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Direct Response Marketing

“Oh, I Forgot To Mention”

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   March 19th, 2010

This is the easiest phone call you’ll ever make. It’s your “Reason To Call.” It’s what you DIDN’T tell them in your letter, post card or your last phone conversation becomes important.

Sure, you’re mailing your best prospects to get them to call you, or at least that’s the objective of the mailing pieces I create for my clients.  » (Read More)


6 Ways to Lose Money In Direct Mail

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   March 5th, 2010

1. Dash off a letter, then photocopy it on cheap bond, and send it with a business card… and call it a direct mail campaign.

Or worse yet – photocopy your old brochure and send it with a business card and call it direct mail.  Then, when it doesn’t work call me up and complain, “Yea, we tried direct mail and it doesn’t work.”  Real direct mail letters and literature are created from scratch with their original purpose defined as “to use as a direct mail solicitation,” and the objective of “To generate a phone call.”

And BTW, a real direct mail “campaign” isn’t a single mailing of anything.  Campaign = more than one mailing. » (Read More)


12 Places To Buy Your Mailing List

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   February 19th, 2010

There are two types of lists, determined by their origin: compiled lists and response lists.

Compiled lists are a common source of names and records that have been gathered, collected, and entered into a database.  The names may have been acquired through public records such as vehicle owner registrations or high school teachers.
» (Read More)


A Winning Promotional Strategy

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   February 5th, 2010

Here’s how to get your best prospects to call you, and the cost to you is $20. Send me the $20 and I’ll tell you.

It was a joke.  Come-on, lighten up.  You can send me the $20 later.  It does cost $20 a lead, but hey, they’re your best prospects — and you’re going to get to them to call you.  How much is that very warm lead worth?  What are you paying to get each lead to call you now? » (Read More)


10 Steps To Take Before Your Next Direct Mail Campaign

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   December 5th, 2009

One of my readers asked “How do I market a product?”  Yea.  It’s just that simple. And here’s your simple answer:  Invest time, money or energy.  Or just pick two.  Or, maybe it is just that simple.

The first questions about marketing take into consideration if you are marketing a product or a service, if it’s local (geographic marketing) or national; industrial, business to business; to a wide or narrow niche, or a retail product through wholesalers or directly through retail stores to consumers.

Also – how much does your product cost, what is the sales cycle, and is it need-driven? Impulse? Or seasonal?  Is price important?  » (Read More)


I Got Your Email. The Reason I Didn’t Read It Is…

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   November 19th, 2009

Yea, I got your email yesterday.

I get everyone’s email, at least that’s the way it seems.  500 Messages a day.  Including, ahem, enlargement products, low mortgage rates, sex from Russian women who are lonely, free money from the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Viagra stores, a whole barrage of messages in Spanish which I don’t speak, and now in alphabets I can’t decipher.

Yes, I’m sure I received the email from you, but just refresh me – what was it about? » (Read More)


Improving “Glance Readership” In Post Cards Part III

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   November 5th, 2009

Let’s see, where were we…  oh yes, you were bitching, er… complaining that your post card wasn’t long enough to sell your products, and I said you’re right – it isn’t.   The ONLY job of the post card is to make the reader pick up the phone and call YOU, then YOU sell your products.  To do that, offer something FREE. » (Read More)


Improve “Glance Readership” Part II

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   October 19th, 2009

Glance Readership is the 2 seconds you get when someone first picks up your post card.  In this time they decide to either read it — or throw it out (along with your money).

In part one of this article, we discussed creating a great headline to drive readers into reading the rest of the post card text.  This was by using » (Read More)


How To Improve “Glance Readership” In Post Cards

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   October 5th, 2009

Post cards make sense in today’s bludgeoned economy. They’re cheaper to print than a full direct mail package, easier to handle, and are less costly to mail. They can be effective if created correctly. » (Read More)


How To Use Post Cards To Get Phone Calls & Referrals

By Jeffrey Dobkin   |   January 5th, 2009

I don’t have a lot of space so I’ll get right to the point: A personal letter is the best marketing tool for personal communication to your personal clients, even when sent to all 100,000 of them. referral marketingWhat? You don’t have 100,000 clients. Me neither. Sigh…

In a letter you have time and space to sell sell sell. You can explain benefits, features; show facts and figures. A consultative sell?

No problem in a letter: you can explain what you’re selling, why you’re selling it, then why your customers absolutely need it because it will be so good for them and best for their family, just initial here and here and send back, and we’ll take care of the rest. » (Read More)


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