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Jun
06

Thoughts on Groupon and all the clones

By | Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Leads Generation, Main Content, Success

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I had a client of mine email this question.

There are some solid lessons in my reply – whether or not you plan on using this type of service – the answer applies for ALL leads.

Question: > What is your opinion on Swarmjam, Groupon, and sites like that? I have been approached by some of them and (competitor #1), (competitor #2), and (competitor #3), have run campaigns with them. Thank you.

My answer…

Hi Ghislaine, I think they are good for one thing only (which is why they will never work for most businesses).

Leads.

You won’t make money (doubtfully anyhow) off the promotion with them.

You may get hundreds of people in the door – but they will usually be at break even or a loss for you.

BUT, if you have a system in place to get them back… then it can work.

Most people assume that buyers from all these Groupon type deals will come back to buy more after the initial discount deal.

But Groupon type buyers typically go on looking for the next great deal.

And they never hear back from the last company they bought from anyhow… so time to move on to the next 80% off deal.

But if you have a system in place to get them back at a smaller discount the next time.

Then a system in place to get them buying again – at regular price. THEN you can make money.

But you know as well as I do – most businesses have ZERO system in place for this.

If you have yours in place – then you will be ok (as long as you get in front of them regularly to get them back).

You can make money with these – but only when you get them back to buy more and more often, without the huge discount you gave them in the first place).

My thoughts anyhow.

Troy

So, the questions for you are…

…what are you you willing to PAY for a lead (this type of lead generation is usually at break even or a loss).

…what SYSTEMS do you have in place to guarantee a certain percentage comes back to buy more from you?

If you don’t know those, don’t bother with Groupon and the clones. You WILL lose money and never get it back.

In my own opinion, Troy

PS: Don’t believe me?

Lets say typical purchase if $50 at list price. $25 is margin.

Groupon and clones want you to discount by at LEAST 50%.

Now you are at break even.

BUT, you still haven’t PAID Groupon and clones – they will want at LEAST 10% of sales.

So you sell 1,000 ‘deals’

$25,000 revenues – alright!
Minus $2,500 to Groupon clones.
Leftover = $22,500

BUT it cost you $25,000 to create the products you are selling.

It cost you $2,500 to bring in 1,000 new potential repeat buyers. Which is $2.50 per ‘lead’ – which is actually quite reasonable IF you know how to get them back to buy more, at higher margins next time.

Make sense?

So what is your system to get them back to buy more, at higher margins?

May
02

Wine Barrel Wealth Part 2

By | Affluent buyers, Direct Marketing, Success

2 Comments

Just wanted to follow up on last weeks Wine Barrel Wealth article, as I got a lot of emails about it.

First, I am going to try and get the person I wrote about to do an interview. It would probably be a private interview that I would transcribe and send to you.

I know him well enough and don’t think he is interested in doing a teleseminar (again – a lesson there for us all – he is VERY picky about where his time goes and the payoff would have to be immense (six figures minimum) to be worth it to him).

Something else I thought about though…

We did 5 wineries on the tour the one day and only 2 of the 5 had truly passionate wine makers talking about their craft of wine making.

It is easy to tell passion from paid promotion.

They told stories about how they got started in the business.

The told the truth about the cut throat nature of the business.

And their passion for their craft was highly evident. Especially the PHd who owned and ran the Luxton Winery!

The most important point: they were the ones we bought the most (wine) from – and they were soooooo much more interesting than the others!

Rediscover your passion for what you do.

It is easily the fastest way to grow your business…

…tap into your passion and start talking.

To a camera.
On a teleseminar.
To a customer in person.
To a prospect over the phone.


Get your passion out there… and watch your revenues rise.

When you are doing it just for the money, it will ultimately be the thing you hate doing the most…

sonoma winery - door to no where sign

Jun
25

Your 6 month marketing plan at 63.27% off

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, Wacky marketing ideas

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You know what next Wed is?

If you’re in Canada, it’s Canada Day.

July 1st is also:
Freedom from Fear of Speaking Day
International Joke Day
Financial Freedom Day
1st US Zoo Opened (1874)
International Build A Scarecrow  Day
Children’s Art Day

For any astute marketer, this is a gold mine (ALL business owners should
consider themselves a marketer).

Think about it…

…I just gave you 7 different ideas to run a theme based promotion.

They are unusual.

They are fun.

They stand out from the crowd.

They can be a cash cow if you know how to leverage a wacky event like this
and turn it into something that can build revenues in your business.

The best part?

They also build stronger bonds with your prospects and clients.

It certainly shows them that you are different than the rest, and try to at
least have a little fun in your business.

And they work.

Theme based marketing is one of the greatest ways to improve your cash flow.

Even Dan Kennedy says

“Theme marketing is one of the most powerful things you can do.”

One last thing about July 1st?

We are now officially half-way through the year.

Yikes.

And I have something for you that will help you make the most of the next 6 months…

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I am giving you 63.27% off the calendar.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

My 2010 Cash Flow Calendar is packed with hundreds of ideas you can use
for marketing in the last 6 months of the year.

Imagine every day of the rest of the year having a list of themes like those above.

Plus templates you can use to write the promotions.

As long as you send out newsletters, promotions, blog posts, articles…

…the Cash Flow Calendar will give you unique ways to build your business
and position yourself as a fresh voice in the crowd of competitors you have
in your field.

Why 63.27%?

Because I am offering you the one and only chance to get the calendar in
digital format, so you don’t need to pay shipping.

And only half the calendar is valid for the rest of the year.

Combined, those make for a VERY healthy savings.

…and will make you extra cash flow if you use the ideas in there.

“Received over $1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day”
We executed the 09/09/09 promotion and received over
$1000.00 worth of sales from it in one day!  Fabulous I say.”
- Fran Agar – Ballymoon Beauty

Get your copy now through this special link:
https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

You can read all the details at www.cashflowcalendars.com
(but must use the link above to get the 63.27% discount)

“I will personally make at LEAST $6,000 using this tool.
What are YOU waiting for?” I highly encourage you to
pick this up – it’s incredible.  It’s THAT GOOD.”

- Mandi Crawford – Roaring Women

Enjoy… and profit.

Troy White

PS: You may be asking what the catch is… even asking why
you should get a copy now?

Because every single day you wait…
…means another chance to improve you cash flow disappears.

Delaying only hurts you.

You get an immediate download and can have your first promotion
out the door TODAY, and it will more than return your investment.

So why wait?

https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

“This calendar activates your creativity”

I have found this calendar to be very useful
in so many ways. It is designed to maintain
and organize your business along with activating
your creativity. That is what it did for me.

It is a big help for finding new ideas for marketing
that are highly unusual (and profitable).

Thank you Troy and Kari for this valuable tool.

- Audie Perove -

https://responsivedm.infusionsoft.com/saleform/nathniit

May
25

Good news for marketers… or is it news?

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Marketing on the web, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

1 Comment

NEWS FLASH: Long copy ads make a comeback.

Or did they actually go anywhere?

One of the longest standing debates online is whether long copy or short copy works better.

Short copy advocates say “no one will read all that text”.

Long copy advocates say “without the text they have nothing to base a decision on”.

As you probably know by now, I am a BIG believer in long copy ads.

So when I saw this article by Marketing Forecast, it wasn’t a big surprise to me.

The summary – short copy ads are increasing prevalent on the net, and increasing difficult to stand out from the crowd with.

Reaaaaally?

Who’d have thunk it?

Imagine that…

…someone interested in weight loss goes online and sees one page with some pretty pictures of people who lost weight – and an order button.

The next page they go to shows the pictures, and actually tells the story about how Joe was 84 pounds overweight, had poor health, his children were worried about him, his boss gave him an ultimatum about dressing properly to be in front of clients, and his wife stopped having sex with him a year ago.

Eureka!

He finds a simple solution… and follows it to the T.

It shows his journal entries… and his weight loss records. Then it explains what his life is like now being 75 pounds lighter, happy kids he can play with, his wife is constantly dragging him back to the bedroom, and his boss gave him a raise thanks to his increased confidence and sales numbers.

What do you think…

…pretty pictures

…or an actual story explaining the pictures

Which will make more money?

Not too hard to figure out.

If the long copy ad is targeted at people who are overweight and experiecing problems liuke Joe was, the long copy ad will SMOKE the short copy ad.

It. Just. Makes. Sense.

But it is news on the internet.

For some reason.

The point is… long copy is (almost) always easier to tell a story with.

Picture ads look nice, but are MUCH more costly to try and get the sales numbers.

And the small business owners and entrepreneurs I work with are wayyyyyy more concerned about their bank account and ability to feed their family, than the beautiful branding campaign that cost them a second mortgage and brought them nothing in bankable revenues.

I LOVE working with entrepreneurs.

Their passion is contagious.

Their drive is irreplacable.

Their ability to see and do things mere mortals can’t is admirable.

And their entrepreneurial spirit is what drives economies back from the brink.

I never left long copy – and if you did – now is the time to get back!

Let me know your thoughts on the long copy vs short debate.

Troy

Jan
21

2-Stepping Your Way to Successful Lead Generation

By | advertising, Affluent buyers, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Main Content, Success, Wacky marketing ideas

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Jan
17

5 Steps to Sticky Lead Generation

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Social Networking, Wacky marketing ideas

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Are you trying to do too much with your advertising?  Lots of people I talk to want to take over the world with their new sales letter.   To them, it is perfectly logical to have a letter that finds prospective buyers, lets them to trust you, gives them every reason they need for buying, and gets them to pull out their credit card right now for this product, and for all future products they offer.

Yeah… sure. And I have a magic website that takes 4 minutes a month to run, and makes $14 billion a year in pure profits.  Not only that, it can be yours for just $997!

When you are putting together your marketing campaigns and sales letters… you need to do one thing at a time.

The first thing you need to do is FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE to sell to.  People that already have a problem that needs fixing… or some unspoken desire they want fulfilled.  You do not want to take some complete stranger and try to convince them your widget is perfect for them.

There must be something they will lose by not having your solution to their problem or desire.  They might lose status, money, time, an easier way of doing things, or the exclusivity of owning what you are selling.

Whatever it is that they will lose, you need to know it, and you need to address it in your copy.

Another thing you need to understand is who the 20% are in your target market.  You can write an advertisement that tries to sell to everyone… but why would you? Doesn’t it make more sense to go after the 20% of the market that will earn you 80% of your revenues and profits? Call out specifically to them in your
headline and offer, and you will quickly find your sales growing and your list of HIGHLY qualified buyers growing.

I highly recommend you use 2 step advertising, which means the first step in your sales campaigns is in the lead generation ads you run.  Offer them something for free (of course, it must be 100% in sync with what you ultimately want to sell them).  All they should have to do to claim your freebies is to visit a website or drop you a phone call and leave you their contact information. The follow up sales piece they see after getting your free offer is the sales letter to sell them on the actual product or service you want to sell them.  If you go straight for the sale… you will sell much less and have a much smaller database to follow up with.

Here is an advertisement I ran for 2 years untouched in a Canadian business paper.  Every time it ran (every 2 weeks), it generated me 50 high quality leads.  And those leads turned out to be my best customers as far as money spent, and quantity of products bought.

They filled out the form at the old URL I used, they received the package promise in the mail, and then I followed up with promotions over the following months and years.

And I HIGHLY recommend you use a formula just like this in your business.

Know exactly who you are selling to, design a lead generating ad just like this one that targets them, and follow up with the freebies and the promotional pieces selling your products and services.

It is a model that WILL work for you, as it does for me.

Note a few things about this lead generation advertisement: -  It uses a headline that calls out to business owners (I could have tested a more specific headline too that focused on an exact type of business as well – but my experience with business edge, the paperr I used for this ad showed a great quality lead as this ad was.  I did test numerous headlines, numerous offers, and a few different website domains.  Ultimately I found the perfect combination that got me the most leads… and it ran untouched for 2 years.

-  I mention right in the subhead that it is FREE… so they understand what I am asking of them will not cost them.  Plus, FREE is still one of the most powerful words in advertising (even better in a recession).

-   Specifics about what they get.  Include the names of what they will receive, and specifics of what it will teach them. Specifics sell!

-   I gave them a couple options – website or phone call.  I found that 20% of the respondants would phone, the rest would fill out the form on the site used (the site in this ad no longer offers the form, I just used it as an example).

-  Last (and MOST important)… I told them WHY I was doing this.

Just because it is free, doesn’t mean they will take action.

They needed to understand my motives behind this… so I told them.

Try this approach… it will work wonders for your lead generation and sales campaigns.  Let me know how it works for you!

Troy

PS: If you want a quick and dirty blueprint for creating the ultimate marketing plan for 2010 – run on over to http://www.cashflowcalendars.com - a new year is here and these plans will have you up and running in no time