10 Things that Must Be!

by | Nov 18, 2019

Here are the “10 Things” that MUST be in every piece of advertising we create:

 

  1. There will always be an OFFER
    1. That means something that is too good to pass up
    2. Something that fulfills a need or corrects a pain point
    3. *** This needs to be GREAT ***
  2. There will be a reason to respond RIGHT NOW
    1. That means IMMEDIATELY while they are still looking at the advertisement
  3. You will give CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS
    1. Tell them what to do next.
    2. Simple, easy to follow directions to get the Offer
  4. There will be tracking, measurement, and Accountability
    1. We will need information to determine the efficacy of the marketing piece.
    2. We will also determine the viability of the customer or event
  5. ONLY no-cost brand building is allowed.
    1. We are doing direct marketing that requires an immediate response
      – not building a brand that people will “remember”
  6. There will be FOLLOW-UP
    1. The responses we get from the marketing are SOLID GOLD opportunities
    2. Basically FREEBIEs that fall into our laps – they must be tuned into new customers
  7. There will be STRONG COPY
    1. Some people want to read up on a subject before they make their move
    2. The reader must understand what you are asking them to do and why – so we need to explain it well
    3. Every word must have a purpose: convince the reader to take the next step
  8. We will follow the “SALES LETTER” format
    1. Headline + Sub-heads + paragraphs of text + Offer + reason to respond
    2. Some people will read the headline and make a decision. Some will be convinced on page 3.
      – Therefore, we always need a page 3!
  9. RESULTS RULE. Period.
    1. We will evaluate what we are doing every time we do it.
    2. We will Drop the zeros and get with the Heroes!
    3. WE will  – no one is allowed to “decide” something doesn’t work for themselves
  10. We will have discipline  and FOLLOW THESE RULES
    1. We have agreed that this is the methodology this company uses and everyone can see the merits.
    2. The plan works but YOU must WORK THE PLAN. No exceptions. No excuses.

So, this goes for the planning people who think it up, the sales people that want to get it sent out, and the artists / copywriters that make it up.

The Primary KEY to this system is: Know and understand what the customer needs and what we can do to fulfill those needs in a unique way. We need to immediately stand out in their mind as a perfect source for the products and services they need. It is the job of the sales and marketing team to ascertain how this is done. They need information to make the marketing campaign better than we would just using common sense. Get insight into the customer’s field, their organization, their job and especially how we can make that job easier or more fulfilling in some way.

What we need is a Unique Selling Proposition. And that will be in a future installment.

Another KEY: We must have a great offer that the CUSTOMER (that’s the person) actually wants.  It is not going to be very effective to give them free shipping if they aren’t “paying” for the order themselves (or don’t care who is). But, if you send them a free jacket JUST FOR THEM, they might like that a lot! Know and understand what they want and why. This offer business is the hardest part and it is left out of so much advertising. I imagine it is skipped because it is hard. If we do it right we can be leaps and bounds ahead of any competition.