Welcome to this week’s Marketing Minute. Last week we talked about not reinventing your website. That’s part one! The next part is illuminated in today’s Subject line. So please understand that I don’t mean to be insulting asking you that question. But sometimes there is just no getting around it.
You see our company talks to clients every day who’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars on fancy websites that produce zero profits. And what’s worse is they CONTINUE to sink money into them hoping something will magically change and the leads will start rolling in.
I hate to break it to you, but you don’t get points for “pretty” on the Internet. Not when it comes to driving traffic, generating leads and closing sales automatically and effortlessly.
Every year business professionals around the globe spend millions of dollars on artistic, entertaining and beautiful websites that toot their horns. And every year they WASTE millions of dollars. It’s called “Image Advertising” and the only bell it rings is yours (unless your company is Coke, IBM, etc). It doesn’t engage the prospect, it doesn’t make them want to know more and it doesn’t make them contact you. It bores them silly and sends them cyber-surfing for something better.
Why? Because prospects don’t care how wonderful you are! They care about what you can do for them. So the next time someone recommends you use meaningless boasts like:
“I’m #1!”
“We Are The Biggest!”
“I Care About Your Business!”
“I Have All The Credentials and Awards!”
“I Provide Great Service!”
WATCH OUT!!
Image advertisements like these don’t make the phones ring for several very simple reasons…
They don’t give prospects a compelling reason to contact you over your competition (anyone can make the same claims).
They fail to describe the benefits to the prospect (What’s in it for them?)
They don’t tell a complete story
They don’t make a specific offer
They don’t include a call to action, and
They’re not measurable or traceable
Think about it. Would a site making those claims hold your interest for long? Of course not! You’re too smart to get suckered in by a slick advertisement like that, even if it is wrapped up in the pretty guise of an “informative website.”
Your prospects are no different. They’ve spent the last 10, 20 or 30 years being inundated with useless, false information and they’ve mastered the art of tuning it out.
People don’t want to be sold. They want to be helped. And the only way to prove you’re up to the job is to deep-six image advertising!
Instead, focus on the prospects needs and wants. Appeal to their emotions AND their intellect. Dangle a carrot by offering genuine information they desperately crave…then watch them eat right out of your hand.
Next week I am going to share some Marketing Tips on how to get at the Now Money in your business. Until the, if you would like to learn more about the Marketing Strategy we reviewed today or learn more about this or any of the other AMS’ products, services and Marketing Programs and how we can turn your prospects into profits, go to www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com/websites or call us at 800-858-8889 right now!
To your marketing success,
Mike Kowalski
President and Founder
Automated Marketing Solutions
Welcome to this week’s Marketing Minute. Today’s subject line may seem like a silly question, but you’d be amazed at how many people would rather take the time, effort, money and energy to learn to “knit their own socks” than to pay out $2.50 for a new pair.
Let’s apply the same thinking to websites. If it sounds like I’m oversimplifying the issue of proper website development, let me assure you…I’m NOT!
Every week we run into successful marketers who waste thousands of dollars on their websites, because they figured they could do it bigger, better and faster on their own. Instead they run out of steam and wind up with either a mediocre site or a pathetically out-of-date one just a few months down the road.
You see, there’s just no such thing as a “finished” website. As any marketing expert worth his salt will tell you, websites are living, breathing things that must be nurtured and cared for. The rules are constantly changing and new methods are always evolving for driving more traffic and converting more leads via websites.
The good news is you don’t have to go it alone. There are professionals who specialize in letting YOU “fix-it-and-forget-it.” That means after your site is up and running they do the maintenance, they do the updating, and they keep you informed about developments in the ever-changing world of cyberspace.
As marketing guru Dan Kennedy once said,
“You can blow more dough and waste more time with the Internet than any other aspect of advertising or marketing I know of, and even “smart people” are doing just that.”
You really can waste a whole lot of time and money figuring out how to do it yourself…and still get it wrong. It’s kind of like figuring out how to be a mechanic or a financial advisor. Sure, you can master it with enough time, money and education. But again, at what price? And more importantly, what money-making opportunities are you missing out on in the meantime? Given all of this, wouldn’t you rather just “fix-it-and-forget-it?”
Next week we will take another look at some common mistakes we find with websites. If you would like to learn more about the Marketing Strategy we reviewed today or learn more about this or any of the other AMS’ products, services and Marketing Programs and how we can turn your prospects into profits, go to www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com/websites or call us at 800-858-8889 right now!
To your marketing success,
Mike Kowalski
President and Founder
Automated Marketing Solutions
Hi, it’s Mike Kowalski from AMS. Welcome to this week’s Marketing Minute.
If you’re wondering what the heck speed-dating could possibly have in common with advertising—let me explain.
First, what is speed-dating? It’s a type of matchmaking where people meet potential romantic partners through a series of brief one-on-one encounters at a single event.
Second, what does it have in common with effective advertising? Well, let’s think about it. Speed-dating’s core purpose is to create as many opportunities for matches as fast as possible, right?
Great advertising is no different. Its purpose is to create as many opportunities for a sale as possible. It means making the most of every opportunity to persuade, entice, cajole, charm and ultimately sell your prospect on what you have to offer—just as you would when speed-dating.
How do Voice Broadcasts accomplish that? Well, let’s start with what a voice broadcast is: a recorded message delivered to your clients’ voice mailboxes at a pre-determined date and time.
And how is Voice Broadcasting different, and more lucrative, than other forms of advertising?
It allows you to record your script in seconds, and then deliver it to hundreds or thousands of prospects within minutes.
You can use it to automatically remind clients about overdue payments or upcoming payments.
It allows you to contact prospects and clients for any and every reason like Mother’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, you name it—for about one-fifth the cost of printed marketing collateral.
Voice-to-voice marketing is the next-best thing to face-to-face marketing.
Use it to invite prospects to come to your office for a special gift. (For example: A set of free golf balls in celebration of Father’s Day.)
It allows you to automatically notify everyone on your list about upcoming sales and special promotions.
You can easily and effortlessly resolve overstock issues by putting out a message in just minutes, instead of waiting days or even weeks to have your announcement run in a newspaper or on the radio where your prospects may or may not see and hear it.
It cuts your phone time down from 10, 20 or 30 hours per week to 10 minutes.
It gets qualified prospects to call YOU.
It can be done anytime of day, WITHOUT your supervision.
It reaches thousands more prospects than you ever could one-on-one.
It frees you up to spend your time doing the things you’re good at.
To learn more about how Voice Broadcasting can turn your prospects into profits, go to www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com/voice-broadcasting or give one or our reps a call at 1-800-858-8889.
To your marketing success,
Mike Kowalski
President, Automated Marketing Solutions
Welcome to this weeks Marketing Minute. What if I told you, you DON’T have to spend big money to make big money? That you can do way better than a 4 or 5% response rate? Or that name-recognition is NOT crucial to your success?
Would you want to know more? Donna did and that’s when she discovered the Miracle of Toll Free Recorded Message Hotlines. Just look a how it paid off for her.
72:1 Return on Investment!
Donna ran a 3″x3″ display ad in a local publication mentioning her toll-free, 24-hour, free recorded message Hotline and received over 50 calls, with 75% of the callers leaving information to receive the FREE Report. After sending out the reports she turned 10% of those calls into appointments.
From that 10%, Donna closed 5 new clients in one month, netting over $25,000 in commissions. Her results made the return on investment:
$120.00 Lead Generation Ad
$50.00 Voice Mail charges
$175.00 Printing and Postage for the Special Report
$345.00 Total Cost
$25,000.00/$345.00 = 72 Times Return On Investment!
And the best news is her story is the standard, not the exception! If you’d like to learn more about how Hotlines can turn your prospects into profits, go to www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com/hotlines or give one or our reps a call at 1-800-858-8889.
To your marketing success,
Mike Kowalski
President, Automated Marketing Solutions
Welcome to this week’s Marketing Minute. Last week I promised to share 9 ways Toll-Free Recorded Messages could make you more money. In case you thought you knew all there was to know about recorded messages and what they can do for you, check out the following to be sure.
Are you using your own toll-free number? Statistics show that callers are three times more likely to call a toll-free number than a local number, and with your own number you are secure in knowing you won’t lose your prospect to someone else.
Do you have ANI (Automatic Number Identification)? This feature tracks the telephone numbers of prospects who listen to your ads, regardless of whether they leave a message or not.
Can your system handle multiple callers? Multiple callers should be able to listen to your scripts at the same time, so you don’t have to worry about prospects getting a busy signal.
Do you have on-line statistical analysis reporting? Can you access detailed and updated reports of the activity on your hotline through your web site. Or, if you’re not “on-line” can you order these same reports by phone, fax or e-mail?
Are you using fax-on-demand? Can your callers automatically receive faxes (special reports, flyers, etc.)? And do you have a system for tracking these fax requests then following up with prospects once you have their phone number, fax number and the document they requested?
Do you have pager notification? A system that can page you with Caller Line ID as soon as you receive a call, so you can respond to your leads while they’re still hot.
Are you using a Find Me Transfer? Increase your flexibility with a hotline that can be set up so callers are automatically transferred to you by simply pressing ‘0′.
Do you use professionally recorded scripts? These are a good way to give your professional image a boost and make sure the right message is delivered to your prospects every time.
Are you using transcription services? You can save yourself a lot of time and toll charges by having messages professionally transcribed and emailed to you every week day morning.
Next week I’m going to show you some unbelievable marketing numbers that may question your current understanding of Lead Generation. Until then, if you would like to learn more about the Marketing Strategy we reviewed today or learn more about this or any of the other AMS’ products, services and Marketing Programs and how we can turn your prospects into profits, go to www.automatedmarketingsolutions.com/hotlines or call us at 800-858-8889 right now!
To your marketing success,
Mike Kowalski
President and Founder
Automated Marketing Solutions
