Construction Company owner and IM newbie needs opinions

[affiliatepros]

Hi Warriors - I am relatively new to WF and the IM world and would like your thoughts on an ebook title.

I own a remodeling company and had an ebook written by a fellow WF (thanks Monika) and I'm struggling with the title.

Currently, the title is "Remodeling Secrets Contractors don't want you to know". Not sure it's going to make my audience jump up and take notice. Plus, we're not really revealing any "secrets", but a compilation of questions to ask and pitfalls to avoid when choosing a remodeler for your home. We went for the fear factor and I'm curious if that is the best approach.


I appreciate any ideas you can offer for a title. Also, are titles with a sub-title a better approach? Title as the interrupt and sub-title as the engage?

As a homeowner, what would get your attention?

Thanks!

Mark

[marciayudkin]

Mark,

Are you planning to sell the ebook or give it away?

This is important to know, because if you are planning to sell it, there must be a close match between the title and the contents of the ebook, or you will get way too many returns.

If you are planning to give it away, it just matters getting people to download and read the ebook. They can't ask for their money back and don't much care if their expectations were fulfilled, as long as the contents benefited them.

Marcia Yudkin

[BrianMcLeod]

"Confessions of a Home Remodeling Contractor"
23 Secrets You MUST Know Before You Begin Your Next Remodeling Project

"Home Remodeling 101"
How To Remodel Your Home On TIME and On BUDGET...

[Justin Mandel]

IMO I don't feel this is the best advice.

If f someone feels like they were misled (even though its free) it might just cut down on conversions.

Consumers are funny like that

Originally Posted by marciayudkin

If you are planning to give it away, it just matters getting people to download and read the ebook. They can't ask for their money back and don't much care if their expectations were fulfilled, as long as the contents benefited them.

Marcia Yudkin

[John_S]

We went for the fear factor and I'm curious if that is the best approach.

Based on what you just revealed, that is a Big NO. And for sound marketing reasons.

Taking you on your word, and without seeing the actual ebook, this could very well be a marketing blunder in the making.

Why? There are no confessions. You yourself say no secrets are revealed.

Those commenting on the headline aren't focusing on the business of a headline. What is the headline's job? To get the ebook read. To quote from the scripture...

Something that goes along with this idea is you should be selling something you respect. Experts all over the U.S. are always telling people they should improve their image. Not me. What I teach is you should improve your SUBSTANCE!
-- Gary Halbert, Where The Money Is

This is, quite possibly, the least known, most unpopular thing Gary Halbert ever wrote.

And, when there's is a substantial disconnect -- when the headline is writing checks the content can't cash -- the reader is going to feel cheated for paying attention.

Let me repeat for those playing the "Get Out of Thinking FREE" card: PAYING Attention.

This is "A Submarine That Can Fly?" alll over again. That's the title of a headline which got a lot of attention -- much as your obsession here. The first sentence of the body was "We don't have a flying submarine, but..."

Nobody read further. They rightly felt ripped off. You are just one step away from that.

The formula is Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. You are going to get attention. Unless you improve your substance, people are going to see a disconnect and -- while response may be quite good -- you will be right back here asking why your conversions are poor.

With any kind of home contracting, where the news stories of fly-by-night ripoffs are legion, anything that raises a sliver of doubt is marketing poison. This sounds like a marketing lethal injection.

My guess is you took a boring half page article on what to look for in a contractor and turned it into a super boring ebook. Contrary to popular opinion that is not a recipe for success. The initials IM stand for Information Marketing, not All Marketing, No Information. My guess is you are about to find out your potential customers have a keen nose for information.

We need a new phrase: Copy smart and Marketing foolish.

[colmodwyer]

pitfalls to avoid when choosing a remodeler for your home

"7 Sneaky Ways Remodeling Contractors Will Try to Bump Up Your Bill!" - How to save $348 - $2,800 by refusing unnecessary "extras" contractors think you're too dumb to notice when remodeling your home.

Or something like that...

You have an enemy to rail on, those sneaky contractor cowboys!

Plus, in this economy - in general - value/saving money is a big appeal. However, not sure about the home remodeling market... Surely anyone doing that right now is going to be pretty well off?

Or, would folk remodel to try and sell their house?

In which case, a headline about "How to sell your home for a fair price in 1 month, even in this market" or whatever, might be worth a test.

Colm

[Mr. Subtle]

[The Copy Nazi]

Remodelers Confidential: getting down and dirty with the contractors.

Stuff they don't want you to know.

[John_S]

I would download that in a second

That's nice.

Would you hire the company prepared to spend $2,000 and up?

Or, having read this, then contact the company and got a bid for $2,000, (or 3K or 5K) would you be shocked?

What's the goal here? Must be attracting something-for-nothing bottom feeders.

Here's a bullet and a riddle for you.

* How to offer a zero dollar information product ...Get perfectly qualified prospective customers ...And make money off tire kickers who request information but will never become customers.

[Ken_Caudill]

Attention: Harried Homeowners

How to Save Thousands on Your Next Remodeling Project

Renegade Contractor Reveals Inside Information You Can Take to the Bank

[JohnMcCabe]

Mark, take a look at the bits I've bolded and see if they all make sense together...

If you want people to call you with the idea of possibly writing you a four-figure check, why would you imply that contractors are sneaky enough to hide things?

As a homeowner, I'd be wondering what secrets you still aren't telling me...

I'd respond more to a positive title from a contractor, something like (off the top of my head):

Boost Your Property Value and Love Your House Again.

Follow these insider secrets to getting a remodel that adds value back to your home and goes so smooth your friends won't believe you...

There are enough horror stories about contractors and remodeling to create plenty of fear already. You, as a contractor, want to be the solution to that fear - not a contributor to it.

One marketer/homeowner's opinion, FWIW...

Originally Posted by affiliatepros

Hi Warriors - I am relatively new to WF and the IM world and would like your thoughts on an ebook title.

I own a remodeling company and had an ebook written by a fellow WF (thanks Monika) and I'm struggling with the title.

Currently, the title is "Remodeling Secrets Contractors don't want you to know". Not sure it's going to make my audience jump up and take notice. Plus, we're not really revealing any "secrets", but a compilation of questions to ask and pitfalls to avoid when choosing a remodeler for your home. We went for the fear factor and I'm curious if that is the best approach.


I appreciate any ideas you can offer for a title. Also, are titles with a sub-title a better approach? Title as the interrupt and sub-title as the engage?

As a homeowner, what would get your attention?

Thanks!

Mark

[affiliatepros]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your input. Some great ideas and advice.

We are giving the e-book away. It's 18 pages (I don't think it's boring) and again, mostly a series of questions to ask when interviewing a remodeler and pitfalls to avoid.

I am planning to drive traffic to our site from a simple landing page with key words for our market, as well as put a banner on our home page with the ebook cover and 2 opt-in boxes for name and email to download the ebook. The goal is to build a list, have them visit our site and ULTIMATELY call us for a free design and budget consultation.

What's the goal here? Must be attracting something-for-nothing bottom feeders.

Surely anyone doing that right now is going to be pretty well off?

Yes, our clientele (past and prospective) are upper income and I want the image to speak to them. So, I agree, the fear factor and sleaziness of "don't want you to know" and "secrets" language are probably not best. Unfortunately, they're not doing as much remodeling as we would like in this economy.

I am going to approach from a positive angle, and alert them how reading this e-book could add value to their home - and - potentially save them money and headaches.

Feel free to check out our site - I hope you'll agree it sends a quality message and represents us as a quality company. http://www.markofexcellence.com

I want our ebook to to the same. Thanks again!

Mark

[Ken_Caudill]

The site is very well done. Kudos.

[Collette]

Originally Posted by affiliatepros

... The goal is to ...have them visit our site ...ULTIMATELY call us for a free design and budget consultation.

Mark

Then THAT'S what you should be making the focus. Your "no-cost, no-obligation, and absolutely no-pressure consultation".

Why fiddle about with an offer that really isn't going to create any value for your prospects? You're making this into a multi-contact process, when your most viable prospects can be had in one-click.

For prospects who are only thinking of remodeling (aka "tire kickers") offer them a tipsheet on "The 10 Best... [whatever] for Remodeling YOur Home". Then send them your newsletter.

Also, the sign up that you have for your consultation isn't consistent with your offer. "Ask a question" is not the same as "Yes, please contact me to schedule my no-cost, no-obligation, and absolutely no-pressure consultation"

Followed by their phone number, email, preferred way to contact them, and best times to reach them.

Additional note: the copy you have on your sign up page re: differences to ask about, screams "I'm going to subject you to a sales pitch!!" I'd reposition this as "We help our clients with...".

Clear up the focus, guide your prospects' actions more precisely, and you could have a site that converts for your goal: Getting a chance to directly strut your stuff to prospects.

[John_S]

As Collette's post is a mirror of mine, I would agree.

However, I believe one component is missing. That would be taking a wrong turn and doing some thinking afterward. Until then bolding and red text are worthless.

As reality takes up the gentle 2x4 of instruction, I bid you adieu. I do believe we'll have an opportunity to discuss this later -- when the audience is more receptive. (And properly tenderized)

[affiliatepros]

Thanks Collette -

Additional note: the copy you have on your sign up page re: differences to ask about, screams "I'm going to subject you to a sales pitch!!" I'd reposition this as "We help our clients with...".

Great point on our design and budget consultation. I wasn't too involved in the web page design, but you're right. That needs to be changed. I will make it consistent with the theme for the banner we put on our home page and the landing page.

Mark

[Collette]

Originally Posted by John_S

As Collette's post is a mirror of mine, I would agree.

However, I believe one component is missing. That would be taking a wrong turn and doing some thinking afterward. Until then bolding and red text are worthless. ..

I think you misunderstood my formatting, John. I didn't intend to suggest that Mark's copy should be using bolding and red text. It was just my way of drawing Mark's attention to the nugget of gold contained within his own words.

He had identified his goal and his solution - he just didn't know it yet. I find that people often do this: they articulate a specific goal - but then design a marketing plan that takes them further away from, not nearer to, their goal.

The shortest distance between two points is still a straight line.

[Collette]

Originally Posted by affiliatepros

...I wasn't too involved in the web page design, but you're right. That needs to be changed. I will make it consistent with the theme for the banner we put on our home page and the landing page.

Mark

Not so much a design problem, Mark, as a copy problem.

If your market is "upscale homeowners", they are a demographic who are typically concerned with:
- Acquiring more comfort and luxury
- Impressing others with visible signs of their success
- Increasing the value of their investment (their property)
- Reducing and eliminating stress, annoyance, and tedium.

These are people who don't mind paying to have the job done right - once they're convinced that YOU are the right fit for the job.

So, your PRIMARY marketing goal should be to convince them that, if they're remodeling, you're the guys to "do it right" (meaning they'll get everything in the list above).

And, the thing is - unlike so many others - your company actually has the "street cred" to prove that you're the best choice. Except that all of that lovely proof is buried under the fold and off the landing page.

And the copy on your entire site, is, frankly, weak in this regard. You're simply not playing to your strengths. Instead, your plan for a "free e-book" is more likely to attract DIYers and tire kickers. Neither of which will help your bottom line.

The strategy is the biggest issue here. Your lead generation funnel is not congruent with your desired target prospect. Which means you will struggle to meet your goal to develop targeted leads.

Because... think about it... do you really want your sales staff wasting time following up on people who can't afford you, or who are just looking for free information so they can do it themselves?

[affiliatepros]

Collette - Thank you. You are dead on. You have given me a lot to think about. Let me explain a little further.

There are actually two stories in play here.

One is that this process involves another company we created whose main purpose will be to drive localized traffic to a landing page to generate leads for other remodeling companies using highly searched long tail key words.

The other is that our company is the "test case" for this service. Your comment that giving away a free e-book is "likely to attract mostly DIYers tire-kickers", not my prospects, is correct. Damn. I let my obsession with the landing page and the "free" ebook cloud my focus on what my own company's message really is, and what it should be.

So now I am going to revisit our approach and make sure the message on our web site (due for another overhaul) is on point to reach our market more effectively.

That now begs the question, do I bother to give the e-book away at all? Will that turn off the market I am trying to target (upscale homeowners).

I guess it's back to the drawing board on what to offer on the landing page, and/or my web site, that will compel my prospects (the ones I really want) to give me their name and e-mail address?

Mark

PS - I understood your intent of the red formatting

[Fred_Acker]

Hi Mark,

This is of real interest to me. I started helping small businesses about a year ago with marketing and love seeing the ones who (excuse my french) get off their ass and take action. I'm always surprised at how many do very little and expect huge results.

Anyway, I checked out your site and have a few suggestions.

1. Get rid of all that "About Me" you have flowing throughout the site and stick into the About us section. Then show why using your company would be the best thing the client could possibly do.

2. Eliminate all the unnecessary stuff. Is all that flash really useful to getting new clients? Nah! Plus it is taking the focus off what you really want them to see (your content).

3. Get more of the Before/After appeal into your site. You can do this with images and copy. I did see the little slide show you had which was neat but I don't like waiting for things to load so I didn't wait around to see it all.

4. I loved the project videos. But there's no story behind them (at least the one I watched there wasn't). This is easy content for your site. instead of a popup why not create one page listing the videos like you have them and then a page for each video with a little story to go along with it? Each page could be done as short pieces of sales copy as well as having the contact us info being displayed.

Do you know what a magalog is? If not check this out >>>
FREE Swipe File | The Total Package
there's a few of them there. Instead of a free report, I'd suggest you offer something more along these lines. They can be done either as download or in print and snail-mailed. mailing it may be the better option in this case since they'll have to give you their mailing address and you can ask for a phone number to confirm the address (or start selling before the mail goes out). You could send out a letter but a magalog is always much more fun to read.

Overall, I think your company could do much better using the direct marketing approach vs. using the "about me" and fancy stuff. And you can do direct marketing using simple content that give the client an education as well as the feeling that they have to hire you.

Just my thoughts.

Fred

[affiliatepros]

Thanks Fred - Appreciate the input. Our site was designed to be "pretty" by a company that I was told is still using tables (?) to design. It's due for an overhaul and while I plan to keep all that is good, I plan to design it better for web 2.0 (SEO) and make sure the message is consistent with our goals.

Mark