage where the actual purchase takes place. Once a prospect is aware that they have a need, and they’ve done their research and comparison shopping, they are ready to buy. All that you need to do here is make sure your website has easy-to-follow navigation and links to get them to the check out page. Make the process as easy as possible for your customers to purchase from you—especially online.   

Stage 4—“The post-purchase evaluation.”
You’ve sold a product and they’ve spent their money, but your job isn’t over if you want them to keep coming back to you. Always follow up a sale with a post-purchase evaluation from your customer. Ask them if they are satisfied or dissatisfied with their purchase? Prospects are always asking themselves whether or not they made the right decision, but you can reduce their pre-purchase concerns by offering guarantees, warrantees, and testimonials from satisfied customers. You can help eliminate any post-purchase doubts with after-sales communications (including a post-purchase satisfaction evaluation).

As an example, let’s say I’m in the market for new energy-efficient hybrid car, but I don’t want a little wimpy car. I want an SUV… and a luxury SUV at that!   

What types of keywords might I use to do some online research?  I’d start out with “hybrid car,”
“luxury hybrid SUV,” “how hybrids work,” or maybe “hybrid SUV performance ratings.”

If you’re in the business of selling high-performance luxury hybrids, you’d better have content and keywords on your site that match my search engine inquiries. 

A final point to keep in mind is that prospects who visit your site will invariably be at different stages of the buying process (a few may even jump right to the purchase stage). Be careful with your assumptions. Let the market tell you what’s working, and if whatever you’re doing now isn’t working—that’s a clear sign you need to change.

As an action step (and you know how I love action steps!), think about the “problems” that your products and services solve for your customers. Are you making the fatal assumption that your prospects will just figure out the benefits you offer on their own?

The best advice I can offer is to resist the temptation of making any assumptions about your prospect’s decision-making process. Remember, stage one of the buying process is helping your customers become aware that they have a problem that you offer a solution to. Their “problem” may also be positioned as a desire, too. But the goal here is to make it crystal clear to them that they found the best source for resolving their problems, wants, and desires when they reached your website. 

For more Internet marketing techniques, check out the “Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers: 101 Proven Tactics & Tools You Can Use to Build Your Business.” Visit http://www.internetprofitkit.com/  for details.

Technology options aside, here are a few thoughts on the most important part of your “on-hold” system—the message. I’m sure you already know this, but remember… content is king. It’s critical that you craft an informative, benefit-driven marketing message for your “on-hold” audio. Each one should be about 10 to 30 seconds long and mention the benefits/solutions your business provides.

Listen to a good example of a custom on-hold message.

I recommend recording a loop of two or three different messages, with each separated by music. This way you’ll have a variety of messages for callers to hear, reducing the chances of them always hearing the same recording.

Make sure your recordings are fast-paced, to the point, and dynamic (like a real conversation and not a robot reading from a script!). Other points to keep in mind include:

• Assure prospects that a representative will be with them as soon as possible.
• End every message with a quick statement of appreciation for the customer’s call.
• Change messages periodically. If you offer special sales frequently, update more often.
• Change “on-hold” messages at least once a year.

There are hundreds of “music-on-hold” companies that for a fee can sell you the equipment, help you write your script, provide the voiceover talent and help you find the right music too. You can visit their websites and listen to samples of “on-hold” messages to get an idea of what you need.

There will always be times when you have to put a customer on hold, but there’s no reason why it can’t be a win-win situation for you and your prospect. If they’ve got to be on hold, don’t waste their time playing music or commercials for other businesses.

Whether you go the “do-it-yourself” route or pay a professional service to create your messages, the important thing to understand is that you definitely need a custom “music-on-hold” system as part of your relationship-building and marketing program.

If you’re still not convinced, let me leave you with this: a recent telephone marketing survey showed that custom “on-hold” message systems can increase sales by as much as 26%.

Wouldn’t a double-digit sales increase make your day?

Want to learn more about writing great copy? Discover the secrets and strategies of million-dollar copywriting from marketing guru Randy Gage at http://www.cashcopywriting.com/.

What do your customers hear when they’re put on hold?

Neither you nor your prospects get anything of value when your customers are left listening to music. And having them listen to a radio station isn’t much better, because chances are they’re not hearing music, just commercials. Worse still, they could end up hearing a commercial for a competitor!

Putting callers on hold and leaving them in total silence is a bad idea too, because it can make them think they’ve been disconnected and cause them to hang up.

So if you don’t have (or aren’t using) a “music-on-hold” system to promote your business, you’re missing out on significant relationship-building opportunities.

Maybe you thought about creating promotional “on-hold” messages in the past, but were afraid they were too difficult or too expensive, but these days nothing could be further from the truth!

There is a vast selection of top-quality “on-hold” message systems available for businesses of all sizes and budgets. You can compare features and prices at just about any major brick-and-mortar electronics store, as well as on dozens of “music-on-hold” websites.

The custom options for “on-hold” messages can be summed up in two words—variety and affordability. There are “bare bones” setups starting around $50, all the way up to multi-line, multi-message units designed for larger companies.

At the entry-level end of the spectrum is single-line, music-on-hold units designed for small office or home office use. These can be used by anyone wanting to provide music or custom messages to callers placed on hold. Just plug in:

• your phone line from the wall.
• your single-line telephone.
• a sound source (CD player, MP3 player, computer sound card).
• to place callers on hold, just push a button; to remove hold, press again. It’s that simple.

Digital “on-hold” players are great because you don’t have to worry about wear and tear on your message because the message is played from a digital memory chip. It will sound exactly the same even after a year or more of playing to your callers. And again, many units let you use your own audio source like a CD player, an MP3 player, or your computer. And if there’s a power outage, most digital units automatically reload when power is restored.

Some equipment for “on-hold” systems you can purchase, others you lease under contract. Be careful leasing though, as with some companies you may end up paying much more for that player over time than it’s actually worth. Costs vary with the systems and your requirements. Some “on-hold” companies have subscriptions that require a monthly payment (even if you only update your message once a year); others let you purchase a one-time program with nothing more to buy. Word to the wise… do your research.

I’ll end part one of this two-part blog here, so you can think over some of your equipment options for a bit. In part two we’ll take a look at the most important part of your “music-on-hold” message–the crafting of the message itself.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about how to write effective marketing copy, check out the business-building secrets and strategies of million-dollar copywriting guru Randy Gage at www.cashcopywriting.com.

There are a few basic things you can do to help get the creative process started—like switching off your phone, closing your door, and just letting your mind go where it will. On a little deeper level, there are a few more things you need to master in order to really get your creative game on and create a marketing mindset that’s conducive to the task at hand.

The ones I want to bring to your attention right now are your…

• Perceptions.
• Emotions.
• Culture and environment.

What do I mean by perceptions? I’m really referring to the ways your mind interprets what is going on all around you. Not so much “what you see,” but rather “how your mind interprets what you’re seeing.”

Think about that for a moment, because there is a difference in meaning.

For example, your perceptions are what give life to the stereotypes you believe in. They can also contribute to your limited vision, or your inability to see the “big picture.”  Your perceptions color everything you do, and they way you do it. They build up habits that may be keeping you stuck in old thought patterns and actions.

As an exercise, stop and consider your perceptions of “tradition” vs. “change”? Is it your unconscious comfort with perceived traditions that’s keeping you stuck in your current situation?

To be creative, you must be in touch with your emotions. You cannot be truly creative without some emotion; logic does not create art; passion does! Emotions are the barometers of how we feel, and how we feel can directly impact our creative impulse.

For example, if unexpected setbacks or surprises on projects leave you feeling uncomfortable and feeling a little foolish, odds are you’re not going to take risks—to avoid that feeling you’ll tend to play things safe. Unfortunately, the creative process demands risk-taking and 100% commitment—if your nature is to fear taking risks because you’re afraid you’ll make a mistake or fail, you’re not going to be an effective problem solver because idea creation is messy.

If you can change the ways you think, and open yourself to new courses of action, nine times out of 10 you’ll see more creativity and better results.

Cultural and environmental blocks to your creative impulses are more numerous, but a little harder to pinpoint, too. Cultural blocks can be traced back to how your cultural while growing up regarded creativity. Was it encouraged by your family, friends, and school? Were artistic endeavors frowned upon, with the emphasis instead placed on hard work and conformity? Cultural blocks can also include workplace issues, other people’s opinions, or a lack of cooperation or enthusiasm among colleagues and co-workers.

Environmental blocks to creativity tend to be in the here and now, and most often boil down to distractions. You know, phone calls and pagers, loud conversations, and other visual and auditory intrusions. All of these things can block your creativity, so the best advice is to be creative as far away from the real world as possible. Treat the search for creativity as you would meditation—seek out quiet, relaxing, calm environments and then just let your mind do the rest. 

With that in mind, think about your business, your products and services. Have you ever had a big idea that you didn’t take action on? Can you remember why you didn’t take action—was it your perceptions, emotions or environment that got in your way? If it was, don’t feel too bad… you’re definitely not alone. In fact, it almost happened to me.

Cue the flashback…

In 1986, I invented a product line that was used to store bicycles inside your home or apartment… maybe you’ve seen them in the Sky Mall Magazines on airplanes, in Sharper Image, sporting goods stores or other specialty catalogs. The main line was hand-crafted from solid oak and was a compact, tension-mount system that went from floor to ceiling and held two bikes, protecting your bikes and your home.

In the beginning, I tried several different ways to get the product to market. It was a tough first year and I thought about quitting many times. I  can assure you that my own perceptions, emotions and my environment got in the way more than just a few times, but I was determined to make this work so I started rethinking my strategies. With some creativity and innovation, and using a new-and-improved mindset, I was eventually able to sell more than $28 million worth of product in just a few years.

I’ve used this same “taking stock of your perceptions inventory” again and again to help clients differentiate themselves in a competitive market, to help them create and launch incredible publicity campaigns; to build amazing websites and implement online marketing strategies that created virtual money-machines.

I’ve seen people re-evaluate their thought processes and perceptions and come up with cutting-edge, successful advertising concepts, while at the same time improve other areas of their businesses beyond the marketing department. 

Are you allowing self-imposed, unconscious limitations hold you (and your business) back? Why not make today the day when you break through those limitations, tap your internal resources, and start harnessing your innate creativity. You deserve it!

If you’d like to learn how to write more creative and inspired marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I’m a big believer in systems, formulas and concepts. If it’s proven to produce positive results, I’m all for it.

One of my favorite systems with proven positive results is also one of marketing’s most basic. You’ve probably heard of it… or you’re at least familiar with it if you’ve ever read any good sales material. It’s called the AIDA method.

Like so many terms and concepts in marketing, AIDA is actually an acronym for a formula used in creating powerful and effective marketing communications, sales letters. It’s also widely used in advertising too.

A – Attention (or ‘Awareness’): This is job one–attracting the attention of the customer.

I – Interest: raise customer interest by writing copy that includes features and benefits of your product or service.

D – Desire: (the customers’ desire for the ‘solution’ you offer). Convince customers that they want and desire your product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.

A – Action: You need to ‘take your customers by the hand’ and lead them toward taking a specific and measurable action. (i.e., order now, learn more, save instantly…).

Applying the AIDA method, now look at one of your marketing pieces and ask yourself these questions:

What’s the PURPOSE for the specific marketing piece? This applies to your website and if you’re using Radio or TV advertising too!

a.      Is it to provide information & support the sale? – Is it to help prospects gain knowledge? 

 Or…

b.      Is it to get the prospect to take immediate action? – For selling & promotion?

         Is there an attention-getting headline and subhead? Attention

         Is there a clear ‘benefit’ message? Interest

         Is it designed with Your Prospect in Mind? Desire

         Is there a specific and measurable call to action? Action

How would you score the effectiveness of this marketing piece using a scale from one to five, with five being extremely effective and 1 being a cure for insomnia?

When it comes to your marketing efforts, get in the habit of asking yourself “Does this convey the message I want my reader to get?”

While we’re on the subject of strong marketing copy, keep in mind the 5 Ws. This is very important. Get focused on:

Who are you designing to? Who is the target prospect?

What do you want them to know or do?

Why should they care? Why should they pay attention?

Where can they get more info?

When should they respond or take action?

It’s helpful if you actually create a Word Document or template with the 5Ws… Who, What, Why, Where, and When. This will help you and/or your designer understand the purpose of the piece.

Action Step: Now that you’ve got the hang of the AIDA method, go back and review all of your marketing materials and see if they follow AIDA. You may be surprised by what you discover after looking at your materials through the AIDA formula. Don’t worry about your past efforts—learn from them and profit from them! This exercise will help you find out which pieces are well conceived and which need to go back to the drawing board.

Of course the best measurement for any marketing materials is the response it generates. But when you’re planning your designs you’ll have a head start when you follow the AIDA formula.

If you’d like to learn more about writing killer marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s popular 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.

Ford responds:

Without actually seeing your materials, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause. However, I can give you a few pointers to help you evaluate your own marketing efforts. In fact, right here and now I’m going to reveal a system that has literally earned me and my clients millions of dollars… I’ll give you the best marketing method ever for free, word for word.

This system was created through a lot of trial and error that resulted in several big successes and a few big blunders along the way. I’ve spent millions perfecting it, and now it’s easy to learn. With a bit of practice, it will help create explosive growth in your business, too.

The system is my trademarked PSP Method^TM.

The Positioning System for Profits (or PSP) method helps you focus your efforts and connect the right message to the right target market using the most effective marketing methods.

It works for all industries and types of companies, regardless of size, products or services. It works for advertising, publicity, online marketing and traditional marketing strategies. At first glance, it may seem over simplified, but please don’t be too quick to judge it until you’ve actually applied it to your business.

Let’s review the components first, and then I’ll show you how it can be applied to your organization. Please write down the following words… make sure to leave a few lines between them on your notes.

Message

Market

Method

Next to the word Message, write – “the WHY?” (your benefit message)
Next to the word Market, write – “the WHO?” (your target market)
Next to the word Method, write – “the HOW?” (the advertising and publicity)

Seems simple enough, right?

You’d be surprised how many highly paid professionals, adverting agencies, and businesses miss the mark entirely. Sure, I know you understand these simple concepts… I’m not trying to insult your intelligence… but ask yourself: Are you really 100% sure that you’re sending the best marketing message to the right target market using the most effective and profitable methods?

The real magic of this system is in creating profitable combinations. These are like digits of a combination lock… if you don’t have the right combination, you can’t open the lock, or in this case, unlock the profits of your products or services.

Don’t take my word for it…

Look at your own website, and review your brochures and other marketing materials. Are you trying to send the same message to multiple markets or buyers? Are you even tracking your results so you know which marketing methods give you the best performance?

I’ve learned the hard-way that “profits can hide a lot of mistakes.” Why waste your money, time, and other resources on combinations that don’t produce? Once you master this system, you’ll be able to stamp out the wasted marketing efforts and easily increase your results.

Let me give you an example of how my PSP method worked for my business. A few years ago I invented a line of oak and aluminum bicycle storage systems that went from floor-to-ceilings to hold bicycles inside in a limited space. At first, my message was ‘protect your bikes.’ My target market was bicycle owners who attended bicycle races, because they usually invested most of their money in their bikes and I figured they’d want to protect their bikes. My method of getting that message to that target market was attending the large bicycle races across the country and setting up a booth at the finish line consumer expos.

But after attending several races, I’d only received a handful of orders. It’s was hardly worth the time and effort. Okay, it was a total bust.

After applying the PSP Method (I didn’t have it called that at the time), I changed my message, changed my target market, and the method. Now as a marketer who believes in testing, usually I suggest only changing one element at a time, but sometimes you just need to re-evaluate what you’re doing and make drastic changes. So that’s what I did.

The result? I generated over $80,000 in orders in just three days. Want to know what I did?

First, I listed all of the compelling benefits I could think of. Next I created a list of the types of prospects that could use those benefits, and then I made a list of potential marketing methods.

Again, sounds just like a simple marketing plan, but what I did next was mix and match combinations to determine the best way to sell the most, with the least amount of effort, and earn the most money.

So my message changed from “protect your bikes” to “earn money in your store.”
I changed my target market from end-users (consumers who owned bikes) to bicycle dealers, specialty catalogs, and mass merchant stores.

My main marketing methods changed from consumer shows (open to the public) to  industry trade shows (for businesses only).

After exhibiting at the first industry show, I collected orders for over $80 grand. Okay, that created a whole host of other issues like production, cash-flow and management—but those were all problems I could fix now that I had the right combination to keep the orders flowing in. 

I could share hundreds of other real-life examples of how this system works, but I want you to start using it right away. You’ve got the method, now put it to work and let me know how it turns out for you. Good luck!

If you’d like to learn more about writing killer marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s popular 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.

Ford responds:

I’m going to reveal four secrets for more profitable websites that you can use immediately to improve your site’s performance. Some of these secrets may seem like common sense, but after reviewing literally hundreds of sites for various companies, I found way too many are making simple and avoidable mistakes.

Some of these secrets may seem like common sense, but after reviewing literally hundreds of sites for various companies, I’ve found that way too many businesses are making simple and easily avoidable website mistakes.

Secret # 1: Have a Clear Purpose. Whether you’re just sitting down to map out your site, or you’ve already got your site up and running, stop and take a moment to really look at your site. Ask yourself what the outcome and purpose is for your website.

How does it position you and support your branding? Does it generate leads? Does it just sell automotive products and services or does it also let visitors schedule a sales call, watch a product demo or installation, or download specs? Does your site provide customer service and support? It may be that your site needs to do all of the above.

Sure, you want to make more money, but on top of that, your website must reflect what you want your customers to do. For example, if you want them to buy something, there should be a process in place that guides prospects through the purchase. It should begin with the visitor finding the solution to their need, learning more about it, making the decision to buy the product or service, and then clicking on a button or link to order it.

Secret # 2: Communicate Value and Use Clear Action Steps. You need clear, attention-grabbing headlines and specific action steps on every page. Let me repeat this… you need clear, attention-grabbing headlines and specific action steps on every page.

When I say clear, attention-grabbing headlines, I mean your headlines must ‘hook’ the attention of the reader, and then lead them into your main message. When writing copy, make sure it is benefit driven, and that your benefits are validated with features. Use testimonials, bonuses, special offers, incentives, guarantees, etc. Guide visitors through the entire process so they know exactly where to click whenever they land on a particular page.

Include action steps that tell me what to do next, such as ‘click here to order’ or ‘to learn more’? Isn’t that the point of your site… to get visitors to read and click on what you want? Every page on your site must include a clear action step. 

Secret # 3: Get more domain names. Okay, technically this secret isn’t really about website design, but it is so important, I’m including it anyway. At Prime Concepts Group we have over 300 domains. You probably don’t need that many, but I bet you could benefit from getting a few more great ones.

Have you ever needed to find a company or their phone number and just opened a browser and tried to guess at their domain name?  Maybe you tried three or four spellings, but couldn’t find the site you were looking for. Well having more than one domain name makes it easier for people to find your business.

Keep domain names simple and easy to remember. Having multiple domain names is an ideal way to track the success of particular promotions. Use them in Pay-Per-Click advertisements—this doesn’t mean you have to change your main domain—it means getting other “keyword” domains. Don’t forget domain names with common misspellings, hyphens and keywords, and other extensions (such as .net, .org, .info. and the new .mobi). With customers using their mobile phones and PDAs to access the Internet these days, now is the time to get a .mobi extension, too.

Search for domains online—a few popular sites are NetworkSolutions.com, GoDaddy.com or DeletedDomains.com.  I like to search on deleted domains because it’s a site dedicated to listing domains that others have let expire so you can snatch them up.

Secret #4: Use Keywords to Improve Your Search Engine Rankings. Keywords help prospects find you in the search engines. Selecting the right keywords to emphasize on your site is crucial to your online success. Think about what words your prospects might type into a search engine to find you—those are your “keywords.” Sometimes you search using multiple words at once, such as “website designers in Dallas.”  That’s an example of a keyword phrase.

Your task is to think of the keywords that your prospects would use to find your product or service. Use your keywords when writing content, naming the actual html page, like “website_designers_dallas.html”.  Use them for links on your site and to help the search engines catalog your site so visitors can find you.

Make a list of your Top 50 keywords and keyword phrases (actually, I think you should compile a list of several hundred keywords, but let’s start with getting a good list of the top 50). The number of keywords on your list really is dependent on what you sell. If you offer several hundred items, obviously you’ll need a much bigger list.

Do your keyword research when you’re compiling your list. There are several main research methods.

Use an online tool like inventory.overture.com, or Google’s keyword tool. These offer FREE keyword search tools. Another of my favorite keyword search sites is wordTracker.com. This one’s not free, but it offers tools and training to master keyword research.

Ask your customers what words they used to find your website.

Ask your sales team what they think your keywords should be.

Look at your web server’s “referrer” logs. Ask your webmaster (if you’ve got one)—they can help you.

Use your keywords in online articles, specific web pages, and HTML description Meta tags. Create unique page titles for every page on your site (page titles are the words that show up on the top edge of the web browser). Look at your home page—what does it say? Look at other pages on your site. Each one should be unique to the content and purpose of the specific page. (Your webmaster should know how to do this… if not, get a new one!)

These are just four things you can do, but if you truly work on mastering these four, you’ll see a dramatic, positive effect on making your site a money machine. You have the tools you need to turbocharge your sales; now go for it!

For more Internet Marketing Secrets Check out Ford’s “Internet Profit Kit for Information Marketers: 101 Proven Tactics & Tools You Can Use to Build Your Business.” For details visit http://www.internetprofitkit.com/

Ford responds:

The promotional and sales materials you create for your business are important tools for your success. You really need to think about them and understand how they will support your branding and overall marketing plan.

Early on you’ll need to decide if you want your new marketing piece to generate a sale by itself, or function as part of a larger, two-part sales process. Step one is to get something free and create a relationship, and step two is to get the sale. At Prime Concepts Group we always design marketing materials that get a prospect to take whatever specific step we want them to take in the buying process.

In order to get prospects to take the next step, there are a number of essential copy components to include when creating new materials. Here’s a list of them, along with brief definitions and usage suggestions.

Kickers – A kicker helps qualify your prospects and draws them into reading your headline. Think of it like a headline for the headline.

Headlines – This is no-doubt the most important copy element. I could write for days just about headlines. Take time to consider as many variations and approaches as possible; at Prime Concepts Group it’s not uncommon for us to come up with 30 or more headlines before we settle on the top two or three that we want to test.

Subheads – These build upon the interest created in the headline, and carry your reader right into the main body copy.

Body Copy – Make a list of all of the benefits and features of your product or service. Benefits are powerful because they are based on emotions–so lead with them. Validate your benefits with features, which are the facts about your product. I like to use 3×5 cards, or just type them up on a master list when you brainstorm. Be concise, clear and creative.

Testimonials – These are third-party endorsements from your satisfied customers. Usually they are free for the asking, so ask! Using testimonials helps prospects feel more confident about you and your product.

Your Offer – Believe it or not, I’ve seen plenty of slick and expensive marketing materials that include everything EXCEPT an offer. An essential part of your message must tell prospects what your proposition is; what problem do you solve and how can they get it?

Add Value – Consider special pricing, up-sells, and product/service bundling to make your product more appealing and offer greater value.

Address Credibility – do not forget to tell prospects why you’re the best choice. Like everything in life, you need to offer them an RTB – “Reason To Believe.”

Pricing Strategy – Don’t blurt out the price until you’ve established the value, unless the price is the most compelling reason for prospects to act. This isn’t usually the case, so I recommend using other benefits first.

Risk-Reversal/Guarantee – You’d better have one. Some companies are afraid to state guarantee for fear that customers will make too many returns—but if you test, you’ll find that guarantees usually have the opposite effect—you’ll get more sales.

Include A Specific And Measurable Action Step – Put a big red star beside this one, because it’s that important. An Action Step tells prospects precisely what you want them to do and how they should go about doing it. Don’t just put “for more information…blah, blah, blah…” at the bottom of your brochure because people don’t need more information, they need solutions to their problems. They want to increase pleasure or reduce pain, so say something specific like… “Find out how we can help you____________.” (You fill in the blank with something compelling).

So there you have it–the essentials you need in order to create great copywriting. Good luck with your new marketing materials! 

If you’d like to learn more about writing killer marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s popular 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.

Ford responds:
An important step related to benefit messages is crafting your compelling Unique Selling Proposition, or USP.

The concept of the USP is used by thousands of marketers like me to create benefit messages in advertising, branding and promotions. It was first defined by Rosser Reeves over 60 years ago in his book “Reality in Advertising” and it’s just as relevant now as it was back then.

Some good current examples of products with a clear USP are:

• “You get rid of dandruff”—Head & Shoulders
  
• “You get younger-looking skin”—Olay
  
• “You get stimulation of body and mind”—Red Bull

Some unique propositions that were pioneers when first introduced:

• “Fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less or it’s free.”—Domino’s Pizza
  
• “Your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight.”—FedEx
  
• “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands!”—of course, M&Ms candy
  
• “It helps build strong bones 12 ways”—Wonder Bread

It’s common to have different USPs for different product lines and markets. For example, for my company, Prime Concepts Group, we use USPs like:

• “We help you find, attract and keep your customers using our unique PSP Method for maximizing your results…”
• “Get on the first page in Google and dramatically increase your website traffic in less than an hour…”
• “We help our clients dramatically improve their marketing results by as much as 500% using our unique three-part system…”

It’s not about the number of words as much as it’s about communicating the value you offer in a unique and memorable way.

If I were to ask you what your company’s USPs are, what would you say? To help you define your USPs, keep these concepts in mind:

• Each marketing message must make a proposition to the customer (“buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit”).
• The proposition itself must be unique; something that competitors do not (or will not) offer.
• The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.

You can use this three-step strategy to help you define your USPs.

Step 1:  Ask Yourself…
·         What is my business really good at?
·         What benefit is unique to our offer?
·         What aspect of my business is unique? Who is the target market?
·         What do I provide that no other competitor does?

Step 2: Ask someone else…
·         Ask a client or customer why they selected you?
·         What is it about your company, service or products that they like?

Step 3: Imagine you’re the customer…
·         Come up with a reason to do business with your company, then ask yourself,
          “so what?”
·         Keep asking yourself this until you come up with a product or service that
          is unique to your business. That’s a USP!

Now that you understand the concept of USPs, are you ready for an online ‘hot seat’? Answer the following as honestly and as accurately as you can. Here goes…

• How many USPs can you list for your products and services?
• Do you have at least one?
• How effective are your USPs in helping you increase sales? Are they working? (If not, you now have the framework and strategy to create new ones.)

So let’s review. You have the magic questions to ask yourself to define your USPs, and you know that USPs help prospects become customers. Ultimately, your customer’s buying decision will reflect his or her own needs, but your ability to fit into that ‘need structure’ is tied to how effectively you communicate the USPs of your products or services.

If you’d like to learn more about writing killer marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s popular 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.

Ford responds:

Let me share with you a powerful evaluating technique that comes from my colleague (and master copywriter) Bob Bly. Use his “4 U’s” to rate your headlines and I think you’ll notice a quick improvement.

The 4 U’s are Urgent, Unique, Ultra-specific and Useful. Take a piece of paper and write them down. Next write down these two headlines: “Free Ezine Subscription” (leave a couple spaces beneath it), then write “How To Get Targeted Traffic And Higher Sales… In Less Than 27 Days!”

Using a scale of 1 through 4 (with 1 being the weakest and 4 being the strongest), rate each of these headlines using the 4 U’s.

“Free Ezine Subscription”  

Is this headline Urgent? On a scale of 1 to 4, what would you rate its urgency? I’d give it a “1.”  Is this headline Unique? Hardly… another “1.” Is it Ultra-specific?  Okay, maybe I’d give it a “2” because tell tells you it’s free and it’s an ezine. Is it Useful? Score another “1.” It’s not useful because you don’t even know what topic it covers. The total score for this headline is only a 5 out of a possible 16. Obviously, it’s not very good. Now apply the 4 U’s to the other headline I gave you.

“How to Get Targeted Traffic and Higher Sales… in Less that 27 Days!” 

How would you rate it using the 4U’s system?

Sure it’d be great if every headline you wrote scored a “16,” but that’s not very realistic. Don’t concentrate too much on the numbers, other than using them as a diagnostic tool to help you improve your headline-writing skills.

To hone your headline writing skills, practice writing headlines using a variety of approaches (asking a question, a news angle, list benefits, or use a testimonial from a satisfied customer). Add subheads if you’re feeling especially creative!

Another good way to practice is to go back and look at the headlines on your current marketing materials and website. Rate them using the 4 U’s and see if there’s room for improvement. Don’t sweat it if your headlines don’t all get perfect 4’s; just try different ways to make them more attention-getting and throat-grabbing!

If you’d like to learn more about writing killer marketing copy, check out Randy Gage’s popular 12-part study course “How to Become a Copywriting Stud!” in our online Success Store.