TheBusinessCommandos.com

Lumpy mail is a very effective strategy to secure Attention and increase your response with your direct mail campaigns. If you’re trying to get the Attention of a key prospect, lumpy mail will help you stand out and be remembered.

I’ve even heard of someone sending a CEO of a large company a $1200 golf bag to get the CEO’s attention and get his foot in the door for a presentation. Mind you this deal was probably worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, I’m not by any means suggesting you use a $1200 golf bag. You must know your numbers and stack the odds in your favor.

When a prospect receives a lumpy piece of mail they are curious to open it and see what is inside. You know yourself when something arrives in the mail for you and it’s an odd shape and you can feel that there’s something different inside, which makes you want to open it immediately to find out what it is.

There are many lumpy mail pieces you can use including the following;

· One red sock with an invite to an event where they will get the second red sock to make the pair

· A tape measure – “Do you measure up to today’s standards in ________? Get our Free report on the 3 biggest mistakes made by business today.”

There’s a few to get you started and we haven’t even scratched the surface. I remember a copywriter I know who sent a lumpy mail piece that turned up in a large express post bag with a pair or red underwear inside and a note saying; “I’ve sent you these undies, because when you read my offer, you’re going to shit yourself” – Now I must clarify, this individual knew his market and they loved the joke. So pick your mark if you plan on any outrageous campaigns like this one.

Remember your lumpy mail is to grab their attention, then your message must end with a call-to-action as to what they must do next. Whether you’re offering a free report, seminar or consultation, you must make it clear to your prospect the next step.

Attention is the currency in marketing today and Lumpy Mail will help you cut through the clutter and get response from your market.

P.S. This and a whole lot more will be covered in detail at The Business Commandos Boot Camp

The harsh reality is that we live in a nation of cynics and justifiably so when you look at the facts. People have been lied to and cheated too many times.

Bill Clinton the former president of The United States, blatantly lied to the people who voted him into office and entrusted him to lead them.

In Australia a lot of people link the word entrepreneur to Alan Bond, etc.

The list of reasons why people are so skeptical today is long, which brings us to the all important point of PROOF!

You must back up everything you say with proof that what you say is true. People will be thinking why should they believe you and it is up to you to back up every statement you make with an abundance of PROOF!

You can do this with any of the following; (more…)

Your offer with all of your marketing needs to be so good that it sells itself. When writing an ad, your headline is the most important part to grab their attention so they read the ad and get to the offer and your offer is the next most crucial piece.

Your offer should have so much value stacked into it that it’s simply irresistible. As well as being loaded up with value, if you can remove the risk for people in buying your product obviously has a major impact on getting the sale too.

Bundling products together helps pile the value high and makes your package much more appealing when people can see all of the value they are getting.

Give your package an appealing name too like; “The Million Dollar Makeover” coaching package, guaranteed to double your sales in the next 12 months!

Here’s some more strategies to sweeten your offer;

The Puppy Dog Close: This is the free trial option. Where they get to take the product (puppy dog) home for a week and fall in love with it, and you allow them to return it if they are not totally happy for a complete refund within a certain time frame.

The Promissory Note Offer: Pay half now, and half later after specific results have been achieved.

Post Dated Cheque: The try before you buy option. Take it and try it and we won’t process your credit card for 30 days.

Give them options…

Offer a standard and deluxe version. With this option the only reason you have the standard option is to sell the deluxe. All of the value should be in the deluxe and just the bare bones offered in the standard package.
This also helps at closing when they have to make a decision, it’s no longer a yes or a no, it’s a which one do you want the standard or the deluxe.

And remember to pile the value high. It comes back to, if you want more money, ADD MORE VALUE!!!

Yours in success,
Aaron Parsons.

The enemy of the entrepreneur is clutter, we are all bombarded by marketing material everyday, don’t quote me on it, but I believe the number is around 4,000 messages per day we’re exposed to.

Attention is what everyone is fighting for today. Your job as an entrepreneur is to attract the Attention of your market place to Stop them in their tracks and take notice of what you have to offer.

Some of the basics includes your USP, what makes you unique in your market and with your marketing pieces your Attention grabbing headline. Depending how far you want to go and how bold you want to be, you could pull stand out stunts like the great Richard Branson, they certainly get everyone’s attention.

Maybe you have some stand out achievements to display or you’ve partnered with celebrities that your market place respect or speaking from the platform is a great media for gaining the attention of your audience.

Crazy guarantees, stand out track records and even authoring your own book are all effective attention grabbers.

Attention is the new currency, in Japan they have vending machines where you can get free drinks or snacks just for watching some advertisements. So the advertisers are paying for your attention

A good strategy in direct mail is to use Lumpy Mail to get your prospects attention, which is covered in detail in my ATTENTION Marketing Program, which will be released for the first time very soon, so stay tuned.

Don’t fall for the plain vanilla, ‘me-too’ strategy, focus on what you can do to stand out and own the Attention of your audience.

Yours in success,

Aaron Parsons

www.TheBusinessCommandos.com

www.BusinessGrowthGuru.com

In Marketing today it is crucial to focus on building the relationship with your clients and prospects. I was reading recently that when running advertisements to attract new clients, on average it would be effective after 4 times, where as today it is more like 8 or 9 times for people to warm to you.

You must be consistent with your marketing and ensure you stay in touch with your clients and prospects to maintain the all important ‘Top-Of-Mind’ awareness so that when they are ready to buy you are the first person they think of. Remember most people won’t be ready to buy when you first come into contact with them, so consistent marketing efforts on your part is imperative.

The crucial point with staying in contact and adding value to your clients and prospects with good quality information to help them get more of what they want is that you are earning the right to get the sale. Building up that level of trust is a major factor in today’s market place.

Plus with staying in contact through passing on quality information also helps with positioning you as the expert in your field. Don’t be scared to give away great information for free. Remember the more you help people get what they want the more you will get what you want.

People are so skeptical today because they are hearing all sorts of weird and wonderful promises out there in the crowed market place and the good news for you is that most businesses don’t bother to stay in contact to build the relationship, which makes your job even more effective in getting their Attention.

And there are no excuses with modern technology you can use email auto-responders to stay in touch for the majority, however the most effective is to use several forms of media. If they’re not responsive to email, you may be able to get through with direct mail or SMS or even through sending them a DVD.

Just be prepared to be persistent, consistent and flexible with your approach and you’re sure to be kicking goals with your marketing in no time!!

Just wanted to share some nuggets with you about headline creation and I know we touched on this briefly in an earlier post however, I’m still seeing 95% of people not getting the importance of investing the time to create an appealing headline that gets ATTENTION out there in a cluttered market place.

I’ve already explained how important your headline is, the most important element of any advertisement and your headline will determine 80% of your response/success with your marketing.

Because lets face it, if your headline doesn’t stop the reader in their tracks and grab their ATTENTION, then the rest of the advertisement is a waste of time because there aren’t going to read it!

When creating a headline for your ad, it is a good idea to write as many as 20-30 and then choose the best one.

If you’re not sure where to start, just check out some of the magazine ads, some of your junk mail you receive or search the internet for some inspiration. A great strategy that I normally only share with my inner circle members is to have a look on Amazon.com and check out the best selling books relating to your topic, they’re likely to have some very effective headlines or they wouldn’t be best sellers… right?

One to remember when writing a book, the headline sells the book!

Another great resource to help you with creating effective headlines and advertisements is John Caples book - ‘Tested Advertising Methods’. If you don’t own a copy of that I highly recommend you grab yourself one ASAP and devour it.

You may also find some inspiration from the Free members section of my membership site - www.BusinessGrowthGuru.com If you haven’t visited yet, you may want to take a look and take advantage of the Free resources you get just for visiting the Free members section.

I love to hear your comments, what you’re finding most useful and what you’d like to hear more about. Please post your comments below.

Yours in success,

Aaron Parsons.

When it comes to direct response mail, a pretty postcard or an
attractive envelope may look good, but it alone is not going to
persuade anyone to buy from you.
It’s important that the message contained in the letter or on the
postcard is just as attractive as the cover itself.

That said, think big. You want a big idea for your direct response
mailer. What’s the point behind what you’re sending? Is it to
introduce your product? Give a special price? Highlight your unique
guarantee? Drive traffic to your website?

Your postcard or letter should contain an idea that makes
customers think to themselves, “WOW, I have to do that right now!”
Remember, direct response marketing is all about giving people a way
to take action right away. However, you alone are responsible for
giving them the reason that makes them want to take action.

Without your big idea, you’ve spent possibly thousands of dollars on a
pretty design and attractive packaging. Most businesses don’t have that
kind of money to waste.

Remember the higher the response you get from your marketing, the more
profits you can re-invest to grow faster or support a better lifestyle.
And it all starts with you getting their ATTENTION!!