Category Archives for "Marketing"

9 Product Launches

An alternative to long sales letters is the sideways sales letter, developed by Jeff Walker, for his product launches, a few years ago. The idea may not be well-known but as I describe it you may realise you have encountered it!

This approach is hard work. I am not trying to promote it here but do take care if you’re tempted to try it out. It is not a get rich quick scheme and requires a lot of work to carry out properly.

You need three things:

Sideways Sales Letters

So, what is a sideways sales letter? It is an email sequence sent to your list (and perhaps other peoples’ lists) that links to squeeze pages on your website. These pages will usually link to high quality content, your best material, after the visitor has contributed their email address. The content should not include anything about sales.  It can be long copy or video and people will read it because it is useful information. There are usually three of these followed by a fourth which is the sales letter.

The point is you can’t scroll down to see the price or indeed you may not at first know what the product is! You read or view because of the value of the content. By the time you get to the sales (in the final email/webpage of the sequence) you’re hooked.  Whilst some people who sign up will make a purchase, most will not but take away valuable information and maybe make a purchase at a later date.

This seems to work for a range of businesses, particularly small businesses.  I’ll discuss how it works in my final evaluation. Before I get to that there are some other approaches to online marketing and so next time I’ll progress onto traffic and conversion.

2 The Long Sales Letter

Last time I summarised the history of marketing pre-Internet. In this and the next few posts, I shall briefly introduce some major themes in the history of online marketing.

A florist launched the first ever website and for some time the online world consisted of static websites. At that time, people online had dial-up connections and went online to view sites for information.

The long sales letter could easily be transferred from paper to website or email at this time. It seems when this first happened it was rather successful. But then it became less effective. Why?

Well, people became more sceptical. Think of your own approach to online marketing. You see something that is attempting a sale and you click away.

The thing about long sales letters is they work when people read them, although not everyone who reads will buy. They’re designed to make a sale. If you go to buy a used car, you get the spiel from the salesperson. The letter substitutes for the spiel. You can learn to write a good sales letter, just as a salesperson learns how to make a sale.

Long Sales Letters Online

People do read them and they are influenced by them. Or at least they were. The problem is online, people are less patient. Maybe it is because reading from the screen is less easy than reading from paper. People began to scroll down to view the price without reading the letter. If they decided it was too much they would click away.

The aim of the long sales letter is to build desire for the product or service. If the prospect doesn’t read it, they will click away if they don’t like the price even if the product or service is something they want.

So, what was to be done? The answer came in something called the sideways sales letter, a topic for next time.

Please note I am describing methods used by online marketers. This does not mean I necessarily approve of them! I am taking a few weeks to describe a few approaches and then I will evaluate them.

1 Marketing Before the Internet

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on marketing before the Internet. There are loads of histories but I want to make two points to kick off my review of marketing online.

Broadcast Marketing

My first point is marketing was expensive. Advertising via billboard or TV/radio commercial cost a lot of money and so in effect it was available only to large businesses. Without a doubt, it was very effective.

Large businesses invested in broadcast marketing.  Broadcast is a word that comes from farming. Broadcast sowing is where you spread seeds around and not planting individual seeds in specific places. Some people will know the parable of the sower where seeds fall on the path and stony ground. This particular broadcast sower was not very good at his job as most farmers would avoid the places where the seeds would not thrive.

The broadcast approach meant targeting of marketing was perhaps a bit less important. Certainly billboards and television would be seen by many people. You might put your adverts around certain TV programmes; children would see adverts about ice cream and not insurance, but mass media meant you could depend upon enough of the right people seeing a strategically placed advert to make it worthwhile.

This approach has not entirely disappeared but it is possible to target advertising online in ways not available pre-Internet.

Long Sales Letters

My second point is perhaps one of the more targeted approaches pre-Internet was the long sales letter. Older readers might remember the days when our letter boxes were full of junk mail. Most of this has disappeared into the ether but at one time a lot of unsolicited mail arrived almost every day. The long sales letter was the letter that accompanied the glossy brochures. It often covered several pages and would explain some special offer in detail with bonuses, guarantees, etc. More sceptical readers may find this hard to believe: the reason they did this was because it worked! It worked if done properly. One-size-fits-all sales letters going out willy-nilly to anyone and everyone were less successful than targeted letters but overall they worked.

And they worked when they went online. More of which next time.  Reminiscences about junk mail will be gratefully received!

2 Marketing Worldviews

Today’s new topic will compare two worldviews, marketing and third sector.  Worldviews, sometimes called mindsets, refers to the often unexamined assumptions we make about the world.

In the UK, for example, our worldview makes clear distinctions between statutory, private and third sectors. This can be helpful but like a lot of helpful models there comes a point where the model constrains thinking.

These powerful distinctions are not held universally. Outside the UK people don’t see things in the same way.  I first became aware of this in the early 1980s, while studying with the Urban Theology Unit in Sheffield, UK.

Can Community Groups and Businesses be Natural Allies?

I read about community development during that year and I remember one text in particular (although I cannot remember what it was). It argued that in the US, community organisations and private businesses are natural allies. Businesses took up and developed further participative methodologies that began in community groups. As businesses developed new models, they shared them with community groups. Many of these groups, eg the Industrial Areas Foundation, were church-based and so Gospel paradigms can be traced through many of these methodologies.  Community groups, churches and businesses are natural allies in the US.  When I read management text books I can see approaches to strategic thinking shared across these sectors.

I’m sure the resulting relationships are healthy and in the US businesses have tax incentives to fund community organisations through charitable foundations. We have no comparable legislation in the UK, where community groups see the statutory sector as more natural allies.  There have been some exceptions but when community groups need money they turn first to government funds, next to charitable trusts and at a distant third, to businesses.

In both countries community organisations have to follow the money. But in the UK at a time of so-called austerity, there may be an opportunity to re-appraise these relationships. If so, online marketing is going to play a major role. We may not yet be clear about that role but this blog is a contribution to working out the direction this re-appraisal might take.

I’m going to start with a basic review of approaches to marketing and then review the marketing worldview before moving onto examining third sector worldviews.

How do you understand relationships between private, statutory and third sectors?

0 How to Use Testimonials

What can you do with material collected through interviews?

Language

The big advantage of testimonials is their language. Even with our best efforts websites can feel artificial or stilted because of the language we use.

Many sites use jargon that distances them from potential users. In general, people seem to respond best to language as close as possible to the language they use.

There are some issues. A recent client wanted a static website. The term “static website” normally means a site lacking dynamic content. Such a site when regularly updated, doesn’t have anything on it that enables visitors to influence its content. My client means a site that requires no work, with content that never changes.

Leaving aside whether an unchanging website has any real purpose (they do exist and can have a purpose under certain circumstances) the problem is if I use this language on my site, it would be misleading. As it happens unchanging websites do not interest me; so the chances are I would not present this particular idea on my site. But it illustrates the issues you might face using your interviewees’ language.

Positive and Negative copy

Substantial positive copy is of great value and one goal of testimonials. Positive copy is most effective when attributed.

However, negative copy can be of value. Whether you attribute negative copy depends upon context but you can use it to, for example, respond to objections to your service.

Treat negative copy as a request for an enhanced service. So, you will be able to say something like: “several past clients have commented that they’d like a particular service and so in response I’ve started this new thing”.

The value of the interview is whether comments are positive or negative, you are more likely to get a deeper understanding of why the interviewee thinks the way they do. This can be immensely valuable.

Generally it is difficult to get anyone to say anything about your service. A negative comments are valuable; use them, so long as they are constructive. “Your website’s rubbish” is not helpful. But a comment that explains why the website is rubbish may be helpful. The fact that someone took the time to comment suggests they value what you’re trying to do and want to help you improve it. You may have invested hours of work in your site and prone to be defensive but a positive and appreciative response to the comment is better.

How to Incorporate Testimonials into Your Website

Testimonials can be used on your website and the question is how they can be best deployed.

Attribution

The first question is whether to attribute testimonials. There are a variety of options depending upon context. Broadly, testimonials can be attributed only with permission. If someone sends you a testimonial on request, then attribute it. If they send you something you haven’t asked for you will need to permission to attribute it.

An attribution is something that can in principle be tracked down. If I say John said something, it is not really an attribution even if John is the name of the person who said it. I suppose someone might work out who John is but it’s not very likely and they wouldn’t have proof.

If someone is willing they may also feature a photo or video their views.

An attributed testimonial carries more weight. They are evidence of the value of your work.

However unattributed testimonials have value. You could say here are some quotes from past clients. This is not as effective as attributed quotes. You could use them with negative comments. For example I might say: “One of my clients said …” and then a negative comment. I would then respond to the comment.

The client might not want to be attributed for a negative comment (it would be more convincing if they are) but that it is negative carries some weight. It shows you respond positively to negative comments.

It is not necessary to say something on your page is feedback. You may find that comments can be incorporated seamlessly into your copy. They may enable you to write in language your customers use and appreciate. If, for example, you receive comments from a client, it might be inappropriate to quote them on your own website but they can still influence the copy on your site.

Where to put them!

Do not place testimonials on a page by themselves. No-one will read them. You could put them in a sidebar but it is better to integrate them into your copy. So, if you are explaining about your coaching offer, quote from a customer.

How have you used testimonials creatively to enhance the copy on your site?

2 How to Collect Testimonials

Last time I explored sources of testimonials and today I’ll look at the practicalities of one source: the interview.

Why Interviews?

There are many potential sources for testimonials but interviews are particularly helpful for two reasons:

1. The interviewee can talk fully about their experience in their own words.
2. It can take about 20 minutes for them to become confident enough to speak their mind in real depth. Most other testimonial sources, eg written statements, tend to harvest superficial thoughts. This is the nature of the media, rather than the intentions of the interviewee.

Who should you interview?

There are two possible answers to this question. Obviously one is people who have been or still are your clients. They will have appreciated some of your contributions and may be unhappy about others. Their experience can be invaluable to you as you design your service.

But there are also people who have not been your clients. Perhaps people you know who have sufficient experience to articulate relevant issues they have met.

How to interview

Here are a few things you need to agree beforehand.

If you record the interview you don’t need to concentrate on writing things down. This means you are likely to capture a lot more. Don’t forget to test everything is working before you start.

Prepare your questions beforehand. Don’t have too many and allow people space to expand on their answers.

There are three possible applications for the material you collect.

1. Use and attribute material, using the interviewee’s name and organisation (the precise nature of the attribution should be agreed) and it can include a photo. Video and audio are also possibilities.
2. Non-attributed material may be where there are sensitivities. However, it is inevitable you will weave your feedback into your website. I’ll expand upon this next time.
3. You will never use it in any form either because it is not suitable or the interviewee asks for it not to be used. The latter should be rare because it would only apply to something very specific that could be traced without attribution.

1 Sources of Testimonials

In this, the first of a short series about testimonials, I shall describe sources of testimonials. All these sources have value and drawbacks.

If you enjoyed this post, you can sign up to my email list at the top of the right-hand column. You will receive a weekly summary of my posts, an email sequence about community development and occasional emails about community development online.

1 Using Testimonials

Last Tuesday, I wrote about two essentials for your avatar. Your avatar’s main weakness is it is still your invention. If you’re not tuned into your visitors the chances are copy addressed to your avatar still won’t sound right.  You can solve this problem using testimonials.

The aim of testimonials or feedback is for people to write your website for you so your site will speak to other people like them. Their words can inform your avatar and so improve your copy. It is OK to base your avatar on real people because you don’t share your avatar online and it evolves as you hear what people say.

Over the next few weeks, I shall explore some aspects of building your site with the words of others.

Here are the topics:

A small group will soon be producing a testimonial blueprint or report. This project has inspired these posts and I shall interpret their work for voluntary organisations as well as try out some of their ideas on my site.

How do you use testimonials on your site?

1 Two Essentials for Your Avatar

Last Tuesday I wrote about the market as people engaged in many activities. The marketplace is not solely or even mainly buying and selling. Maybe online marketing would give you that impression but look closer at what is happening.

Online marketers are right. A website that doesn’t sell is a waste of time. But what does it mean to sell? The early retail co-ops not only sold quality food but also education, campaigning against adulteration of food and financial support for families. These co-ops were social institutions first and that is why they succeeded.

Buying and selling is about building relationships and so is everything else worth doing online, just as in real life. Without building relationships, nothing will sell. So, if your website is in support of a cause or educational, you still need to build those essential relationships.  Without them no-one will visit your site or rate it as worth a visit.

I have written about avatars and how to develop at least one avatar for your business or cause. Your avatar is a typical customer. The idea is if you address your avatar when you write for your website, your customers will respond positively to your message. The aim is to get away from jargon and to reach your audience through the words they use.

Your avatar helps and the more detailed and real it is in your mind the better. However, there are two things all avatars should have in common.

Capacity

They must be able to respond to your offer. So, if you’re selling something for £500 your avatar must have at least £500 disposable income. Money is the most obvious but there are other ways in which an avatar may need capacity, for example:

Sympathy

The second thing they must have is a positive view of your offer. You are not delivering a website for people who disagree with you. They might visit but they are not likely to respond positively. If they do respond positively it will be because your site is particularly persuasive and that will be because you have made the case to your positively inclined avatar.

However, your avatar need not know anything about your offer or even the problem your offer addresses. If your avatar is a middle-aged employed woman and a socialist, you might be able to persuade her to donate towards a campaign against modern slavery, even if she is ignorant of the facts before she encounters your site. A similar avatar with a more extremist political view, might be less sympathetic.

The point is: run with an avatar who is sympathetic. If you’re building a following for your website, you need to speak to the people who are likely to follow.

2 Who is Your Market?

Yesterday someone on BBC Radio 4’s “You and Yours” defined a market as small businesses providing a particular product or service. I suspect this is a common mistake. Businesses are evidence of a market but they are not themselves the market.

When we talk of the market as somewhere we visit, we mean the marketplace. Economists when they refer to the market, do not mean a place but rather the people who buy things or potentially buy things.

They are right. It is people who make up the market, not the businesses or the market stalls.

Another problem is how we think of the market. These days the collective noun for the people who take part in the market is “consumers”. This illustrates how the pressures of capitalism have distorted our thinking.

The purpose of the market is not consumption, it is community. We have moved a long way from understanding community as something that grows out of trade. These days we expect community groups to hold everyone together. They are entertainment for a few but can’t compete with the marketplace, the local economy, for building community.  Global interests have wrecked the local economy, leaving many people with no work and no marketplace.

In a world where multinational business extracts money from our pockets and transports it to off-shore tax havens, it is hard to remember or imagine the market as the hub of community life.

The market depends upon trust. Even corrupt practices need trust. If someone is flogging something substandard, I am not likely to buy it twice. I might buy it the first time out of trust, but I will know better in the future.

Traditional markets are places where people meet friends, buy and sell, worship, exchange news, hold courts of law, take a bath, relax …

We have separated buying and selling from the rest of life. Instead of seeing my business as something that enables me to enjoy life, it is normal to work for someone else to finance my debts. The idea of the freedom of the entrepreneur is not readily understood. There are major problems, especially if there are debts to be paid but  many self-employed people’s experience is their place in the market brings them freedom and enjoyment of life.