Famous Ad man and advertising copywriter Lester Wunderman says, “Yes.”

Of course, saying it can be done and actually creating advertising that is profitable are two very different things.

Before I continue down that road, let me share with you the  Mr. Wunderman’s complete statement.

This is the 6th thing all successful direct marketers know from a list he compiled and I stumbled across in his book Being Direct…

“6. The Next Step: Profitable Advertising

The results of advertising are increasingly measurable; they must now become accountable. Advertising can’t be just a contribution to goodwill – it must become an investment in profits.”

Dem’s fightn words on Madison Avenue…

Can you imagine The Big Ad Agency for Budweiser or Coke or Toyota having to account for every dime of advertising directly against the results it created?

They can’t do it.

So how do you make advertising profitable?

In short, you have to track every ad that goes out. You have to have your copywriter or ad agency or web person put a call to action with a order code or order extension or something on the advertisement. It’s there so that when a prospect responds or a customer buys, they give or send in the code and you know where the lead or sale came from.

Then, you do more of what’s working and drop what’s not working or not working as well.

Let’s see if I can put it in dollars and cents…

Let’s say you have 5 advertisements running at any given time. And for simplicity sake each ad costs you $200… so you’ve got $1,000 in advertising out there.

We’ll say two of those are billboards with your logo and maybe your address. These are big image or goodwill ads… so that’s $400 of your $1,000 budget.

Now, You also have a newspaper ad written by a direct response copywriter costing you $200. It has a call to action and maybe a coupon of some kind.

Then you have a more traditional ad like the newspaper guy told you to run. Then finally, you have some postcards with coupons on them that you mailed out to the area around your business.

Now obviously, these numbers are not to scale but here’s where we are at…

2  Billboards for total of $400

1 Direct Response Space Ad $200

1 Image Space Ad $200

1 Direct Response Postcard $200

Total $1,000

Stay with me and hopefully I can wrap this up in coherent manner…

Let’s say over the next week you get $5,000 worth of new business. Let’s also say that $$1,000 came from the direct response ad because people brought in the coupon to get the offer and another $2,000 came from the postcard offer.

And $2,000 came from some combination of the billboards and other space ad… you think. It could have been referrals, or walk-ins or… Fact is you don’t KNOW where the last $2,000 comes from.

Now, things get tight… the economy is suffering. Your customers are fewer. You need to know when you spend money on anything that you’ll get a return on your investment. Now, which of the 5 ads do you keep and which do you cut?

That’s what accountable, and ultimately profitable, advertising is all about. Tracking your ads and then doing more of what you KNOW works and less of what is just a guess.

Hope that makes sense.

I dare you to let me know your thoughts below…

Mr. Wunderman covers “19 Things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know” in his book Being Direct – Making Advertising Pay.

And this is his third “thing”…

To be successful as a direct marketing company, you must “Communicate with each customer or prospect as an audience of one.”

Now, instinctively, you already know this to be true, right?

After all, that’s why we’re given names… because we are individuals. We are not grouped together and shackled at birth with all the other kids born that day. And we should not be treated like we are.

It’s really common sense.

Yet so often you and I read ads, or hear ads, or see ads on TV that seem to be talking to no one in particular… what a waste of time, talent and money.

I mean some ad copywriters just don’t get it, do they?

Consider this ad I found today… (You can click on it to make it larger. Then once you’ve read it, hit your back button and come on back here and we’ll talk about it.)

This ad seems to talk to a group not an individual

In this ad there’s alot of  “us” and “we” and “our”. Not much “you” other than the headline.

Before we move on to a better use of a more personal ad, let’s see what else Mr. Wunderman has to say on the topic…

“Advertising must be as relevant to each consumer as the product or service is. General advertising and more targeted direct marketing must both be part of a holistic communication strategy.”

Now, I found the above ad in INC. magazine and used it because it was on my desk. The same is true for the next ad… same magazine, same audience.

It’s not perfect but it is definitely aimed at me – not a group of people.

Take a look…

This ad appeals to the individual consumer

In this ad, you’ll notice more “you” and “your” and “you’ll”.

They even are considerate of you as a business owner and appeal to your need to both drive traffic to your site and to save you money by offering you a coupon for $75 worth of FREE advertising.

See the difference?

What’s more, this ad is a tear out so you can keep it even if you don’t keep the magazine… that’s also keeping the prospect in mind. There is a backside to the ad too. It goes into a little more detail about how Google Adwords works and how that applies to “your” business.

Well, that’s really all there is to it. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

Later,

McCool

Unfortunately, I buried it under a pile of mail and just got to it today.

So, despite the delay, here’s the Advertisement…

Nice Advertising Copywriting

I hope you can see the ad well enough to talk about it.

So, let’s get at it…

First, notice the very specific and target market specific headline.

There is no doubt who the target market is on this ad. You’ll also notice that with the question at the end of the headline, it reveals a common frustration of the market… as well as the skepticism.

Then it gets really good…

Because we know it’s an ad ( it says so right at the top) but it doesn’t feel like an ad. It feels and looks like an advice column. It’s complete with the friendly advice giver’s picture and logo.

So our frustrated reader writes in to Dorris (probably a nostalgia play on “Dorris Day” considering the market).

And she states the problem… classic Problem/Pain lead.

Then she signs it the way these women FEEL – “Dark and Baggy”

Next, our steadfast and trustworthy “advice columnist” writes back.

She saves the day by explaining that yes in fact there is a solution!

Thank goodness!!

She talks about the product and says it’s the “industry’s best kept secret” – and we KNOW “secrets” work in advertising.

Now, the ad gets a little salesy but coming from an advice columnist, it doesn’t really come across to strong (although I would have liked a mention of a study or survey as third party proof. Probably worth testing anyway).

Finally, and this is really good…

The “Oh I almost forgot” line. It’s like a PS but it’s not since this isn’t a letter.

But what makes this so good, in my humble opinion, is that just as I get skeptical as a reader… Dorris tells me she’s tried it AND she gives me a discount code. Dorris is soooo sweet.

Anyway, that’s my little analysis, I’d love to hear yours. Let’s talk about it… leave me a comment below!

Later,

McCool

Those are the words that from the second of “19 things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know”

But what else did Lester Wunderman have to say on the topic?

Let’s take a look-see, shall we?

“The product must create value for each of its consumers. It must satisfy consumers’ unique differences, not their commonalities.”

OK… STOP right there! How in the heck are we supposed to make that happen?

If you, like me, have ever wondered… How do I make, or even advertise, one product to satisfy multiple thousands of unique consumers-

Ahhh, there’s the problem, isn’t it? We’ve slipped into thinking about us and the product again – not the consumer.

So let’s see what else Mr. Wunderman has to say…

“The call of the industrial revolution was manufacturers saying, ‘This is what I make, don’t you want it?”

Hmmm, that reminds me of the famous quote of Henry Ford about his first assembly line automobile… “It comes in any color you’d like – as long as it’s black”

Imagine going to the market with that idea today… chance are, unless you had an extremely rare and highly desired product, you’d get laughed out of the market.

Let’s continue…

“The call of the Information Age is consumers asking, ‘This is what I need, won’t you make it?”

Quite a shift, huh?

So how does this apply to your product or service? Do you have to make a unique product or service for each and every customer?

No, I don’t think so. But, I do think that every product or service should start out like it is for an unique individual.

And that is the essence of this point, right?

Start with the consumer in mind. The old saying about starting a business is “to find a need and fill it.” and that is still good advice. Because, in order to find a need, you must think about a unique problem experienced by a real person.

Now, you’ve got the product or service… how does it make the consumer a “Hero”?

This is where advertising copywriters can really earn their pay.

It’s one thing to explain a product… to merely describe the features of a product.

It is another thing entirely to expand those features into benefits that a consumer can relate to.

But to really hit an advertising home run, you must find the unique benefits that create an emotional response in the consumer towards the product or service. As advertising copywriter’s we must break past “useful” – to “desirable” – to “can’t live without because…”

You see, in order for your product to make the consumer a Hero, they have to see what happens because of using your product. What is the effect of using, owning, having your product or service? Will they be a better mom and loved and adored by their children, their spouse.. even their own parents. What about the neighbors?

Maybe it’s an office product… will your consumer think: “because of this product, I will be the office hero.” It may not be that obvious, but that is the basic rational for most products or services… “How will this make me look to others?”

And controlling that response requires work… lots of work.

It requires knowing your consumer in ways your competition doesn’t.

When we as advertisers can honestly create a “gotta have it because…” mentality in the consumer’s mind with a product or service that delivers to an individual, then you’ve got a long standing hit that will be wanted by many consumers.

Because, let’s face it everyone wants to be a Hero in some area of their life.

Your thoughts?

It doesn’t matter if you provide a service or a product or even if you run a non-profit.

Everyone, needs money to operate…

Therefore, someone must pay the business for said product or service, or support the non-profit.

I know, nothing new there about business or marketing.

But here’s how I’d like you to frame the money transaction that I think can be useful to you. And by the way this applys in relationships where time or emotion is the dominant currency.

So here we go…

Every transaction is considered an expense until proven otherwise. In other words, the buyer takes a risk that will cost them money unless the product proves itself to be as advertised.

Let me explain a little further with an example.

I am a advertising copywriter. I write ads for clients with the goal of producing leads and/or sales that lead to cash in hand.

The thing is, when the client agrees to hire me as their copywriter, they still don’t KNOW that my work will make money for them. It doesn’t matter how much proof or how many samples I’ve shown them. To them, at that moment they sign the initial check, I am an expense.

Make sense?

And this works on any item I can think of… even peanut butter.

If I want to try a new peanut butter I saw advertised I am going to have to pay for it. So because I do not KNOW whether I will like the peanut butter or throw it away, I HAVE to categorize it in my mind as an expense until I can prove to myself it is worth buying.

Still with me?

If it is worth buying, it moves from expense to more of a trade… I’ll trade my dollars in exchange for the pleasure of tasting good peanut butter. In my mind, it is no longer an expense.

Do you see the difference? It seems minor but there is a HUGE difference in the mind of the consumer.

So what does this mean to you as an advertiser?

Let’s recap…

You, your product or your service is an expense until proven otherwise to the buyer. Once they know like and trust you, your product or service then you get shifted to another more favorable category in the consumer’s mind.

Sooooo…

One of the best ways to make the shift happen in the consumer’s mind is to always think from the consumer’s point of view when creating and marketing your stuff.

Simple? Yes. Easy? No.

Your thoughts, dear reader?

However, it’s one of the masters I never hear anyone talk about.

Yet he is responsible for some very big breakthroughs in our industry.

So here’s the deal…

I’m going to give you some of his accomplishments and his quotes and you tell me who this little-known master is.

All right?

Let’s get going…

He is considered by some as the father of direct marketing, to whom we owe the household name status of the American Express Card, the creation of the Columbia Record Club (the first successful forced continuity program) and the high profile of L.L. Bean.

He is responsible for creating those annoying but effective subscription cards that fall out of your magazines. He founded the first “virtual store”. He introduced pre-printed newspaper inserts and convinced Time, Inc to use an 800 number to sell their magazines.

Twenty-five years before anyone ever even heard of the internet, in a now famous speech at MIT, he described the sales relationship of the future as “interactive.”

Finally, here is his list of

“19 Things All Successful Direct Marketing Companies Know”

1. Direct Marketing is a Strategy, Not a Tactic
2. The Consumer, Not the Product, Must Be the Hero
3. Communicate With Each Customer or Prospect as an Audience of One
4. Answer the Question “Why Should I”
5. Advertising Must Change Behavior, Not Just Attitudes
6. The Next Step: Profitable Advertising
7. Build the “Brand Experience”
8. Create Relationships
9. Know and Invest in Each Customer’s Lifetime Value
10. “Suspects” Are Not “Prospects”
11. Media Is a Contact Strategy
12. Be accessible to Your Customers
13. Encourage interactive Dialogues
14. Learn the Missing “When?”
15. Create an Advertising Curriculum That Teaches as It Sells
16. Acquire Customers with the Intention to Loyalize Them
17. Loyalty Is a Continuity Program
18. Your share of Loyal Customers, Not Your Share of Market, Creates Profits
19. You Are What You Know

Whew! That’s a lot of stuff for one blog post.

So, here’s what we are going to do if you don’t mind coming back…

Over the next month, I am going to do my best to break down each of the 19 things above into a new post. A few may get combined into one post, we’ll just have to see how it goes.

However, what I need from you right now is your feedback on who it is that came up with this list. Any ideas? Any guesses?

Also let me know which of the “19 things” you find most interesting and why.

Or, is there one you disagree with?

Leave your comments below…

Later,

McCool

Then again maybe not.

Let me explain…

The company I do some freelance work with recently started testing video in place of long form sales copy.

The results have been amazing. By amazing I mean anywhere from 300% to as high as 2,100% more sales using video in an A/B split test.

So obviously, long copy is dead right?

Wrong!

Get this, the copy is nearly identical and the videos take 20 minutes to sit through just to get to the offer.

In other words, the long copy still works it just works in another medium.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise, should it?

After all, a 2 minute infomercial will routinely outsell a 30 second spot… and a 30 minutes spot will for many products outsell the two minute spot.

Here’s why long copy and now long video work:

“Some say, ‘Be very brief. People will read [watch] but little.’ Would you say that to a salesman? With a prospect standing before him, would you confine him to any certain number of words? That would be an unthinkable handicap.” ~ Claude Hopkins chapter 2 Scientific Advertising

By the way, there’s a guy online selling the idea that the long copy sales letter is dead and that video is where you have to be.

Perhaps, but this same guru recently advertised that he was looking for… wait for it… Long Copy copywriters for his own business.

Hmmmm. Now that’s interesting.

Your thoughts?