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| About John Jantsch |
| John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing - The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide (foreword by Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth) published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006 He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system and Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coach Network. His Duct Tape Marketing Blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for small business and marketing and is a Harvard Business School featured marketing site. His blog was also chosen as "Best Small Business Marketing Blog" in 2004, 2005 and 2006 by the readers of Marketing Sherpa. |
Recent Article:
Direct Response Directory Ads
- For more on John Jantsch visit www.ducttapemarketing.com
For some, not all mind you, directory advertising, the kind the Yellow Pages sells, is still a decent place to advertise.
The upside to this medium is that when somebody picks up an offline directory they are probably looking to buy something right now. Of course the downside is that they must wade through all of your competitors to find your ad.
Yellow PagesI put the yellow pages in the category of “consider it as part of the mix” for certain types of businesses. Directory ads can be an effective spend for businesses that provide home services (electrician, plumber), consumer (dry cleaner, restaurant, gifts, flowers) or professional services (tax preparation, mortgage, legal.)
It is, however, a decreasingly effective medium for reaching anyone under 30. I often joke that if I put a yellow pages down in front of my teenage daughters they would want to know where the on switch is.
If you’re one of those kinds of businesses, one that is proven to derive lots of leads from the yellow pages, and you find yourself thinking, “the yellow pages is a waste for me,” then consider that you might simply be running ads that are waste for you.
99.99% of all directory ads do nothing but show how you are just like your competitors and that if a prospect will simply dial your very large phone number you will come on down and sell them something. I’ve watched propects use the yellow pages and most simply call up a few of the advertisers based on how pretty their ad is - of course the first question is always “how much.”
If you determine that it might make sense for you to advertise in offline directories then you must make your ad and your approach unique. The best way to do this is to make your ad a direct response ad. Don’t waste your space with your phone number and logo - instead, make the reader an offer of some valuable information. Invite them to come get your free report “25 little known ways to slash your taxes” or “Home repair tips your plumber hopes your never learn.” By giving your readers an attention getting offer you can stand out and start differentiating your business based on something other than price.
Now when someone responds to your ad you are in the business of educating them on how you have a unique approach to business. This type of relationship building is how you change the entire lead generation and lead conversion landscape. Don’t just get a phone call, get permission to demonstrate why you charge a premium.
A final word of advice - test your directory ad before you place it. Run several different versions of ads with different headlines and offers in free or low cost publications that your target market reads and then place the yellow pages ad, an ad you can’t change for an entire year, based on your test results.
Direct Response Directory Ads - To learn more about this author, visit John Jantsch's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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