If you ever buy mail-order products … hold on. Let’s back up a minute. It should be WHEN you buy mail-order products. You SHOULD be an active direct mail buyer. Why? Cuz you get to see the entire marketing process. How the business takes your order, what the packaging looks like when it arrives, what’s […]
direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, package-insert-programs, pips, recency, sales
If you’re like me, you’ve become addicted to reading people’s comments before buying anything on Amazon. We want validation that we’re making the right decision, and what could be more sincere than the spontaneous assessments of people who have already bought and used the product? One of the reasons testimonials can be more effective […]
direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, sales, testimonials, website
Price is a mysterious thing. There are literally hundreds of options for how you price your product or service. You do not have to always charge the least expensive price in order to get business. In fact, I don’t think you should ever be in a position where you have to compete on price. Many […]
competition, direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, price, sales
Have you ever wondered if its better to give a discount based on the dollar-amount off the usual price (e.g., $50 off), or a percentage off (e.g., 30% off)? Which gets a better response? I wish I could give you a cut-and-dried answer to this, but this is really a question of psychology, isn’t it? […]
customers, direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, perceived-value, sales
One of the greatest rules for writing ad copy that works is to recognize that people buy benefits, not features. They don’t buy a slice of cooked beef. They buy a sizzling steak that smells and looks delicious. The heart of any successful direct mail campaign is the sales piece. That’s where it all starts. […]
benefits, copywriting, direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing
Even if your business never extends across US borders, you can learn something from the sales techniques in China. I’m fascinated by China’s role in the world. They have a love/hate relationship with a lot of countries – especially ours. The US Trade Deficit reaches over $250 BILLION with China. We are constantly importing lower-priced […]
direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, profit, quick-tips, sales
Funny boxes have been appearing everywhere: on ads, direct mail pieces, billboards, and I’ve even seen them on t-shirts. You may have also seen them on your boarding pass the last time you traveled by airplane. Those boxes are called “QR codes,” and many of you may already know about them and might even be […]
direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, marketing, qr-codes, sales-piece
I have worked with some of the most successful direct marketing companies in the United States, and have studied the operations of many others. Just as successful people have traits in common, the most successful direct marketing companies have something in common. They follow a specific “success formula” for making tons of money via direct […]
back-end, direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, front-end, house-file, sales-funnel, sales-piece
If you want to get prospects to a website, all your direct mail piece has to do is whet their appetite. You can create an entire online sales funnel for your potential customers, but the very first step is to get them to your website. Over the years I’ve worked with a large number of […]
direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, online, sales, sales-funnel, website
When customers buy your product or service they enter a “Sales Funnel” or “Customer Retention Path” where they receive regular mailings selling the backend products. I’ve studied sales funnels/customer retention paths for years and there is a science to them. They all involve a lot of testing and take time to implement, but once they […]
customers, direct-mail, direct-mail-marketing, lifetime-value, LTV, sales, sales-funnel