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Digg it UP - Dirty Hooligan! What a Crude Street Corner Come-On Taught Me About Direct Response Marketing
Health insurance is designed to offer financial protection against losses experienced due to illness, accidents, or injury. This type of insurance comes in many forms that offer differing levels of coverage. It can be purchased as part of a group policy or may be purchased by an individual.Group policies are generally purchased through an employer, associations, or unions. They may be less expensive because the costs associated with administration are reduced. In addition, the employees or association may pay part of the premium.Group health insurance has become an incentive for potential employees who are trying to cover their or their families' health care expenses. Some policies offer managed care. Depending on the policies of a managed care provider, preventative health care may be part of the plan. Prevent
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those s
At some time in the life of almost every person there comes the urge to establish a business of their own. Not very many ever attempt to do so, but it's a fact that most of the large businesses of today were created from the individual enterprise of one person.There are at least three choices open to ambitious entrepreneurs through which they may enter into business. First, the founding of an entirely new business; Second, the combining of two or more established businesses through the introduction of some new plan of operation; Such as the production of a new product, a new advertising technique, or a better plan for marketing the product. And third, becoming a part of an already established businessThe idea to establish a business brings with it two questions. What line of business, and how to finance it. Gen
No, I mean to your website.
Day in and day out, I see marketers address "filet mignon" prospects like $10 streetwalkers.
How do they expect to get the sale (or the signup, or the download, or the ___) like THAT?
It's all about converting "ho-hum" browsers to excited, active BUYERS ... right?
Hmph. Not that way.
Come with me as I tear through one crude, street corner come-on, showing you how it relates to YOUR direct response website ... and how marketing like this can grind sales to a screeching halt.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE COME-ON
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I was walking downtown on business the other day, and out of nowhere I hear:
"HEY!!!
"Ay, can I talk to you?
"Come HERE.
"WHERE YOU GOIN'???!!"
Umm ... excuse him? I was "GOIN'" faster.
To get away from the fool.
You probably don't realize it, but the mechanics of this barbaric come-on are components YOU experience on direct response sites every day.
The sites that cause their visitors' only "direct response" to be to leave ... WITHOUT buying, or opting in.
Can't see it yet?
Let's break it down:
"HEY!!!"
This is equivalent to an on-entry alert box pop-up telling me to input my name to "personalize my experience."
Or one demanding that I subscribe to some ezine I've never heard of, authored by a marketer I don't know from Adam, and harping on about some free bonuses that I either don't want, or already have.
"Ay, can I talk to you?"
This is an amateurish, garish sales letter with fonts sized way too big, too much going on in the opening, a massive header that never loads, a headline that doesn't tell me what the @%$^& I'm doing there, and too much use of colors that are WAY too bright!
The letter continues with a desperate spiel about how this is quite likely "the most important letter I'll ever read".
(Uhh ... right.)
"Come HERE."
This one's easy.
"Order TODAY!" "Get it by midnight tonight or you WON'T get it at ALL!" (At least until tomorrow rolls around -- right?)
In other words, "buy my useless crap NOW so I can get right to ignoring your refund request as you discover that my CRAP doesn't work!"
(Can we say "leave the money on the nightstand?" :-/)
"Where you GOIN'???!"
This is yet *another* pop-up window -- on exit, now -- designed to get me to come up off of my money or e-mail address.
Only this one is so the site owner can hound me relentlessly week after week, with thinly-veiled attempts to make me feel foolish or inferior for not buying on the first visit.
It's the last desperate reach for ANY form of "action" or desired result from the site.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
You've Seen the "Crude" Way. Now ... What's the BEST Way?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It's simple: COURT ME.
Most people don't go to a website LOOKING to buy something. In contrast, that becomes the result *if* you rub 'em the right way.
"If."
Most sites shouldn't use hard sales language, (like banter about "hot prices" or "amazing specials"), in their opener.
They're likely scaring prospects away with the very thought.
Unless your prospect is *specifically* coming to buy and you BOTH *know* that (i.e., you run an online catalog), they'll be like:
"Hot prices?!
"I didn't come here to buy, I came here to LEARN. What's up with that?!"
...And will leave you AND your "scaldingly temperatured prices" at the altar.
And for goodness sake, tell how the visitor will benefit BEFORE asking anything of them.
You'll get more results that way.
If you were walking down the street and someone shoved a drinking glass in your face, shouting:
"Buy this NOW! Hot sale! Here, here, HERE!! TODAY *ONLY*!!!"
...would you buy it?
Or would you eye them like they'd just sprouted a third ear in the middle of their forehead, and sprint away from "the lunatic" as fast as humanly possible?
Hmmm.
I call calamities like this "The Push 'n' Shove Principle".
Make the buying decision *theirs* -- not *yours*.
Don't beat them over the head with "order TODAYs", or "only an idiot would pass up this offer!!!" insults. (Why would we buy from merchants who imply that we're idiots if we choose NOT to? Way to build a relationship with the reader, Moron!)
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those st
Method 1: Client base Saturation - When looking for new business, your current clients are always your BEST prospects! The focus of this approach is developing all client relationships to their maximum potential - helping them in every way possible and, in the process, laying a stronger foundation for their ongoing referrals.Method 2: Refined Referral Building - Stronger client relationships should naturally lead to more and better referrals - but you need to know when and how to ask for them! This method focuses on securing high-level introductions into companies with whom your existing clients have relationships.Method 3: Professional Interpersonal Networking - Every day, human development professionals cross paths with millions of dollars in opportunities, yet allow the vast majority of those opportunitie
Can't see it yet?
Let's break it down:
"HEY!!!"
This is equivalent to an on-entry alert box pop-up telling me to input my name to "personalize my experience."
Or one demanding that I subscribe to some ezine I've never heard of, authored by a marketer I don't know from Adam, and harping on about some free bonuses that I either don't want, or already have.
"Ay, can I talk to you?"
This is an amateurish, garish sales letter with fonts sized way too big, too much going on in the opening, a massive header that never loads, a headline that doesn't tell me what the @%$^& I'm doing there, and too much use of colors that are WAY too bright!
The letter continues with a desperate spiel about how this is quite likely "the most important letter I'll ever read".
(Uhh ... right.)
"Come HERE."
This one's easy.
"Order TODAY!" "Get it by midnight tonight or you WON'T get it at ALL!" (At least until tomorrow rolls around -- right?)
In other words, "buy my useless crap NOW so I can get right to ignoring your refund request as you discover that my CRAP doesn't work!"
(Can we say "leave the money on the nightstand?" :-/)
"Where you GOIN'???!"
This is yet *another* pop-up window -- on exit, now -- designed to get me to come up off of my money or e-mail address.
Only this one is so the site owner can hound me relentlessly week after week, with thinly-veiled attempts to make me feel foolish or inferior for not buying on the first visit.
It's the last desperate reach for ANY form of "action" or desired result from the site.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
You've Seen the "Crude" Way. Now ... What's the BEST Way?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It's simple: COURT ME.
Most people don't go to a website LOOKING to buy something. In contrast, that becomes the result *if* you rub 'em the right way.
"If."
Most sites shouldn't use hard sales language, (like banter about "hot prices" or "amazing specials"), in their opener.
They're likely scaring prospects away with the very thought.
Unless your prospect is *specifically* coming to buy and you BOTH *know* that (i.e., you run an online catalog), they'll be like:
"Hot prices?!
"I didn't come here to buy, I came here to LEARN. What's up with that?!"
...And will leave you AND your "scaldingly temperatured prices" at the altar.
And for goodness sake, tell how the visitor will benefit BEFORE asking anything of them.
You'll get more results that way.
If you were walking down the street and someone shoved a drinking glass in your face, shouting:
"Buy this NOW! Hot sale! Here, here, HERE!! TODAY *ONLY*!!!"
...would you buy it?
Or would you eye them like they'd just sprouted a third ear in the middle of their forehead, and sprint away from "the lunatic" as fast as humanly possible?
Hmmm.
I call calamities like this "The Push 'n' Shove Principle".
Make the buying decision *theirs* -- not *yours*.
Don't beat them over the head with "order TODAYs", or "only an idiot would pass up this offer!!!" insults. (Why would we buy from merchants who imply that we're idiots if we choose NOT to? Way to build a relationship with the reader, Moron!)
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those s
Almost everyone who has a computer with a mouse needs a mouse mat, but many of these people already have them. If you are planning on using promotional mouse mats in your next round of advertising, then you are going to have to come up with a top notch design that beats out the competition that is already sitting on the desks of your clients, or else your promotional funds will be going down the drain.Clients always appreciate gifts, even if they are not sure that they are going to use them. In that way, a promotional mouse mat can be a great idea even if you are not sure that your clients will need or use the mouse mats when they arrive. They are a better investment when they end up on top of the desks, however, so it is time to start thinking about how you will get them there.Your promotional mouse mat may
(Can we say "leave the money on the nightstand?" :-/)
"Where you GOIN'???!"
This is yet *another* pop-up window -- on exit, now -- designed to get me to come up off of my money or e-mail address.
Only this one is so the site owner can hound me relentlessly week after week, with thinly-veiled attempts to make me feel foolish or inferior for not buying on the first visit.
It's the last desperate reach for ANY form of "action" or desired result from the site.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
You've Seen the "Crude" Way. Now ... What's the BEST Way?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It's simple: COURT ME.
Most people don't go to a website LOOKING to buy something. In contrast, that becomes the result *if* you rub 'em the right way.
"If."
Most sites shouldn't use hard sales language, (like banter about "hot prices" or "amazing specials"), in their opener.
They're likely scaring prospects away with the very thought.
Unless your prospect is *specifically* coming to buy and you BOTH *know* that (i.e., you run an online catalog), they'll be like:
"Hot prices?!
"I didn't come here to buy, I came here to LEARN. What's up with that?!"
...And will leave you AND your "scaldingly temperatured prices" at the altar.
And for goodness sake, tell how the visitor will benefit BEFORE asking anything of them.
You'll get more results that way.
If you were walking down the street and someone shoved a drinking glass in your face, shouting:
"Buy this NOW! Hot sale! Here, here, HERE!! TODAY *ONLY*!!!"
...would you buy it?
Or would you eye them like they'd just sprouted a third ear in the middle of their forehead, and sprint away from "the lunatic" as fast as humanly possible?
Hmmm.
I call calamities like this "The Push 'n' Shove Principle".
Make the buying decision *theirs* -- not *yours*.
Don't beat them over the head with "order TODAYs", or "only an idiot would pass up this offer!!!" insults. (Why would we buy from merchants who imply that we're idiots if we choose NOT to? Way to build a relationship with the reader, Moron!)
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those s
The globalization of economies has lead to intense branding campaigns. Companies that have started out in just one state are now competing for worldwide share of the market. Because of this, small starts up companies are finding it harder and harder to compete with established brands while bigger companies swallows up most of the market in their scope. Bottom line is, start up mistakes is a lot more costly today than it was before. One wrong move and a new company just might find itself crushed by competition.Perhaps this is the main reason why people are finding franchise opportunities a better alternative to starting a brand new business. With franchisor’s brand and support systems as its base, more and more people are finding it easier to have their own business in this intensely competitive environment. The
"Hot prices?!
"I didn't come here to buy, I came here to LEARN. What's up with that?!"
...And will leave you AND your "scaldingly temperatured prices" at the altar.
And for goodness sake, tell how the visitor will benefit BEFORE asking anything of them.
You'll get more results that way.
If you were walking down the street and someone shoved a drinking glass in your face, shouting:
"Buy this NOW! Hot sale! Here, here, HERE!! TODAY *ONLY*!!!"
...would you buy it?
Or would you eye them like they'd just sprouted a third ear in the middle of their forehead, and sprint away from "the lunatic" as fast as humanly possible?
Hmmm.
I call calamities like this "The Push 'n' Shove Principle".
Make the buying decision *theirs* -- not *yours*.
Don't beat them over the head with "order TODAYs", or "only an idiot would pass up this offer!!!" insults. (Why would we buy from merchants who imply that we're idiots if we choose NOT to? Way to build a relationship with the reader, Moron!)
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those s
There are few things in life we choose to do while blindfolded – the act of covering our eyes while performing a task, even a routine one, instills emotions such as fear, anxiety and confusion. With our eyes covered, any acts we attempt are done with uncertainty, taking a longer path toward our goal, if we reach the goal at all. A perfect example is the adolescent game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, which invokes instinctive and reactive behaviors, often ending with a misplaced tail.Metaphorically speaking, the billion-dollar industry of online marketing grinds forward in a similar fashion, driven by millions of visually impaired marketers in pursuit of a moving target with a recipe that rarely produces the same results twice. And if it did, they would be none the wiser.The Internet evolution has been one giant
Oy.
Instead, let prospects *convince themselves* by presenting such a flawless list of product benefits that they couldn't imagine NOT ordering.
And if your target market responds to it, you may want to tell a short story introducing a "painful" situation -- before introducing YOUR product as the "soothing" solution later in your copy.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Okay. So What's This Whole "Courting" Thing?
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
*I* even thought that an odd word to use as I was writing this. But I put it on down because, if you think about it, the similarities between:
COURTING vs. one-night stands, and
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS vs. direct selling
...are overwhelmingly obvious. Most sites spring directly into a sales pitch WITHOUT courting visitors a little.
There's the site that realizes it has to "stroke you" some before expecting to get anything out of you (a sale, an e-mail address, etc.).
Then there's the site that goes for the jugular immediately upon visiting, with those stupid alert pop-up boxes and discussions of price lists before you understand what they have to OFFER -- much less to order.
Take an honest look at YOUR sites now, and ask yourself:
Will my prospects view me as a high class mover and shaker who's truly interested in serving their needs ... FOR THE LONG HAUL?
Or will they view me as a dirty hooligan desperate to be thrown a bone, who'd pimp 'em like it was the 70's and my name was "The Mack"?
Yes, I'm sure "Art of War" tactics are effective for some. *I* just don't want to present myself that way ... because it's not the ONLY way.
If I have to strong-arm a prospect to get 'em to order a product they don't WANT or need, it's tantamount to robbery ... and I'm trying to keep my criminal record clean, thanks.
So, remember:
Don't push 'em.
Don't shove 'em.
RUB 'em.
THEN they'll do what you want ... and come back for more.
Copyright 2004 Harmony Major
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