[CASE STUDY] How I signed 30 new business every month for the last 3 months, simple and easy!

134 replies
Hey everyone,

Over the last several months I have been using a Direct Mail Campaign (I probably just lost half of you but bare with me, its cheaper than you think!) that has gotten me an average of 30 new business clients for my offline marketing company each and every month!

I could have released this info as a WSO but I decided to release it free to you guys in the hopes that some of you actually take action instead of trolling the Offline Section doing nothing productive.

All of the links in this thread are non affiliate links! Just links to the services I personally use and would recommend to others.

You can check out my other case studies here:

[Another Case Study] Even More successful than my last!

This is not a thread discussing how to provide offline services of Text Message Marketing. If you wish to discuss how to provide those services see my thread here How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!

The Direct Mail Campaign that I used was inspired by many sources on the WF and I will be giving full credit and links where credit is due! Thank you WF you have made my a ton of money and I am just hoping to give some back, so others can do the same.

Results

I will start with the results as that is what you are most interest in I am sure.

NOTE: This can easily be scaled down or up depending on your budget.

I started out mailing these postcards 150 a week for 4 weeks.

This totaled 600 postcards mailed.

Cost of 600 postcards printed and mailed = $270

I split tested two campaigns (as you will learn about below) but I averaged a 10% response rate.

600 * 10% = 60 responses

Out of those 60 responses I ended up with 45 meetings. And out of those 45 meetings I signed 30 new clients at an average of $150 a piece (monthly).

$150 monthly * 30 clients = $4500 monthly Income

$4500 monthly income - $270 cost of mailer = $4230 first month profit

Reoccurring Monthly Profit $4500

I just took my $1 and turns it into $15!

Read below on how you can achieve this too. Keep in mind this was for a simple SMS marketing campaign, I can easily upsell more expensive services now that I have gotten them actual results.


We are going to be targeting the Restauraunt Niche with this walk through but this can be easily adapted for any niche.

Step 1. The List

There are 2 ways to get a mailing list of businesses, you can either buy it or collect yourself.

When you are first starting out you can collect it your self, I would do this by going to Google Maps and searching for "niche + city name".

Then just copy and paste the Mailing Info into excel of all the restaurants. This takes awhile, but if you can know out 20 or 30 of them in 15 mins. There are scrapers around that do this but I have never used one.

THe second way is to buy a list. Personally I use Unlimited Sales Leads & Mailing Lists | infofree.com (not affiliate link) it costs $49.95 a month however if you buy Bob Ross's WSO Direct Mail Cash Machine (not an affiliate link) then you get a discount for half off making it $24.95 a month. This is a great and easy to use list buying service that I highly recommend if you are in need.

Step 2 The Postcard

That's right I used post cards! I do use letters and usually personally prefer them buy for the ad copy I used postcards were the only way to go. Now I split tested 2 different call to actions (CTA). The first redirected to a personalized link/webpage with a video and contact form. The second was a straight Call Me with phone # CTA.

I split my mailing list in half and mailed half using one CTA and half using the other. I got surprising results. The Post Card with the URL/Link CTA had a much lower response rate but the leads were RED HOT and were guaranteed sales. The Call Me CTA got more responses however the conversion to sale rate was much lower. After I ran the campaigns I analyzed the monetary results and they actually came out pretty even as far as ROI from both CTA's. I recommend doing 50-50 as the URL/Link leads are easy money and give you nice bits of encouragement when a sales meeting doesn't go as planned.

Ok now how to actually do both of the methods:

Method 1) Personalized URL/Link

The principle behind this is we are sending the prospect a URL/Link to go to that has their personal business name in it. It peaks their curiosity and they are much more likely to go take a look.

I can not take credit for this fasbulously simple bit of ad copy the credit goes to Jgregory in the I Love Direct Mail! Do you? thread. I highly suggest reading through the whole thing, TONS of great info.

Here is a picture of an example postcard:



It is a very simple yet powerful message that hits the heart of every restaurant owner. And the single CTA of the personalized link makes for a very hard to resist combo.

The link sends the business owner to a web page that is customized with his business name all over it, along with a sales video and a contact form. The leads that I get from this are ultra buyer ready owners because they have watched the video and are interested in starting their SMS campaigns now!

To cover how to create personalized web pages is beyond the scope of this thread. However a new WSO has come out (I am not the author/owner/affiliate/or in anyway associated with it)that does all of this for you turn key. Here is the link

Method 2) Call Me CTA

Method 2 is much simpler in that the call to action is for the owner to simply call you.

Here is a pic of a sample card.



Both of these card are ULTRA simple but with postcards, simple is better.

Now I know a lot of you are afraid of talking to owners on the phone but with this method there is no reason to be scared. Remember they are calling you, they realize they have a problem, they are asking you to help them!

When they call say something along these lines:

You: "Hello, (Your Business Name) this is (Your Name)"

Owner: Hi, this is, Bob, I'm the owner of (restaurant) I got your postcard in the mail and was interested in how your bringing in customers

You: We use a variety of methods to put customers in your seats and spending money. The best way for me to explain would be to simply show you, do you have 5 minutes to sit down with me?

They will either say yes or will try and get more info out of you. Just reinforce that it would be easier for everyone if you simply showed him and get that appointment. NEVER SELL THE PRODUCT ON THE PHONE!!! You are selling the appointment on the phone not your product.

Step 3 Printing

I printed the postcards myself on my home printer. I bought prefforated postcard paper from Paper Direct

You can buy 100 for 12.99 which comes out to about $0.13 each.

You want to use replace the restaurants in the ad copy with your own local examples and us mail merge to create the URL/Link CTA as well as the mailing info needed.

Step 4 Mailing

Mail them first class, for a postcard this costs $0.32 each. I started out mailing 50 a week and have scaled it up since.

Conclusion

Take action and this absolutely works! Just mail out 25-50 a week this costs about $20 a week and will provide you with 10-15 fresh leads each and every week!
#business #case #easy #month #months #signed #simple #studyhow
  • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
    Stevie,
    Fantastic seeing somebody [you] testing and measuring their response and follow thru to sale.

    You are rare.

    Now you have a repeatable, scalable system that you can employ cheap labor to run it for you.

    A profitable business that runs without you!

    Thanks for coming back and showing what's possible.

    Best,
    Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author racso316
    That's awesome brother. I'm glad this subforum is opening eyes to direct mail. It works. Great example. Great ROI. Thanks for the share!
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  • Profile picture of the author TyBrown
    Offline consulting isn't my business (I just like learning on this forum) but this is such a turnkey way for consultants to make money that it's tempting. That's awesome of you to give this away.

    Just out of curiosity, what are you providing for their $150/month?


    EDIT: Nevermind. I clicked on the links and saw that it was text messaging. Great stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author ewenmack
      Originally Posted by TyBrown View Post

      Just out of curiosity, what are you providing for their $150/month?
      He tells you in the 5th paragraph down.

      Best,
      Ewen
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  • Profile picture of the author Nickels
    Thanks for this post...Ive been thinking about getting into direct mailing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Great post and contratz on your success!
    I like how you split tested two different cta's.
    Did the numbers to learn if one was better then
    the other.

    Now raise your pricing 250%!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author believemarketing
    on your way to $$$$$.....
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
    Way to go Stevie!

    There's seriously much more value in this great post than in many of the WSOs I've purchased here that are based on theory and possibility.

    You on the other hand are out there mailing simple postcards, split testing them and sharing them here without holding anything back and I think that's fantastic!

    Thank you for sharing this with everyone and kudos for proving that "copy" is still king! :-)

    Cheers,

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author jspmedia
    so you created 600 sub directories? each directory for each restaurant and used same sales page?
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
      Originally Posted by jspmedia View Post

      so you created 600 sub directories? each directory for each restaurant and used same sales page?
      That reminds me - I forgot to mention I've been experimenting with PURLs myself and found that if you're using wordpress, you can use the free "Pretty Link" plugin to easily create a nice PURL.

      I've just been creating private pages personalized for prospects, then you create the "pretty link" thats personalized and redirects to the page you created. You can have a PURL setup in about 10 seconds plus pretty link tracks the clicks for you too - so it's easy to see who's reading your messages and getting to your sales pages.

      steve
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      • Profile picture of the author BillBert
        Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

        That reminds me - I forgot to mention I've been experimenting with PURLs myself and found that if you're using wordpress, you can use the free "Pretty Link" plugin to easily create a nice PURL.

        I've just been creating private pages personalized for prospects, then you create the "pretty link" thats personalized and redirects to the page you created. You can have a PURL setup in about 10 seconds plus pretty link tracks the clicks for you too - so it's easy to see who's reading your messages and getting to your sales pages.

        steve
        It would be much easier in my opinion if you wrote a simple PHP script that would parse anything off of the end of your url and use that as session variable which then can be dynamically placed anywhere on the site in predetermined variables that your visitor goes to. I can think of some viral applications for this too.

        So anyone who went to www.YourDomain.com/TheirName would then see the generic page that you created but automatically populated with TheirName and anything related to it anywhere you wanted it to show.

        In other words, there would be nothing for you to do. You can have people go to any link you tell them to and it will be there instantly without you having to create the link, or directory or anything.

        Not sure what else you may need, but if that is it, that is the way I would do it.

        Just my two cents.
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        • Profile picture of the author criniit
          Thanks for the huge response everyone! I have gotten a ton of questions and comments through PM and email, I will post some of the better questions and answers here so that others can benefit from them.



          Originally Posted by link82

          Very cool, by the way! Congrats on such a high response rate and for earning great income!

          Do you do this with restaurants only? I am trying to target dentists--I know, crowded niche. However, I am working with one already and it'd be great to specialize in one area.

          Have you tested with other areas other than restaurants? I sent out mailers last week, about 7. Not a lot at all. So over the weekend, I've already looked up 30-40 dentists in two main areas.

          I think I will test two different mailers for 15 each. My goal is to get just 1 client from each area.

          Anyway, congrats again. If you have any tips, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
          Hey Link,

          I am glad my post gave you some ideas! This specific mailing I have only tested with restauraunts, however I have clients in a ton of niches. The ad copy could very easily be changed for any other niche, for doctors you could say something along the lines of

          "I doubled Dr Bob's patients last month, how busy were you?"

          Or something along those lines.

          I have noticed that it takes about 150 mailers sent out before you can decide on whether you are going to see any return or not. So if your sending out 15 a week just keep at it till you reach 150 before you give up.

          Originally Posted by ewenmack View Post

          Stevie,
          Fantastic seeing somebody [you] testing and measuring their response and follow thru to sale.

          You are rare.

          Now you have a repeatable, scalable system that you can employ cheap labor to run it for you.

          A profitable business that runs without you!

          Thanks for coming back and showing what's possible.

          Best,
          Ewen
          Hey Ewen,

          Thanks for the kind words. I just wanted to share with everyone out there that Direct Mail works if used correctly and it is cheap too! Now someone else please use this and make money with me!

          Originally Posted by racso316 View Post

          That's awesome brother. I'm glad this subforum is opening eyes to direct mail. It works. Great example. Great ROI. Thanks for the share!
          Thanks! And I agree, I have seen a lot more Direct Mail friendly threads here lately and I am very happy about it! It simply works if your willing to try it!

          Originally Posted by TyBrown View Post

          Offline consulting isn't my business (I just like learning on this forum) but this is such a turnkey way for consultants to make money that it's tempting. That's awesome of you to give this away.

          Just out of curiosity, what are you providing for their $150/month?


          EDIT: Nevermind. I clicked on the links and saw that it was text messaging. Great stuff.
          I offered my basic SMS services package, and have sinced upselled the hell out of all these new clients. At this point my average client brings me in around $600 a month.

          Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

          Great post and contratz on your success!
          I like how you split tested two different cta's.
          Did the numbers to learn if one was better then
          the other.

          Now raise your pricing 250%!!!
          Already done The reason I was only charging $150 was that I wanted a base product that I would attempt to sell to everyone that responded to the campaign, hat way I could accurately measure the results. I have since upsold all these clients to my other, more expensive programs. (I run a lot of their own direct mail campaigns now)

          Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

          Way to go Stevie!

          There's seriously much more value in this great post than in many of the WSOs I've purchased here that are based on theory and possibility.

          You on the other hand are out there mailing simple postcards, split testing them and sharing them here without holding anything back and I think that's fantastic!

          Thank you for sharing this with everyone and kudos for proving that "copy" is still king! :-)

          Cheers,

          Steve
          Thanks Steve,

          And I agree, unfortunately most of the WSO's released now a days are pretty crappy. I am glad I can help and inspire some of you to go take action! That being said the WSO's I recommend in this thread are tried and tested by me and I would highly suggest at least checking them out if your in need of their services.

          Originally Posted by jspmedia View Post

          so you created 600 sub directories? each directory for each restaurant and used same sales page?
          No I used a PHP script that automatically adds the name of the business that the owner puts in the URL. example:

          Owner goes to the webpage "http://www.codatlanta.com/presentations/JoesPizza"

          then everything on the website is customized with Joes Pizza all over it. If another owner typed in their business name instead of JoesPizza then their name would be all of the website. It is just one web page which is customized per visitor automatically. Its call a PLUR.

          The WSO that I recommend for this is actually a really god solution. Comes with the webpage as well as a good SMS sales video.

          Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

          That reminds me - I forgot to mention I've been experimenting with PURLs myself and found that if you're using wordpress, you can use the free "Pretty Link" plugin to easily create a nice PURL.

          I've just been creating private pages personalized for prospects, then you create the "pretty link" thats personalized and redirects to the page you created. You can have a PURL setup in about 10 seconds plus pretty link tracks the clicks for you too - so it's easy to see who's reading your messages and getting to your sales pages.

          steve
          There you go! I ended up writing my own PHP script to do it but this looks like a good solution for the non coder.

          Originally Posted by mikesdream View Post

          Bob Ross (aka Jake) is gonna LOVE this post! lol Seriously though, Stevie, thanks for showing, once again, what a true "warrior" is supposed to be! Kudos, man, you just inspired the hell outta me. I've (finally) been making money (not consistently yet) with web design for small blue-collar businesses that I've managed to get in front of via John Durham's cold-calling advice, but I've really been wanting to get into the whole sms thing, got a couple wso's on the subject (bought Willr's today) and this post has just sealed the deal for me! And you're right, man, you could've easily sold this info as a wso (and I probably, no scratch that, DEFINITELY would've bought it lol) but you chose to give back to the forum that has given you so much and chose to divulge this fantastic information for free and that, good sir, is to be COMMENDED!

          Thanks a mil!

          Mike
          Thanks for the encouraging words Mike! And I am a HUGE fan of Bob Ross and Willr. Haha actually the 2 WSO's I recommend in this post are both of theirs!

          The infofree.net list source is actually from one of Bob Ross's WSO's and I am currently filling my first postcard from his "$5000 a month thread".

          I am glad I inspired, now stay inspired and go make some money!

          Feel free to PM, email me anytime if you have any questions.

          Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

          Just curious what I can do if I have no company name that I have helped? I suppose I could put in a fake name and hope the prospective client doesn't call me on it. What if they ask for proof from the fake company?

          Thanks...
          I would not suggest that you put up a fake name, you would probably end up getting called on it eventually and might hurt your reputation. If I were you, I would go to a small mom and pop business in whatever niche you are interested in and offer your services to them in exchange for a great review.

          Then you can send this ad copy out without having to worry about be constantly called on the lie.

          Originally Posted by BillBert View Post

          It would be much easier in my opinion if you wrote a simple PHP script that would parse anything off of the end of your url and use that as session variable which then can be dynamically placed anywhere on the site in predetermined variables that your visitor goes to. I can think of some viral applications for this too.

          So anyone who went to www.YourDomain.com/TheirName would then see the generic page that you created but automatically populated with TheirName and anything related to it anywhere you wanted it to show.

          In other words, there would be nothing for you to do. You can have people go to any link you tell them to and it will be there instantly without you having to create the link, or directory or anything.

          Not sure what else you may need, but if that is it, that is the way I would do it.

          Just my two cents.
          This is exactly what I did. Thanks for writing this out so everyone can fully understand it.


          Again thank you for the positive responses everybody, I am glad I could give you all some new ideas on how to grow your businesses!
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        • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
          Originally Posted by BillBert View Post

          It would be much easier in my opinion if you wrote a simple PHP script that would parse anything off of the end of your url and use that as session variable which then can be dynamically placed anywhere on the site in predetermined variables that your visitor goes to. I can think of some viral applications for this too.

          So anyone who went to www.YourDomain.com/TheirName would then see the generic page that you created but automatically populated with TheirName and anything related to it anywhere you wanted it to show.

          In other words, there would be nothing for you to do. You can have people go to any link you tell them to and it will be there instantly without you having to create the link, or directory or anything.

          Not sure what else you may need, but if that is it, that is the way I would do it.

          Just my two cents.
          Thanks for that information. Where can I look to find more details on learning more about creating or setting up this sort of PHP script? I'm a newbie when it comes to coding.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
      Tooting my horn here!

      GPS does this for you, you can use a template of a custom created landing page with each prospects information from business name and address all the way down to how many Facebook mentions they have. You can even embed form to capture more information if you like.

      Being connected to your sites FTP it then creates sub-directories for each prospect and uploads the sales/landing page template to their respective directories.

      I think using the URL and the simple post card is a great strategy!

      Originally Posted by jspmedia View Post

      so you created 600 sub directories? each directory for each restaurant and used same sales page?
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      • Profile picture of the author mikesdream
        Bob Ross (aka Jake) is gonna LOVE this post! lol Seriously though, Stevie, thanks for showing, once again, what a true "warrior" is supposed to be! Kudos, man, you just inspired the hell outta me. I've (finally) been making money (not consistently yet) with web design for small blue-collar businesses that I've managed to get in front of via John Durham's cold-calling advice, but I've really been wanting to get into the whole sms thing, got a couple wso's on the subject (bought Willr's today) and this post has just sealed the deal for me! And you're right, man, you could've easily sold this info as a wso (and I probably, no scratch that, DEFINITELY would've bought it lol) but you chose to give back to the forum that has given you so much and chose to divulge this fantastic information for free and that, good sir, is to be COMMENDED!

        Thanks a mil!

        Mike
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  • Profile picture of the author syncjam
    Just curious what I can do if I have no company name that I have helped? I suppose I could put in a fake name and hope the prospective client doesn't call me on it. What if they ask for proof from the fake company?

    Thanks...
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    • Profile picture of the author Robert Domino
      Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

      Just curious what I can do if I have no company name that I have helped? I suppose I could put in a fake name and hope the prospective client doesn't call me on it. What if they ask for proof from the fake company?

      Thanks...
      Do you really want to start your marketing strategy like that? The postcard is so short, you're asking if you should lie about like 50% of the message.

      I don't think so.

      The big appeal for customers (imho) is when you can tell them it's been tested and generated good results. So if you don't have results, and noone can when they start out, you just find another way around it.

      Find 1 customer and do it for free, or at break even cost. How hard is it to convince someone to let you do something for them almost free?

      Then you can forever say you did this for X restaurant / business and you got X results from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author RobbieT
    Thanks for sharing Stevie.

    Proof positive that mail marketing sure works well IF it is well targeted.
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    You just made my morning.

    Great job, seriously it's so exciting to hear about results like this. You're an animal!
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

      You just made my morning.

      Great job, seriously it's so exciting to hear about results like this. You're an animal!
      Hey Bob! Huge fan! I actually am putting together my first marriage mailer from your WSO (goes out next week!). Thanks for everything you have done for this forum, look forward to more info packed posts from you!
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      • Profile picture of the author bob ross
        Originally Posted by criniit View Post

        Hey Bob! Huge fan! I actually am putting together my first marriage mailer from your WSO (goes out next week!). Thanks for everything you have done for this forum, look forward to more info packed posts from you!
        Awesome, I think there's now around 17 people with cards out! Keep us all updated with your progress, it gives everyone proof that these old school methods work brilliantly along with cutting edge stuff.

        Thanks again for the kind words mate.
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  • Profile picture of the author hodari
    I just happened to see this thread after logging on. Glad I read this. Seriously considering going the offline direct marketing route. I still have a postcard Matt Bacak and others sent me years ago. I will go back and look at those wso's listed. Thank you very much for sharing.
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  • Profile picture of the author abuhanifa
    well , i have got a clinic , so how can i get more patients ?
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by abuhanifa View Post

      well , i have got a clinic , so how can i get more patients ?
      I'd be happy to give you some recommendations if can answer a couple questions for me.

      1) What type of clinic is it, what are the services you offer?

      2) What current forms of marketing are you doing?

      3) What is your average customer profile?
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  • Profile picture of the author rideotm
    Hi Steve (and Bob)..as a long time fan and user of WillR's system and having sold my first card with Bob Ross's techniques, I can attest you are utilizing two of the best warriosr in the business, both of whom have made me money I have been spending most of my time lately selling the post card but this thread gets my sms and other ideas swirling. Thanks for the share and for now making me work on a Sunday, dammit.
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by rideotm View Post

      Hi Steve (and Bob)..as a long time fan and user of WillR's system and having sold my first card with Bob Ross's techniques, I can attest you are utilizing two of the best warriosr in the business, both of whom have made me money I have been spending most of my time lately selling the post card but this thread gets my sms and other ideas swirling. Thanks for the share and for now making me work on a Sunday, dammit.
      I am a fan of both of them as well. Do you have Willr's Mobile Website WSO? How is it?

      Now get to work!

      PS: +10 points for your signature..love it
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  • Profile picture of the author DNChamp
    Criniit question: Can you advise with the SMS what you are offering? is it a text message sent out 1x a week? Are you helping build the list? What are you doing for the $150 please.

    I love this idea that I may be able to tweak for my own SEO services to more budget minded businesses.

    Thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanmckinney
    Hey,

    I was eye-ballin' Bob's WSO for a couple of days! I tend not to buy any WSO's anymore since I have started taking on SEO + GP clients, I have not wanted to get "side tracked" -

    After reading your post, I am hoping on this, If I can even land 3 clients next month, I can kiss my 9-5 away for sure ( I am already about to, I just have a number in mind I want to be at before I do!).

    Thanks for the post.

    Also, I offer SMS, that is a separate component with business partners, we are launching that full service soon, adding this to our arsenal!

    Ryan
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  • Profile picture of the author rolltide
    how many are you mailing out now per week?
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by rolltide View Post

      how many are you mailing out now per week?
      Right now I am running 5 different direct mail campaigns along with 2 cold calling (outsourced) campaigns.

      For this individual one I HIGHLY target and budget $100 a week, so sending out about 222 of them a week. And seeing about a 10% return.

      Edit: Just to clarify that 222 a week are not all new fresh leads, I am sending the same card out to the same owners several times for maximum visibility and return.

      I am also finding that this mailer paired with a follow up phone call works very well.
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  • Profile picture of the author syncjam
    One more question;

    On the postcards, you print the Call To Action on one side, but on the other side, do you print their name/address or handwrite it? Also, do you put a return address?

    Thanks...
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

      One more question;

      On the postcards, you print the Call To Action on one side, but on the other side, do you print their name/address or handwrite it? Also, do you put a return address?

      Thanks...
      No return address, and on the other side i print their name and address.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
        Hi Steve,

        Nice job and kudos to you for sharing this openly in the forum. This is the post card headline Steve got from my post in I love Direct Mail?

        "Let Me Double your Covers at Chez Gerard next Thursday Night. I do this every week for Le Bistro in Center City."

        Call me: 555-666-897
        Text Message: 555-989-6757
        Email: foodprofits@domain.com
        URL: http://www.domain.com/ChezGerard
        Fax: 777-436-9876

        That's a compelling, engaging headline. Read that original thread. He took action and you see the results that a compelling, engaging headline can bring to the table.

        It's the Message. It's the Message. It's the Message.

        This is the entire Post Card, just put address on the other side. Do not use a Return Address. I use plain Canary Yellow card stock. No images. No fluff. You can read all the details in this Post that Steve mentioned. Delivery system - The Message - AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire, Action

        And suggest you re-read his opening post here and pay attention to the details for the lead generation strategy. I described over there... what I call the Daily Dozen mailing campaign. Perfect for small time operators. You need a high-end laser printer, mail-merge with a word processor, and supply of stamps. Sending them out daily Monday thru Friday sets up a drip-feed autopilot lead system for your leads. Much better when you doing F2F meetings that a single big mailing blast. You can handle the appointments better when they come in regularly.

        Target your Daily Dozen mailing list so you are always in the same geographical area. You don't want to be driving all over town, so you target in zip code radius once you have done your segmented and profiling. Same area for a week or so, then move on to another area. Save time. Save gas. You can do a drop-by to and be a name-dropper for a satisfied client nearby


        There are so many here debating over delivery vehicles... one group trumpeting cold calling and another group saying only online tactics work and several people writing about direct mail. They can all work if used properly with a genuine marketing strategy. It's the strategy that provides the rocket fuel. You use the delivery method within the context of your business model.

        All three delivery vehicles work when used in the proper context with proven methods. When I was working out marketing for SMS clients, post cards won out because the objective was to get solid appointments fast... with qualified prospects. Don't forget that sales is a process, not an event. You can go over the What and How in the meeting presentation.

        ++ This SMS business model works best with a planned presentation at a F2F meeting.

        ++ Sell the Appointment only, do not Sell the Service on the Post Card.

        Get the Appointments with a Powerful Message that creates curiosity by answering the single most important question for the recipient... Why? Why should I pay attention to this headline? Why should talk to you?

        Doubling the covers in a fine dining restaurant on the slowest night is the WHY reason for this fine dining target market. And there are other headlines for other target markets too.

        Don't be concerned over the delivery vehicles(post cards or cold calling) until you have crafted a powerful marketing message. What is the single Promise you can deliver that takes their pain away. Then present and deliver on the Promise. I have this radical idea about marketing and sales... if you do it properly, there isn't much selling to it. I create willing, eager buyers.

        Best Regards,

        Jan Gregory
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        • Profile picture of the author syncjam
          Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post


          "Let Me Double your Covers at Chez Gerard next Thursday Night. I do this every week for Le Bistro in Center City."

          .
          So if I dont have a company to reference, could I use this for the last line, "I do this for other businesses in (MY CITY)"

          Thanks...
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          • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
            Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

            So if I dont have a company to reference, could I use this for the last line,

            I do this for other businesses in (MY CITY)

            Thanks...
            The power in this campaign is the proven results. If you can't back it up for a Chez Gerard, you cannot use it.

            But use whatever proven results you have from an existing client. The better the proven results the better the Headline. SMS is great about offering you tracking so you can prove the results to your owners and then use that in your marketing for more leads.

            The same proven results strategy works for any category, not just restaurants. That's what the owners want to hear, so give it to them by actually doing it.

            Proven Results - If you don't Have any Results or Clients


            If you don't have an existing client with proven results, there is an option for you... in a minute.

            First, I'm seeing requests for a "catchy headline". You gotta get on the right wavelength for B2B marketing. This is lead generation, not just a post card campaign.

            You can't just make it up, can you? Looking for a "catchy headline" indicates you might be on the hunt for a simple push-button solution to riches, the real world out there can give you a cold water shower with that mindset. The harder I work, the easier it gets to make money. Success gets even easier if you work smart using proven method.

            What should you do if you are new and don't have proven results?

            Shortcut to Proven Results Headlines for Direct Mail Lead Generation

            This is only for those who can pull it off. Look in the mirror and decide for yourself if you have what it takes. This is a decription of a way to get credibility from a willing cooperative owner. Start by phoning around to friends and family... ask if they know a big restaurant owner. Should take less that 20 minutes. You ask for a personal introduction, not a recommendation. Must be someone they know.

            You want large restaurants only, not Mom and Pop

            If you strike out on that, create a target list by segmenting the local restaurants by size. Size is the main criteria because they usually spend heavily on promotions and advertising. Choose the best restaurants from your list... spend 10 minutes on internet research, look on Yelp, check the Yellow Pages. You will see who is promoting and who is not. You are selecting the best of the best. Make some phone calls to friends asking if they've eaten there, check them out because you want the best choices.

            The candidates you select are spending money now on promotions. Your effort to get that money funneled into your strategy. You waste a lot of time trying to convince an owner he should be advertising, so stay with the ones that are now.

            Now, you are about 1 hour into this project.

            Write a simple letter to each restaurant owner by contact name, explain you will offer to setup a custom cross-channel marketing system for one local restaurant at no charge. You want to introduce this new service to local businesses and need a proven results story.

            So, I'm telling you, that you will work for free after you choose a restaurant. Adjust your thinking on this... let's continue.

            What you are asking from the owners... You'd like 5 minutes of her/his time to ask a few questions. Nothing else. Don't sell. Don't offer it to that owner in the letter. You only want to meet for 5 minutes.

            Describe the benefits of cross-channel marketing in the letter, but not what cross-channel marketing is. Talk about the WHY of bottom line benefits.

            Whoa... what the heck is cross-channel marketing for restaurants? That's where you use several direct delivery methods and combine marketing strategies for a single business. Cross-Channel strategies maximize the sales from his regular customer base. This service has a very high perceived value and you can command high monthly fees... and you can add the rest of the methods later... after to get the SMS going.

            Benefit statements I leave to you. Local reference to benefits is best obviously. If not, then do some research and borrow results from one of the SMS companies( XYZ boosted sales from their customers by 36.8% in December 2011.) Don't write about what it is, don't talk about SMS, just quote the quote line. Never write anything about SMS or techno stuff. Don't talk about SMS in person. Don't talk about VIP lists, or optins text lists... or you will sound like all the other pitchmen

            Your letter simply offers the opportunity. Use a single contact phone number you can answer 24/7. No email address. I teach others how to do a strategy like this on a custom printed letterhead "From the Desk of YOUR NAME" Memo paper. I run the body of thru a laser printer, then add notes and doodles in my own handwriting on it. It has no contact info other than what I choose to add to a mailing. Telephone # works best for me.

            Use high quality paper and envelopes so the mailing piece is taken seriously and goes to the A pile. That gets opened right away. Your dead in the B pile with this economy, that's the "I'll pile it over here and think about it later" mail. And C pile is the Can.

            Mail the letters the way it's described on the I love Direct Mail thread. You want credibility, don't go cheap.

            Do this right and you will get a phone call from at least one, if not all three. Even so, you will Followup all three up by phone, whether they phone you or not.

            Go on your 5 minute appointments but do not choose one yet on this first round. Manage expectations, set your agenda. Stick with 5 to 10 minutes and leave. Announce this again on arrival.

            Setting this up over the phone goes something like this talking to the owner of Chez Gerard... "I can drop by there tomorrow about 2pm and go over a few marketing questions with you, if that's Okay, just simple stuff about your business and promotions you are doing now... just to see if we make a good fit for cross-channel strategies. This won't take 5 minutes of your time, then I'll get back to you later after I have a chance to run an analysis on Chez Gerard in Syracuse metro stats trading area."

            Your objective is to select the best one for you. Not the other way around. You will go see all three before deciding. Can do this in a day because you want to decide quick and get this going. Call back the other two after your decision and Thank them profusely for their time and get off the phone. Don't say who won the deal, keep that out of it.

            You keep control. You are the Pursued, not the pursuer. and of course, you have taken all your years of business experience and personal experience with human nature and you chose the owner who will really cooperate... here's why...

            Choose one restaurant and get it setup for text promotions fast, you manage everything, then work your tail off to make it a success. Make certain the Text coupon offers are dynamite. No Lame Offers. Go in there every day for a week, to train the wait staff. Spend another 10 to 15 bucks at Staples print center and get some small classy laminated signs to place where the wait staff can't miss them in the kitchen... reminders on how to get the optins.

            KickOff Night for Optins

            * Create a Saturday night offer with the owner. Free appetizers for a table of 4 people. You show up in the afternoon and have a short meeting to announce the plan to the wait staff on the day

            Here's how it works...

            When the party gets seated, the Waitperson explains that everyone send Keyword freepupuplatter to Short code XXXXXX because she needs the 4 coupon codes for the cash register checkout so it's free on their bill... 4 appetizers = 4 optins. The kitchen uses a special platter and makes an extra large Pu-Pu platter for the whole table. Dig in.

            PV(perceived value) is high, the mental math will be 4 x $8 for customers. The Total cost about four to five bucks for the food cost and it gets four optins. Wait staff get bigger tips, Customers get a freebie. Owner is happy. Win-Win-Win.

            * You offer a $100 prize on this Saturday night to the wait person who gets the most optins. give them all a unique keyword example cindypupu

            This makes your Kick Off meeting that afternoon with the wait staff a real event. And this will get their behinds in gear. By the end of the night, the owner will have a huge headstart on building the optin list

            * Create another offer for a party of Two. This is easy for the owner and the kitchen to track. You are tracking with the keywords. Numbers are real. Numbers prove your results.

            * You will build a list fast this way. You manage all this for the owner, no whitelabel panels or confusion for him, and you create the first blast for the slow night next week... with no lame offers. The owner fills the room on a slow night, you're a hero.

            Now, 2 weeks later you can send your targeted Post Cards to an extreme targeted mailing listswith the headline for your own town that is real and genuinely powerful.

            You put in some effort, some time, very little money... and if you send me the city you are in... I will show you how to do extreme targeting for B2B lists that save you big on mailing expense by finding the best prospects first.

            We are talking Direct Mail for Lead Generation, not saturation mailings or agency mailings for clients. This is for you to get your offline leads. The list is all important and its in the segmenting and profiling.

            A real business can make real promises and deliver results. This is a realistic shortcut to make yourself into a real business with local credibility fast. Dig in, get to work, and you could be doing a KickOff meeting next Saturday night.

            Actually, the KickOff and the $100 prize is exactly how you should do every new restaurant or club you sign on. It works. Kills the intertia. Builds momentum.

            Best Regards,

            Jan Gregory

            P.S. This assumes you already have an SMS platform and know WTF you are doing with text campaigns. If you don't, then get busy and learn. Won't take long.

            P.P.S Your next question might be... how can I do this for free?
            Because it's smart marketing and relies on the Law of Human Reciprocity. All human beings are basically nice people who like to be kind and helpful, they just lose their way. If you have the chops to pull this off, I guarantee you the restaurant owner will chase you down to hand you a check for what you've done. I recommend you graciously refuse the check... a deal is a deal, you say. There's a real punch line to the the rest of this story, but I'll leave you with a cliffhanger today.
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            • Profile picture of the author abbot
              Banned
              I like this method and would like to implement it into my current marketing methods. I don't see why something like this couldn't be used as a marketing method for google places optimization services.

              What do you think?

              I'm a little unsure on a "catchy headline" for google places services.
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              • Profile picture of the author criniit
                Originally Posted by abbot View Post

                I like this method and would like to implement it into my current marketing methods. I don't see why something like this couldn't be used as a marketing method for google places optimization services.

                What do you think?

                I'm a little unsure on a "catchy headline" for google places services.
                You can use the exact same ad copy for every service. The ad copy says nothing about the service it just talks about the results.
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                • Profile picture of the author abbot
                  Banned
                  Originally Posted by criniit View Post

                  You can use the exact same ad copy for every service. The ad copy says nothing about the service it just talks about the results.
                  Yes, but your obviously not going to use the same headline as the example post card.
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                  • Profile picture of the author him77
                    Question for the OP....How would you recommend doing this over the phone then F2F? My issue will be able to travel across the city and state. I think it will still work and I would want to eventually see them face to face, but can you provide any tips?
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            • Profile picture of the author syncjam
              Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post

              The power in this campaign is the proven results. If you can't back it up for a Chez Gerard, you cannot use it.......
              Didn't want to waste space and quote the whole post, but Jgregory's advice could be a WSO!! Nice job. It motivated me to get off my butt and just do it.

              I followed OP's idea and made up 15 postcards - 8 with the website only, and 7 with phone and website. Since I don't actually have any references yet, I just kept the headline to a single sentence, "Let me double your covers at the [Restaurant name] next Thursday Night".
              I realize it's not as strong as having some proof from an existing client, but until I actually do one, I don't want to lie.
              I will also be taking Jgregory's advice and in a few days make up some postcards for a free SMS campaign.
              OR, if I get any calls on this, I might just do a campaign for someone who calls off of these cards. All depends on if I get any calls.

              I realize 15 cards isn't near enough for testing, but I want to get these out now and try to do 10 or 15 per day.

              Thanks again for all the help!
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              • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
                Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

                Didn't want to waste space and quote the whole post, but Jgregory's advice could be a WSO!! Nice job. It motivated me to get off my butt and just do it.

                I followed OP's idea and made up 15 postcards - 8 with the website only, and 7 with phone and website. Since I don't actually have any references yet, I just kept the headline to a single sentence, "Let me double your covers at the [Restaurant name] next Thursday Night".
                I realize it's not as strong as having some proof from an existing client, but until I actually do one, I don't want to lie.
                I will also be taking Jgregory's advice and in a few days make up some postcards for a free SMS campaign.
                OR, if I get any calls on this, I might just do a campaign for someone who calls off of these cards. All depends on if I get any calls.

                I realize 15 cards isn't near enough for testing, but I want to get these out now and try to do 10 or 15 per day.

                Thanks again for all the help!
                Please go back and read that post carefully about how to get your first credibility client so you can use the power headline.

                This is a separate standalone mailing with one single purpose and you won't need to do it but once. Send 3 letters. That's it

                You should not use postcards with this, you only have 3 top choices. Use classy envelopes and paper, make a letterhead, you want to look professional.

                Nothing is "free". You schedule the meeting on the phone by qualifying them as a sound business so you can introduce your new service to the local area. In the meeting you build the value first, put a figure on setup charges and monthly fees and you want to reach an agreement to showcase your service. you will invest in her/his business. You are putting up the money for setup and the monthly charges.

                Continue talking... "so you understand why I can only do one restaurant, and we both need to see if we are good fit for this... so can you tell me about... yada yada."

                I am not telling you exactly what to say here, you figure that out... but you don't use the word "Free". Not ever.

                Best Regards,
                Jan Gregory
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              • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
                Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

                Didn't want to waste space and quote the whole post, but Jgregory's advice could be a WSO!! Nice job. It motivated me to get off my butt and just do it.

                I followed OP's idea and made up 15 postcards - 8 with the website only, and 7 with phone and website. Since I don't actually have any references yet, I just kept the headline to a single sentence, "Let me double your covers at the [Restaurant name] next Thursday Night".
                I realize it's not as strong as having some proof from an existing client, but until I actually do one, I don't want to lie.
                I will also be taking Jgregory's advice and in a few days make up some postcards for a free SMS campaign.
                OR, if I get any calls on this, I might just do a campaign for someone who calls off of these cards. All depends on if I get any calls.

                I realize 15 cards isn't near enough for testing, but I want to get these out now and try to do 10 or 15 per day.

                Thanks again for all the help!
                Any response yet from your these mailings?
                Signature

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                • Profile picture of the author criniit
                  Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

                  Any response yet from your these mailings?
                  He sent got 1 response from his first mailing of 7 or 8 I believe, he sent me this email:

                  Can't PM you because my post count is only 25. Should be using WF a bit more often

                  The copy was a variation of the copy you had. It read "Let me DOUBLE the number of customers that come through the doors of DiBella Salon next Thursday. I do this for other salons in South Brunswick"

                  I used the PURL, even though my CTA also had my phone # and email on it. They completed the contact form below the video.

                  Now am suddenly running to put up a presentation for my first F2F meeting. I hope I don't fumble this one. Very nervous

                  This was a major victory for someone with no prior success so all i can say again is thank you.
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                  • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
                    Originally Posted by criniit View Post

                    He sent got 1 response from his first mailing of 7 or 8 I believe, he sent me this email:

                    Can't PM you because my post count is only 25. Should be using WF a bit more often

                    The copy was a variation of the copy you had. It read "Let me DOUBLE the number of customers that come through the doors of DiBella Salon next Thursday. I do this for other salons in South Brunswick"

                    I used the PURL, even though my CTA also had my phone # and email on it. They completed the contact form below the video.

                    Now am suddenly running to put up a presentation for my first F2F meeting. I hope I don't fumble this one. Very nervous

                    This was a major victory for someone with no prior success so all i can say again is thank you.
                    Thanks for the response, but my question was for the person that sent out 15 of them and just used the first sentence part of the message.
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                • Profile picture of the author syncjam
                  Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

                  Any response yet from your these mailings?

                  No response today (only sent them yesterday), and sent out 12 more today. I'll keep you updated!
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      • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
        Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

        One more question;

        On the postcards, you print the Call To Action on one side, but on the other side, do you print their name/address or handwrite it? Also, do you put a return address?

        Thanks...
        Originally Posted by criniit View Post

        No return address, and on the other side i print their name and address.
        I was just going over this with one of my clients today. Sounds unconventional to leave off the return address... and she wanted to do it the proper way and use the company name and return address. I say No for these reasons...

        #1 This fuels the curiosity factor.

        #2 It's differentiation. Run toward the fire, not away from it.


        The Curiosity Factor

        The hook in this campaign is Curiosity. This headline is more than just powerful, it's provocative. The reader, immediately thinks... "Yeah... well prove it to me." And that creates an itch that must be scratched. And then a second itch... "Hey, who is this guy anyway?"

        Leave off your name and return address and you challenge the reader to do it your way.

        This is a CTA on steroids because you are qualifying your best prospects right off the bat. What I mean is this... when they contact you by any of the direct response methods shown on the card, they are playing ball by your rules... and they don't even know who you are!! This puts you in control from the git-go.

        One of the Golden Rules in Direct Response Marketing:

        It is much better to be the Pursued, instead of the Pursuer.

        They must contact you to find out... to scratch that irritating itch. This is advanced direct mail strategy for lead generation. The principle cannot be applied to just any service or target market... but for SMS text marketing for restaurants it works like gangbusters.

        Best Regards,

        Jan Gregory
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      • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
        Originally Posted by criniit View Post

        No return address, and on the other side i print their name and address.
        So both of the cards CTA include the website, but on 1 batch you have the phone# as well correct?

        Do you mail your postcards with regular stamps or do you take them to post office and have them do electronic postage?

        Any help on where to find more info on setting up that PHP script?
        Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author kymobilemedia
    What do you suggest if we cannot meet in person? I live in a small town and need to market to businesses far out.

    Maybe a webex or something similar?

    Thanks
    Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author Simoshere
    Whoa man this has been one of the most advice flowing threads in the last month... thanks to the OP.

    You are right about Bob (Jake), Mr. Ross... lol... He started a direct mail revolution. All ive been thinking about is how to use it the best.
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  • Profile picture of the author jspmedia
    are you still using same SMS provider for your clients?
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by Simoshere View Post

      Whoa man this has been one of the most advice flowing threads in the last month... thanks to the OP.

      You are right about Bob (Jake), Mr. Ross... lol... He started a direct mail revolution. All ive been thinking about is how to use it the best.
      Thank you for the kind words, now get out there and start making some money!

      Originally Posted by jspmedia View Post

      are you still using same SMS provider for your clients?
      Yes I am using avidmobile.


      Just an update for everyone I have combined follow up calls with the direct mail piece over the last couple weeks. It has increased my conversions from 10% to 35%!
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      • Profile picture of the author etrin
        Originally Posted by criniit View Post

        Just an update for everyone I have combined follow up calls with the direct mail piece over the last couple weeks. It has increased my conversions from 10% to 35%!

        That's amazing! What criteria do you use to target the restaurants you market to?
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  • Profile picture of the author dtaylor
    Thanks for the great info. in this thread. I have used postcards in the past, with very mixed results. I believe you just pointed out everything I did wrong. Time to dust off the templates and put together a compelling message.

    Thanks,
    DTaylor
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  • Profile picture of the author sbishop
    If everyone would do what Steve did we would all be making bug bucks!

    A few keys to his success:
    -He reads this forum. Then he applied what he learned from different threads, not looking for the get rich quick all in one answer.

    -the Tested. So many people put all their eggs in one basket without ever checking to see if the basket can hold the weight.

    -He started following up. We scream about not getting more customers, but we don't return emails or phone calls. His response jumped when he started follow ups

    -he did not try to look for reasons that it would not work. He jumped in. So many people sit on the sidelines because the fear of loosing keeps them from trying. Someone said "Show me a person that has never lost and I will show you someone who has never tried!"
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    • Profile picture of the author sirblade
      What a fantastic thread - Thanks for so much information...

      Putting together a campaign ASAP!

      BTW does anyone know anywhere in the UK that might sell yellow postcards?..

      Tried the usual suspects but no joy?

      Cheers and good luck..

      Steve.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
        Originally Posted by sirblade View Post

        What a fantastic thread - Thanks for so much information...

        Putting together a campaign ASAP!

        BTW does anyone know anywhere in the UK that might sell yellow postcards?..

        Tried the usual suspects but no joy?

        Cheers and good luck..

        Steve.
        Most office supply stores (in the us anyway) sell brightly colored card stock that you can run through a laser or inkjet printer.

        They're really the same as the perforated ones minus the perforations - and they're a lot less expensive if you have a simple paper cutter you can use to cut the cards. If not, you might even be able to get the store to quarter them for you for free or a few bucks after you've printed them up.
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        • Profile picture of the author syncjam
          Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

          Most office supply stores (in the us anyway) sell brightly colored card stock that you can run through a laser or inkjet printer.

          They're really the same as the perforated ones minus the perforations - and they're a lot less expensive if you have a simple paper cutter you can use to cut the cards. If not, you might even be able to get the store to quarter them for you for free or a few bucks after you've printed them up.

          Yes, in fact I just picked up 250 sheets of 65lb yellow card stock for $15 at a local paper supply place (not a chain).
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        • Profile picture of the author sirblade
          Thanks steve...Doh! of course, coloured card stock..cheers mate
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          • Profile picture of the author criniit
            Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

            Didn't want to waste space and quote the whole post, but Jgregory's advice could be a WSO!! Nice job. It motivated me to get off my butt and just do it.

            I followed OP's idea and made up 15 postcards - 8 with the website only, and 7 with phone and website. Since I don't actually have any references yet, I just kept the headline to a single sentence, "Let me double your covers at the [Restaurant name] next Thursday Night".
            I realize it's not as strong as having some proof from an existing client, but until I actually do one, I don't want to lie.
            I will also be taking Jgregory's advice and in a few days make up some postcards for a free SMS campaign.
            OR, if I get any calls on this, I might just do a campaign for someone who calls off of these cards. All depends on if I get any calls.

            I realize 15 cards isn't near enough for testing, but I want to get these out now and try to do 10 or 15 per day.

            Thanks again for all the help!
            Awesome! Way to take some action! Now post back here with your results.

            Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

            So both of the cards CTA include the website, but on 1 batch you have the phone# as well correct?

            Do you mail your postcards with regular stamps or do you take them to post office and have them do electronic postage?

            Any help on where to find more info on setting up that PHP script?
            The CTA with the phone number, I have recently dropped everything but the "Call me at xxxxxx" its a stronger CTA.

            I use regular first class stamps. Gets more attention.

            What the PHP function is called is mod_rewrite do a google search and you'll find plenty of tutorials.

            Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

            Thanks for that information. Where can I look to find more details on learning more about creating or setting up this sort of PHP script? I'm a newbie when it comes to coding.
            What the PHP function is called is mod_rewrite do a google search and you'll find plenty of tutorials.

            Originally Posted by him77 View Post

            Question for the OP....How would you recommend doing this over the phone then F2F? My issue will be able to travel across the city and state. I think it will still work and I would want to eventually see them face to face, but can you provide any tips?
            I have clients all over the us. What I do is schedule a webconference just like a F2F meeting and just do the sales pitch through that with power point slides.
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            • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
              Originally Posted by criniit View Post


              The CTA with the phone number, I have recently dropped everything but the "Call me at xxxxxx" its a stronger CTA.

              I use regular first class stamps. Gets more attention.

              What the PHP function is called is mod_rewrite do a google search and you'll find plenty of tutorials.
              For your the web page that you have setup with the sales video and contact form do you mention offering FREE SMS Trial? I noticed that the WSO you indicated in your post for the sales page setup it mentions to fill in the contact form to receive FREE SMS Trial.

              Does your web page say similar or do you not offer any sort of FREE trial, but more like "To Learn More About SMS Service Enter your Details Below"?
              Signature

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              • Profile picture of the author rainingproblems
                Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

                For your the web page that you have setup with the sales video and contact form do you mention offering FREE SMS Trial? I noticed that the WSO you indicated in your post for the sales page setup it mentions to fill in the contact form to receive FREE SMS Trial.

                Does your web page say similar or do you not offer any sort of FREE trial, but more like "To Learn More About SMS Service Enter your Details Below"?
                mrtrance...You can change that to pretty much what you want it to read, such as "to receive your FREE consultation" etc
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            • Profile picture of the author kymobilemedia
              Originally Posted by criniit View Post

              I have clients all over the us. What I do is schedule a webconference just like a F2F meeting and just do the sales pitch through that with power point slides.
              This is what I plan on doing. Any chance we can get a look at presentation you use? Also, which web conference do you use? I am looking at join.me as an option.

              Thanks for all of the great info.
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              • Profile picture of the author imageworx
                Kyle Join.me is excellent love using them...

                Originally Posted by kymobilemedia View Post

                This is what I plan on doing. Any chance we can get a look at presentation you use? Also, which web conference do you use? I am looking at join.me as an option.

                Thanks for all of the great info.
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                • Profile picture of the author criniit
                  Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

                  For your the web page that you have setup with the sales video and contact form do you mention offering FREE SMS Trial? I noticed that the WSO you indicated in your post for the sales page setup it mentions to fill in the contact form to receive FREE SMS Trial.

                  Does your web page say similar or do you not offer any sort of FREE trial, but more like "To Learn More About SMS Service Enter your Details Below"?
                  No I don't offer a free trial, I say something along the lines of "Contact us now to start your first campaign tonight!"

                  Originally Posted by Hadders6543 View Post

                  This is a great thread. I have just secured my first offline client at £70 ($100) a month. I can't wait to get his mobile car mechanic business on Google Places and his site I am building ranked so I can show evidence to potential customers. I hate my job and WILL implement this ! Better than any WSO I have bought !
                  Awesome man keep it up! Before you know it you'll be making thousands a month offline.

                  Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

                  Did you get the "Jumbo" style from PaperDirect so that you can print 2 5.5" x 8.5" size postcards from each sheet?
                  No I get 4 up on a page. the 4.25 x 5.5 size lets you get the cheapest first class mail you can get.

                  Originally Posted by housewarrior View Post

                  Hello Steve,
                  Norm here. I have been preparing to place a post here about my own adventures in offline marketing since 2002. Even with a SUPER offline/online hybrid model, the monster that has haunted me lo these many years is the cold call. On the other hand, when I get a call, I'll talk their face off.

                  Now it looks like I'll have to hang on a little longer with my post well calculated to produce excitement, as I have a go with your direct mail gambit. Like, who woulda thunk it? My site is made for it! Wow!

                  Thanks el mucho!
                  Norm
                  Go get 'em Norm!

                  Originally Posted by Got Green View Post

                  Genious post, OP! That just goes about to show that taking massive action is the biggest step forward you can do for something like this (well, for anything in your business actually!), especially if you combine in with even a bit clever and out-of-the-box thinking!
                  Thanks for your share, again!
                  Stay tuned, I got plenty more where this came from.

                  Originally Posted by kymobilemedia View Post

                  This is what I plan on doing. Any chance we can get a look at presentation you use? Also, which web conference do you use? I am looking at join.me as an option.

                  Thanks for all of the great info.
                  Join.me is a great one to use. As far as my presentation, I can;t be giving away all my goodies But it is the same presentation that I use when I am f2f with clients.

                  Originally Posted by rainingproblems View Post

                  Just want to thank Steve for this AWESOME post and having used the idea presented in this post, I am definitely obligated to report my results.

                  I read this post on Sunday night...couldn't wait to order colored postcards from Paper Direct...so went to Staples. Nothing but Plain White. Put my copy on a plain white postcard, mailed it out Monday at 4:50pm, got a response by Tuesday 1:35pm....right now prepping for my F2F meeting Wednesday at 12:00pm.

                  This was 1 out of 7 I mailed out on Monday, mailed 8 today and working on getting to the Daily Dozen. This for me is actually better than cold calling. As shown above, there are instant results.

                  And one encouragement I did get from this post as well, like as if I haven't heard this a million times before, is the response rate. All to often, a lot of us give up when they were probably close. I got to get into mail out more of those postcards.

                  Thanks again Steve!
                  Hey man thats awesome! Congrats! Out of curiosity (and I am sure others are wondering) what ad copy did you use? Which CTA did you use? purl link or Call me with #? Were you targeting the restaurant niche?

                  Now that everyone knows I'm not making this stuff up hopefully well see a lot more people going out and doing this, and coming back here with their results!

                  Originally Posted by imageworx View Post

                  Kyle Join.me is excellent love using them...
                  Agreed
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  • Profile picture of the author areevez
    Great thread!

    If I were to add a sentence.
    For people who don't have any current clients to use with OPs call to action yet,
    Lying definitely would be the worse thing to do.

    A slight twist in wording can put you in the clear and still create the same effect as the original. Not quite, but still effective.

    Instead of,
    I'm doing The same for (business name) in (city here) and they're seeing great results...

    Say something like,

    Many "restaurants" in the area have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different...

    This is what I used before I had any clients to show for just so I didn't get caught in any lies. I also teach my newbie students to use the line above if they can't show any work and everyone has reported back with thumbs up!

    Arron
    Signature
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    • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
      Originally Posted by areevez View Post

      Great thread!

      If I were to add a sentence.
      For people who don't have any current clients to use with OPs call to action yet,
      Lying definitely would be the worse thing to do.

      A slight twist in wording can put you in the clear and still create the same effect as the original. Not quite, but still effective.

      Instead of,
      I'm doing The same for (business name) in (city here) and they're seeing great results...

      Say something like,

      Many "restaurants" in the area have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different...

      This is what I used before I had any clients to show for just so I didn't get caught in any lies. I also teach my newbie students to use the line above if they can't show any work and everyone has reported back with thumbs up!

      Arron
      So the way you are suggesting is put the following message on the cards:

      "Let Me Double your Covers at (Business Name) next Thursday Night. Many "restaurants" in the (City Name) have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different..."

      But wouldn't be too long of a message and they might lose interest instead of the 2 simple and short lines?
      Signature

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      • Profile picture of the author ryanmckinney
        Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

        So the way you are suggesting is put the following message on the cards:

        "Let Me Double your Covers at (Business Name) next Thursday Night. Many "restaurants" in the (City Name) have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different..."

        But wouldn't be too long of a message and they might lose interest instead of the 2 simple and short lines?

        Lol I think he was suggesting exactly what he said. Not adding it to anything else...
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      • Profile picture of the author areevez
        Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

        So the way you are suggesting is put the following message on the cards:

        "Let Me Double your Covers at (Business Name) next Thursday Night. Many "restaurants" in the (City Name) have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different..."

        But wouldn't be too long of a message and they might lose interest instead of the 2 simple and short lines?
        No, I didn't even remember exactly how the CTA went while I was posting that reply. It was just the point I was trying to push. For those who don't have any clients, instead of lying, there are ways to push the same message without involving yourself in a lie.

        Arron
        Signature
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      • Profile picture of the author syncjam
        Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

        So the way you are suggesting is put the following message on the cards:

        "Let Me Double your Covers at (Business Name) next Thursday Night. Many "restaurants" in the (City Name) have been adding SMS to their marketing plan and seeing great results, i'm sure your business will be no different..."

        But wouldn't be too long of a message and they might lose interest instead of the 2 simple and short lines?

        Maybe you could add a version that still keeps some mystery about it without saying it's SMS:

        Let Me Double your Covers at (Business Name) next Thursday Night. Other restaurants in (city name) have been using this "secret" and seeing great results!


        Any thoughts?
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  • Profile picture of the author macna
    I am still in the process of putting everything together i want to make websites for local businesses and my method of contact would be by mail but i was thinking of sending a full pack including sales letter the reason why they needed a site in this day and age and a print out of a mock up site with their company name in the header also a price list for the service.

    I do have custom build flyers for this that look good and it would only be 3 sheets of paper an A5 envelope and stamp.

    Has any warriors tried this all in approach i know its a bit different to sending just enough to peak their interest but if i get anything in the post i want to know what exactly is it and how much is it or its in the bin very quickly. Its just a very straight up approach you get what you see. Of course this goes for any service sms etc.

    Martin.
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    • Profile picture of the author rainingproblems
      Originally Posted by macna View Post

      I am still in the process of putting everything together i want to make websites for local businesses and my method of contact would be by mail but i was thinking of sending a full pack including sales letter the reason why they needed a site in this day and age and a print out of a mock up site with their company name in the header also a price list for the service.

      I do have custom build flyers for this that look good and it would only be 3 sheets of paper an A5 envelope and stamp.

      Has any warriors tried this all in approach i know its a bit different to sending just enough to peak their interest but if i get anything in the post i want to know what exactly is it and how much is it or its in the bin very quickly. Its just a very straight up approach you get what you see. Of course this goes for any service sms etc.

      Martin.
      Martin,

      I tried the whole mail thing too but then there's also that school of thought that says too much reading on their part only confuses them - yes, mine was 3 pages too but still. With postcards, its short and sweet, its def read, and 32c instead of 45c. Still up to you though
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      • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
        Which color postcard works better....yellow??
        Signature

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        • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
          Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

          Did you get the "Jumbo" style from PaperDirect so that you can print 2 5.5" x 8.5" size postcards from each sheet?
          Originally Posted by mrtrance View Post

          Which color postcard works better....yellow??
          To answer your question and a few others questions... such as adding more sentences, here's more details and advice.

          I have been using this merged headline post card system to do lead generation for over 20 years. Much testing was done .. and over 20 years Canary Yellow always won out.

          The reason is... for those businesses that get a huge pile of mail, when sorting for the A Pile, B Pile and the C pile they are in a hurry

          Yellow stands out. If you hide one these Canary yellow cards in a pile of mail, and look for it, you'll see what I mean.

          Secondarily, after much testing... the offer with the single headline always won out. No other text. the Power Promise is a natural for the simple CTA... "Call Me".

          Because the context is using that Powerful Message that cannot be ignored until their curiosity is satisfied. Don't add any more text or images. if you don't have a powerful headline, then work on that first. You can even weaken it by referencing "how I do this for other businesses" and still get some leads. But your F2F presentation won't be the same as showing Le Bistro's metrics and ROI.

          Mobile marketing works and delivers a high ROI. If you work at building the optin list fast and getting dynamite offers out to that list... your clients should see at least $10 in sales come back for every $1 spent on sms text marketing alone. And there's more you can stack on top of that. And this particular post card campaign was designed for for mobile marketing leads, if you are doing websites or other service, you have changed the context, the criteria, and the effect.

          You would do well to read the original posts from 3 months ago. Steve Brodsky, the OP, put this original link in his original post in this thread but without the underline, it can be overlooked. This is the post that got him started...

          Post Card campaign to Restaurants for SMS Marketing

          That post on Christmas Eve... lays out the rationale for the power headline and how the post card merge process works. It was a proven campaign 10 months ago... exactly as it was created for a mobile marketing client. The business names are changed... but that text is exactly what worked and continues to work. There are some specific, important reasons why. And I advise you to not try improve it by adding images or more text or changing sizes. Images only distract from the Power Headline. Its focus. It's eyeballs on a power promise that bring the juice for the phenomenal results for lead-gen using this method.

          Sorting the mail, they make nano-second decisions. This advice is in the context of this campaign. Images work just fine in another type of mailing. You get best results the way it is for mobile marketing context

          This works very well in the proper context. Steve found the Post Card Post here the Post Card Post here 3 months ago and put into practice. He also read that entire I Love Direct Mail Thread. There is a boatload posts from members using small run personalized direct mail in that thread successfully. Check these posts first Direct Mail study links from I love Direct Mail Thread

          This mail-merge post card campaign is lead generation. And it simply works when you get the elements together properly.

          And you should go to this other post, I believe it was on Christmas day after the first post.

          Phone Followup to all Post Cards This step is critical to maximize response. In most cases, if you know how to use the phone, you'll double the number of appointments by phoning each and every one of them within 48 hours after mailing.

          I recommend the Daily Dozen approach. 60 per week. Mail 12 per day. Drip-feed these to the postman. Autopilot lead-gen. That is also laid out on the I love Direct Mail thread

          You have 60 post cards merged, you print, label, and stamp... do it all in one go. Then you mail 12 of them every day Mon-Fri. So that means you make 12 phone calls every day. If you go down farther in the I love Direct Mail thread, I explained that and gave a simple script for the followup phone call.

          + + Merge the business name on Canary yellow cards into the headline.

          * one side. one pass through the laser printer.
          * use plain cardstock and have it guillotined at the printer.
          * or use Avery microperf card stock, but its hard to find Yellow.

          ++ Use clear Avery labels on the address side. Mail merge again. Peel and stick. Pay attention to get the proper address label synched with the proper business headline. The clear labels are worth the cost vs white paper. 20 years of testing again.

          http://www.averylabelsonline.com/avclla1.html

          What happened to hand addressing? All my testing showed no substantial improvement in these lead-gen campaigns. I do use hand addressing extensively with envelope campaigns.

          ++ Plain or commemorative stamps? Found no difference in our testing. No to postage meters.

          Microperf sounds cool. But I don't use it for this campaign type.
          See post at this link by @Steve Solem http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ml#post5765832 As Steve Solem said, Card Stock is easy to get in Canary yellow and way cheaper.

          And it's all too easy to get Staples print guys to do the whole job. Hand then a thumb flash drive and go have a coffee while its done. You don't need a laser printer. You don't need a paper cutter. The quick print guys can do it. Staples Pint Center wins over Kinko every time, IMHO. Better all the way in experience.


          You know, some tell me I write incredibly long posts...Well, I only infrequently show up here on the forum, got other things to do. My reason for long posts... paying attention to the details has made me lot of extra money wringing every cent out of every campaign I've run since 1985. Maximum results and ROI from same work. Make sense?" And since I'd like to see you succeed, I take the time to get the important details in here in a post. You can Google the rest.

          Here's the post card size info from USPS
          http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/m...tics/cards.htm

          Mail Merge Templates Download link.



          If this is not absolutely correct template, then find the link that is for a standard postcard on the Avery site. You don't need odd sizes for this, and that can increase postage and hassles with the stamps

          Free Avery® Template for Microsoft® Word, Postcard 3263, 3377, 3381, 5689, 8383, 8387, 8577

          Best Regards,

          Jan Gregory

          P.S. You mail first, then followup on the phone within 48 hours to all who do not respond, You mail the same targets again on 7 days after the first mailing, more phone calls to them were not signifigantly effective. Then you mail the same targets again on the 3rd week. That 3rd week mailing always brings in more leads from the original 60 in the first week. We found that more mailings were not significantly effective. The 2nd and 3rd mailings I made slight changes to the text. That's beyond what I could explain here. Don't worry. It works the way it is if you follow the simple steps.
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          • Profile picture of the author him77
            read older post and found answer
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          • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
            Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post

            To answer your question and a few others questions... such as adding more sentences, here's more details and advice.

            I have been using this merged headline post card system to do lead generation for over 20 years. Much testing was done .. and over 20 years Canary Yellow always won out.

            The reason is... for those businesses that get a huge pile of mail, when sorting for the A Pile, B Pile and the C pile they are in a hurry

            Yellow stands out. If you hide one these Canary yellow cards in a pile of mail, and look for it, you'll see what I mean.

            Secondarily, after much testing... the offer with the single headline always won out. No other text. the Power Promise is a natural for the simple CTA... "Call Me".

            Because the context is using that Powerful Message that cannot be ignored until their curiosity is satisfied. Don't add any more text or images. if you don't have a powerful headline, then work on that first. You can even weaken it by referencing "how I do this for other businesses" and still get leads. But your presentation won't be the same as showing Le Bistro's metrics and ROI.

            Mobile marketing works and deliver a high ROI. If you work at building the optin list fast and getting dynamite offers out to that list... your clients should see at least $10 in sales come back for every $1 spent on sms text marketing alone. And there's more you can stack on top of that. And this particular post card campaign was designed for for mobile marketing leads, if you are doing websites or other service, you have changed the context, the criteria, and the effect.

            You would do well to read the original posts from 3 months ago. Steve Brodsky, the OP, put this link in his original post in this thread but without the underline, those links can get lost in the text when reading. So here it is now

            Post Card campaign to Restaurants for SMS Marketing

            That post on Christmas Eve... lays out the rationale for the power headline and how the post card merge process works. It was a proven campaign 10 months ago... exactly as it was created for a mobile marketing client. The business names are changed... but that text is exactly what worked and continues to work. There are some specific, important reasons why. And I advise you to not try improve it by adding images or more text or changing sizes. Images only distract from the Power Headline. Its focus. It's eyeballs on a power promise that bring the juice for the phenomenal results for lead-gen using this method.

            Sorting the mail, they make nano-second decisions. This advice is in the context of this campaign. Images work just fine in another type of mailing. You get best results the way it is for mobile marketing context

            This works very well in the proper context. Steve found that post 3 months ago and put into practice. He also read that entire I Love Direct Mail Thread. There is a boatload of my posts and posts from members using small run personalized direct mail in that thread. Check these first Direct Mail study links from I love Direct Mail Thread

            This mail-merge post card campaign is lead generation. And it simply works when you get the elements together properly.

            And you should go to this other post, I believe it was on Christmas day after the first post.

            Phone Followup to all Post Cards This step is critical to maximize response. In most cases, if you how to use the phone, you'll double the number of appointments by phoning each and every one of them

            I recommend the Daily Dozen approach. 60 per week. Mail 12 per day. Drip-feed these to the postman.

            You have 60 post cards merged, you print, label, and stamp all in one go. then you mail 12 of them every day Mon-Fri. So that means you make 12 phone calls every day. If you go down farther in the I love Direct Mail thread, I explained that and gave a simple script for the followup phone call.

            + + Merge the business name on Canary yellow cards into the headline.

            * one side. one pass through the laser printer.
            * use plain cardstock and have it guillotined at the printer.
            * or use Avery microperf card stock, but its hard to find Yellow.

            ++ Use clear Avery labels on the address side. Mail merge again. Peel and stick. Pay attention to get the proper address label synched with the proper business headline. The clear labels are worth the cost vs white paper. 20 years of testing again.

            What happened to hand addressing? All my testing showed no substantial improvement in these lead-gen campaigns. I do use hand addressing extensively with envelope campaigns.

            ++ Plain or commemorative stamps? Found no difference in our testing. No to postage meters.

            Microperf sounds cool. But I don't use it for this campaign type.
            See post above by @Steve Solem http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ml#post5765832As Steve Solem said, Card Stock is easy to get in Canary yellow and way cheaper.

            And it's too easy to get Staples print guys to do the whole job. Hand then a thumb flash drive and go have a coffee while its done. You don't need a laser printer. You don't need a paper cutter. The quick print guys can do it.

            You know, some tell me I write incredibly long posts...Well, I only infrequently show up here on the forum, got other things to do. My reason for long posts... paying attention to the details has made me lot of extra money wringing every cent out of every campaign I've run since 1985. Maximum results and ROI from same work. Make sense?" And since I'd like to see you succeed, I take the time to get the important details in here in a post. You can Google the rest.

            Here's the post card size info from USPS
            USPS - Mail Characteristics - Sizes for Postcards

            Mail Merge Templates Download link.



            If this is not absolutely correct template, then find the link that is for a standard postcard on the Avery site. You don't need odd sizes for this, and that can increase postage and hassles with the stamps

            Free Avery® Template for Microsoft® Word, Postcard 3263, 3377, 3381, 5689, 8383, 8387, 8577

            Best Regards,

            Jan Gregory

            P.S. You mail first, then followup on the phone within 48 hours to all who do not respond, You mail the same targets again on 7 days after the first mailing, more phone calls to them were not signifigantly effective. Then you mail the same targets again on the 3rd week. That 3rd week mailing always brings in more leads from the original 60 in the first week. We found that more mailings were not significantly effective. The 2nd and 3rd mailings I made slight changes to the text. That's beyond what I could explain here. Don't worry. It works the way it is if you follow the simple steps.

            What Jan just shared is great.

            I was going to write a lot more, but as I'm on my phone I'll just say I hope people realize the value of his shares and posts.

            That's what the Warrior Forum is about.

            If you ever want to be able to perform miracles and read minds, I still perform part time as a professional magician Jan and would love to to teach you the tricks of my trade (although taking your thumb off isn't as impressive as it used to be.)
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            • Profile picture of the author bob ross
              Originally Posted by Nathan Alexander View Post


              If you ever want to be able to perform miracles and read minds, I still perform part time as a professional magician Jan and would love to to teach you the tricks of my trade (although taking your thumb off isn't as impressive as it used to be.)
              I studied closeup for many years!
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              • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
                Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

                I studied closeup for many years!
                That's awesome! Still practice and perform? Once a magician always a magician right? I'll bet you know some bigger names in NY...very cool.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
    Originally Posted by criniit View Post

    Step 3 Printing

    I printed the postcards myself on my home printer. I bought prefforated postcard paper from Paper Direct

    You can buy 100 for 12.99 which comes out to about $0.13 each.
    Did you get the "Jumbo" style from PaperDirect so that you can print 2 5.5" x 8.5" size postcards from each sheet?
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Hadders6543
    This is a great thread. I have just secured my first offline client at £70 ($100) a month. I can't wait to get his mobile car mechanic business on Google Places and his site I am building ranked so I can show evidence to potential customers. I hate my job and WILL implement this ! Better than any WSO I have bought !
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  • Profile picture of the author housewarrior
    Hello Steve,
    Norm here. I have been preparing to place a post here about my own adventures in offline marketing since 2002. Even with a SUPER offline/online hybrid model, the monster that has haunted me lo these many years is the cold call. On the other hand, when I get a call, I'll talk their face off.

    Now it looks like I'll have to hang on a little longer with my post well calculated to produce excitement, as I have a go with your direct mail gambit. Like, who woulda thunk it? My site is made for it! Wow!

    Thanks el mucho!
    Norm
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Reed
    Genious post, OP! That just goes about to show that taking massive action is the biggest step forward you can do for something like this (well, for anything in your business actually!), especially if you combine in with even a bit clever and out-of-the-box thinking!
    Thanks for your share, again!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5772825].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author rainingproblems
    Just want to thank Steve for this AWESOME post and having used the idea presented in this post, I am definitely obligated to report my results.

    I read this post on Sunday night...couldn't wait to order colored postcards from Paper Direct...so went to Staples. Nothing but Plain White. Put my copy on a plain white postcard, mailed it out Monday at 4:50pm, got a response by Tuesday 1:35pm....right now prepping for my F2F meeting Wednesday at 12:00pm.

    This was 1 out of 7 I mailed out on Monday, mailed 8 today and working on getting to the Daily Dozen. This for me is actually better than cold calling. As shown above, there are instant results.

    And one encouragement I did get from this post as well, like as if I haven't heard this a million times before, is the response rate. All to often, a lot of us give up when they were probably close. I got to get into mail out more of those postcards.

    Thanks again Steve!
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by rainingproblems View Post

      Just want to thank Steve for this AWESOME post and having used the idea presented in this post, I am definitely obligated to report my results.

      I read this post on Sunday night...couldn't wait to order colored postcards from Paper Direct...so went to Staples. Nothing but Plain White. Put my copy on a plain white postcard, mailed it out Monday at 4:50pm, got a response by Tuesday 1:35pm....right now prepping for my F2F meeting Wednesday at 12:00pm.

      This was 1 out of 7 I mailed out on Monday, mailed 8 today and working on getting to the Daily Dozen. This for me is actually better than cold calling. As shown above, there are instant results.

      And one encouragement I did get from this post as well, like as if I haven't heard this a million times before, is the response rate. All to often, a lot of us give up when they were probably close. I got to get into mail out more of those postcards.

      Thanks again Steve!
      Kevin sent me this email talking about his CTA in the 7 postcards he sent out ill copy and paste it below:

      The copy was a variation of the copy you had. It read "Let me DOUBLE the number of customers that come through the doors of DiBella Salon next Thursday. I do this for other salons in South Brunswick"

      I used the PURL, even though my CTA also had my phone # and email on it. They completed the contact form below the video.

      Now am suddenly running to put up a presentation for my first F2F meeting. I hope I don't fumble this one. Very nervous

      This was a major victory for someone with no prior success so all i can say again is thank you.



      This stuff works guys, go out and do it!
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    • Profile picture of the author dtaylor
      Originally Posted by rainingproblems View Post

      Just want to thank Steve for this AWESOME post and having used the idea presented in this post, I am definitely obligated to report my results.

      I read this post on Sunday night...couldn't wait to order colored postcards from Paper Direct...so went to Staples. Nothing but Plain White. Put my copy on a plain white postcard, mailed it out Monday at 4:50pm, got a response by Tuesday 1:35pm....right now prepping for my F2F meeting Wednesday at 12:00pm.

      This was 1 out of 7 I mailed out on Monday, mailed 8 today and working on getting to the Daily Dozen. This for me is actually better than cold calling. As shown above, there are instant results.

      And one encouragement I did get from this post as well, like as if I haven't heard this a million times before, is the response rate. All to often, a lot of us give up when they were probably close. I got to get into mail out more of those postcards.

      Thanks again Steve!
      One quick tip for paper is to go to a paper distributor and ask for card stock. They will have a HUGE selection of colors, weights etc.

      Set up a 2-up or 4-up template in word and print away.

      1 out of 7 is so great.

      DTaylor
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  • Profile picture of the author rbecklund
    I've used simple postcards and it's almost silly how well they can work. Way to go and nice post.
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  • Profile picture of the author rainingproblems
    I also wanted to add that I use some simple pre-qualification for my mailing list such as:

    1. They have a website already - they understand the importance of omnipresence.

    2. They are listed on the Yellow Pages - they are already spending on advertising

    3. The business owners name is listed somewhere on their website or Facebook page - address the postcard to the business owner by name

    Hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author ADukes81
    Thank you Jan! Thank you!

    You bring such value to the Warrior Forum and have picked up some many nuggets from your posts. You have shared your tried and tested ways and have saved many of us hours upon hours of work.

    I reached out to Jan (outside the forum) and he wrote me a few emails just as long (if not longer) of detailed responses.

    He is a fountain of wisdom, drink from him.

    Thank you again Jan. I really appreciate it.
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  • Profile picture of the author syncjam
    Great stuff as always, Jan! Just a few issues I haven't seen addressed regarding doing my first free restaurant (for a reference);

    1. You said, "You want large restaurants only, not Mom and Pop..." Does that mean larger non-chain restaurants? In my area, most of the larger restaurants are chains. I'm not in the industry, but I would assume most are franchisees who have some sort of marketing rules to follow from corporate, or have to go through corporate's marketing department for their advertising. If that's the case, should we only look for large non-chain restaurants?

    2. How long would you suggest continuing the campaign for free? And if the answer is more than 2 or 3 months, would you ever accept any money (or free food) from them?

    3. In your experience, do the restaurants who get this for free seem more willing to follow your guidelines to get their employees on the ball?


    Thanks again...
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    • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
      Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

      Great stuff as always, Jan! Just a few issues I haven't seen addressed regarding doing my first free restaurant (for a reference);

      1. You said, "You want large restaurants only, not Mom and Pop..." Does that mean larger non-chain restaurants? In my area, most of the larger restaurants are chains. I'm not in the industry, but I would assume most are franchisees who have some sort of marketing rules to follow from corporate, or have to go through corporate's marketing department for their advertising. If that's the case, should we only look for large non-chain restaurants?

      2. How long would you suggest continuing the campaign for free? And if the answer is more than 2 or 3 months, would you ever accept any money (or free food) from them?

      3. In your experience, do the restaurants who get this for free seem more willing to follow your guidelines to get their employees on the ball?


      Thanks again...
      Okay, after a PM and the posts, we'll hit this one more time...

      Nothing is free. Get that straight.

      For any market segment, target to the market you are comfortable with... your own criteria should be your knowledge of the industry, the pricing model, the effectiveness your program delivers and the expected ROI results. You can do this with clubs and other service type organizations too.

      Your own sales and presentation skills and experience are a large part of your target selection. This is a sales process... if your frame the lead-gen based on a power promise with metrics from a current customers... You are already 2000% ahead of the game and your sales skills are not so important.

      Restaurants


      Chains I would avoid. The "large independent" means 15 to 50 employees in the context of my previous post. This is where the money is for long term client... go cross channel concept and you write the ticket built on those first successes. With less qualified prospects and a weaker presentations... then your sales skills better be good enough to fill the gap.

      Type of Restaurant in the Proven Results Post

      Fine dining. Large. Its not the vocabulary or cuisine so much as the target business profile.. be it French fine dining, Italian, Mexican... the criteria are a larger existing base of customers, a good sized wait staff dependent on tips, and an owner who is receptive and pre-disposed to generate more sales from existing customers. That means he's hungry for more and is not doing effective promotions and almost none of them do. This describes a $150 to $1500 monthly client depending on the mix of methods you use for cross channel marketing. BTW, there are lots of established large independent restaurants that are full every night... quality. They are not hungry for more business, not as good a prospect, if at all.

      How long is it Free, you asked? I repeat... its never framed as Free. Never. You build huge value in the presentation and you offer to "invest your money in his business." What's free? Nothing. You are an investor You make him aware you need this proven results story in this locale and you can do it... you offer to invest after you have created the perceived value(PV).

      You are creating an opportunity to get huge value for your business with a small investment. If you are new, this is priceless. Between you and the owner using these methods, this becomes a verbal contract... a strategic partnership with the owner. I don't worry over written agreements, if we are in the decision stage and the questions arises... "How long will you continue to do this?" I'd say... "As long as you want it."

      Go right now and Google The Law of Reciprocity and start learning about human nature. We are all so alike you can bank on this fact... once you truly understand humans and are selling to human nature and stop selling products and commodities.

      I do however use my written Agenda and Expectations statements for a meeting. That stipulates everything I will provide in plain English... use bullets. I initial a copy and slide it over... "now, is there anything that needs more clarification." Its not a formal written contract, it's a way to communicate clearly.

      You can use written agreements if you like, your choice.

      If you have any instincts about people, then you can choose this one single restaurant for a proven results case carefully... you only need this once. Then your power headline brings in 3 times more leads and better qualified to boot.

      Do your tracking and within a few weeks you have a simple presentation that makes a slam dunk for next clients. Your numbers on ROI are REAL, not a claim. Can you appreciate the difference that makes when you are a purchaser? Can you see how this changes the sales process? Can you afford $200 setup and $30 a month for that benefit? If you say yes, then you have nothing to pick at. Just do it.

      Follow guidelines? I don't need guidelines for the staff. I'm in control, or I'm not there. I make the rules well ahead with my presentation framework. I present it and the owner agrees. I make sure there is understanding and make them mirror it back. There is an eyeball to eyeball agreement, or I'm not starting. I am selecting my client, not the other way around. This approach is professional, it builds credibility and authority, and makes the success within your direct control. It also gets rid of problem clients without the misery. You walk out when you should, before they become headaches.

      If you don't take the reigns and establish control, you are on shifting sands and will have a lot of issues and failures. if you have no sales experience, just get out and get any sms client with any method. You are not in business, until you have a client and cashflow.

      Wait staff cooperation, you say? Pay attention to the details... if you put up a Ben Franklin for the prize on a saturday night optin contest, you provide incentive... that's why it works. We have a kickoff meeting remember...introduced by the owner who I rehearsed to say his lines putting me in control tonight granting me personal authority from him. I teach clients to do this with owners in several business categoroies, having the kickoff meeting involving employees, and they do it.

      You be Bill and it goes, like this... Kickoff meeting... the Owner's Lines...

      "Okay gang, listen up... this is my friend Bill, and he's going to double your tips tonight and give one of you lucky people an extra $100 to take home! Take it away, Bill"

      Simple. The wait staff doesn't need to be told to pay attention.

      Now speaking in general about presentations and sales, and not just restaurants in this concept...

      Problems don't come up with my verbal contracts in any market segment because I seem to know how to manage it and enforce it... I never ask for an agreement to give me testimonials, they just do it... because of results and reciprocity. So why would I muck up a relationship with a Quid pro Quo testimonial negotation? Adversaries negotiate. Dumb way to start a long term trust-based relationship. Reciprocity is a 2 way street. We all love helping others who help us. Simplest universal law, and so often overlooked. But you have to cooperate with the universe, not fight it with your rules and notions.

      There are many ways to frame your presentations and setups... mine is what it is because of experience and personality. Others to do this and they adjust the methods to suit there own style.

      Last words... you can read all of this and you might fail following this method. This may be not your cup of tea. It's your choice. Your style has to fit you and your business and personality and your sales skills. Figure it out. Its your business. You decide. And if you go forward, just do it.

      Regards,
      Jan
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      • Profile picture of the author syncjam
        Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post

        Last words... you can read all of this and you might fail following this method. This may be not your cup of tea. It's your choice. Your style has to fit you and your business and personality and your sales skills. Figure it out. Its your business. You decide. And if you go forward, just do it.

        Regards,
        Jan


        BIG thanks again Jan!!

        And I only used the word "FREE" in my post (I know you've mentioned many times not to use it with owners!!)
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  • Profile picture of the author BrandyM
    I've been inspired by this thread to do some postcard mailings.

    What are your thoughts on SMS Marketing to Nail Salons or Tattoo Shops?

    What would your Ad Copy read?

    Thanks in advance!
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    • Profile picture of the author areevez
      Originally Posted by loyaltytoday View Post

      I've been inspired by this thread to do some postcard mailings.

      What are your thoughts on SMS Marketing to Nail Salons or Tattoo Shops?

      What would your Ad Copy read?

      Thanks in advance!
      Nail salons/Hair salons/Spas and Tattoo shops are among my favorite SMS clients next to restaurants and their very laid back as far as giving salespeople a chance in my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nathan Alexander
    Are you guys using cheaper postage stamps?
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  • Profile picture of the author MediaPlanner
    [QUOTE=criniit;5751780]Hey everyone,

    This is not a thread discussing how to provide offline services of Text Message Marketing. If you wish to discuss how to provide those services see my thread here How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!

    The link to your tread titled: "How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!" is broken.

    Please advise on where I can now see that thread.

    Thanks in advance.
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    • Profile picture of the author ryanmckinney
      [quote=MediaPlanner;5784507]
      Originally Posted by criniit View Post

      Hey everyone,

      This is not a thread discussing how to provide offline services of Text Message Marketing. If you wish to discuss how to provide those services see my thread here How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!

      The link to your tread titled: "How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!" is broken.

      Please advise on where I can now see that thread.

      Thanks in advance.

      Why was this thread removed (how i made..)? Thoughts anyone
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      • Profile picture of the author rambo9600


        Why was this thread removed (how i made..)? Thoughts anyone
        Only two ways for a thread to be removed. The OP asked to have it deleted or the Mods took it down. Save this thread or it may disappear also. :rolleyes:
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        • Profile picture of the author criniit
          [quote=ryanmckinney;5785394]
          Originally Posted by MediaPlanner View Post



          Why was this thread removed (how i made..)? Thoughts anyone
          Originally Posted by rambo9600 View Post

          Only two ways for a thread to be removed. The OP asked to have it deleted or the Mods took it down. Save this thread or it may disappear also. :rolleyes:
          Hey guys I have gotten TONS of PM's and Emails from people asking what happened to my "How I made" SMS thread.

          I didn't request it taken down, apparently someone reported it to the mods and said I was "pre selling" a WSO. Which is complete Bull as I stated several times in that thread that I would not release and WSO on SMS training, but it is what it is.

          I am sorry for anyone who didn't get a chance to read it, that thread had a ton of info in and and pretty much my entire SMS business model.

          If anyone has any further questions about how to run an SMS business model start a new thread with your question and I will answer it.

          Best of luck everyone! And get out from behind you computer and go sell something!
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          • Profile picture of the author syncjam
            Originally Posted by criniit View Post

            I didn't request it taken down, apparently someone reported it to the mods and said I was "pre selling" a WSO.

            Sucks that you give away a ton of great info, and people STILL have to f%#@ with it!!
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            • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
              Originally Posted by syncjam View Post

              Sucks that you give away a ton of great info, and people STILL have to f%#@ with it!!
              Well the info is good, I don't think anyone is disputing that. This has been a problem with crinit since his very first thread and I called him out on it.

              If you're new, the advice is good...

              If you've been here for a while, chances are you see past the information and already know of the intentions and lies.

              The information is something you can learn from. I don't care if he presells or tries to build a following, makes no difference to me. I just don't like people lying about their results in order to do it. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author daniel222
    Google: "site:warriorforum.com criniit", click "Cache" and take a Screenshot
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    • Profile picture of the author fafaremi
      Originally Posted by daniel222 View Post

      Google: "site:warriorforum.com criniit", click "Cache" and take a Screenshot
      YOU ARE A GENIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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    • Profile picture of the author sbishop
      Originally Posted by daniel222 View Post

      Google: "site:warriorforum.com criniit", click "Cache" and take a Screenshot
      I just got everything. I had to click the link for each page and copy the url and ask for the cashe of each page , but I just saved it al to word. Thanks for the tip.
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    • Profile picture of the author RRG
      Originally Posted by daniel222 View Post

      Google: "site:warriorforum.com criniit", click "Cache" and take a Screenshot
      I don't see any "cache" links in my search results. What am I missing?
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      • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
        Originally Posted by RRG View Post

        I don't see any "cache" links in my search results. What am I missing?
        here's how to find it:

        2012-03-08_1815 -


        thomas
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        • Profile picture of the author criniit
          [DELETED]
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          • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
            [DELETED]
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            • Profile picture of the author criniit
              Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

              Well the info is good, I don't think anyone is disputing that. This has been a problem with crinit since his very first thread and I called him out on it.

              If you're new, the advice is good...

              If you've been here for a while, chances are you see past the information and already know of the intentions and lies.

              The information is something you can learn from. I don't care if he presells or tries to build a following, makes no difference to me. I just don't like people lying about their results in order to do it. :rolleyes:
              You have followed my threads since almost this time last year and you have yet to add any value to them. In the grand scheme of things does it really matter if you believe my results or not?

              All I am trying to do here is add value to the forum. Now please if you are going to join the conversation add some value to the actual info provided and not whether you believe that my results are real.

              Originally Posted by SirThomas View Post

              What happened to the thread?
              I was sent an ad copy that was sent to me from a fellow warrior. However it turns out that the ad copy was from a WSO, therefore I can't be giving away a hard working fellow warrior products! So I deleted the post.
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              • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
                Originally Posted by criniit View Post

                I was sent an ad copy that was sent to me from a fellow warrior. However it turns out that the ad copy was from a WSO, therefore I can't be giving away a hard working fellow warrior products! So I deleted the post.
                I understand, makes sense. I actually read your post and remembered seeing it before. Perhaps Costas?


                Thomas
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              • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
                Originally Posted by criniit View Post


                I was sent an ad copy that was sent to me from a fellow warrior. However it turns out that the ad copy was from a WSO, therefore I can't be giving away a hard working fellow warrior products! So I deleted the post.
                Isn't that kind of what THIS thread is?

                Originally Posted by criniit View Post

                You have followed my threads since almost this time last year and you have yet to add any value to them. In the grand scheme of things does it really matter if you believe my results or not?

                All I am trying to do here is add value to the forum. Now please if you are going to join the conversation add some value to the actual info provided and not whether you believe that my results are real.
                I have nothing to add, I said it is good information. What I believe doesn't matter, it is what I know. I know someone that claims to have 300-400 clients, would be known about by your competition in Atlanta and surrounding areas. I know that somebody who claims to be so successful, wouldn't be republishing content from WSO's.

                Real talk, I hope you do practice what you preach. The value is there, but you just aren't doing it. You're building up a following and that is all there is to it. You can try to deny it but I have seen it for a while now. You intentionally up your own thread if it goes without many responses in a certain amount of time. 90% of your posts are on your own threads.

                The FUNNY thing is, you were asking me questions early on about SMS, next thing you know you're posting a thread claiming to make 200K in however much time.

                You're very very good at building up hype. You don't need to make these claims that me and you both know aren't true. You can make these posts without the intention of garnering attention and building your list, and preselling members.. since all you want to do is "provide value".

                This is one of the reasons I have avoided your threads. All you've done is get the sheep flocking over here with shiny object syndrome using rehashed WSO content.

                Anyway, I won't disrupt your thread again, I'll let you get back to herding the sheep.
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                • Profile picture of the author wrench
                  Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

                  Isn't that kind of what THIS thread is?



                  I have nothing to add, I said it is good information. What I believe doesn't matter, it is what I know. I know someone that claims to have 300-400 clients, would be known about by your competition in Atlanta and surrounding areas. I know that somebody who claims to be so successful, wouldn't be republishing content from WSO's.

                  Real talk, I hope you do practice what you preach. The value is there, but you just aren't doing it. You're building up a following and that is all there is to it. You can try to deny it but I have seen it for a while now. You intentionally up your own thread if it goes without many responses in a certain amount of time. 90% of your posts are on your own threads.

                  The FUNNY thing is, you were asking me questions early on about SMS, next thing you know you're posting a thread claiming to make 200K in however much time.

                  You're very very good at building up hype. You don't need to make these claims that me and you both know aren't true. You can make these posts without the intention of garnering attention and building your list, and preselling members.. since all you want to do is "provide value".

                  This is one of the reasons I have avoided your threads. All you've done is get the sheep flocking over here with shiny object syndrome using rehashed WSO content.

                  Anyway, I won't disrupt your thread again, I'll let you get back to herding the sheep.
                  and i thought i was the only one who saw through all the bull crinitt is posting.

                  he probably wont respond, hes too busy trying to explain his way out of lying to a restaurant that he can double their businesses within a week by sending text messages to a list of people they dont even have yet.

                  every word that comes out of this guys mouth is from a popular offline WSO with extremely exaggerated response rate to reel people in to his bigger scheme.

                  i thank iamnameless for seeing this just as i did.
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                  • Profile picture of the author SirThomas
                    Originally Posted by wrench View Post


                    every word that comes out of this guys mouth is from a popular offline WSO with extremely exaggerated response rate to reel people in to his bigger scheme.
                    What wso are you talking about? Bob's? Just asking... ;-)


                    Thomas
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                • Profile picture of the author BrandyM
                  Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

                  Isn't that kind of what THIS thread is?



                  I have nothing to add, I said it is good information. What I believe doesn't matter, it is what I know. I know someone that claims to have 300-400 clients, would be known about by your competition in Atlanta and surrounding areas. I know that somebody who claims to be so successful, wouldn't be republishing content from WSO's.

                  Real talk, I hope you do practice what you preach. The value is there, but you just aren't doing it. You're building up a following and that is all there is to it. You can try to deny it but I have seen it for a while now. You intentionally up your own thread if it goes without many responses in a certain amount of time. 90% of your posts are on your own threads.

                  The FUNNY thing is, you were asking me questions early on about SMS, next thing you know you're posting a thread claiming to make 200K in however much time.

                  You're very very good at building up hype. You don't need to make these claims that me and you both know aren't true. You can make these posts without the intention of garnering attention and building your list, and preselling members.. since all you want to do is "provide value".

                  This is one of the reasons I have avoided your threads. All you've done is get the sheep flocking over here with shiny object syndrome using rehashed WSO content.

                  Anyway, I won't disrupt your thread again, I'll let you get back to herding the sheep.

                  I guess I really wasn't looking that close to the wording and it didn't really dawn on me that you might not be able to double it by that NEXT Thursday, it does seem a bit far fetched to say double your covers NEXT Thursday night. I personally wasn't going to say NEXT. I was going to say EVERY instead that way I can explain once their list is built up it could be any day of the week.

                  I was however talking to my husband about this and first thing he thought was that he was probably claiming he makes more than he does and for me not to get my hopes up.

                  I am going to take action and try post card mailings and see if it works for me and my SMS business.
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                  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
                    Originally Posted by loyaltytoday View Post

                    I guess I really wasn't looking that close to the wording and it didn't really dawn on me that you might not be able to double it by that NEXT Thursday, it does seem a bit far fetched to say double your covers NEXT Thursday night. I personally wasn't going to say NEXT. I was going to say EVERY instead that way I can explain once their list is built up it could be any day of the week.

                    I was however talking to my husband about this and first thing he thought was that he was probably claiming he makes more than he does and for me not to get my hopes up.

                    I am going to take action and try post card mailings and see if it works for me and my SMS business.
                    Well the wording is just wording.

                    Your husband is probably right, but I would like to say the overall idea in this thread is correct, that direct mailing does work. Will you receive a 10% response rate from a simple post card? Probably not. Will you receive a response? Probably.

                    Direct mailing itself, in the form of postcards has a low conversion rate. There is nothing you can do to make the conversions sky rocket. Direct mailing conversions CAN be high, but only if you think outside the box. I have been using some postcard direct mailings sent out in bulk and it DOES work. Don't expect the results that he claims though.

                    I think the important thing to remember, is that many things work when it comes to marketing your own business. This week I killed it on the phone, and had extremely high conversions that nobody would believe. This week I had about 20% conversions from cold calling without prequalifying. Does that mean everybody can have it? No. I think luck played a big factor, but it is a lot sexier to claim to have a system down where people can replicate it. People tend to highlight the ups, not the downs. Not just in this thread necessarily but in EVERYTHING.

                    Your SMS business needs to be treated like a business with a real marketing plan. Don't count on direct mailing to be the answer.. Don't count on cold calling to be the answer. A marketing plan is going to consist of many different variables and techniques.

                    Something to watch out for, is threads that have a certain technique, with claims that seem too good to be true. It may work for a certain person but it isn't going to work for everybody.

                    I'd recommend to you, to diversify your marketing. Don't count on one tactic to be your butter and bread for your business.

                    SMS can be lucrative, but not as lucrative as some say. I'd recommend also diversifying your services. I sold my SMS business last year, and completely got out of the game, I was one of the first people on here talking about how hot SMS was LOL. Why was it good for me? Because I wasn't just offering SMS. I had a full range of services, handled the consultation, the plan, table tents, SMS strategy, printing, the full 9.

                    Don't think of yourself as an SMS guru, but an expert marketing consultant. It gives you many more options.
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                    • Profile picture of the author rambo9600
                      Originally Posted by iAmNameLess View Post

                      SMS can be lucrative, but not as lucrative as some say. I'd recommend also diversifying your services.

                      I sold my SMS business last year, and completely got out of the game, I was one of the first people on here talking about how hot SMS was LOL.
                      Are you still offering SMS to your clients?

                      You say you SOLD your SMS business, was that a stand-alone business doing only SMS?

                      In my professional Expert opinion I think SMS is a pain in the azz, even though I've never done it! After all, how can you handle 100+ businesses and keep them satisfied. It's like writing copy for email blasting x100 (4x a month). It sounds very labor intense.

                      I want to make MORE money and have MORE free time, SMS doesn't seem to be a good fit for my lifestyle, lol.

                      I don't know the OP criniit, but he stated that initially he will write 3 months of SMS texts for the client upfront. I said "holy **** 3 months in advance you and your client know what to say in your text?

                      I don't currently offer SMS so maybe you can enlighten me. :confused:

                      Mobile Marketing Profits - Build Your Business With Mobile Marketing by Kim Dushinski <<< I attended a seminar and this woman was a guest speaker. She is supposed to be the Guru of SMS, check out her site. Thanks.
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                    • Profile picture of the author Edk
                      Thanks IamNameless. I got caught up in some over-enthusiasm on this one. Doing 'due diligence' saved the day. Your sobering voice helped. So thanks.
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        • Profile picture of the author RRG
          Originally Posted by SirThomas View Post

          here's how to find it:

          2012-03-08_1815 -


          thomas
          Thanks for that!
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  • Profile picture of the author believemarketing
    wf has gone down in quality for the last 2 or 3 years.... admins/mods are not reliable... my opinion....
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  • Profile picture of the author Hadders6543
    Quite happy to let people sell dubious WSO's (I have bought many) though!
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  • Profile picture of the author xichabodx
    It's funny that they delete valuable and worthy threads, yet, still allow certain scam artists to roam about the forums...under different aliases. Who knows, there could be one in this very thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author los s
    thanks for sharing this is a great in depth post
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  • Profile picture of the author HypeText
    Originally Posted by criniit

    Hey everyone,

    Over the last several months I have been using a Direct Mail Campaign (I probably just lost half of you but bare with me, its cheaper than you think!) that has gotten me an average of 30 new business clients for my offline marketing company each and every month!

    I could have released this info as a WSO but I decided to release it free to you guys in the hopes that some of you actually take action instead of trolling the Offline Section doing nothing productive.

    All of the links in this thread are non affiliate links! Just links to the services I personally use and would recommend to others.

    You can check out my other case studies here:

    [Another Case Study] Even More successful than my last!

    This is not a thread discussing how to provide offline services of Text Message Marketing. If you wish to discuss how to provide those services see my thread here How I made $200,000 in the last 12 months, all your questions answered!

    The Direct Mail Campaign that I used was inspired by many sources on the WF and I will be giving full credit and links where credit is due! Thank you WF you have made my a ton of money and I am just hoping to give some back, so others can do the same.

    Results

    I will start with the results as that is what you are most interest in I am sure.

    NOTE: This can easily be scaled down or up depending on your budget.

    I started out mailing these postcards 150 a week for 4 weeks.

    This totaled 600 postcards mailed.

    Cost of 600 postcards printed and mailed = $270

    I split tested two campaigns (as you will learn about below) but I averaged a 10% response rate.

    600 * 10% = 60 responses

    Out of those 60 responses I ended up with 45 meetings. And out of those 45 meetings I signed 30 new clients at an average of $150 a piece (monthly).

    $150 monthly * 30 clients = $4500 monthly Income

    $4500 monthly income - $270 cost of mailer = $4230 first month profit

    Reoccurring Monthly Profit $4500

    I just took my $1 and turns it into $15!

    Read below on how you can achieve this too. Keep in mind this was for a simple SMS marketing campaign, I can easily upsell more expensive services now that I have gotten them actual results.


    We are going to be targeting the Restauraunt Niche with this walk through but this can be easily adapted for any niche.

    Step 1. The List

    There are 2 ways to get a mailing list of businesses, you can either buy it or collect yourself.

    When you are first starting out you can collect it your self, I would do this by going to Google Maps and searching for "niche + city name".

    Then just copy and paste the Mailing Info into excel of all the restaurants. This takes awhile, but if you can know out 20 or 30 of them in 15 mins. There are scrapers around that do this but I have never used one.

    THe second way is to buy a list. Personally I use Unlimited Sales Leads & Mailing Lists | infofree.com (not affiliate link) it costs $49.95 a month however if you buy Bob Ross's WSO Direct Mail Cash Machine (not an affiliate link) then you get a discount for half off making it $24.95 a month. This is a great and easy to use list buying service that I highly recommend if you are in need.

    Step 2 The Postcard

    That's right I used post cards! I do use letters and usually personally prefer them buy for the ad copy I used postcards were the only way to go. Now I split tested 2 different call to actions (CTA). The first redirected to a personalized link/webpage with a video and contact form. The second was a straight Call Me with phone # CTA.

    I split my mailing list in half and mailed half using one CTA and half using the other. I got surprising results. The Post Card with the URL/Link CTA had a much lower response rate but the leads were RED HOT and were guaranteed sales. The Call Me CTA got more responses however the conversion to sale rate was much lower. After I ran the campaigns I analyzed the monetary results and they actually came out pretty even as far as ROI from both CTA's. I recommend doing 50-50 as the URL/Link leads are easy money and give you nice bits of encouragement when a sales meeting doesn't go as planned.

    Ok now how to actually do both of the methods:

    Method 1) Personalized URL/Link

    The principle behind this is we are sending the prospect a URL/Link to go to that has their personal business name in it. It peaks their curiosity and they are much more likely to go take a look.

    I can not take credit for this fasbulously simple bit of ad copy the credit goes to Jgregory in the I Love Direct Mail! Do you? thread. I highly suggest reading through the whole thing, TONS of great info.

    Here is a picture of an example postcard:

    IMAGE#1

    It is a very simple yet powerful message that hits the heart of every restaurant owner. And the single CTA of the personalized link makes for a very hard to resist combo.

    The link sends the business owner to a web page that is customized with his business name all over it, along with a sales video and a contact form. The leads that I get from this are ultra buyer ready owners because they have watched the video and are interested in starting their SMS campaigns now!

    To cover how to create personalized web pages is beyond the scope of this thread. However a new WSO has come out (I am not the author/owner/affiliate/or in anyway associated with it)that does all of this for you turn key. Here is the link

    Method 2) Call Me CTA

    Method 2 is much simpler in that the call to action is for the owner to simply call you.

    Here is a pic of a sample card.

    IMAGE#2

    Both of these card are ULTRA simple but with postcards, simple is better.

    Now I know a lot of you are afraid of talking to owners on the phone but with this method there is no reason to be scared. Remember they are calling you, they realize they have a problem, they are asking you to help them!

    When they call say something along these lines:

    You: "Hello, (Your Business Name) this is (Your Name)"

    Owner: Hi, this is, Bob, I'm the owner of (restaurant) I got your postcard in the mail and was interested in how your bringing in customers

    You: We use a variety of methods to put customers in your seats and spending money. The best way for me to explain would be to simply show you, do you have 5 minutes to sit down with me?

    They will either say yes or will try and get more info out of you. Just reinforce that it would be easier for everyone if you simply showed him and get that appointment. NEVER SELL THE PRODUCT ON THE PHONE!!! You are selling the appointment on the phone not your product.

    Step 3 Printing

    I printed the postcards myself on my home printer. I bought prefforated postcard paper from Paper Direct

    You can buy 100 for 12.99 which comes out to about $0.13 each.

    You want to use replace the restaurants in the ad copy with your own local examples and us mail merge to create the URL/Link CTA as well as the mailing info needed.

    Step 4 Mailing

    Mail them first class, for a postcard this costs $0.32 each. I started out mailing 50 a week and have scaled it up since.

    Conclusion

    Take action and this absolutely works! Just mail out 25-50 a week this costs about $20 a week and will provide you with 10-15 fresh leads each and every week!
    In the beginning of your post you indicated you started out mailing 150 a week for 4 weeks for a total of 600 for the month

    At the end of your post you state you started out sending 50...

    Which is it?


    Posted from Warrior Forum Reader for Android
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    (916) 520-HYPE (4973)
    Local & Mobile Marketing Solutions
    $0 Setup & $99/mnth Private Label Reseller Accts
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    • Profile picture of the author criniit
      Originally Posted by HypeText View Post

      In the beginning of your post you indicated you started out mailing 150 a week for 4 weeks for a total of 600 for the month

      At the end of your post you state you started out sending 50...

      Which is it?


      Posted from Warrior Forum Reader for Android
      I am saying that in this case study I sent out 600 mailers. I am suggesting that a lot of people here do not have much extra money to be spending so they can start with a lower investment 25-50 a week and still get results.
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    Can you really DOUBLE their business by next Thursday though? Seems like its a stretch. I have a restaurant client that has been on board with text messaging for almost a year and they have about 750 subscribers now. It does take awhile to get subscribers so giving them the impression that you can double their business next week is not really accurate. I love the approach though with the simple postcard. Thanks for posting
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    • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
      Originally Posted by xlfutur1 View Post

      Can you really DOUBLE their business by next Thursday though? Seems like its a stretch. I have a restaurant client that has been on board with text messaging for almost a year and they have about 750 subscribers now. It does take awhile to get subscribers so giving them the impression that you can double their business next week is not really accurate. I love the approach though with the simple postcard. Thanks for posting
      Good point there. Is it possible to achieve this and OK for us to do be saying this on the marketing material?
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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    Deleting such long threads isnt on, especially when others have added their own value ,taken time to add it too and help others, even if the OP of that thread was deemed dubious (ive no thoughts on that) others who added value to the thread arent deemed dubious yet their time effort and work has just been selfishly removed
    Signature

    Mike

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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Cho
    Soon as I get back to the states, I'm going have my guy run this campaign. Will let you know how it turns out. I do a lot of direct mailing and this seems legit.
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  • Profile picture of the author BrandyM
    I hope this is not a stupid question BUT I tried looking through this thread before asking and didn't see exactly what I was looking for.

    What do you put on the address side of the post card? I noticed on the template I'm using you can split it in half and add some information on side and then the business address on the other. Are you just putting the business name on that side and nothing else?

    Thanks in advance!
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    I love this Criniit guy , he is the SUPERMAN of sales. He enters the offline world out of no where has gained 300-400 clients that pays him monthly for text management and reputation management services AND can still spend time helping us on Warrior Forum AND to top it all off has found time to create a biz in a box system that includes over 100 presentation items and will allow anyone here to earn mad amounts of cash AND im sure that because he is SUPERMAN of sales he will provide round the clock support to those lucky enough to sign up.

    Im guzzlin Criniit flavored Kool-Aid by the quart!!
    Signature
    Promise Big.
    Deliver Bigger.
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  • Profile picture of the author eminidaytrader
    This method works. I am one of them who is having success with mailing using bright colors.
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  • Profile picture of the author MegaC
    I'll have to agree with NameLess here. The info in your threads does have some value but you have hidden intentions and I'll back up some of NameLess's statements.

    So you started a thread claiming how you made $200,000 in the last 12 months and how you JUST landed your 121st client. Ok, nice. Yet in your SMS Business in a Box video, during the introduction you said you started your company 6 months ago, have around 156 clients, each of them worth an average of 5-6 thousand per year, which based on that you're making $780,000-$936,000 a year? :confused:

    So I guess I was one of the sheeps Nameless was talking about hahah cause I did purchase your "Business in a Box", which I did learn more about SMS marketing. However, you lost creditbility with me through your web of lies.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
    Well the method he touts here works since he got the idea from the JGregory Direct Mail thread.

    I'm curious to hear JGregory's thoughts on this and if the system does work, but Criniit is not telling the whole truth about the numbers as far as # of clients and how much he is making from each.
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  • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
    I want to hear more from crinit about the business before I jump to any conclusions
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  • Profile picture of the author mrtrance
    So what's the final word here...is "criniit" going to showing up on this thread again or was all this just some fake info as far as method and what sort of numbers this sort of system can produce?

    Are you guys saying that the method is flawed or just the actual results are not true, but the method is something that is doable.
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