Direct Mail - the Deadly Sin Of Not Testing.::. http://cyberforest.blogspot.com/

If there's one thing that makes direct mail a reliable method of
drumming up new business, then that would have to be the ability to
test if different version of a pack achieve a better return on
investment. Having processed many mailings over the years, I can attest
that clients rarely take full advantage of this feature. In fact, more
often than not, clients don't test at all.



Not testing is commercial suicide. In today's competitive climate, if
there is anything that can be done to reduce the cost of acquiring a
customer, then it must be done. It's a no brainer. Research shows that
in times of depression, those that continue to advertise are those that
do well. It also shows that those that continue to advertise also make
efforts to stretch their budget even further.



You decrease your direct mail costs by application of a little
commonsense and by testing which produces the best response. We'll take
the example of direct mail pack that comprises five parts in all.




The parts of the pack are as follows:




1) Envelope


2) Personalised letter


3) Brochure


4) Leaflet/Order form


5) Business reply Envelope




Looking at this you would think that this it, but we've forgotten the most important part of all:




6) The data




So, there's enough there now to get your message out.



Experience shows that the most important part of the mailing is the
data, so we must test this part. A badly produced but well targeted
letter will almost certainly produce a better return than a well
written badly targeted letter.



You may have a particular target audience already decided, for example,
lawyers. You will be able to get lists of lawyers from more than one
source, that can be tested. Equally you'll have the option of mailing
to a named individual, or to a job title, so you can test that too. So
far that's at least four permutations provided you use 2 data
suppliers. It would be 6 if you used 3 suppliers. If you hadn't
narrowed your field to one sector, then the choice of tests to run
could be massively increased, but it's not practical to take it to the
extreme.




Targeting is everything, you must get that right, and you can only find that out if you test.



Looking at the envelope, you have a huge number of choice here too.
You can send plain with a stamp, or printed with a message. You could
make the material from an unusual paper, print in full colour, use
different sizes. You could print different designs, use different
taglines and the like.



Depending on how your envelope is made you may be able to run multiple
designs for a minimal charge. The nature of some jobs is that they are
printed 2 or 3 or up on a sheet, so you will be able to produce equal
quantities of more than one design. Even if it's not free, chances are
that it won't be hat expensive for a plate change.



For the letterhead, you can change the material. Studies by paper
merchants have shown a 20% increase in response just by changing to a
textured paper. The copy itself on the letter can be changed, offers
can be changed. The number of options to test here is almost limitless.




Moving on to the leaflet, the same applies here as did for the letterhead. Copy, material, imagery; they're all fair game.



Last but not least we move on to the BRE. There's not a huge amount
you could do here. White or manila envelopes perhaps? Maybe even a
coloured BRE? if it isn't going to cost a lot, why not try it.



Using these methods over time you can increase the effectiveness of
your mailings. Always test, even when you think you have the perfect
pack, continue to run a test campaign against it, even if the
difference between the two is really quite small. If you continue to do
this, your costs to acquire a customer should fall and fall.



Overall, the point is that there an almost infinitely large and
almost limitless opportunity for testing. Maybe it's this huge scope
for testing that puts people off, but I don't think it is. I think it's
just a lack of awareness of what you can do. You don't need to
complicate things, you can just run two packs with one difference
between them and see how it goes.



Whatever you do though, don't commit commercial suicide and fail to test.

About The Author

Robert Wilkinson is the owner of http://www.arhiann.com
, a print, design and direct mail business specialising in direct mail
and envelope production for small and medium sized businesses.
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Building Cold Calling Confidence.::. http://cyberforest.blogspot.com/

The biggest fear in selling is by far the cold call. Salespeople hate
calling on people they don't know so they convince themselves that it's
a waste of time and effort to do it. But, I think anyone who has been
around long enough would agree, while not the perfect way to gain new
clients, it has its place. The problem is that far too often
salespeople talk themselves out of calling on prospects because they
let their fear take over. What is it about cold calling that makes
normally brave men and women tremble with fear?



Well, for starters, it's a lonely game. Ever notice how much easier
it is to go cold calling in pairs. You go in, you get shot down, and
then you leave and make a joke to your partner on the way out. When the
same thing happens when you're on your own, you begin to doubt
yourself, your company, your products. Then you have all the time to
your next appointment to think about how dreadful this job is. This is
not the state that you should be in to sell effectively and there are
some ways to get your head straight and keep confidence high.



For one, remember it's nothing personal. Wait, I know you've heard
that and you think "It feels personal to me!". Well, that's absolutely
true. Everyone has a right to take it personally, but just realize that
nobody can possibly make a judgement on you as a person in 3 seconds. I
don't think you could possibly offend someone that quickly (Although I
know people that come close!). Second, keep in mind that sales is part
numbers and part conversion of qualified prospects into customers. At
the cold calling stage, they aren't even prospects, they're suspects.
Realize that your goal isn't to do any selling that day most likely.
Your job is to take that large list of people and put them into 3
categories. Either they are hot prospects, prospects that aren't ready
yet, or they are not qualified. If you look at your job as to just
categorize them then you realize that it's less about selling and more
about intelligence gathering.



Finally, don't get down on yourself. Sales is and always will be a
numbers game. While you might convert a very small percentage of people
into appointments and eventual sales, just remember that there is
always room for improvement. And let's face it, time spent meeting
people and making an impression on people is better than time spent in
the office. So don't let the fear of cold calling keep you from
reaching higher sales success!

About The Author

Jim Dunne is a sales and trainer who coaches
clients on effective sales prospecting techniques and strategy. He runs
a website at http://www.prospecting-secrets.com which offers free resources to sales professionals and managers.
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Here's Why Affiliate Marketing is so Lucrative .::. http://cyberforest.blogspot.com/

There are people who think of the world as a dreary place simply
because they do not find their existence charming enough to render them
contented. There are those who wish that they have more than what they
possess. There are those who are sick and tired of working hard yet end
up having nothing better. There are those who curse the humdrum
existence of having 9–5 jobs that do not give them personal and
professional growth. Still these are others who want to earn money
without sweating it out too much.



These are the ultimate reasons why more and more people are succumbing
to affiliate marketing, one of the many money-making systems that are
conceived as a result of the popularity the internet has been
generating since it came into being. Since the internet is one of the
media with which to view the world and interact with people without
getting up from one’s seat, it has become one of the most
important channels with which to sell a merchant’s products and
wares.



This is the reason why affiliate marketing thrives as a result of the
internet’s popularity. The products and wares which the internet
markets get the necessary exposure needed to sell well. This is where
the fact that affiliate marketing is a lucrative business comes in.
What is intended to be sold is sold because the internet is the best
place to sell all these merchandise without the merchant giving too
much of an effort to sell them per se.



How does affiliate marketing generate money? The way affiliate
marketing works is so simple one would have difficulty believing how
such a scheme is able to generate cash. In affiliate marketing, one is
introduced to a system where an affiliate, the one who owns the
website, agrees to display and advertise other websites that belong, in
turn, to a merchant.



The merchant is the one who hopes to generate sales through the
affiliate’s promotion of his website. Once these links are
clicked on by other people and a purchase is made, the merchant pays
the affiliate a commission. It is by simply promoting other websites
through his own that an affiliate is able to earn money for himself in
the easiest manner possible.



The principle involved in affiliate marketing can be compared to the
type of species interaction in ecology called mutualism where
interaction between two species allows both of them to derive benefit
from the situation without harming each other. The result is a
relationship that allows them to coexist in harmony in the community
where they both move. Affiliate marketing allows affiliates to get paid
in recognition of what they were able to contribute to the process.
Merchants, in turn, are able to have their products advertised and
ultimately sold through the efforts provided by the affiliate.



The reason why products advertised by affiliates through their websites
generate a lot of sales is because the number of people using the
internet is growing every minute. Each and every merchandise advertised
through this medium gets all the attention that it could possibly need
to be able to convince someone that it is worth the try. This is the
ultimate reason why there is money in affiliate marketing. The more
links a website promotes, the more chance sales will be generated. The
more sales generated, the happier the merchant, and the happier the
merchant, the better it is for the affiliate both professionally and
financially.



Those who have indulged in affiliate marketing have reached goals and
dreams which they were not able to realize under ordinary
circumstances. There are even those who have skyrocketed to the top
simply because they have dedicated all their time and effort to
perfecting their knowledge about this business without even a bit of
hesitation. One can be sure of the fact that there is money in
affiliate marketing. He only has to cope with the fact that it is
impossible to generate riches in this business overnight.



Well, not really. All he has to do is to learn everything that he
possibly could about the industry which he is in. If he is able to
master everything concerning the tricks of the trade, then everything
will follow suit.



---------------------------------------




This article may be reprinted providing it is published in it's
entirety, including the author's bio and link to the URL below.

About The Author

John J Farina is a successful affiliate
marketer. He provides expert reviews on which affiliate programs to
join and which ones to avoid like the plague. He shows people how to
actually generate substantial income on-line using very simple, easily
modeled systems. An example of such a system that you can study and
duplicate is at: http://www.johnnysreviewsite.com
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Paris Hilton's Mom and Other Article Marketing Ideas.::. http://cyberforest.blogspot.com/

You want to write about the Paris Hilton scandal? That's a hot topic.
How about the show her mother put on in the courtroom? Or better still,
you're sick of Paris Hilton and the media's celebrity obsession. Write
an article on how you wish they would all go away.



As you can see a celebrity jailbird offers a boatload of article
marketing ideas. Nothing illustrates this better than the supermarket
tabloids. They are covering this story from every nauseating angle they
can think of because it's a story people are interested in. Whether
it's the shopping habits of pop singers or drunken termites from outer
space, tabloids have mastered the art of grabbing attention and
providing a constant stream of unique content.



Getting someone's attention and holding it goes double for writing
articles on the internet. Access to unlimited information online makes
people very impatient, so it is crucial to keep coming up with fresh
article ideas. Many would-be writers seem to have trouble in this area.
As a result they don't write anything at all.



The good news is there are resources available right now to keep your creative juices flowing.




1. Television




Listen to people at your job, on the elevator or anyplace else people
gather. What are they talking about? Odds are it's something they saw
on TV. Yes it's been called everything from the idiot box to a vast
wasteland but the power of television to connect people and get them
talking cannot be overstated.



For instance the Soprano finale (lame) still has people buzzing. There
is plenty of mileage you can get out of that subject. This doesn't mean
you have to sit in front of the TV hours on end but you should find a
way to add it to your article generating toolbox.



2. The Magazine Newsstand




There is a lot of talk that the internet will eventually replace books
magazines and newspapers. I don't see it that way, especially since
much of what you read online is regurgitated from the offline world.



Even if it does, the newsstands as of this writing are a huge reservoir
of article ideas. Start checking them out on a regular basis.
Newsstands are also great places to find topics with built in target
audiences. You can tap into these markets and learn how to adapt it to
your online article writing.



3. Discussion Forum




Chat rooms, message boards and forums are the water coolers of
cyberspace. People are talking, asking questions, trading information
and sometimes insults. A large and lively online forum is a great place
to get article ideas.



According to a recent survey done by Digital Future Project, 43% of
internet users who belong to some type of forum identify with their
community online just as strongly as they do with their community
offline. That's pretty powerful and it's only going to grow. Find a
good forum and become an active participant. This will provide you with
a constant source of article ideas.



There are of course other techniques you can use including creating
surveys, checking out product advertisements or just asking questions.
Whatever methods you prefer start using them now. Not only will you
create for yourself a pool of article marketing ideas that never runs
dry, but you will also make Paris Hilton's mom really happy.



You could live without that last part right? I understand.

About The Author

Daryl Campbell is your internet marketing
guide for more tips, tools, resources, free video coaching and up to
the minute information. Make the business of growing your business easy
and fun at http://winthemarket.com

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