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| Home > Direct Response Articles > How to Use Offline Marketing to Make More Money |
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Here’s how to use offline marketing to make more money in an online world. All smart internet marketers should be using offline marketing to drive prospects to their Web sites so they can increase their online sales to the maximum possible volume. Online marketing with its e-mail programs, banner ads, and efficient use of search engines and directories is necessary for your proper marketing mix. But, you can only reach your maximum sales and profits by adding offline marketing to your mix. 69% of e-commerce Web sites are now using offline marketing to drive prospects to their sites. However, the remaining 31% of e-commerce Web sites are far less productive and profitable than they could be, simply because they are not capitalizing on offline marketing to generate their maximum volume of sales. The most brilliantly conceived and designed Web site using the most advanced direct marketing strategy, copy and art can only produce limited results by not using other media to drive qualified buying traffic to the site. Here are 10 important tested and proven marketing keys which show you how to drive more traffic to your Web site and increase your sales and profits as a result…
Do you want to drive traffic to your site for “hits”? Or, do you want to drive traffic to your site for sales? Or, do you want to collect e-mail addresses? It’s very important that you determine exactly what you want to accomplish FIRST. Then prepare your marketing strategy, copy and graphics to accomplish your precise objectives.
Always trace and record your offline advertising results so you know exactly what is working and what is not working. Be sure to compute your cost per sale just as you would for every direct mailing you send to your prospects. It’s always vitally important for you to know exactly which marketing efforts work and which do not work so you can devote all of your precious time and resources to profitable endeavors. Be sure to design and program your Web site to ask all your prospects WHERE they learned about your site. This is absolutely necessary so you can track the response to each advertising medium precisely.
Always test. Testing is a vitally important part of making sure your marketing campaign is totally accountable. It’s one of the most important things you’ll do. Here are a few of the many things you should test…
Make sure your Web site is not an anti-marketing or non-marketing site…unless you just want “hits.” A good and productive direct marketing site is designed especially to sell products or services, or to collect e-mail addresses. It follows all the time tested and proven direct marketing rules…including having copy, graphics, offer, and strategy that follow the rules. For a detailed explanation of this rule, e-mail me at craig@cdmginc.com. I’ll rush a detailed explanation of the rule to you right away.
The most successful and most profitable campaigns always focus on just one specific theme…something newsworthy, dramatic, and controversial. This specific theme must be fascinating and promise your prospects that it is clearly in their best interests to look at your Web site. The theme must be so compelling that your prospects won’t rest until they view your site…or, at least, save your URL until they go online. This means that you should have multiple entry points and not rely on just a home page. Each entry point has a specific theme that interests and satisfies your prospects. See Direct Response Volume XIX, Number 10. If you do not follow Marketing Keys 1 through 5, the following rules probably won’t work.
I’m not talking about the type of direct mail you use to sell merchandise or services or to generate quality leads. The type of direct mail I’m recommending does not sell and it’s not long copy. You’re trying to “tease,” not to sell. You’re creating powerful curiosity to drive people to your Web site. For this direct mail…
Post cards are inexpensive and oversize post cards usually are large enough to contain enough copy and graphics to motivate prospects to go to your Web site. If constructed properly, letter direct mail packages are more likely to get by mailroom and secretary screening when you’re prospecting to large companies and organizations. They can also do a better job of qualifying your prospects. Consider testing a peel-off sticker containing your URL for both formats which your prospects can stick on their computers or on another location so they’ll know where to find your URL. With a direct mail letter, be sure to enclose a circular or card recapping the reasons why prospects should click on your Web site in your direct mail letter packages. Make it look valuable!
Magazine and newspaper advertising sometimes does not produce well for selling some products and services or for generating quality leads. But, remember, when you are driving prospects to your Web site, you don’t sell…you “tease.” Small space ads can be created with powerful themes, powerful headlines, and lots of compelling “tease” bullets…making them very cost effective. Remember…a strong headline can be responsible for up to 70% of the success of any ad so be sure to give your headlines plenty of good creative thought when you write them.
Some advertising media formerly overlooked because of its cost with low response potential may now be viable for driving prospects to your Web site. By using a copy strategy that “teases” and does not sell but is used only to drive people to your Web site, you could easily find that some new and “unique”media can work wonders for your offline marketing…media such as…inserts in newspapers, magazines, catalogs, packages, and bills; advertising on cartons, TV and radio spots; billboards; co-ops; match book covers; blimp advertising; skywriting; aircraft banners; advertising balloons; sidewalk benches; sandwich boards; bus and taxi signs; ride-alongs; and conference marketing opportunities. Some of this alternative advertising media is well worth a test, depending upon your product or service and the audience you’re targeting. You are only limited by your fertile imagination in deciding what to test and how productive it can be!
With radio advertising, you can target the exact markets you want to reach by selecting stations and shows that reach those markets. Remember, talk shows, news formats, and Christian stations are some of your best and most loyal direct response audiences. You can also get some great and very inexpensive spot buys on very early morning and very late night radio. People who listen to radio at these times are often more receptive to your advertising messages because their minds are not preoccupied with other matters. For more information about these opportunities, ask for my FREE Special Report about Direct Response Radio by e-mailing me at cdmg@cdmginc.com.
When you use TV to drive traffic to your Web site,you’ll get your best results by advertising niche products on niche cable TV channels. Like radio advertising, you can get some terrific moneysaving and productive spot buys very early in the morning and very late at night. Many people watch and concentrate on TV at these times. Traditionally, I’ll create 60 and 120 second spots to sell or to generate a lead or sell. Marketing your Web site can be done by testing 15 second vs. 30 second spots. For more information about using TV advertising to drive traffic to your Web site, e-mail me at craig@cdmginc.com and ask for my FREE Special Report about Direct Response TV. Now’s the time for you to rethink what you have done in the past. It’s time for you to test some new, unique, and different ways to drive more prospect traffic to your Web site where you can close more sales and make more money! Go for it…and start cashing in on offline marketing in a big way! I’ll be glad to talk to you about these powerful marketing tools. One of them could provide you with the marketing breakthrough you’ve been looking for. Please call me at (310) 212-5727 or e-mail me at craig@cdmginc.com.
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