What’s the secret source? Read on!
Want more traffic for your website? Listen up!
I’m going to keep today’s lesson short. But just because it’s short on word count doesn’t mean it’s short on value…
Because what I’m about to reveal is a hidden website traffic source that only the smartest, most forward-thinking, sophisticated web marketers are using.
It’s one that’s available to almost anybody, in any market.
Still, few marketers ever dream they can use it — and far fewer still ultimately choose to test it, even when they hear of its power…
And yet, from everything I’ve seen, this can work out to one of the best possible traffic sources you can ever tap…
— Delivering higher-quality, higher-value customers…
— At aggressive and profitable economics…
— In a way that totally flies under the radar of even your most keen-eyed competitors…
It’d be a travesty to ignore this traffic source — whether you’re a business owner, consultant, or marketing employee…
Business owners, of course, have the most to gain. The better you get at driving traffic to your website — assuming you can convert the traffic when it gets there — the more new customers you’re going to get, and the more profits your business is going to spin off…
Consultants though, are in a unique position to increase their value, fees, and income. Most consultants I know — including copywriters — wouldn’t think to recommend this to their clients. And yet one client I recommended this traffic source to just emailed me today to let me know his new test with this traffic source looks like it’s going to be a winner — and I’ll have royalties on the way soon.
And marketing employees looking for a raise should definitely learn how to use this traffic source. The last time I had a marketing job, I was able to double my income in just a couple years by knowing how to drive new customers and new profits to the business. We did use this traffic source (at my urging), though in hindsight I could’ve probably made a lot more if I’d been more aggressive in using it more.
Drum roll please — it’s time to reveal this hidden website traffic source…
This super-powerful website traffic source?
Offline media, and especially direct mail.
A letdown? You were hoping for the latest social media tactic? Or maybe some rapidly-growing ad network? Sorry…
But what’s happened in offline media since the year 2000 has only made it more profitable for smart marketers…
You see, most smart marketers have shifted their attention online.
The cost of marketing online is minuscule relative to the cost of offline media.
You can send email for pennies per thousand, instead of the $0.50 to $1.00 of reaching a single prospect in direct mail. You can test AdWords or Facebook advertising for $5, instead of $500 or $5,000 or more for space ads in various offline media.
Not only that, it’s easier to track. Because so much direct marketing relies on tracking, there’s a natural attraction to a medium that lets you track everything down to the movement of the user’s mouse on the screen.
And because we all spend so much time staring at our screens, we believe there’s more attention to be had online than off.
And to a degree, that’s true. There’s more time spent staring at online content, including ads.
But quantity is not quality.
In terms of QUALITY attention, offline media is the hands-down winner…
“The least cluttered inbox is the one you grew up with.” I’m pretty sure that’s a quote from my friend Brian Kurtz.
If you want quality attention — focused, rather than fragmented — you want to be reaching prospects and even past customers where they can give it to you.
And that’s NOT at their computer screens.
Yes, you can ultimately drive them to a website in order to make their purchase.
But if you want to find somewhere that it’s easy to get their attention in the first place — a prerequisite to getting their response to your marketing — get out of the digital, and into the physical…
A few ideas to test, to create profitable offline-online marketing campaigns…
— A huge winner recently has been the “free book” campaign. This is where someone will run an ad in magazines, or send out postcards, offering a free book. You go to a dedicated website for the offer, where you’re able to get the free book by just paying shipping. Buyers of the book are then fulfilled via direct mail (at their cost, not the marketer’s) and follow-up marketing is done both offline and online.
— Another idea if you have a successful video sales letter, is to use postcards to drive traffic. Again, you probably want to create a custom website (or at least a redirect URL address) to send people to. Your postcard should tease the valuable content of the presentation — NOT the fact that you have a product for sale. Use the postcards to drive traffic to your video, and fly totally under the radar of your online competitors.
— A simple direct mail letter is also a great way to upsell past clients. At that last marketing job, this approach got me HUGE ROI. I sent out letters to everyone who’d bought individual training videos in the last few months. I offered them a credit based on what they’d spent toward a library subscription. All they had to do was call for us to calculate their credit amount. These were some of the easiest sales I’ve ever made in my life.
There’s a ton more you can do with direct mail…
For more on the topic, I strongly recommend Craig Simpson and Dan Kennedy’s The Direct Mail Solution. Craig manages hundreds of direct mail campaigns every year, functioning as an outsourced direct mail department for his clients. The book details his approach.
If you end up diving in with Craig, tell him Roy Furr sent you. You won’t get a discount, but it’s better than a cold intro.
Yours for bigger breakthroughs,
Roy Furr
Editor, Breakthrough Marketing Secrets
