How to Test the Power of Your Advertising – and Why?

Last week I had an argument with my colleagues about the importance of testing your advertising.

Let me give you reasons why should test.

Would you like to save money and increase your sales? Testing can do that.

How to increase the selling power of your ads? Test different versions and use the one that brings in most SALES. You usually create a few different versions as you write your ads. Let your customers choose the best version through a test campaign. Test new approaches, but never change something just because you think you should. Judge the success of your ads based on SALES.

How to avoid mistakes and save money? Run a few test campaigns before you spend your whole budget. You can't trust only to your judgment when it comes to advertising. On direct and digital marketing you trust the RESULTS, not your gut.

I have seen an ad sell 60 percent more just because a letter font was changed. Here is my point: you can't guess what works, you have to test to know. Watch Drayton Bird's any presentation and he will show you what ad it was that sold 60 percent more thanks to testing.

• The reason why I love direct marketing is simple. On direct marketing you know what works, you don't have to guess. You and I doesn't have to argue between our tastes and views on marketing. We can do a simple A/B test and figure out whose version of the ad sells more.

Today testing is cheap and quick, thanks to the internet. You can do a simple test in the morning and by the noon you have the answers of what works.

By the way, did you know that you are in a privileged position compared to your competitors? If you understand and use direct marketing disciplines, such as testing, to the web your marketing will became bullet-proof.

Do you know who first said, "There are only two rules in advertising. Rule one: test. Rule two: refer to rule one." ?


You may also find these related marketing articles useful:

1. Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing?
2. How to Create a Web Site that Sells
3. 10 Coca-Cola Social Media Principles
4. Why Direct Marketing Grows
5. How to Brief Your Advertising Agency

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100 Marketing Articles: Readers' Top 5

How to tell that the author has problems to write? He lists old posts under a new headline – just like this.

To celebrate the 100th article of this blog, here are readers' top five list based on popularity:

1. 3 Signals: Why The Future of Advertising is Digital Direct Marketing
2. Top 5 Advertising Agencies in Tampere, Finland
3. 29 Tested Advertising Methods: How Make Your Email Marketing Sell More
4. Digital Direct Marketing
5. How to Create an Effective Viral Marketing Campaign 1/2

These articles gained special attention on the social media:

1. Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing?
2. How to Create A Website that Sells
3. B2B: How This New Business Can Increase Your Sales and Profits

PS You can expect less repeats – like this post – and more useful articles in the future. Thank you for reading.

How These Tested Online Advertising Methods Can Increase Your Sales

What is the most important thing in business?

If you ask the question from IBM's former president Thomas Watson Jr. he would say, "Nothing happens in business until something gets sold."

This article shows how you can increase your sales and profits with these tested online advertising methods. Let's start from your banners.

How to design an effective banner ad:

1. Is it clear?
2. Does your banner communicate a benefit to the reader?
3. Does the banner arouse curiosity, instead of telling a whole story?
4. Does it say, "why should I click?"
5. Is there a strong call action?
6. Is the banner consistent with the brand image?
7. Is there a reason to act now? A deadline for the offer or a gift, for example.
8. Have you tried customer testimonials in your banner ads?
9. Do you show pictures of real people in your banners? People are interested in people.

Now you have created a banner that people click. They are on your landing page. The next step is closing the sale.

How to create a landing page that sells
Your goal can be to get your visitor to sign-up to your service, subscribe a newsletter, download a case-study or simply make purchase from your web store. You need to know how to create a landing page that interests your visitors and makes them act the way you want. Here is how.

• Make your landing page easy to read. Avoid all unnecessary effects and flashy moving graphics. Get to the point at once. What is it exactly you are selling? According to studies you have less than 10 seconds to capture your visitor's attention or they are gone.

Do you have a quick, easy and simple check-out process? Smooth as silk is the way to online success. Don't ask more than necessary information from your customers to make the sale, especially with consumers. After the first sale you have plenty of time to get to know your customer better.

How to write a landing page copy text that sells
The way to sell is to get read first. Begin your landing page copy text with a strong reason to continue reading. Make your landing page interesting. Why should someone read it? The reader thinks, "what's in it for me?" Your job is to answer that question.

Use testimonials. Your landing page is the place to tell the full story. Show real people and let them do the selling for you.

Long copy sells more. Your advertising should overcome every objection why NOT to buy from you. Unlike in print advertising, on the internet your advertising space is unlimited. A hint: make your landing page look like editorial content to increase your sales and readership.

"As much as 40 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned"

Do you suffer from this problem? The visitor has watched your video, read your copy, filled the shopping cart, but hesitates at the last step and leaves your website. It's frustrating, isn't it? What you need is one last push to sweeten the offer and close the sale.

How to create irresistible online offers
"Why should I act now?" Here are four tested ways to get your prospect act.

• "Limited edition"
• "Limited supply"
• "Last time at this price"
• "Special price for promptness"

More tips how to increase your online sales
1. Use video. It is the third most effective media. The first is a real sales person and the second is telemarketing.

2. Try to collect email addresses from your website's every visitor. Use them for marketing. It is amazing how few websites actually do this. Even if they have the email address, they usually don't use it. According to direct marketing study in the USA, email marketing has return on investment (ROI) 43. It means that for every dollar, euro or rupee you spend to email marketing, it brings back 43 more. Is it a good deal?

3. Excellent technical skills, but poor salesmanship is a common problem on online advertising. Technology is only a fraction of marketing. Now that you have the latest online publishing system, so what? You need someone who understands how to get people respond and buy from you.

4. Consult a direct marketing professional always to guarantee that your online advertising sells as much it should. Is your copy text reviewed and edited by a professional direct marketer to maximize your sales?

5. Use clear page elements to make navigation easy. Every time you stop me online, I get confused. If I don't now what to do next, I'm gone. Did you know that "back" button is the third most used feature on the web?

Be clear. Clarity above creativity.

And last, don't fall in love with possibilities of this new fascinating tool called the internet. Find always the cheapest and quickest way to make the sale.

You may also find these five related marketing articles interesting:

1. How to Create a Web Store that Sells
2. How to Brief Your Advertising Agency
3. 29 Tested Methods: How to Make Your Email Marketing Sell More
4. Digital Direct Marketing
5. Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing?

PS Do you have a friend or colleague who is interested in advertising? Why not share this article with them?

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7 Ways to Improve Your Mobile Advertising

Do you think that the next big thing in marketing is going to be mobile advertising?

I think it's over hyped, but here are tips for you that work, especially with SMS text marketing.

How to improve your mobile advertising:

1) Is your message clear? Eliminate empty words. Would your grandmother understand it?

2) Use your customer's name in the message if possible. This works equally well on email marketing and direct mail.

"Remember that the person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language."

–Dale Carnegie

3) Send more messages. This is an odd tip, isn't it? But test it. I read a study about an email marketing campaign that sent email to the customers every other day. Their sales increased three times compared to the period where they sent only four messages per month. If you have time, you can watch 45 minute "Optimize Email Response" webinar here to learn more.

4) Test. Try different creative work, offers, call-to-actions, words and timing. Test, test and test again. Documented your successes, use and try to beat them.

5) Get your prospect's permission and make it easy to opt-out. Would you believe that I get SMS marketing messages from Nokia, but in them they don't tell me how to opt-out from their list?

6) Don't leave it to juniors. Get involved to learn what is possible to do with mobile advertising. Too often mobile advertising campaigns are run only by an outsourced IT-firm and junior executives who are in no connection with other agencies. That's the best recipe to kill your consistent brand image. Poor campaigns can do more harm than good because the medium in your pocket is so personal.

7) Strong call-to-action. A hint: Copy best call-to-actions from banners and direct mail letters if you see them repeated over and over again. There is a fair chance that those words and techniques work in mobile advertising too.

Dear reader, here is one more thought before you go. A mobile phone has something that no other media has – a payment system within. If you know how to add mobile payment to your business, it can do the same what credit card did to direct mail. Direct mail exploded when the credit card came. In fact, a mobile phone works as a credit card, even little kids have it – and it's legal.

Do you have tips or thoughts how to do effective mobile advertising? Please comment. Maybe you know a good book or a blog about it? I recommend the book "Mobile Advertising" by Chetan Sharma, Joe Herzog and Victor Melfi, if you want to learn more.

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Digital Direct Marketing Principles

I spent last two days making enemies around the world.

My first target was an Advertising Age article about digital advertising which wondered why traditional advertising agencies get it wrong.

Another casualty of my hate crime was an advertising agency new business blog that published a survey saying, in the future agencies need to know how to use more "pull interactions."

Seriously, what's wrong with these people?

When will the day come when they admit that interactive, relationship, digital, viral, social media, online and search marketing are just accelerated direct marketing?

Instead of wandering in the dark looking for answers on how to get people respond to advertising, why not study professionals who have made interactive marketing a science – over 60 years ago? It's all documented in hundreds of books, videos and seminars.

Yes, I'm talking about the notorious direct marketers. They are the ones who have practised the art of persuasion with scientific methods for decades to learn what works. Direct marketers know how to make people buy. They know how get people respond to advertising on every media whether it's print, TV, radio, mobile, internet or even outdoor.

My life – and I hope yours too – became a lot easier when I accepted the fact that human nature hasn't changed dramatically after the internet became popular about 15 years ago.

Why on earth marketing people run around like turkeys before Thanksgiving Day yelling how it is the end of the world? And how everything you know about consumers doesn't work any more?

I don't know about you, but here are three digital direct marketing principles I have found still work. Beware, they were invented before the year 1995.

Digital direct marketing principles:

• Is it clear?

• Is it personal?

• Does it sell?

“It took millions of years for man’s instincts to develop. It will take millions more for them to even vary. It is fashionable to talk about changing man. A communicator must be concerned with unchanging man, with his obsessive drive to survive, to be admired, to succeed, to love, to take care of his own.”

–Bill Bernbach (1911-1982)

You may also find these related marketing articles interesting:

• Digital Direct Marketing
• Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing?
• How to Create A Website That Sells

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How to Brief Your Advertising Agency

If "search the world and steal the best" is your motto then you'll love this. I went through my old papers and found "How to Brief Your Advertising Agency" by Anthony Weir.

Anthony Weir started his career as a copywriter for Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn (BBDO), then worked as a specialist in starting up and managing offices in Asia and Latin America for the Ogilvy & Mather and Leo Burnett advertising agencies.

"How to Brief Your Advertising Agency (and how to increase your chances of getting superb advertising)" is an eight page booklet published in 1984.

These principles are timeless – and priceless. Remember to bookmark and share if you like them.

Here's a summary:

How to brief your agency

1. Inundate the agency with information.
2. Make sure all the right people attend the briefing.
3. Invite the agency to your laboratory and your factory.
4. Make your brief professional.
5. Be enthusiastic.
6. Give your brief a clear format.
7. Start with the company.
8. Explain your product in detail.
9. Explore the problem your product solves.
10. Review the history of the brand.
11. Detail the conditions of the market.
12. Analyze the competition.
13. Examine the marketing and advertising strategies of the competition.
14. Define your target consumer with care.
15. Explain your sales and distribution systems.
16. Present the product's position in the market today.
17. Outline your marketing objectives and strategies.
18. Arrange a field trip to the marketplace.
19. Tell how you will judge the advertising.

Now you have briefed your agency. You're off and running. Here is how to increase your chances of getting superb advertising:

1. Avoid management by fear.
2. Make your agency an extension of your company.
3. Set high standards – and stick by them.
4. Require written strategies.
5. Don't strain your advertising through too many levels.
   
6. Don't compete with your agency in the creative area.
7. Be candid, and encourage candor.
8. Listen.
9. Don't be afraid to experiment.
10. Generate an atmosphere of competitive urgency.
11. Make sure your agency earns a healthy profit.
12. Hold formal evalutions.

If you do these things I can guarantee that you will have a happy, healthy and mutually profitable relationship with your agency.

Most important: You will get the advertising you deserve.


You may also find these related marketing articles interesting:

• Do You Make These Mistakes in Marketing?
  
• How to Create an Effective Viral Marketing Campaign
  
• B2B: How This New Business Plan Can Increase Your Sales and Profits
  
• How to Design A Website That Sells
• Digital Direct Marketing
  
• 29 Tested Methods: How to Make Your Email Marketing Sell More

Click here to subscribe to my blog via email. It's free and you can unsubscribe any time.

By the way, do you have a friend or colleague who is interested in marketing? Why not share this article with them?

Beyond The Web 2, 3, and 4.0

It is easy to say that new things like the web grows step-by-step, but I hate to think that technology and human development follows rational steps.

Fifty years ago scientists said you would have a flying car by now and that there wouldn't be diseases like swine flu any more – if technology followed logical steps, but it doesn't. There are countless unexpected things like wars, cut backs in funding, shift in focus, new management with new ideas and alternative solutions to problems.

Do you think that you have to invent A, then B and C, to invent D? Focus and discipline are admirable characteristics, but sometimes they can keep you from reaching your goal. Discipline can make you fall in love with rules rather than help you find a completely new way to solve the problem.

Who says you have to work ten years before you can become a CEO? Jussi Nurmio, Finnish serial entrepreneur said, "the fastest way to become a CEO is to give yourself that title."

This article is for you who is impatient and in a hurry. Maybe you are too young to match the formal description of a CEO or too old to be a considered as a dynamic reformer. When I told the marketing guru Drayton Bird that I'm in a hurry to get things done because I'm young, he smiled and said something I won't forget, "Timo, when you are old like me you are in a more hurry to get things done."

Do you have time to think like everyone else, or can you find a new solution which breaks the rules others have made for themselves?

You may also find these related marketing articles interesting:

• Why Direct Marketing Grows
  
• B2B: How This New Business Plan Can Increase Your Sales and Profits
  
• How to Design A Website That Sells
• 3 Signals: Why The Future of Advertising is Digital Direct Marketing
• Digital Direct Marketing
  
• 29 Tested Methods: How to Make Your Email Marketing Sell More

PS. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog via email. It's free and you can unsubscribe any time.

PPS. Do you have a friend or colleague who is interested in marketing? Why not share this article with them?