Methodical Backwards Marketing

Backwards, I say, because you first start where you want the customer to take action. You have to ask yourself how you want the customer to respond and work backwards from there.

For maximum effectiveness, do not mix methods. In most cases, include only ONE of the following in your advertising, online and off:

Your website address. Your toll-free phone number and/or home phone. Your email address. Remember: any time you give someone a choice, you confuse them. You force them to make a decision, however minor it may be. When they have only one alternative, they’ll use it without having to think about it.

Do not even bother advertising an address for people to write to, as most people these days have no time and won’t bother to use it. They may clip it out and stick it away to use in the future, but they will never get around to it.

In descending order of effectiveness, what to do if you want the customer to go to your website:

Online, advertise your website via ezines. Online, advertise your website via targeted, opt-in email lists. Online, write articles for targeted ezines and submit them, together with your URL. Online, develop a series of at least seven sales letters, to be delivered by autoresponder to fresh, targeted leads, which you purchase only from a reputable company, such as, Cutting Edge. Online, work to improve the search engine positioning of your website. Off line, put your URL in all newspaper and magazine advertising. Off line, put your URL on flyers and distribute them regularly. Off line, put your URL on signs and hang them strategically and regularly. Off line, put your URL on your business cards and distribute them freely. If you would rather be contacted by telephone, it is advisable to advertise a toll-free number; however, if you also include your home number, many serious people will call that first, even before a toll-free number, believe it or not. Why? People like dealing with real people. They like to know who you are. Your voice can put them at ease. Most people associate toll-free numbers with cold businesses, and they realize that most of the time they’re going to find some hireling at the other end with a canned spiel.

What to do if you want the customer to call you:

Online, advertise your toll-free number in ezines. Online, advertise your toll-free number via targeted, opt-in email lists. Online, write articles for targeted ezines, submit them, and include your toll-free number. (Remember the note above about home phone numbers.) Online, develop a series of at least seven sales letters, to be delivered by autoresponder to fresh, targeted leads with phone numbers, which you purchase only from a reputable company, such as, Cutting Edge. Be sure phone numbers are included with your leads. Then, if the customer doesn’t call you, you can call him. Off line, put your toll-free number in all newspaper and magazine advertising. Off line, put your toll-free number on flyers and distribute them regularly. Off line, put your toll-free number on signs and hang them strategically and regularly. Off line, put your toll-free number (and consider adding your home number also) on your business cards and distribute them freely. Finally, if you want to have the customer send you an email, proceed in this order:

Online, advertise your email address via ezines. Online, advertise your email address via targeted, opt-in email lists. Online, write articles for targeted ezines and submit them, together with your email address. Online, include your email address in a series of at least seven sales letters, to be delivered by autoresponder to fresh, targeted leads, which you purchase only from a reputable company, such as, Cutting Edge. Off line, put your email address AND a phone number in all newspaper and magazine advertising. We've come a long way, but not everyone is online yet. Off line, put your email address AND a phone number on flyers and distribute them regularly. Off line, put your email address AND a phone number on signs and hang them strategically and regularly. Off line, put your email address AND a phone number on your business cards and distribute them freely. Then the key to selling your customer is to respond to them as quickly as possible, if they miss direct contact with you on the first try. If you don’t, chances are, they won’t even remember responding to your ad!

Feel free to reprint the above article with this info intact: Article penned by Mary Wilkey, publisher of 'elf Expressions Ezine: http://elfexpressionsezine.com. To subscribe, email me at elfbutter@erinet.com?subject=subscribe

Seeds

In the real estate business, there is a concept called "farming." An agent will pick a neighborhood as his farm and work the farm in various ways. Sometimes he’ll start by mailing out an announcement to each resident to make them aware of his services, his location, and contact information (plowing up the fields). Then he may conduct a "doorknob hanger" program where he hires people to place f. . .

More Spiritual Links

Home page

Information Index