Calling All Direct Mail Marketters (Need some advice)

[SpongeGod]

I want to start a company that sells a certain product through direct mail marketing. These are the steps I've had in mind so far. I'd appreciate advice or feedback.

1. Get money from bank
2. Register company
3. Contact producer about selling product through marketting
4. Write letters
5. Send letters through another company(that specializes in direct mail marketing, google brings up a bunch)
6. Profit each time I make a sale

I found an industry that could benefit from mail marketing, so my idea is to start a company that sells this product to customers. My job would just be to make the letters and the companies I work with would handle all the customer complaints. I think it is a genius idea. I owe all the credit to Gary Halbert. I could use some help figuring out all the steps along the way and how to accomplish them.

 

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[Dan_Cardone]

Have you tested the market? Are you sure they want what your offering? Many marketers have invested a lot of money bringing a product to market only to find out no one wanted it.

How will you position it?

Whats The USP? In other words, why should I buy from you and why should I not care about price?

What is your highly specific and value packed offer?

Who, EXACTLY, is your target market? Do you know their dreams, goals, fears, frustrations, etc?

Do you have a multi-step, short-term follow up action plan in place for those who respond?

How will you nurture the leads that don't convert ASAP?

What will the exact objective of the ad be? One ad = one objective.

What main objections will your target market likely have?

Who is selling something similar? How are they doing it? What can you do better?

Who tried to sell something similar and failed? Why?

What kind of risk reversal does your offer give the prospect?

Do you have back end products ready to sell to your customers? (Real money is made on the back end!)

What, exactly, are you going to send through the mail? Sales letter? Flyer? Insert?

If you sending anything in an envelope are you going to go full blown salesman and cover it with words that generates curiosity? or are you going stealth and making it impossible to tell who its from? There is no effective in-between.

Does your sales copy target the prospects pain points? Features and benefits don't sell nearly as well as targeting pain points and selling a cure works way better than selling prevention.

Do you have a completely different direct mail system that you plan to do Split A/B testing with? You should.

Do you have a specific call to action? be very clear about what you want them to do next and what they get in return.

Just a few things off the top of my mind. I'll return later when I have more time.

 

[SpongeGod]

Excellent questions. I'll try my best to answer them.

Have you tested the market? Are you sure they want what your offering? Many marketers have invested a lot of money bringing a product to market only to find out no one wanted it.
This is a product that I'm sure people want and will definately need more of in the future as times are changing due to our interaction with technology. But right now the product is being poorly sold use door to door sales and is getting a bad reputation because people think it's a scam. Direct Mail Marketting enters their homes without

How will you position it? I genuinely want to help people and make them feel better about themselves. This product will make them feel better about themselves and help the world in a greater way. I want to position it more as an act of selflessness.

Whats The USP? In other words, why should I buy from you and why should I not care about price?
Price will be the same as your paying at the moment. The product is something you already use on a daily basis and you would benefit from the service at no additional cost.

What is your highly specific and value packed offer? Helping you and the world we live in for the same price you're paying at the moment.

Who, EXACTLY, is your target market? Do you know their dreams, goals, fears, frustrations, etc?
My target is every homeowner in the United States. I can look into some more copywriting books to reference those dreams, goals, but mine stems on helping the world become better for future generations and there's a lot that can be discussed there.

Do you have a multi-step, short-term follow up action plan in place for those who respond?
My plan was that they'd just sign up to buy the service and that would be the end of the interaction. One letter should be all thats need to start the interaction and I'd put in a postaged return letter where they can send back their information.

How will you nurture the leads that don't convert ASAP?
Honestly don't need to. One letter to all of America.

What will the exact objective of the ad be? One ad = one objective.
Help you by providing you with a better alternative for a service you already use at the same price you're already paying (actually a bit cheaper at the moment).

What main objections will your target market likely have?
That its a scam. It's not and I want to spin the argument that I am helping my customers and I really am. Lousy sales organizations have ruined this product to our detriment and I'm here to save all of us.

Who is selling something similar? How are they doing it? What can you do better?
They are using salesmen and telephone marketting and as a result are hemouraging customers. They are doing it through selfish motives. If I make this sale, I make money. Rather than, If I make this sale, I improve the quality of my customer's life.

Who tried to sell something similar and failed? Why?
Need to look into this, but I'm sure there are many ways I can fail. My plan is to take a loan for 100K and if i fail, 100K is not that much money in the long run and at least I tried doing something and it will be a valuable experience for my next endeavor in direct mail marketting.

What kind of risk reversal does your offer give the prospect?
Its a product you can't live without, just better at the same rate. I dont handle risk. My company sells customers back to the producers.

Do you have back end products ready to sell to your customers? (Real money is made on the back end!)
It is not a product, more of a service you are already paying for. You would not be losing any money at the end of the day.

What, exactly, are you going to send through the mail? Sales letter? Flyer? Insert?
I would be sending a Sales Letter with a thingy (learned that from none other than the great Gary Halbert). Probably have a flyer in there too and a return envelope to close the sale. I'll send one letter and if need be resend the same letter with small additions

If you sending anything in an envelope are you going to go full blown salesman and cover it with words that generates curiosity? or are you going stealth and making it impossible to tell who its from? There is no effective in-between.
The first option for sure. There will be words written on the envelope that generate curiosity. I feel like the stealth mail idea goes straight to the trash.

Does your sales copy target the prospects pain points? Features and benefits don't sell nearly as well as targeting pain points and selling a cure works way better than selling prevention.
It could, but that's not the focus of my letter. I want to help people and that will be what I'm writing about.

Do you have a completely different direct mail system that you plan to do Split A/B testing with? You should.
I was just planning on writing one letter that uses the principles Ive learned from taking the 30 day copywriting challenge. What kind of split testing would I do in that case?

Do you have a specific call to action? be very clear about what you want them to do next and what they get in return.
Yes. This is perhaps the point where the previous sales have failed.

 

[Walter Hay]

Who, EXACTLY, is your target market? Do you know their dreams, goals, fears, frustrations, etc?
My target is every homeowner in the United States. I can look into some more copywriting books to reference those dreams, goals, but mine stems on helping the world become better for future generations and there's a lot that can be discussed there.

If I were you, I would pay close attention to what @Dan_Cardone has to say. It is obvious to me that he knows what he is talking about, and his questions can help you if you give them plenty of thought.

Copywriting books might help you make the text meaningful and appropriately worded, but with this question in particular, Dan is showing you how to think first about your target's "needs".

Walter

 

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[Dan_Cardone]

Have you tested the market? Are you sure they want what your offering? Many marketers have invested a lot of money bringing a product to market only to find out no one wanted it.
This is a product that I'm sure people want and will definately need more of in the future as times are changing due to our interaction with technology. But right now the product is being poorly sold use door to door sales and is getting a bad reputation because people think it's a scam. Direct Mail Marketting enters their homes without

You have to test the market. Lots of marketers have been 100% sure that an idea we had would work.

Then it didn't

Unless you like taking your money and setting it into a blazing inferno.... TEST.

Send a letter out to 500 people first and see what kind of response you get.

How will you position it? I genuinely want to help people and make them feel better about themselves. This product will make them feel better about themselves and help the world in a greater way. I want to position it more as an act of selflessness.

This is not what I mean by "Positioning."

Entire books have been written about this and I advice you to at least do a google search on it and read up.

Whats The USP? In other words, why should I buy from you and why should I not care about price?
Price will be the same as your paying at the moment. The product is something you already use on a daily basis and you would benefit from the service at no additional cost.

Not bad but not great.

Make it stronger, more visceral, more REAL.

What is your highly specific and value packed offer? Helping you and the world we live in for the same price you're paying at the moment.

Helping them isn't specific enough to amp up their emotions and to fill them with absolute, red hot, burning desire. You offer must list the benefits, hit on their pain points, amplify that pain, and then promise a solution to that pain.

Who, EXACTLY, is your target market? Do you know their dreams, goals, fears, frustrations, etc?
My target is every homeowner in the United States. I can look into some more copywriting books to reference those dreams, goals, but mine stems on helping the world become better for future generations and there's a lot that can be discussed there.

I know it seems mean but the people you're attempting to sell to don't care about what YOU want; they only care about how your product benefits them.

Do you have a multi-step, short-term follow up action plan in place for those who respond?
My plan was that they'd just sign up to buy the service and that would be the end of the interaction. One letter should be all thats need to start the interaction and I'd put in a postaged return letter where they can send back their information.

Only about 3% of any market is looking to buy RIGHT NOW and realistically you won't even get all 3% of them to convert into buyers. Look into Multi-step Information Marketing.

You have to "baby step" them into buying. Every contact you have with them should warm them up even more. Is it more work? Yes. Will you make more money? Hell yes!

Do some reading. Dan Kennedy is a good place to start but there are a ton of good books on direct mail out there.

What main objections will your target market likely have?
That its a scam. It's not and I want to spin the argument that I am helping my customers and I really am. Lousy sales organizations have ruined this product to our detriment and I'm here to save all of us.

Wanting to help is noble but hardly specific enough to diminish their fears of being scammed. Remember, they don't know you. Any Tom, Dick, or Rob can send someone a sales letter.

Do you have back end products ready to sell to your customers? (Real money is made on the back end!)
It is not a product, more of a service you are already paying for. You would not be losing any money at the end of the day.

Satisfied customers just love to keep forking money over. If they love the first thing they buy from you, they will be much more eager to give you more money in exchange for other awesome products or services.

There have been times that I have paid more money to acquire a customer than what the customer paid for the product I sold him. I lost money!

Why would I possibly do that?

Because a customer list, a list of people who just loves to hand over money, is extremely valuable! I was then able to send these buyers an offer for a much more expensive product. This is called "selling on the back end" and its how tons of money is made. Don't leave money on the table by not having something, ANYTHING, to offer to people who just love to part ways with money.

Does your sales copy target the prospects pain points? Features and benefits don't sell nearly as well as targeting pain points and selling a cure works way better than selling prevention.
It could, but that's not the focus of my letter. I want to help people and that will be what I'm writing about.

People don't care if you WANT to help them, they want to know HOW you're going to help them. You must target their pain points if you are to clearly communicate how, exactly, you will help them.

Do you have a completely different direct mail system that you plan to do Split A/B testing with? You should.
I was just planning on writing one letter that uses the principles Ive learned from taking the 30 day copywriting challenge. What kind of split testing would I do in that case?

Even us veteran marketers (including the great Gary Halbert) rarely hits a home run on the first try. This is why you develop different versions and send them out on smaller scales to split test them. Trash the losers, scale up the winners.

Test:

• Different headlines
• Different offers
• Different guarantees
• Different stories
• Target different pain points
• etc...

Lot of work?

Yep.

If it were super easy then everyone and their mother would be using direct mail.

Bottom Line...

I'm not trying to be mean.

In fact, I LOVE your passion and your EXCITEMENT is damn near oozing through my computer screen right now!

But listen...

Don't destroy the potential of a great product with bad marketing!

 

[SpongeGod]

Thanks @Dan_Cardone for taking the time to write this post.

I'm going to read The Robert Collier Letter Book and The Ultimate Sales Letter (Dan Kennedy) and take good notes. Once I finish, I'll be able to consider your questions more carefully and ask more specific questions.