My $200,000 Ad In My Former Offline Business

14 replies
With all the ad-sharing going on, I figured I'd let y'all see the ad that "made my business" 4 or 5 years ago.

This one, singular ad pulled month after month for me for around 1.5 to 2 years, of which I can account probably 70% to 80% of my personal fitness training business's sales to, clocking in about $200,000 in sales over that period of time.

Here's why I think it worked:

1) I had the PERFECT list. A small community of high-income earners in a local newspaper (which they still get read religiously, kinda like a social thing to see if you made the newspaper). **Interesting note. I placed the exact SAME ad in DIFFERENT mediums and got SOME response, but not nearly the same UBER level that I did in my primary newspaper source.

2) Advertorial-style ads. If I ever advertise in a paper or magazine again, I will ONLY use an advertorial. An advertorial is an ad written to look like a news story. More readership/traffic = higher response = higher ROI. I had tested maybe DOZENS of non-advertorial ads and NONE came even CLOSE to what this one did.

3) Proof and Guarantee. Good before and after pictures. Testimony from the actual end user. A person from the local community.

I know most of us don't sell anything but offline, but there's always something to swipe across from all industries to improve your approach.

With all of that said, this awesome ad eventually did die like they all do, and I was never able to replicate its awesomeness.

ANOTHER THING. I would probably estimate 70% of my advertising resulted in losses or close to breakevens. The good ol' Paretta Principle in action. However, 20% of ads pulled a good solid number, and the remaining 10% were the "whales" that literally make up for the slack.

My one weakness in employing advertising was knowing when to fold them. Sometimes you'd come up with an AWESOME new ad or marketing idea, dump a good click of money into it, and watch it FLOP, or WORSE... breakeven or get a little win.

Why is that worse? Because... it's not clear if it's really a loser or a winner! You have to roll the dice again and change up a certain element of the ad and see what happens. For me, a lot of the time, I'd take several small losses which resulted in a larger loss, which ultimately could have been prevented if I was objective (hard to do when you're in business alone).
#$200 #business #offline
  • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
    Full view

    Enjoy!
    Ewen

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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      I would of loved to have revived that dying advertorial back then.

      Just replace her story with another's.

      I see it's success due to it having the pictures of her
      showing she looked like your everyday normal woman...

      not a model that they could never be,
      therefore too intimidating.

      Was it you who wrote it?

      Where did you learn to write advertorials?

      Great example of one.

      Thanks for showing.

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    I wrote the whole thing from scratch.

    Copywriting inspiration at the time was relegated to Dan Kennedy, primarily. But I read Jay Abraham some, too.

    In fact, it's much easier to write an advertorial, I think. Just structure it as a news story, and include all the benefits you want highlighted (she's a mom of 3, lives in your town, visually has had great success, and you have no risk in giving the program a shot).

    Yes, I used the same advertorial format with 2 other ladies and one on myself, as well (How This Personal Trainer Lost 70 Pounds In 12 Months And How You Can Too).

    One lady actually called me up, and asked me, "How did I get on the fat list?" I thought she was going to tear me a new one, but she actually signed up right away and became a great, long-lasting client of mine.

    Ran them in the same local newspapers, got SOME results, but not nearly as INCREDIBLE.

    I DO think part of it was that the high-income market I advertised to NEVER had seen ANYTHING remotely similar to the offer and piece I was running.

    I did also do a 2-step mailing to a 1000-person list of $100k income earners, based on the advertorial, more in an expanded story form.

    Shit cost me an arm and a leg at the time. Spent $3.5 a piece total; handwritten letters, first-class postage, I even had a sticky note saying, "Thought you might be interested in this. -D" 2 weeks after I sent them a tear-sheet of the advertorial above.

    I had women (and even a husband) calling me, asking me who the hell they think I was suggesting that they needed personal training! LOL.

    However, you got to crack a few eggs to make an omlet. I ended up making probably 5:1 to 7:1 on the deal -- it took a long time to breakeven, but I generated 5 new clients from that mailing campaign, 2 of which became "lifers" -- training with me longer than a year cumulatively, and 3 others that trained for a good bit.

    I love marketing when it works...
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    David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      I wrote the whole thing from scratch.

      Copywriting inspiration at the time was relegated to Dan Kennedy, primarily. But I read Jay Abraham some, too.

      .
      The first thing I thought when I saw the ad was "This guy has studied copywriting from Dan Kennedy or John Carlton". Seriously.

      Near perfect ad. I advertised for my retail business studying along the way, and had similar results. One ad killed, and any change I made to it (out of boredom with the ad) reduced the results.

      The same ad that gave huge results in a local coupon magazine, got almost no results from the paper. And sending the same ad by direct mail (almost exacly like you describe) was a complete waste of time. But your appeal is more universal to your audience. I see why it worked in your local upscale paper.

      I keep looking at that headline and thinking "How could I make it better?"

      Nope. The headline was probably responsible for 80% of why the ad worked. Along with the fact that there is an implied endorsement from the paper...because it really looks like a news story.

      Pretty darn impressive.
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  • Profile picture of the author XponentSYS
    I'm surprised nobody cited the great Eugene Schwartz... another copy legend like Dan Kennedy. Eugene Schwartz did some great advertorials for Montgomery Ward (I believe?) products back in the day. I've run editorials like that in the Medical industry with good results. Dan Kennedy and Eugene Schwartz are my inspirations for these.
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  • Profile picture of the author PsycFa
    I completely agreed with you as more people have the tendency of connecting much better on a personal level rather than a simple ad showing promo etc..

    This is quite current in the fitness industry; just browse those personal fitness, gym etc websites and you will find a corner where they write success stories.

    Unfortunately most of these companies got blinded that they do not extend the use of it towards its marketing outlets.

    I've used a specific strategy with one of my clients that is close to the concept of biggest loser etc.. They selected a specific kind of person that is in need for body transformation and undertook all the bills. All is documented and videod; at the end of 6 months; the results are shown.

    It is basically a mini autobio for that person's road to complete rejunevation. It was picked up by the local newspaper; overnight the video stats rose like crazy and they started to get signups to the extent they were booked for the whole year.

    This video is still online and keeps pulling up signups months after months and the company itself has decided to branch out around states to cope with the demands. Every six months they come up with a new person and transform her.

    This shows you the power of sympathy; jealousy, envy as well as personal connection is still a big part of advertising.

    Kudos on this post; I've downloaded your pdf and I will go through it tonight to see what are the germs you've innit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    OK guys -- here's a monkey wrench I'll throw in.

    In my town, we have two prominent affluent communities -- both live on separate mountains.

    One community is "newer" money and less affluent overall. The OTHER community is old money, with families that came post-Civil War. This particular community of 2000 people is in the top 5 wealthiest per capita communities in the US.

    I KILLED it in the New money community; I could NEVER crack the Old money community. I would get a few clients here and there from Old money community, but I probably broke even or took a loss over the life of my business advertising there.

    Eventually I got to the point where I tried EVERYTHING, and dumped persuing the community. You can try to rationalize and strategize, but eventually you'll go broke, and just have to accept it doesn't work without a firm understanding of why not.

    Thoughts?
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    David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Do you think it's an age thing...

      older people in the wealthiest community?

      Best,
      Ewen

      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      OK guys -- here's a monkey wrench I'll throw in.

      In my town, we have two prominent affluent communities -- both live on separate mountains.

      One community is "newer" money and less affluent overall. The OTHER community is old money, with families that came post-Civil War. This particular community of 2000 people is in the top 5 wealthiest per capita communities in the US.

      I KILLED it in the New money community; I could NEVER crack the Old money community. I would get a few clients here and there from Old money community, but I probably broke even or took a loss over the life of my business advertising there.

      Eventually I got to the point where I tried EVERYTHING, and dumped persuing the community. You can try to rationalize and strategize, but eventually you'll go broke, and just have to accept it doesn't work without a firm understanding of why not.

      Thoughts?
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

      Eventually I got to the point where I tried EVERYTHING, and dumped persuing the community. You can try to rationalize and strategize, but eventually you'll go broke, and just have to accept it doesn't work without a firm understanding of why not.

      Thoughts?
      That itching to know "Why not" is a sign of an evolved mind.
      Anyway, I try to take emotions out of it, and just look at the math. I quit running ads that don't produce...after it runs once.

      You can beat yourself to death trying to crack this code. Me? I would just accept that some people are not going to buy what you sell.

      I have certain niches in geography, income, political leanings, gender, age, etc..that I have learned that I do not connect with.

      The salesman in me doesn't want to accept it, but ...

      Knowing who not to market to is nearly half of marketing. At least in my experience.

      Knowing how to buy media is another skill that I acquired quite late in life.
      You know those heater ads you saw all last winter as full page magazine and newspaper ads? I know the guy who writes those ads.

      He pays 20% the list rate for advertising. That's how he guarantees profits. Every ad works if you pay a low enough price for the ad.

      Now even I'm tired of hearing myself talk.
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  • Profile picture of the author HostWind
    Very well done story, and congratulations on writing it yourself - must be a great feeling of accomplishment!
    I am curious what your current efforts are. You say you have done a few others elsewhere that didnt do as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
    Fantastic share Rearden - one for the swipefile for sure - and thanks to all who've contributed their comments and insights to this thread.

    I'd love to see more great shares like this on the forum!

    Cheers
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    • Profile picture of the author Rearden
      My client age averaged between 40-65, female, and had kids -- most were probably 50-65 with kids moved out, all mostly married, some single. Of course there were outliers.

      Interestingly enough, 90% of my clientele were women -- it never failed that for every 10 clients I had at any time, only 1 was a male.

      That would've been the proverbial "nut to crack," no pun intended...

      However, my competition down the street, a national personal training franchise, had a ton more men as clients.

      However, the owner informed me that of all the prospecting efforts he did, his BEST return was on... get this... hand-written letters sent to prominent businessmen, requesting to try out his personal training. He always followed up with a phone call to set an appointment at his facility.

      He said nothing ever pulled as mightily as that did.

      Back to the winning ad -- Dan Kennedy always said one of the easiest ways to leverage a successful ad is to turn it into a postcard, direct mail piece, etc.

      I took the ad I wrote above and turned it into the attached mail piece.

      I even submitted a Free Review piece to Dan Kennedy for him to look it over -- I got it back 2 months later with scribbles and stuff. Said he thought it was good.
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      David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rearden
        Here's the mailer piece I talked about earlier Dan Kennedy reviewed for me for FREE.

        Out of 1000 @ 3.5 per piece (handwritten letters, real stamps, lift note saying "Thought you'd be interested in this. -D", I developed 5 clients, 2 of which stayed on for 18-24 months at $360 each per month, and 3 which averaged around 3-5 months each around $300 a month.

        One of the clients has been a continual massage client for my wife for the last year, so we've made another $1500-$2000 on her continual business.

        It took a few months to recover from breakeven, but it proved to be a powerful letter. If I had more money to cover my expenses and the hit to my cash flow to roll out this letter even more, I may have still been in business.

        Finally, this was my particular "pet" project -- I loved this letter! I wanted it to be RAW and REVEALING. Everything I describe about my experience is true; that kind of rawness elicits trust and commitment from prospects.

        Although looking back I am pleased at the 4:1 to 5:1 return on the letter, I really wanted MORE because I gave this bad boy EVERYTHING about me and my business's success stories.

        I did frame this after a few pieces in AWAI's course book, I believe. Some with a keen memory of the best control pieces probably will recognize what I swiped, as I've now forgotten.
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        David Duford -- Providing On-Going, Personalized Mentorship And Training From A Real Final Expense Producer To Agents New To The Final Expense Life Insurance Business.
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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

          However, the owner informed me that of all the prospecting efforts he did, his BEST return was on... get this... hand-written letters sent to prominent businessmen, requesting to try out his personal training. He always followed up with a phone call to set an appointment at his facility.

          He said nothing ever pulled as mightily as that did.

          Back to the winning ad -- Dan Kennedy always said one of the easiest ways to leverage a successful ad is to turn it into a postcard, direct mail piece, etc.
          I believe it about the handwritten letter. And what Kennedy says about transferring ads to direct mail is true. I've always seen that work. But the opposite is not true. Transferring a direct mail piece to newspaper depends on the readership of the newspaper and how much the newspaper fudges its circulation numbers. I belong to a local Mastermind group of Kennedy students. I'd love to show them your sales letter. There are dozens of marketing lessons there.



          Originally Posted by Rearden View Post

          It took a few months to recover from breakeven, but it proved to be a powerful letter. If I had more money to cover my expenses and the hit to my cash flow to roll out this letter even more, I may have still been in business.

          Finally, this was my particular "pet" project -- I loved this letter! I wanted it to be RAW and REVEALING. Everything I describe about my experience is true; that kind of rawness elicits trust and commitment from prospects.
          "I Laughed When I Read Your Headline...But When I Started To Read..."
          For some reason, after reading your headline, I had the urge to play the piano. HA!

          I've heard comedians say that there are really just seven jokes. And There may only be as many classic headline structures.

          The other thing I thought I would bring out is that you see the ad as a winner even at an initial breakeven. Yup. More marketers would give up because they didn't get 10% of the people mailed to respond. But that's not the way it works. Great ads can break even on the front end, and they are the ones that generate high profits on the back end.

          I loved your approach of giving your sales letter everything you could, to not only get a new customer...but to attract the most valuable customers.

          A little aside, for years I ran an ad selling vacuum cleaners in a coupon magazine. When I spoke at my industry trade shows, I would show the ad and ask "What percentage do you think responded and bought?"

          I would get anywhere from "2%" to "25%". I would say "Nope, about one in 1,000 responded. Out of 25,000 mailed, we get about 25 sales. But the ad cost us $600 and the net profit on our sales is $12,000. So it isn't the percentage that buys, it's the Return On Investment"


          Anyway, after 2008 the ads don't pull as well. But we are still seeing a 3 to 1 return, so I'll keep plugging. We tried the exact same ad (same size, no edits) in our newspaper with almost no results. We used a flier in the newspaper. Better results, but we still didn't break even. No, only that one direct mail coupon magazine worked. And it took me several months of trial and error to make it work.
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