Dear Business Builder,
I just got a new friend, his name is Drayton Bird.
In case you just moved here from another universe and have no idea who I'm talking about, consider this quote:
"Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world."
– David Ogilvy
As Ogilvy Mather's International Vice President and Creative Director, Drayton and his team has created direct-response campaigns for leading companies such as American BrilliantExpress, Bank of America, Ford, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Philips Electronics, Unilever and Visa credit cards.
He is also author of Common Sense Direct Marketing (5th edition now available), sales letters selling and marketing insight and disorder – and has more than 1,000 columns written for international journals.
If you do not read stuff Drayton, you is not any kind of direct marketing. Besides being one of two or more beautiful and attractive three I'I met in my 55 years on this planet, Drayton has a wonderful clarity of vision when it comes to direct response copywriting and marketing.
When I speak or read Drayton pearls of wisdom, I would do with Hopkins, Caples, Schwab, Ogilvy and Schwartz dialogue'm all in one. He is undergoing one of seven or eight true giant in the history of this field – a real treasure.
His ability to express profound response, the surge of truth in the simplest terms areearn money.
However, when I say Drayton talking the other day (which I love!), Recalled that he and the legendary Richard Branson's Virgin working on a few things …
… It made me think how far we came and where we as an industry – and where the greatest opportunities are more likely to wait before thinking about us.
So with that jump IN TIME MACHINE HEAD And our people back in time just after the civil war…
The weather was 1872nd The place: the breadbasket of America – Midwest. And the blood was boiling … Aaron Ward
The seller 28 years traveling dry goods of local businesses obscene prices for clothes, tools, lanterns, and other general merchandise on the shelves Destructive office. And it was even more livid that almost always free.
In those days, had the majority of small town stores virtual monopolies. Few town boasted more than onethese plants and the next nearest store could be a trip of a day away – her more often.
This meant, shopkeepers could ask any price they wanted. And even if consumers in these cells greedy merchants hated them, they had little choice but to grumble and fork over their money.
This is not good for the idealist and Mr. Ward as a man of action, decided to do something about it.
Investing $ 1,600 of his own pocket (about $ 26,000 todayDollars), he offers a simple flyer points 163 price printed rock, sent its catalog of a sheet of families residing in the Midwest.
To Mr. Ward, was a courageous act for moral principle, founded and maintained by indignation.
In addition, it was a holiday in an American company.
For this mailing, Aaron Montgomery Ward, lights up a marketing revolution that even now, more …
MR. WARD doing wellGUT
And opening up one morning to discover strong in the Midwest, more than 135 years, thousands of Americans their mailboxes to a catalog page that Mr. Ward – asking them only because they believed to be good prospects for the products advertised.
It 'was, to our knowledge, the first direct sales they had ever seen.
Mr. Ward and innovation does not end: he has invited its customers to respond to the catalog for theirOrder through the mail and fantasy, "Direct Response Marketing" in the process.
The consumer has the idea to save a bundle. They also enjoyed the idea that their purchases without leaving home.
Above all, he loved the fact that Mr. Ward had a way of their greedy dealers where it hurts them: Right smack dab in their bulging wallets.
Mr. Ward had the incredible power of his opinions "residence used dominant emotion – their hatred forTraders who had abused her.
And they did so en masse.
Indeed, the response to small catalog Aaron Montgomery Ward was so explosive, its catalogs next inflated rapidly from one-sheeter with a weight of less than one ounce to a mass book with a weight of four pounds of juicy.
In 1904, with only 17 million households in the United States, Mr. Ward found incredible list three million of its catalogs to be eager consumers each year.
The triumph of science overHOPE
Mr. Ward loved his innovation rather than its customer. For now, for the first time, knowing he could – the penny – how much money has its advertising.
Could count the number of orders, production, sales and profits of individual lists his catalog – and every product in its catalog.
This meant that for the first time, entrepreneurs and marketing people with Mr. Ward model of Direct Response Marketing Can the money spent viewsAttract customers as investments.
One could calculate a return on investment for each product, inventories and every dollar in their advertising budgets.
Mr. Ward was, in short, advertising becomes a burden that businesses can only hope the money would be an exact science, making it not only tells whether their advertising was working, but also how well it works.
And this knowledge allows marketing to cut short period of time to lose promotionsBoot the size of their successful campaigns.
Mr. Ward innovation also meant that, by sending more than one version of their demands at a time where they could learn what types of messages the greatest players of their text collected.
Another huge step forward for the first time were able to discover the businesses sales copy techniques and produced the largest response, revenue and profits. This meant that they had a way to consistently increase responseaverage sales prices and return on investment with each mailing.
Not surprisingly, others are now in the footsteps of Mr. Ward – especially Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck.
Since its founding in 1895 opened its first brick and mortar store in 1925, Sears, Roebuck and Co. is one – and now more than 350,000 employees and annual sales of over $ 53 billion – its products exclusively offered catalogs in the mail delivered and received the order and payment is made onlyreturn mail.
During the 20th century, Mr. Ward Direct Response Marketing Revolution extends far beyond books and products on sale – to raise funds for numerous charities, causes and political organizations, to produce cables for business-to e-business and business-to-consumer and seller have, as they say in direct response copywriters, much, much more expensive.
And Mr. Ward Direct Response Marketing Revolution has limited direct mail.In the last century, enterprising pioneer and perfected the use of magazines and newspaper ads, television and radio commercials and many other media, customers acquire a direct response marketers require more information or for immediate purchase – and prospects .
The interactive marketing REVOLUTION
Even in 1990, companies worldwide could practically divided into two groups: those that rely primarily on Interactive Marketingto win new customers and existing customers to sell products – and who's not.
Banks and credit card companies, insurance companies, publishers, fundraisers, and naturally the catalog company spent billions targeted promotions that their best prospects and demanded a direct answer from them.
But for the most part, manufacturers, retailers and other non-interactive advertising, are concentrated hoped to decorate their consumer brandsSpirits.
Everything is changing radically with the explosive growth of the Internet in 1990.
Today, with more than 1.1 billion people with this miracle of modern technology in the world – and the cost to interact with prospects and customers on the 'net paltry compared to other media – Aaron Ward Direct Response Marketing Revolution Each form imaginable adopted by companies to gain customers and increase revenue:
>> Direct MarketingThe companies were among the first to see the potential of the Internet. Montgomery Ward, Sears, Nordstrom's, Victoria's Secret, Lillian Vernon – almost every mail order, you can name – now has a major on-line window. Amazon.com – the online book, music, videos and electronic "catalog" – gaining a net turnover of more than $ 12000000000 in 2007, becoming the largest online retailer on the planet.
> Business> Many who were once limited and shop windows left trustingtheir fortunes to the whims of the advertising image that use the Internet to drive measurable results for sales of U.S. dollars each to produce advertising spend.
Travel agencies like Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, Hotels.com and Orbitz.com drive business and leisure travelers to their sites and earn King's Ransom booking flights, hotels and holiday homes cars online. Office Depot and Staples sells billion dollars each value of products online every year.
Food giant Winn-DixieSafeway and other chains are invited to download coupons and even food to order online. Giants as the 21st Century Com Remax.com, Realtor.com and other drive prospects to their sites to search for properties for sale, the dates are a real estate agent in your area and booking.
>> Even manufacturers, wholesalers and other retail businesses, did not get in the act of interactive marketing. Automotive invite you to build your car online and then arrangenear a local dealer, contact the company to have.
Sites of Harley-Davidson, Nike and many others invite you to know their products, to find virtual or brick and mortar establishments where their products can be bought and also schedule meetings with suppliers.
Of course, this massive undertaking is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg: millions of small businesses and even local mom and pop stores are now conquering the Internetnew customers and make transactions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
In fact, one of the most fascinating of these animals smaller business' network is to emerge "Solopreneur:" Men and women simply by setting up a shop on eBay or the creation of a website a page on a cart now have the power to thousands of dollars from bank online sales – and its share of nearly half a trillion dollars, that online retailers will earn seriousthe Web this year.
Direct Response Marketing full circle
measured thanks to the Internet, millions of businesses and entrepreneurs around the world have discovered the enormous advantages, the direct response marketing – or, in the language of today, "Interactive Marketing" offers – may be,,,, sales and profits products from every advertising dollar spent.
It was only a matter of time before these companies started marketing intelligent Internetvisible to the virtual world, asking what would happen if they changed their copy of online sales in full-page ads and plastered on the pages of newspapers and magazines from coast to coast.
… Or mail their catalogs to qualified prospects like Aaron Ward has more than a century.
And so, armed with companies that are never in direct marketing response to meeting a few decades ago would now online on their successBusinesses in the offline world.
The moral of the story …
Today, the Internet business of direct marketing are essential for any type.
To compete effectively, every business on earth must now be a direct response business.
This means that companies on the planet needs you all.
Remember how I said Drayton Bird is working with Richard Branson of Virgin?
Well, I did not ask – but I bet that Mr. Bird is the Great Declarationsales copy for Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records and Virgin and Virgin Games and Virgin Vacations comics, books, and blank Wines and Virgin Media and Virgin Mobile – or any of the other virgins, with the spectacular prolific Mr. Branson is surrounded .
I bet he is working on something else, probably something that requires more than an advertising copywriter – something that requires an expert with a knowledge of the world-class nuts and bolts directResponse marketing.
Yes – I'm talking about the repetitive, monotonous, boring things like database structure and management. Regression analysis. Number psychographic and demographic change. Customer acquisition strategy. Customer Lifetime Value Optimization.
That's right: the dull, boring stuff that makes billions companies – things that require expertise that companies eager to pay through the nose.
So here is your task this week:
Head on overAt Amazon.com … Search for books on Direct Marketing … Buy some '… and then read it.
I love Bob Stone of successful direct marketing methods. E 'format my basic knowledge of this activity and gave me the foundation I needed more than "just become a copywriter.
I gave one order Chet Meisner's Guide to Direct Marketing … Direct Marketing: Strategy, planning, execution of Edward L. Nash … and the new Direct Marketing: How to implement aProfit-driven database marketing strategy David Shepard Associates.
And then, what I'm sure will be a failed attempt, at least half as clever as Drayton has become – or at least be able to hold my end of a conversation with him – I also ordered Mr. Bird's Commonsense Direct & Digital Marketing proving … How to write sales letters that sell … marketing insights and violence … The Master Marketer … and Open for Business!
Hope this helps …..
Scottsdale Dui Lawyer