I can’t say I was ever in the “cool club” while I was growing up. And not much has changed since I entered the realms of business.
Truth is direct response marketing isn’t very sexy. You’re not going to show your friends and family an ad that I write you and have them oohhh and ahhhh and go on about how good it looks at your Sunday night barbeque.
Nope.
They’ll probably say my ad looks terrible. That there’s too much writing. That they would never read it, etc. etc.
Bottom line is direct response isn’t cool.
But it works.
I like to look at it like this.
Many conventional advertisers build you these fancy, mancy, mushy, wooshy ads (sorry, I’ve been reading too much of Dr. Seuss and it’s having its effect).
They’re like the cool kids who have the right sunglasses… the right clothes… etc.
But when it comes to actually getting things done, they don’t have the goods.
Whereas direct response advertisers are like these guys who rock up in their shorts and thongs… look less attractive than the ordinary person - but they get the job done.
And that’s what you want isn’t it.
Remember, it isn’t about being cool.
It’s about being effective.
And that brings me to another point.
What’s cool right now? Twitter… Facebook… email marketing… web marketing… banner ads… SEO… etc.
All the high techno stuff, right?
Now these mediums do work. Obviously I’d be contradicting myself if I said email marketing and web marketing didn’t work.
Of course it does. I make 6 figures a year purely through these mediums.
But twitter and facebook – while promising – are yet to be proven the way other mediums are.
Sure, I participate in these mediums and see their potential. But I’m not 100% sold yet.
And email marketing is becoming less and less effective as our inboxes get cluttered with so much junk and everything is screaming for our attention.
But consider the uncool personally addressed letter.
That’s right. Direct mail.
Research shows that 89% of people open and read a personally addressed letter (ADMA Consumer Insights Study, 2005) compared to 10 – 20% who open an email.
What’s more, you can target your reader directly with direct mail.
You can say I want to get in touch with a business owner who earns in excess of $500,000 and works in a particular industry… within 20kms of the CBD or whatever.
Whereas with search engines you get every man and his dog who is looking up a search term ending up at your site.
Currently, I am embarking on a direct mail campaign for big clients who would be very unlikely to find me via online mediums.
So consider going down the direct mail path.
While everyone is zigging after new techologies, why don’t you try zagging instead.
My name is Scott Bywater and if you own a business or would like to own a business, I’m here to help YOU get all the new customers you need. I’ve already helped thousands of business owners do the same through Cashflow Advertising, More Customers Made Easy and my other teleseminar and coaching sessions.