Marketing With Lee » Direct Response Marketing

Small Business Online Marketing Mistake # 2:

Lee — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:38:08 +0000

Putting up a pretty brochure website on the internet instead of a site designed to get you real results.

I’m sure you’ve heard the term Web2.0. It’s what the internet was originally designed to do – allow people to communicate and collaborate without being physically nearby.

Marketing over the internet allows you to use the medium’s unique attributes to engage with prospects and customers in a personable manner even when they are far from your shop.

Email has always been a big part of that (exactly why it was the “killer app” that made internet connections valuable). Always on, fast, wireless connections that make video and mobile internet devices fun and easy to use are accelerating this trend quickly.

But many (dare I say most?) small business websites out there that are nice looking Web1.0 sites that are just taking up space and costing their owners time and money.

They don’t attract attention and do nothing to facilitate your sales and marketing.
You just keep paying hosting and wed design fees but you have no online assets.

Now, if you have one of these sites, don’t kick yourself (too hard) because at least you have secured a domain that reflects something about you and your business and it’s got some aging (Google likes that).

But what you need to aim for now is a site (or group of Web2.0 properties) where you can interact with potential customers and keep your client base engaged. That’s what will bring you real online marketing results… not a pretty website.

So, how do you get a website (and email marketing system) that delivers your message to your prospects and customers?

First off, get your ego out of the way. That beautiful site with the perfect photos of you and your storefront are probably going to have to go.

In their place, you want a site that’s designed to make your prospects and clients take action. The common term for this is Direct Response Marketing. It’s as old as the post-agricultural society and as cutting edge as the Web2.0 blogs, forums and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Interacting with people online will improve customer satisfaction leading to more referrals and sales to new and repeat clients. And it all starts with thinking about what you can GIVE that adds value to your “tribe”.

So start now. Make a list of all the frequently asked questions you’ve received from prospects and clients over the years. Figure WHO you really want to attract and WHAT they want from you. When you get in synch with their wants and needs, they’ll be drawn to you and be happy to pay for your products and services.

Lucky for us that’s so much easier now to do than it was just a couple years ago.

In part 3 we’ll talk more about capitalizing on the resources you already own and using them online.

Email Subject Lines: It’s How You Say It

Lee — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:15:59 +0000

Rules for Email Marketing Succes

Your open rate, once you’ve avoided the SPAM folder and being edited out via the FROM field, is won or lost at the SUBJECT line.

Just like an ad’s headline, the email subject line’s job is to get the reader to take a look at the next line. With email it’s even harder because they must click on the subject line and open the email before you can hook them into reading.

One technique novices and pros alike use is copying or swiping proven headlines from direct marketing campaigns of the past. I’ve got a free report that includes over 100 of these headlines, just enter your email and confirm the request and you’ll have a swipe file of headlines to edit and use.

[ad#101 HL request opt-in form]

Another proven method is to refer to news events – celebrity news works particularly well in most markets.

And giving valuable content, relevant to your readers, for permission to email them later is a winner too.

But, every market is different and the best way to get your subscribers opening your emails is to know them and talk to them like a trusted friend. This requires testing, tracking and studying your results.

As a side note, take a look at what your email looks like in several of the most popular email readers. See where your subject line gets cut off and what portion of your message header appears. Be sure you’re taking advantage of this space to get your subscribers opening and reading your messages.

Next up: Training your readers to respond, or not.

The Art of The Offer

Lee — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:14:23 +0000

She's waiting for your offer - don't disappoint her.

Without an offer your market cannot refuse, you don’t have a business.

And you certainly can’t create marketing materials that produce any measurable results.

But be careful. What you think your prospects NEED and what they WANT and will BUY may be entirely different things. The difference between what people SAY the would do (think focus groups) verses what they actually DO, with their own money, can be quite different.

That’s why online marketing via pay-per-click ads, banners and landing pages are such a revolution. You collect real time data at minimal cost before you commit thousands to other media.

If you haven’t learned how to set-up and run a Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing campaign yet, put it on the top of your to-do list. If there’s no room on your list, hire someone to help you but beware: hire someone who puts their own money into play, not an ad agency who always plays with OPM (other people’s money).

Email Marketing Quick Fixes: Upgrade Your Subject Line

Lee — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:06:40 +0000

52 characters – the magic number to email marketing success?

The number of characters you can get into a subject line varies by email provider but the sign says it all when open rates matter.

You know what your email in-box looks like. Most people who spend time online deal with in-box overload. If you want them to open yours, you’ve got to get their attention and sound interesting. The marketing adage: “Don’t be boring” applies doubly with email.

Try adapting some of these for your market:

– Use exact numbers: Why we paid $5,838.71…
– Question Marks: This workout made me irresistible?
– Percentages (with the % sign): 99% of People Dieting NEED to do this
– Attract video watchers: [Video Blog Post] Make Your Tush Sexy
– Offer it as a free report: 7 Deadly Diet Mistakes (free report)
– Make it look like a forwarded message by starting with RE: RE: Watch me tone my thighs in less than 5 minutes
– Direct it with personal pronouns: You need to see this/Your chance to win this $47 product ends at 9:18 tonight

– Deadlines (see how I combined two?): Your chance to win this $47 product ends at 9:18 tonight

Try it with your next email. Got any more suggestions? Comment below!

101_Headlines

Lee — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:42:50 +0000

Do you need to write attention getting headlines or subject lines but you’re busy, busy, busy?
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I’ve compiled this list of winning headlines – from the golden years of mail order to recent internet winners.
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Get your PDF and keep it handy – save time without sacrificing sales.
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[ad#Google Adsense 468x60]

To all entrepreneurs and professional service providers:

Lee — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:23:25 +0000

There’s a very good reason why your ads and websites fail to sell, why you can’t seem to attract any customers no matter how hard you try…
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Here is the blunt truth about selling in print, and one remarkable, scientific marketing plan that actually works.

Lee Little, marketing advisor

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Hello, my name is Lee Little:
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I’m a Certified Direct Response Copywriter and Marketing Advisor.
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With over 33 years of sales experience: door-to-door, over the phone, face-to-face, by mail, on-line, retail, wholesale, soft-goods, hard-goods, services; I’ve sold them all. Now I have developed a complete scientific approach to selling in print that really works.
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That’s why I am so deeply concerned when I see people who honestly want to reach a target market, sell a useful product or service and grow their businesses bitterly disappointed by their marketing results….
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Half-truths and misinformation about advertising and marketing are everywhere and they deeply concern me. I’ve decided to step forward and present the truth about selling in print….
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If you’ve tried ad after ad after ad and have still been unable to increase sales, it’s probably NOT YOUR FAULT. In fact, there are several very real reasons why this has happened to you – why your marketing efforts have been doomed to failure right from the start. I promise you, YOU CAN SELL ALL THE PRODUCT YOU WANT TO SELL, whether it’s $100 or $10,000, systematically and steadily, without begging, borrowing, stealing, or lying. What I see in advertising can be grouped into three categories, and it all deeply concerns me:
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One: The Ridiculous And The Outrageous.

One heavily promoted ad after another using the same tried and untrue “Image” approach. The Super Bowl half minute (or the local radio equivalent), the Times Square billboard (or your photo and a catchy slogan along the neighborhood streets), the prestigious magazine spread (or the local chamber magazine).
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Any of these may temporarily cause you to shed some ad dollars, but soon you’re back where you started (and often much poorer) – because nobody can prove that image ads actually work. And many of them may actually be dangerous if you use them for any length of time, because they can deprive your business of the vital capital you need.
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Two: The Impossibly Complicated.
Marketing plans that require hourly measuring, constant tuning, calculating daily ROI, carefully cultivating certain groups, (and that pretty much rules out normal family or social life) or require you to follow only one “guru’s” secret system simply do not work because it would take superhuman, iron-willed self-discipline to stick to them They are NOT realistic.
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Three: The Dangerous “Magic Ads”
Look, we would all like to find the little classified ad or website that sells massive product while we sleep, and that lets us sit around the pool living the life of the idle rich. And if there actually was such a thing, I promise you it would be a trademarked proprietary system, a big New York advertising agency would own it, and you couldn’t use it (unless you paid them big bucks) without going to jail.
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Listen, if sales and marketing were as easy as 1-2-3, we’d all be rich.
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The get-something-for-nothing mindset is dangerous to your health and the health of your business. It sabotages your business’ growth and even accelerates business failures. The more “secret” systems you fall for, the longer and harder you’ll have to work to overcome the damage they do to your bank account and your business’ growth (or lack there of).
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Are You Ready For Serious, Legitimate, Honest Marketing
That Really Works, Based On A Sound Scientific Model?
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PICTURE YOURSELF – enjoying, even gloating over the results you’re receiving from your new advertising program. Your family and friends are asking you what’s different, how have you suddenly become so prosperous, so busy? These same people who, privately, thought you didn’t have what it takes to succeed in business. Now they see a new, enthusiastic, energetic you, landing new clients almost daily, and they are amazed and maybe even jealous. IMAGINE YOURSELF actually eager to answer your phone, to check your messages, or get a new ad ready for printing. IMAGINE yourself picking up the check at dinner, without wincing!
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THE REAL BUSINESS MARKETING SUCCESS THAT HAS ELUDED YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN CAN FINALLY BE “REAL” FOR YOU.
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So, “what’s Lee’s secret?” you may be asking…
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Please, stop thinking there’s going to be one magic secret. There is not. There’s absolutely nothing “secret” about my “scientific advertising” or my REAL BUSINESS MARKETING PROGRAM. But here’s why it will work for you, even if you’ve tried ad after ad…
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Traditional advertising fails for three main reasons…
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First, the lack of scientific methodology.
“One size fits all” ads cannot work for you, because you have a unique business, and there are almost certainly real scientific reasons why your image or branding ads have failed. We can only find and correct these things and get these obstacles out of your way with scientific study, like split tests, traffic and conversion analysis, etc.
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Second, because they are “generic” or the “same for everybody.”
Instead, you need a customized, personal marketing and advertising plan that will work with your business.
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Third, because they require superhuman determination,
spending too much with no guarantee of success, are ridiculously complicated, and usually offer little or no scientific support for the methods you need to implement. I directly approach and help you with all three of these “marketing factors”.
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Let me outline 14 reasons why my REAL BUSINESS MARKETING PROGRAM is superior to any other way you might try to attract new customers… why you can get positive results even if you’ve tried to implement a marketing plan but have been disappointed 100 times before…
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>>NO cookie cutter ad copy, each program is unique.
>>NO blind faith required—scientific methods work every time.
>>NO “creative” ads that don’t sell your products and services.
>>NO nasty surprises when the bill comes–only flat fees upfront.
>>NO painful duds. Guaranteed to sell or your money back.
>>NO Prima Donna advertising execs to “work” with—I’m a business person just like you.
>>YES! 100% unique copy, professionally written and designed.
>>YES! You can multiply your advertising response rates
>>YES! You can sell more without spending more on ads.
>>YES! You can convert prospects to customers even without a huge marketing expense, although we typically recommend a modest amount of multi-media marketing.
>>YES! You can master the marketing of successful business.
>>YES! Your overall sales, productivity, and profitability can improve.
>>YES! You can be successful.
>>YES! You get personal attention from Lee and our expert team of designers, editors and marketing professionals.
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What About The Cost?
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This is a complete program, including thorough diagnostics and testing. Obviously, it is not a “blue light special”. Over time, the costs of mediocre sales, in stress, in money wasted on doomed-to-fail ads, certainly far exceeds your investment in this program. More importantly, only you can decide just how valuable the profits, success, the energy and vitality, the busier, richer, more successful business you’ve envisioned and the peace of mind of knowing you are receiving your marketing assistance from a professional is worth to you.
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For example, is it worth as much as your last or next vacation? I suggest you make this decision AFTER your initial consultation, when you have all the facts. Then YOU decide.
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Openings are periodically available for Real Business Marketing Program participants– here’s how to see if you qualify:
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You email me at info(at)Lee-Little.com to schedule a free 20 minute interview and marketing diagnostics. We will review all your results, discuss your business marketing goals, and recommend a complete, customized, personal marketing and advertising plan.
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The number of initial marketing consultations we can accommodate each month is limited. If you delay in calling, those may be taken, and you will be offered a place on our waiting list. The first step is your initial consultation. For your appointment, please call (281)213-0030 to speak with us or leave a voice message and we’ll return your call.
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If Not Now, When? If Not This Program, How?

I have a few final thoughts. The fact that you have read this far, through this entire, lengthy letter obviously speaks loudly. You MUST be concerned about your business’ health, you must desire a profitable, more successful business, you must have been frustrated and disappointed with previous “ads” and attempts to generate new clients.
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Having read this entire letter, being desirous of really growing your business, and being offered an initial consultation and a professional marketing program from a certified professional, why wouldn’t you call? If you do not make the positive decision to finally succeed now – when will you? What more would it take to motivate you to action?
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Why fool around with anything less?
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I am excited about the opportunity to help YOU jump start your sales and grow the business you want. You will be treated with the utmost courtesy, professionalism and respect. You will NOT be kept waiting or treated like a “number.” Every person on my team is really dedicated to you reaching your goals. Many of our new clients are referred by present clients, and we take pride in that, and work very diligently to earn your trust and deserve your referrals. I know my program can work for you.
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Sincerely,
Lee Little
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Certified Direct Response Copywriter and creator of:
THE REAL BUSINESS MARKETING PROGRAM
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