The moment I decided to specialize as a direct response copywriter (which means you get a response directly from the marketing materials, there's no middle person involved, like a sales rep) I knew there would be one thing that would determine if I would be eating steak or eating mac and cheese.
And what's the one thing? The results I got for my clients.
Therefore, improving results became a pretty big focus of mine. You might even call it a passion. (Some people who aren't nearly as nice have called it in an obsession.)
Regardless, here are 5 tips that can help you improve the conversions of your marketing materials.
1. Know who you're talking to. If I hear anyone say "women are my potential customers" or "anyone with skin is my target market" (yes, that really was a direct quote from someone who sold Mary Kay or Arbonne or something like that) I will send my border collies (all 3 of them) to your house and force you to play fetch with them until your arm falls off. Seriously, the quickest way you can end up with the most dismal results imaginable is to try and talk to everyone. Come up with a specific customer -- the more specific the better -- and make sure your marketing materials speak directly to that customer.
2. Make sure you write benefits, not features. This one is probably the hardest one to "get" but also one of the most critical. People buy benefits, not features, so if you only talk about features you're just asking for people not to buy what you're selling.
So what is the difference between features and benefits? Features are a description of a product -- for instance, if we're talking about a diet pill, a feature would that the product is a pill. A benefit would be the solution the product provides -- in this case, losing weight.
As much as you possibly can, write about why someone should buy your product. No one buys diet pills because they like taking pills, they buy them to lose weight. Think of the solution your product or service provides and write about that.
3. Work on that headline. David Ogilvy, famous ad man and author of Confessions of an Advertising Man, has said that people make the decision to read your marketing materials based your headline.
Your headline should: a. speak to your potential customers, b. contain a benefit, c. be so compelling your target market is compelled to read further. That's a lot to ask for from basically a handful of words. So don't rush the process -- take as much time as you need to create the very best headline for your particular piece.
4. Don't forget the call to action. You've got to tell people what to do next. If you don't tell them what you want them to do, chances are they won't do anything.
Don't assume your potential customers know what you want them to do. They don't. They can't read your mind. Nor do they want to. They're busy people. They don't have the time or the energy to figure things out. Tell them what to do next, or don't be surprised when they don't do anything.
5. Use P.S.'s or captions. Postscripts (P.S.) are the second most read item in a sales piece. What's the third? Captions. (The copy under photos, diagrams or other illustrations.) Now that you know that, think of the ways you can use either or both of those items in your pieces. Maybe you put a special offer in there or you highlight a particularly compelling benefit. Or you tell them again what you want their next step to be. Whatever you do, don't waste that space.
If you even do just one of these tips, you should start seeing better results. Work on all five and you might be amazed at how much your results improve.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
5 tips to invest and do business in China
1. Have clear understanding of China
It is essential to understand the culture of the country before investing in it. Understanding China is vital as China is a land of vast diversity. As such it is important for the company to understand the culture and the society’s values before establishing operations in China. Only through understanding the culture and values strong foundations can be built and higher chance of success can thus be achieved.
2. Understand local business practices
Given China’s distinct culture differences from the rest of the world, understanding China’s business culture is extremely crucial. What works in one’s country will not be applicable at all in China. Understanding how the local people think and their business practices can allow one to engage better and faster with them. Original organizational culture and practices may have to change in order to accustom to China’s practices. Thus flexibility and adaptability is the key for any organization to be successful in China.
3. Acquire local knowledge and establish local presence
Establishing a representative office in conjunction with a strong domestic private sector partner that has access to all necessary information and contacts in their field is the widely practiced formula practiced by foreign firms who already enjoyed success in China. Another way will be through setting up joint venture. Most importantly it has to be the selection of the correct partner. Finding the right partner may require more time, patience and experience but it is never a hassle to spend more efforts in choosing the partner because a wrong partner will definitely guarantees failure. Chinese expertise and local talent must also be incorporated into management or consulted during decision-making since local knowledge is essential as a source of information, access to networks and social and cultural learning, especially in China.
4. Need for establishing business relationships
Guanxi (relationship) is an important element in achieving successful business in China. Top management must learn to nurture close relationships with their local counterparts. This not only helps them to understand the Chinese domestic market, but also creates avenues for help in times of trouble or in need of assistance. Building strong relationships with business partners can aid in mitigating strategic and operational risks.
5. Establish close relations with government officials
Because the China government plays an important role in influencing market movement and administering foreign investments, a strong government relationship remains an important factor to do business successfully in China. Fewer hiccups may be met during paperwork applications or achieving local authorization if a strong relationship with government officials is in place.
It is essential to understand the culture of the country before investing in it. Understanding China is vital as China is a land of vast diversity. As such it is important for the company to understand the culture and the society’s values before establishing operations in China. Only through understanding the culture and values strong foundations can be built and higher chance of success can thus be achieved.
2. Understand local business practices
Given China’s distinct culture differences from the rest of the world, understanding China’s business culture is extremely crucial. What works in one’s country will not be applicable at all in China. Understanding how the local people think and their business practices can allow one to engage better and faster with them. Original organizational culture and practices may have to change in order to accustom to China’s practices. Thus flexibility and adaptability is the key for any organization to be successful in China.
3. Acquire local knowledge and establish local presence
Establishing a representative office in conjunction with a strong domestic private sector partner that has access to all necessary information and contacts in their field is the widely practiced formula practiced by foreign firms who already enjoyed success in China. Another way will be through setting up joint venture. Most importantly it has to be the selection of the correct partner. Finding the right partner may require more time, patience and experience but it is never a hassle to spend more efforts in choosing the partner because a wrong partner will definitely guarantees failure. Chinese expertise and local talent must also be incorporated into management or consulted during decision-making since local knowledge is essential as a source of information, access to networks and social and cultural learning, especially in China.
4. Need for establishing business relationships
Guanxi (relationship) is an important element in achieving successful business in China. Top management must learn to nurture close relationships with their local counterparts. This not only helps them to understand the Chinese domestic market, but also creates avenues for help in times of trouble or in need of assistance. Building strong relationships with business partners can aid in mitigating strategic and operational risks.
5. Establish close relations with government officials
Because the China government plays an important role in influencing market movement and administering foreign investments, a strong government relationship remains an important factor to do business successfully in China. Fewer hiccups may be met during paperwork applications or achieving local authorization if a strong relationship with government officials is in place.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
5 Steps To Profiting From News Feeds
Looking at News Feeds, you might think they’re some of the most complex things to set up. Nothing could be further from the truth. They’re actually super-easy to create once you have the system set up properly.
You can break down the news feed system into a fast, low-cost system that you can do once, or several times over.
First I’ll answer a few of your questions about news feeds. Then I’ll reveal the “secret” steps to setting up and profiting from a news feed.
Common Question #1: What is a news feed?
A news feed is an automatically updating list of the latest news on a particular subject. For instance, the news feed on my Web site is on the subject of small business marketing.
Common Question #2: Why do I need one?
Other than being a really cool thing to have on your Web site, News feeds are also really great traffic boosters. Not only do they make your Web site more attractive to the all-important Web crawlers that view what's on your site, but News feeds also inspire visitors to come back to your site for fresh news.
So the benefits are two-fold:
• new visitors, and
• return visitors.
Please keep in mind there are a few things you need to do to see benefits from news feeds.
1. Choose a subject of interest to your audience. I chose small business marketing news. For you, it could be the latest news on a tough problem gripping your industry. The great part about it is that you don’t have to provide answers, just create a forum where your target market can access information about an issue.
2. Find your news feed. There are several services providing news feeds of various pieces of information. In my experience it’s best to locate news aggregators based only on your industry.
3. Place the feed on your Web site. This is where I initially ran into problems, but a programmer friend passed on a rather affordable solution that I was able to easily place the news feed on your Web site. The great thing about it is, once you set up the feed, you never really have to touch it again.
4. Make your site profitable. Consider placing advertisements on the same page as your news feed. No doubt the regularly updating news will be a hit with your audience and as more people come to the site you’ll be producing passive profits. (Say that five times fast!)
5. Drive traffic to your site. Over the years I’ve found the best way to drive traffic to a site is through article writing and distribution. It’s like an instant shot in the arm for quality traffic.
And that’s the “secret” formula to profiting from news feeds. Really, it’s no secret. It’s all about know which resources to use to make the news feed work for both you and your target audience.
You can break down the news feed system into a fast, low-cost system that you can do once, or several times over.
First I’ll answer a few of your questions about news feeds. Then I’ll reveal the “secret” steps to setting up and profiting from a news feed.
Common Question #1: What is a news feed?
A news feed is an automatically updating list of the latest news on a particular subject. For instance, the news feed on my Web site is on the subject of small business marketing.
Common Question #2: Why do I need one?
Other than being a really cool thing to have on your Web site, News feeds are also really great traffic boosters. Not only do they make your Web site more attractive to the all-important Web crawlers that view what's on your site, but News feeds also inspire visitors to come back to your site for fresh news.
So the benefits are two-fold:
• new visitors, and
• return visitors.
Please keep in mind there are a few things you need to do to see benefits from news feeds.
1. Choose a subject of interest to your audience. I chose small business marketing news. For you, it could be the latest news on a tough problem gripping your industry. The great part about it is that you don’t have to provide answers, just create a forum where your target market can access information about an issue.
2. Find your news feed. There are several services providing news feeds of various pieces of information. In my experience it’s best to locate news aggregators based only on your industry.
3. Place the feed on your Web site. This is where I initially ran into problems, but a programmer friend passed on a rather affordable solution that I was able to easily place the news feed on your Web site. The great thing about it is, once you set up the feed, you never really have to touch it again.
4. Make your site profitable. Consider placing advertisements on the same page as your news feed. No doubt the regularly updating news will be a hit with your audience and as more people come to the site you’ll be producing passive profits. (Say that five times fast!)
5. Drive traffic to your site. Over the years I’ve found the best way to drive traffic to a site is through article writing and distribution. It’s like an instant shot in the arm for quality traffic.
And that’s the “secret” formula to profiting from news feeds. Really, it’s no secret. It’s all about know which resources to use to make the news feed work for both you and your target audience.
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