Five Ways to Craft an Irresistible Offer

It’s hard to turn your nose up at a really good deal. Yeah, you know it won’t last and that if you stifle the impulse to buy, you’ll kick yourself later. You get out your wallet, count your cash, then wonder if you should go ahead and use the plastic money - your credit card.

That’s what you’re looking for. YOu’ve already invested a lot of hard work in finding out WHO is interested in your products, NOW you want to send them an advertisment that will do the job of getting them to buy the products - TODAY!. There a few keys to successfully creating an advertisement sends them scurrying to count their change.

First, show them what’s new. Is it a brand new, top-of-the-line service, a hot-off-the-press product that has just been introduced, or an all-time low price? Catch their attention with the “news”.

Sale your way into their attention. There are always bargain hunters who are drawn to specially discounted prices like nails to a magnet. Take advantage of their obsession with good deals.

Pay them to come. Give a bonus for certain purchases or even for just walking through your doors. Yeah, who doesn’t like something for nothing? Even more importantly, who doesn’t like to feel valuable for just being there?

Reward response. Just getting a customer into your store is a bonus, but the customer who responds to your ad needs to know that you appreciate it!

Finally, set a time limit. When you know that you want a product and that if you buy it this week you’ll save $10.00, there’s an incentive to get it in gear. Most of us are alike. When we know we have no time limit, we put things off until later. Get your customers in a hurry to catch the deal!

Include some of these tips, and you’ve got a good advertisement…include all five, and be sure to schedule extra help during the sale!

We’ve discovered who to target for our direct mail marketing campaign, and how to get their attention. Next time well tie it all together with one more aspect of direct marketing…can you guess?

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

The “Write” Skills to Saving Big Bucks!

Do you have an extra $10,000 to $35,000 to throw away? Nope, I didn’t think so! That’s the very reason you should take a few minutes to learn about writing your own copy. People like me, who professionally write advertisements expect a handsome down payment and royalties on the work we do. Why pay through the nose, when you can do the same thing yourself - with just a little research and practice?

Don’t forget that nobody knows your customers like you do! Yep, even the most expensive and skilled of copywriters doesn’t know the folks that walk through your doors every day. You have an advantage - inside knowledge of the most important aspect of your company.

Every now and then you’ll find a good copy writer who understands that the people who are on the front lines know more about appealing to clients than someone behind a desk 300 miles away. If I really want to get down to the nitty gritty of capturing the feel of the product and the needs of the customers, I do two things…

First I talk to the customers, but secondly, I talk to the salespeople on the floor. Really good salespeople know what needs to be said to make the sale. That’s how they make their living.

Yeah, this might mean you! You spend your life making sales. You know how to entice people into purchasing your product. You’ve got what it takes!

Are you still a little iffy? Hang on! Next time we’ll talk about guidelines and specific ideas that will get you rolling.

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Advertising: How To “Wrap Up” Your Marketing Campaign

Hello,

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. When it comes to advertising and marketing appearance says it all. We’ve talked about some hidden aspects of marketing - creating a lists, and targeting the correct audience - but we really need to know exactly what will catch the eye of our potential customers.

Last Christmas, I watched the gifts pile up under the tree. There were several there with my name on them (I must’ve been a good boy!), but one caught my attention. I couldn’t help wondering what was inside the cleverly wrapped package with its matching bow, classy label, and crisply creased edges. Yeah, I just knew that was going to be the best gift of the season. Unfortunately, it turned out to be something I’ll probably never use, but its appearance lulled me into believing that it was something grand.

It pays to understand that your customers are captivated by attractively “wrapped” advertisments. These ad pieces just spell out appeal. Now, how can you create an ad that can compete with graphic designers without shelling out the dinero that one of these gurus would charge?

Let’s first look at the formats you may want to consider. There’s the solo piece - that paper that comes in the mail minus an envelope, printed on both sides, folded into thirds, and sometimes stapled shut. Another form of the solo piece can be a simpler version - the postcard. These pieces are the most cost-effective ways of getting information to your customers or potential customers.

Reader’s Digest and Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes use a much more involved format - multiple piece mailing. Yeah, you’ve probably wasted as much time as I have reading through the cover letter, browsing the flyers tucked inside, filling out the response sheets, and looking at the magazine stickers. Believe it or not…there’s a philosophy behind all of those papers scattered across the table - the odds of something catching the reader’s attention grow with the number of loose pieces included.

You can pick and choose between the styles you want to use. It might be fun to watch your mail for the next week. Identify the formats of the advertisements that come to you. Which one do you find the most attractive?

Once you’ve decided on the format, you’re ready to write the copy and send it off to the printer. Yeah, here’s where a lot of us get intimidated. Forget it, you don’t need to be a professional to write some power-packed copy. There are a lot of how to books on the market to help people just like you write an effective advertisement.

Next time we’ll talk about the reasons you should invest in developing personal copywriting skills.

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Shave Away The Waste Factor In Your Direct Mailing Campaign

How often do you get the mail, and throw advertisements directly into the trash? Yeah, I do too… actually, I don’t ‘just’ throw away much direct mail. I like to skim, scan, and steal ideas. Then the good stuff goes in my ‘Swipe File’ for use later. But, what’s more important is how can we keep others from putting our direct mailing campaign in the dumps?

Frost nips the air, the leaves are turning colors and I know snow is on the way. It’s the perfect time to put hiking boots on sale for those outdoor adventurers, and to get skiing enthusiasts interested in preparing for the slopes. Yep, I’m ready to get business booming, but who should I notify about the upcoming sale?

Really, there’s a simple solution! Don’t waste a lot of time and money mailing to people who are just not interested. You don’t need to be a marketing guru for that to make sense, but it might not be quite as easy as it sounds to find out who exactly is interested in your offer.

I’m obviously looking for people who are going to be outdoorsmen. A great place to start would be to find out who subscribes to magazines like Skiing, Hiking, The Great Outdoors, or Field and Stream magazines. Yeah, that list is going to cost me a pretty penny, but think about it. Am I better off paying $200 for a thousand names of people who are prime prospects or blindly mailing out 10,000 advertisments to people who may prefer to watch soap opera’s or football games?

Yep, if 9,985 of my advertisements hit the trash without a second thought, I’ve wasted a lot of dough. You do the math! Postage for 10,000 advertisements, a cheap residential list ($30), and the cost of the advertisements themselves ($500). Now compare it to the cost of 1000 advertisements ($200), 1000 postage stamps, and $200 for an appropriate list. According to my calculations that’s a saving to the tune of several thousand dollars!

Yeah, I prefer to work smarter rather than harder. If I’m going to get 15 to 20 customers into my shop, you won’t catch me licking 10,000 postage stamps to do it!

Now that we know who to target, next time we’ll discuss creating advertisements that will be irresistible!

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Prospecting: How to Mine for Potential Customers

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to keep more money in your pocket. Last time we talked about the cost effectiveness of direct mail marketing. How else can you turn 37 cents into a customer?

What we need to find out now is, “Who is looking for the product we are marketing?” If you’ve been paying attention, you already know the people who buy your products. Maybe they’re young parents, people who subscribe to Reader’s Digest, females, middle class, between 30 and 40 years old, or live within two miles of you. Whatever the demographics may be, you’ll find that others who share these commonalities will be likely customers as well.

This brings us back to the topic of lists. There are companies out there who have done the hard work for you. Of course you’ll be paying them for their efforts, but the time, energy, and money you save will more than pay for itself when you invest in buying or renting a compiled mailing list that fits your criteria.

A rule of thumb about list purchasing: the more specific the list…the higher the price. Nope, that’s not always a bad thing! Narrowing down the list to fit your specific needs may be an overall savings in the long run.

You may have list brokers or other sources in your area. Thumb through the yellow pages under categories like mailing lists, mailing services, or advertising consultants. None listed? Go to the library and find national sources in the Standard Rate and Data Service directory, or make a toll free call to 1-800-NYC-BEST.

Just the other day, the door bell jangled as one of my favorite customers left the building. After the sale, we’d spent five minutes just chatting and the pleasant interlude afterward got me to thinking about some of my other favorites. That’s when it hit me, I hadn’t seen John, Mary, or Jack in quite some time! Had it been a month, six weeks? Where were they? I got out my customer list and began scanning it for others who hadn’t been around in a while. It was time to get out the envelopes and stamps.

Yeah, that’s right. Direct mailing is a good way to re-inspire old customers to come back too. A simple reminder that you are there, or an announcement that you have added new products or services can prompt additional sales to tally up at the end of the day.

Stay tuned for ways to keep your direct mailing campaign out of the dumps!

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Can You Turn 37 Cents into a Customer?

Neither rain nor shine, sleet nor hail…The United States Postal Service can be depended upon to bring customers to you. Yeah, you can count on them to deliver customers at a pretty good price too - 37 cents. There aren’t many ways to advertise that can compete with the low cost of direct mail.

The main attraction to direct mail is the control you have over where your advertising goes. Think about it - when you use media to advertise you are paying to put your product in front of a lot of people who have no interest in it, and may even be outside of your marketing area. Telemarketing is an even greater waste of time, energy and money in most cases - especially since the no call lists have become so demanded by the public.

~~~~ SIDEBAR ~~~~ If you live in the USA or Canada, and would like for us to send you a sample of the direct mail pieces, printer, and mail house we use, just use the URL below … and we’ll get them out the door to you. http://1trac.com/dt/t/pc_samples.php ~~~~ SIDEBAR ~~~~

According to studies, advertising can cost anywhere from ten to one hundred bucks per perspective customer. Yeah, that’s a lot of dough - especially when you can create a target list of perspective customers and advertise directly to them for the cost of a postage stamp. Quite a savings, huh?

Looking for ways to find out just who is and who isn’t interested in your products and services? Look for my next email with some great techniques to narrow down your perspective customer list.

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Are your customers selling for you?

Every family has its story teller who livens up the family reunions with tales of his latest escapades. You know who I’m talking about… Old Uncle Elmer. Yep, he’s the only highlight of the party most years…and you look forward to the tales even when you know they’ve been spruced up a little for effect.

Now, a good marketer - like Uncle Elmer - knows the art of telling a relevant story. Yeah, a successful marketer knows that facts only tell, but stories make it sell. Imagine making a sales call to a law firm to convince Attorney Jones to purchase a new laptop. What is going to convince him that this is the perfect set-up for a busy attorney? Of course, a tale about Attorney So and So who was in over his head… bought your laptop… and now has enough leisure time to both golf and fish.

This brings me to the point of a valuable marketing tool: customer category marketing. People connect to others on the same level as they are. Learn to make the connections with relevant stories. Draw from your experience and let previous customers’ stories make the sale for you.

Another tool that marketers often overlook is geographical marketing. Jump on the keep-up-with-the-Jones’ trend. Have you sold your product to someone in a large office building? Hey, contact the rest of the offices in the building and let them know that their neighbors have bought into the best deal in town. Over lunch Secretary Brown will ask Secretary Black about it, and before long your product will be the buzz of the building.

Word-of-mouth advertising is by far the cheapest way to advertise. A wise marketer will learn to initiate customer referrals at every opportunity. Yep, getting others to follow in the footsteps of your satisfied customer is like leading a duck to water…the rest just get in line.

Tune in next time for advice on turning 37 cents into a customer!

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Are You Using Power-Packed Testimonials?

This month, marketers around the world will increase their sales by as much as 250%. Yeah, that got your attention! Sales increases like that get your heart pumping for sure. Now to the question, how?

Last month I was bored out of my mind, sitting in the family doctor’s waiting room, when I spied a bulletin board. Plastered across it were the smiling cherubic faces of his young patients. Here and there were crayon drawings on lined paper that showed cute little attempts at smiley faces, and somewhat more mature letters that said, “Thanks for making me feel all better, doctor.”

We’ve all heard of testimonials, but these were among the most powerful testimonials I’ve ever seen. Perfectly innocent and totally honest, the glowing, healthy photos of the tykes and their heartfelt drawings said it all.

Are you using testimonials as part of your marketing agenda? Well, let me reword that. Are you using power-packed testimonials as part of your marketing strategy? There is a difference.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Yeah, there’s a huge amount of difference between reading words that someone has to say about your product, and seeing their face beside the words. Imagine the additional impact when you use snapshots that include the customer and your product along side the testimonial.

~~~~ Allyn Recommends ~~~~ Here’s a great resource to use to put audio on your website, as well as Audio Testimonials. http://1trac.com/dt/t/audiogen.php If you would like to test my personal Super Testimonial process, and have me place I link from one of my websites to your website, check out this URL. http://1trac.com/dt/t/super_test.php ~~~~ Allyn Recommends ~~~~

Think about this - repeat customers are a gold mine in the testimonial field. Take the opportunity to add a new picture with the latest model of your product along side the previous photo. Did they buy a new truck in 1990? Place the picture of them standing beside their 2005 truck right next to 1990 photo for a double testimony.

Stick around…next time well learn how using the RIGHT testimonial at the RIGHT time will boost your sales!

Dedicated to your future success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Referrals - The Greatest Marketing Tool Available

Everybody likes the warm fuzzy feeling of being a hero. Remember the glow you feel when you know you’ve done something that was great? Yep, the smiles, thank you’s, and pats on the back do something for a guys ego. Hey, wouldn’t it be great if you could take that “winning sensation” and place it on every customer that walks out your door - whether it’s a real or virtual door?

Aha, I’ve discovered how you can do exactly that, and use the entire event to increase your business! Not a bad trade, huh? The secret - REFERRALS I know, I know, if you’re like me, you hate to ask your customers to tell someone else about your products. After all, I’m not into begging. But really, you don’t have to grovel before your clients to get them marketing your products, if you know what you’re doing.

Here’s the scoop. First of all, don’t be afraid to ask for referrals. Studies say that every person who walks through your door or browses your site, knows fifty-two people on the same social status or working realm. Hey, do the math! The potential advertising is phenomenal, right? Chances are that each of your clients will tell between one and three of their acquaintances about your business with no incentive from you. Imagine the difference a little incentive will make!

~~~~ SIDEBAR ~~~~ If you have a friend, an associate… a Referral, who could benefit from our Amazing Marketing Strategies series, please send them to the URL below:

http://1trac.com/dt/t/cp_optin.php ~~~~ SIDEBAR ~~~~

Christmas…Birthday…Valentine’s Day….Why do we look forward to these special days? I know I like that little bit of special attention, and yeah…a gift is nice too. Yep we all like gifts, and your customers will go the extra mile for you when you throw in a little bonus or surprise for them every time they refer someone to you. Get a package of special giveaways or print up discount cards. Hey, even a thank you card can brighten their day.

I recently bought a car, and within a week I received three $150 coupons in the mail to give away. Now most folks are like me, and like to look out for friends and family members. Every time someone mentioned buying a car, I was sure to pull out the coupons and offer them $150 off their first payment. Yeh, it feels good to help someone else save money too! You might want to make use of these second party certificates. Your customers are sure to know folks who are thinking of purchasing your product. And what better advertisement than a satisfied customer with - in my case- a shiny new car to show off!

Remember that an attitude of gratitude is important in this advertising game. A customer who sticks their neck out for you, and receives no recognition isn’t as likely to go the extra mile a second time. On the other hand, a happy customer who knows their efforts are appreciated and rewarded will be a life-long loyal advertiser!

Next time we’ll explore the dramatic impact that testimonials can have on your marketing strategy.

Dedicated To Your Further Success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.

Classic Marketing Wisdom At Your Fingertips

We’ve been creating lists for improving our customer relationships and marketing strategies, but let’s talk about a list full of classic marketing wisdom. Let’s face it, there are quite a few folks out there that know a LOT more about marketing than we do. Yeah, it might pay to keep a sharp eye out for some of their tips for success.

Now if you’re like me, your eyebrows have shot up and you’re groaning, “There’s a heck of a lot of organization involved in this idea!” Don’t panic, we’re not writing an encyclopedia here - just loosely organizing some good information according to subject.

To get your list started, you may want to check out some works by David Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Claude Hopkins, or Bob Stone. Save a few bucks, by checking your local library before heading for the bookstore. You’re just going to be keeping tidbits of information anyway. Once you get this checklist underway, you’re set to apply the principals to your writing skills and save yourself a bundle of money.

How do the big businesses do it? Of course they hire people to be creative for them. People just like you, who have set out to learn some skills from others, and who aren’t afraid to experiment.

Checklists are great reminders that creativity can be learned. You don’t have to have some ingrained genius to be innovative. Look around, learn, and experiment. Nope, every try isn’t going to net you a million, but sooner or later you’ll hit the mother lode…if you try.

Next time well explore an often overlooked marketing tool that just might be the key to skyrocketing sales!

Dedicated to your further success.

All the best,

Allyn Cutts

PS To contact me via email, Click Here

About the Author

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers.

Allyn consults personally with clients to design and deliver offline and online direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results. You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://AmazingMarketingStrategy.com or you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays

You may reprint or distribute this article as long as you leave the content and the resource box at the end intact.