| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Maximizing Your Yellow Page Investment
Yellow Page users are the hottest of all prospects - someone who has made the decision to buy, and now is looking for a place to do it. Does your ad convince them that your business is that place? It doesn't have to be the biggest, although that can certainly help. And if you do it right, it won't even matter if your business is listed first. What matters is that your ad is the most persuasive. "But, Lisa!" you're saying in your most shocked whisper, "Everybody knows that the first listing in a category gets the most response! That's why so many business names start with 'A.'" Well, yeah, if I'm faced with a list of indistinguishable company names, I'll just go with the first one I see. And 99% of all Yellow Page ads seem to have the company name as their headline. But your business may be better than the one that starts with "A." So why don't you tell me that? Move your company name to the bottom, beside your phone number, and greet me with a bold headline telling me just what's so great about you. Invest in a few lines of copy (get rid of the photo of your store if you have to - I don't really care about it, anyway) that prove you can deliver on some great promises. Did you know that making those changes can increase your response by 600%? Yes, really. That beats having an "A" name any day! Lisa Packer, author of "How To Dramatically Increase Your Business... Without A Blockbuster Budget" and "7 Ways To Get A Pay Raise From Your Web Site" is an independent Copywriter and Marketing Consultant. Find out how to get these two reports, plus more helpful articles like the one you just read at http://www.dramatic-copy.com Dramatic Copy: The Right Words Make A Dramatic Difference.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Did Jesus Get Killed for Practicing Interruption Marketing? I'm reading Seth Godin's Permission Marketing and he brings up the difference between Interruption Marketing and Permission Marketing.Interruption Marketing is when you interrupt people from what they are doing in order to ask them to pay attention to something else. Marketing Got You Stumped? It's not unusual for entrepreneurs to find the whole idea of marketing intimidating. Even seasoned business owners often feel their marketing efforts aren't working. Direct Mail Response Rates Low? Eliminate These Mistakes Are your direct mail response rates lower than you expect? Check your sales letter or direct mail package against this checklist to uncover the reasons for your poor response.LISTYou are mailing to people who are never likely to buyYou are not mailing to others in the same business who influence the buying decisionYour list is out of dateYour names and addresses are not formatted correctly for proper deliveryYour list has job titles only, not namesFORMATYou are using the wrong format for your audience (self-mailers to professionals, for example)Your letter and brochure are not complete sales pitches in themselvesYour liftnote or buckslip confuses your offer or main selling promiseENVELOPEYour envelope gives too much away, so your prospects throw it away unopenedYour mailing envelope looks like junk mailYour package is addressed to "Occupant" and not to a person by nameMESSAGEYour letter lacks a strong, customer-focussed headlineThe opening line in your letter is not compellingYou spell your prospective customer's name incorrectlyYour letter lacks specifics about product size, weight, color and other vital detailsYou discuss product features but not customer benefitsYou talk too much about your company and not enough about your readerYou do not create enough desireYour letter lacks urgencyYou do not offer a guaranteeOFFERYou are offering the same thing that your competitors are offeringYour offer is not specificYour offer is not exclusiveYour offer is not relevantYour offer is not valuableYour offer is not uniqueYour offer is not usefulCALL TO ACTIONYou do not ask for the orderYou ask for the order, but too late in your letterYou conclude by saying, "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me"You give too many ways to respond-or not enoughREPLY DEVICEYour reply device is too clutteredYou do not tell prospects what to do to buy your product or serviceYour reply device is not postage-paidTIMINGYou are mailing at the wrong time of the yearYour letter is arriving on the wrong day of the weekYou are mailing too often, so prospects ignore youYou are not mailing often enough, so prospects do not remember youAbout the authorAlan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using creative direct mail. Using Demographic Data For Your Direct Mail Marketing Campaign Targeting high potential markets with a direct mail marketing campaign can be a very affordable and efficient way to get new customers for most companies and entrepreneurs but how can you find a way to reach those high potential markets? Using demographic data could be your solution.In the United States, demographic data is easy to get through the US Census Bureau website. Catalogs are Selling Machines If you've got a mailbox, you're no doubt aware of the popularity of catalogs. People love to look through catalogs, and more important, they love to buy from catalogs. How to Use Marketing Judo to Beat Big Competitors If yours is a small business and you have big or even huge competitors, you may be laying awake at night wondering how can you possibly beat them. You can't out-advertise them, or out-promote them, and you probably won't be able beat to its prices. Promotional Magnets: Promotion that Sticks Some people are happy with just a business card. For others it's not enough to be glanced at once and packed away. Using Direct Mail The advantages of using direct mail to promote your home-based or small business are: Selectivity-the ability to send your advertising only to people and organizations who can use and pay for your product or service. Flexibility-the freedom to use either the simplest or the most elaborate presentation, ranging from a single-sheet mailer to an entire package, and the flexibility to test all sorts of minor changes in your mailing pieces. Trade Show Display Booth - A Marvelous Contact System Trade show booths are one of the best direct contact systems with end consumers. The face to face meeting opportunity with customers can provide some excellent results?provided you have a good communication strategy in place. Increase Repeat Business and Referrals with Direct Mail So you have been writing mortgages like crazy now for the last few years. You have a pretty big database of customers and hopefully you have been getting and keeping full contact information for them. The Power of a Survey How many times have you been asked to participate in a survey? If you are anything like me then the answer is probably hundreds. I am often being stopped in the street and invited to take part in a survey that will only take a few minutes. Effective List Management Can Save You Big Let's talk about how to keep your postage costs down.So far you have been following my advice and mailing to the same list more than once. Marketing Is A Long-Term Investment "Dig your well before you're thirsty" is the title of a wonderful book by Harvey Mackay. It is smart advice for investing your money, "Save your money before you need it", or growing your business, "Market today for tomorrow". When Business Cards Arent Enough: Unusual, Unexpected, and Uncommon Networking Tips There comes a time in every small businessperson's life when common networking practices like handing out business cards, attending various meetings and schmoozing with potential clients only goes so far. Eventually, the same old techniques get overused to the point that they become insufficient. How Prince Connects With His Target Market! While Internet legend (and young pup) Frank Kern would have you believe that I'm so old I should be confined to a wheelchair, I'm still on the good side of 100! And I can stil enjoy a good concert from time to time. My daughter - Rachel, my wife and I had the good fortune to score some last-minute tickets to the recent Prince concert here in Atlanta. Using a Marketing Calendar Template Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are running it alone. Between moving products, taking orders, paying bills, and taking care of family, it is easy to lose track of everything you need to do. Making Your Mark With The Millennials Generation Y--The second-largest crop of young people in America's history, offspring of the Boomers-80 million of them, nearly 27 percent of the U.S. Off the Shelf Small Business Mapping Software All small businesses can benefit from inexpensive off the shelf CD Rom mapping software. If you own a business you need to where your customers are coming from, where you would like to expand your sphere of influence to, where your competitors are located and how to route your delivery vehicles. How to Turn More Referrals Into Paying Clients 60% of all small business owners, sales and solo-professionals claim that more than half of their new business comes from referrals. Yet when asked about the process they so successfully use to get those referrals and turn them into paying clients, most will have a puzzled, deer-in-the-headlights, stupefied look on their face, and keep quiet. Online Magazine Subscription Services Make Shopping Online Fun For Magazines If recreating the old experience of subscribing to magazines by filling out a subscription card is essential to the success as an Internet retailer, then MagMall.com takes top awards.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
