As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many
decades ago, there are scientific ways of tracking your Marketing and
Advertising and determining clearly and unequivocally what works and
what does not. Without knowing the facts about what is effectively
increasing your leads, and subsequently your sales success, you might
as well be throwing money out the window—literally.
All you have to do is reflect on your own Marketing to realize the truth in
the old statement: 90% of Advertising does not work, problem being,
which 90%? If you could identify and harness the 10% that does work,
you would truly have power in your hands. Well, the fact is that you can.
Below are examples of Marketing that you can track. But don't stop after
implementing! If results are not analyzed on an ongoing basis, and
consequently, what works is not repeated, you will be back in that 90%
void.
A powerful ad
A good ad must follow these guidelines in order to reach its maximum
potential and yield beyond your expectations:
1. Don't make it look like an ad! The more it resembles the publication
itself, the better results you will see. That is why an advertorial—an ad
that looks like news or an editorial—is such a powerful device.
2. Make use of a strong headline. This requires a great deal of time and
effort. As Hopkins himself stated, he would spend the most time on the
headline, discarding many along the way. Only after having a
bulletproof headline, would he continue with the rest.
4. Tell a story. Give readers a story that reels them in, with which they
can really connect.
5. Make it newsworthy. You wouldn't read the paper or your favorite
magazine if the content were not newsworthy, right? Same goes for an
ad. Make it substantial and important.
6. Include an offer. This is your chance to make them do something!
Offer something they cannot resist and which will make them take
action… now. If you don't offer anything, you greatly minimize the
chances of making the sale. Think of this: what are the odds that they
will be ready to purchase from you that instant that they came across
your ad? Answer: extremely low!
7. Make it easy for people to contact you. 24/7 is ideal, but otherwise,
make your phone or email or other type of access extremely
straightforward and be responsive. Never intimidate your audience in
any way when interfacing with them, so that they always feel
comfortable and taken care of.
8. Have a tracking mechanism in place. And this is the final key element.
You must track your success! That is how you can be scientific in your
approach, and what will ultimately reveal if your tactic is indeed
successful or not.
You can track via a telephone extension, by denoting a Department in
your address, or via a URL. Tracking activity on a URL (Web address) is
extremely easy these days, and extremely powerful.
Lead generation and follow-up on the Web
Lead generation is how you collect prospectives as time goes on,
making up the audience you will stay in front over time—in other words,
you future customers. The Web, if used properly, can generate
tremendously for you. And through automation, follow-up on those leads
becomes both easy and a surefire way to win buyers over.
The important thing is to lure them on every page of your site via an offer
that prompts them to submit their email address. Don't let them go
without doing so! Just like an ad, visitors are usually passing by, and will
not likely return. Give them an article or other useful piece of information
that will then give you permission to stay in touch.
Once visitors have opted in, you store their email addresses for future
(and frequent) communications. Staying in communication can look like
this:
* A monthly newsletter that you send out. This does not have to be hard
work! You can have a short feature that you or someone on your team
writes monthly. You can then supplement with a wealth of free content
that is available on the Internet.
* An article of interest. This brings a topic of interest to you audience and
educates them. You are not selling what you do, but talking about it, or
your industry, or some area that is intriguing to your readers. You
position yourself as their perfect choice, but without the in-your-face
selling tactic!
* A recommendation. Very powerful, as you are sharing information
freely, creating trust and strengthening your bond. Recommendations
can include a good book (on investment, good business practice, well-
being), a piece of software, or performance improvement tool.
* A link to an informative area of your site. You can also point them to a
new area of your site—informative, of course, never bragging about
what you do or who you are (think about what a turn-off that is to you as
a consumer). By bringing them to a page or area that is of use to your
visitor, you are sharing and educating. Should they choose to navigate
and learn more about you and your product or services—well, that is
always their choice.
In this manner, you remain in front of your prospectives, and you do so
with useful materials. They will appreciate it, and in constantly giving
them information that benefits them, you stand out as the expert and
trusted source. Meaning the odds are in your favor of getting the sale in
the long run.
Build your money-making machine with powerful tactics such as these,
and watch your company grow in leaps and bounds. Best of luck!
Josh Barinstein is President of Red Frog, Inc., the Portland, Oregon ad
agency that provides worry-free experiences and powerful results in the
areas of Marketing, Print design, Web/CD-ROM development, and
Video production.
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