What have you found to be the best direct advertising method (mail, email, cold calling)?

by jj89
14 replies
Hello, this is my first post on the Warrior Forum. I've been reading this forum for a while and decided to finally join. Great forum with lots of great people and knowledge being spread!

I do professional business websites as well as website maintenance, seo, and social media marketing. I can do all of that work very well and my pricing is right where it should be. I am not the cheapest but I am far from the most expensive. I feel like I have a good middle of the road pricing.

I started this business back in the winter and am having trouble getting clients. I do all direct advertising as I do not have the budget to spend doing other methods. I have done direct mail and email but no luck at all. I feel like my lists are businesses that def need the services I offer and can afford them. I also feel like my marketing materials were good. The one form of direct advertising I haven't done is cold calling just because I dread doing it so much.

Anyways, I just wanted to see what has worked best for everyone, direct mail, email, or cold calling?

For those that have done direct mail and email, how many do you need to send out to get a good response to truly be able to determine if it's been a success or not?

Thanks for your input!
#advertising #calling #cold #direct #email #found #mail #method
  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    HI there,

    Why not try a combination of all of the above?

    All the best,

    Sasha
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonwebb
    direct mail is, more prestigious then email, and less invasive and more convenient then telemarketing.

    I use direct mail 85% of the time. Phone calls depending on what I am saying.

    - Jonathan Webb
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  • Profile picture of the author Brenda Trott
    I get my clients through networking. I've written books and I've invited local business owners to informational seminars...I also get invited to speak at business networking groups. I give away a hard copy of my book to one winner, but I tell everyone they can get an electronic version of the book when they pass me their business card. Then I send a double opt-in to everyone so they can collect the business card.

    I never leave a speaking event without hearing buy words before I leave from more than one person "What do you charge for your services?" or "How do you get started working with you?"

    It costs me nothing to host a seminar or to send out electronic books. It costs me about $3 to give out a copy of a hard cover book. ..all of this costs far less than direct mail don't you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jonwebb
      Originally Posted by Brenda Trott View Post

      I get my clients through networking. I've written books and I've invited local business owners to informational seminars...I also get invited to speak at business networking groups. I give away a hard copy of my book to one winner, but I tell everyone they can get an electronic version of the book when they pass me their business card. Then I send a double opt-in to everyone so they can collect the business card.

      I never leave a speaking event without hearing buy words before I leave from more than one person "What do you charge for your services?" or "How do you get started working with you?"

      It costs me nothing to host a seminar or to send out electronic books. It costs me about $3 to give out a copy of a hard cover book. ..all of this costs far less than direct mail don't you think?
      Not a competition my friend if it works for you then more power to you.

      some of us myself included prefers not to be in front of people.

      if you want a prospecting system that brings clients to you without the the need to host seminars, or cold calling then a nice formal benefits rich letter will go a long way.

      - Jonathan Webb

      P.S. There are a few ways that you can cut costs during a direct mail campaign.

      P.S.S. Business that relys soly on you to market, and to execute your services is nothing more than a high paying job.
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  • Profile picture of the author bsummers
    Agree with Sasha, why not combine all of them. It is more productive that way. Send out e-mails and follow up with cold calling. Use social media and SEO to advertise your presence.

    Regarding cold calling, it can be challenging at first but you will get the hang of it. There are plenty of threads here that can help you about cold calling, about writing a script and the best approaches.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron20
    Hey jj89! Welcome to the forum. There are loads of great people here who can help you. I was same like you when i started. I was finding it hard to get clients and i had no budget to do any form of advertising. So i turned to cold calling, read as much as i can about it and have made 1000's of calls. I got to tell you that it was not easy in the beginning. But as you keep doing your calls your fear will slowly get away, may be in a weeks time (500 calls).

    I recommend that you get a skype account and use the ecsow auto dialer for skype. This will really make you more productive and also keep you dialling continuously.

    So if i can start as a newbie myself and start generating sales today, you can do it too!

    Also use Mobile Renegade to build your lists! This software is great..

    I hope this helps.

    Ron
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  • Offline clients respond very well to webinar opt ins. So you can contact them through email to push them to your squeeze page, or you could even send them a direct mailer which gets them over to the squeeze page.

    Either are viable options for getting your foot in the door and starting your communication off on the right foot!
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    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      If I really needed a sale - fast, I'd play the numbers game as quickly and aggressively as possible.

      POUND the phones. Use a phone system where you are billed on the backend to minimize risk. VoIP is the way to go.

      It's not a sustainable long-term strategy, but if you need to close something in a week, "spray and pray."
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  • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
    Being introduced to your prospect by someone they trust.

    That will usually get a sale.

    And yes it is a form of direct marketing.

    After that talking in person to the prospect...also a form of direct
    marketing.


    After that it gets more complicated but I can tell you that those who
    are smart enough to laser focus their efforts on key, potentially high
    paying prospects, who go out of their way to be introduced by someone
    that prospect trusts...

    Those people are getting high paying clients and they're not going
    crazy or spending a lot of money doing it.

    Kindest regards,
    Andrew Cavanagh
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  • Profile picture of the author Katee
    I am just getting into this internet business. But I have many years of experience in sales & marketing. I found that my best clients were always the ones that I talked to face to face. Once they "knew" me, they usually sent me additional business leads. So I will be working any gatherings of people that I attend. Second, because I really have no proven experience on the net yet, I would guess that a combination of methods (w/a process to document where the leads are coming from), would be something to consider. Then re-evaluate which is working & which methods to drop.
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    What works best with what you mentioned? All of it...

    If you have a list of 10,000 businesses, go ahead and use direct mail... then cold call them, and email the ones you have email addresses for. Triple threat!

    All forms of marketing give you the visibility and possibility to reach people you wouldn't have reached with other tactics.
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    • Profile picture of the author jj89
      All good advice here, thanks a bunch! From what I gathered, it seems like there is nothing that is a set solution. Seems like you just need to try a bunch of different marketing ideas until you find something that works. I have read enough that it seems like cold calling may be almost a sure way to land some clients. If you call 100 businesses, you are bound to at least get 1 business that is interested in a website.

      I honestly believe there's no better business to get into than providing websites, mobile websites, SEO, social media marketing, etc. to businesses. 3/4 of the companies in this country do not have a website. The demand is there. The business model to make good money is there. I think it just all comes down to being able to market it effectively. Unfortunately, that is what I have been struggling with.
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  • Profile picture of the author amcg
    Anyways, I just wanted to see what has worked best for everyone, direct mail, email, or cold calling?
    if you're an online company, I start with online marketing. It doesn't make sense to do offline stuff starting out, particular when you don't have a physical office or location (I presume?)

    The big advantage with digital is clearly the ability to measure everything. Offline is in comparison more expensive and less accurate or easy to measure.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      I speak in front of groups and give "30 minute free phone consultations" that are promoted in my books. I haven't found an "easier to close" lead.

      If I didn't want to do that, direct mail would be my choice.
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