"Could these 7 simple low-cost marketing tips save your bacon?"

On 27th December 2011 Finnish news site ArcticStartup publish my article about marketing. My topic was how firms could do better while the economy seems to be crashing...

I also sent the article to my somewhat gaga partner Drayton Bird, who emailed this message to his list of thousands:

Here's some Reindeer Wisdom for you

That's a ghastly joke, and I apologise, but the far-flung, if tiny, Bird empire has a fledgling in Finland, with some good advice for you.

About two and a half years ago a bright young man called Timo Jäppinen wrote to me to say two things.

First that some copy I had written was not very good. And second that he had written an alternative.

Well, my copy wasn't too hot, his alternative was better and I was impressed. And since the most valuable commodity in business is talent we're now in business together in Finland.

And if, like me, you think we're all in for a rocky ride, you may find this article very helpful: http://www.arcticstartup.com/2011/12/27/could-these-7-simple-low-cost-marketing-tips-save-your-bacon.

Ignore the fact that Timo looks about 15. He's quite a few years older and very knowledgeable. I wish I had his hair. Just some of it.

Best,

Drayton

* * * 

By the way, if you're interested in marketing that actually works, check out this new book free. (Pay only shipping.)

PRESS RELEASE : The strange birth of a new kind of marketing agency – which actually guarantees results

PRESS RELEASE

: October 18. 2011

The strange birth of a new kind of marketing agency – which actually guarantees results

International marketing legend Drayton Bird is opening a new agency in Finland – but the way it happened is quite strange.

The new agency, Drayton Bird Associates Finland, is headed by Timo Jäppinen who has been planning this for the past year.

Drayton’s firm, Drayton Bird Associates, specialises in getting measurably better sales for marketers all over the world. They help large clients including Prudential Assurance, The Royal Mint and Nielsen Research as well as many small ones you’ve never heard of.

Why Finland?

But why open in Finland? Drayton Bird answers: “Because of Timo’s persistence. Two years ago he wrote telling me something I’d written was wrong – and why. Then he rewrote it – and it was better.

“I thought he had real talent - but he didn’t want to leave Finland. Then he pestered me constantly for two years to start a business. Also, Finland, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe are quite undeveloped when it comes to measurable marketing that sells.”

“In the last year we’ve helped clients in the U.S., Spain, Australia, Thailand, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong, Austria and even Slovenia,” says Drayton. “Why not Finland?

“We’ve helped sell language courses, fashion, property, stamps, bicycles, training, pensions, investments, insurance, Savile Row suits, pensions and even candles for churches in Italy”.

We do it the internet, in advertising, in videos, in direct mail – the same principles apply no matter what.

“The fact is, local habits and languages differ but the principles that get you more sales don’t – particularly on the internet, which is where we do a lot of our work.

For marketers who want guaranteed results

“When there’s a recession, people want sales, not just pretty stuff that doesn’t sell. I find many advertisers are tired of their agencies’ big fees and small results. 

“We guarantee our clients’ results or they pay no fee. I don’t know any agency that does that. And so far we haven’t had any refunds.

Also we are a bit cheaper than big agencies. We don’t waste time in unnecessary meetings or money on fancy offices.

How good is Drayton Bird?

In November 2003 the Chartered Institute of Marketing named him “one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing,” other names included Philip Kotler and Tom Peters.

Sir Martin Sorrell, founder of WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing business calls Drayton “a wise and wily direct marketer – online and off. People all over the world have been lucky enough to learn from him.” The late David Ogilvy said he “knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world” 

The world’s biggest names

Over the years Drayton has worked for an astonishing range of the world’s biggest names including American Express, for whom he created a special marketing course for senior executives, British Airways, Cisco, Deutsche Post, Ford, IBM, McKinsey, Microsoft, Nestle, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Toyota, Unilever and Visa.

As international Vice-Chairman and Creative Director, Drayton helped O & M Direct – now OgilvyOne - become the world's largest direct marketing agency network.

He has helped sell everything from Airbus planes to Peppa the Pig. And he has run his own businesses – so he understands money.

“My own agency which I sold to Ogilvy was set up in a recession. We started with no money and no clients. Actually, my partners and I were all in debt. I know all about tough times,” says Drayton.

Drayton’s book, Commonsense Direct and Digital Marketing, out in 17 languages, has been the UK’s best seller on the subject every year since 1982. He has written 4 other marketing books and spoken in 51 countries.

Drayton is personally involved in everything the agency does. You can read about him and Timo at www.draytonbird.fi


Get interviews and more information:

Timo Jäppinen, Managing director, Drayton Bird Associates Finland, timo.jappinen@draytonbird.fi



Drayton Bird, Chairman, Drayton Bird Associates, drayton@draytonbird.com



www.draytonbird.fi
www.draytonbird.com

Visit my new marketing blog in Finnish

Here's something you may find interesting:

http://www.markkinointikatsaus.com/

It's my new marketing blog in Finnish. Why not visit it now and subscribe to get free updates? Simply click the link above to peep in... Go on...

Do you remember me? Plus, an expensive lesson - Free

Dear blog reader,


I've been absent. And I'm planning to be, however, I thought I take the time share what I've been doing and what I've learned about marketing, and life too, during these last few months:

"Nothing is new, everything is transformed"

I can't remember who said that first - but it was someone much smarter than me. I thought I had already learned this lesson with my first company that tried to "revolutionize" something that already existed and proved to be working. That was stupid and expensive. 

Now some years later, here I am repeating the same mistakes trying to invent new ways of doing old tested and proven things. Expensive and dumb. The only good thing is that you learn from failing. Like Drayton Bird says, "We learn nothing from success." 

It's true. You can be damn sure people are going to try find out what why something doesn't work. Then you can try again. This time more intelligently. Why bother to learn what worked when you are successful?

Or maybe you are one of those few rare birds who keep their cool and sit down to analyze why so much money is pouring in... If you are that then please write your tips to the comment box on this blog and share them with the rest of us mortals.

An excellent example about a guy who worked like Swiss clock and kept his cool, no matter how well or bad things were, is the late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. His methods are worth studying closely. He is the same guy who said, "Success comes from knowing you did the best to become the best you are capable of becoming." 

I'll keep rambling on and I hope you do, too. 

Until then. I'll catch up with you again. Hopefully sooner than later.

Best,

Timo

By the way – if you want to know what really works in online marketing today, check out this new book. The guy is handing them out right now.  Click here to get your FREE copy.

The most valuable card in your wallet

On September 9, 2010 Harvey Mackay wrote an article titled “The most valuable card in your wallet” In the article you’ll discover that the most valuable card you have is not your credit card, driver’s license or even insurance card. It’s your library card.

Mackay announces September as “The library card renew month.” I want to do the same, and encourage to renew your library card. If your card hasn’t expired, great.

How often do you use it?

Most people go through their whole life never realizing the hidden treasure in their wallets. I hope you use your library card. I do. It’s not a secret; the most successful people know more. There’s no excuse for ignorance, public libraries are free.

Enough preaching. You know what to do.

Finns: If you want to double your reading speed and improve your reading comprehension in 7 days, with less than 20 minutes practicing per day, visit this site http://www.finlandiaacademy.fi/ It’s my new company that publishes and sells directly self-help home study courses in Finnish. My first product is 7 day speed reading course. Have a look.

And even if you are not planning to start the free trial, have a look at the web site. Maybe you'll learn something. Click the link to go to: http://www.finlandiaacademy.fi/

Wanted: Freelancer copywriting projects

Would you like an experienced freelancer direct marketing copywriter to have look at your web site, sales letters, ads or brochures and give you ideas how to improve them – for free?

Look no further, because I’m ready to give you an honest opinion on how I would increase your sales. In my previous job at AdEffie Inc Oy, Finnish online ad network, I saw over half billion online banner ads and their direct impact to sales – or lack of impact, which was often the case, too.

I know what works in online and offline advertising. If you would like me to have a look at your materials in Finnish or English just send me a link to your web site via email timo [at] timojappinen.fi or attach your files to an email, and I’ll give you comments what you could do to increase your sales and profits today.

There’s no obligation and no strings attached. It won’t cost you a cent. I’ll quickly tell you if I can help to increase your revenues or not.

I have worked with companies from one man web stores to direct marketing giants like Reader’s Digest and Guthy-Renker (Zumba Fitness, TV-Shop and Proactiv).

As you know, you may not be able to meet your customers or the prospect company’s CEO whenever you want, but your letter can. What you say in it makes the difference between a profit and loss.

In early 2010, I did couple of small freelancer projects for Drayton Bird and his associates in London. The late David Ogilvy said: “Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world.”  

Afterwards Drayton give me a flattering testimonial saying: "Timo is one of the most impressive young people I have come across – and I have come across quite a few. He has an exceptional grasp of what this business is about – and also, most unusually, considerable creative talent."

I won’t argue with that.

Now, why not email me a couple of samples of your ads you would like improve, but you don’t know how, or you simply don’t have time to do it yourself? I don’t blame you. But please hurry as my calendar is also getting fatter every day. I can only handle very few new freelance clients.

I’m based in Helsinki, Finland in case you want to meet me in person. You can email me at timo [at] timojappinen.fi

Why not do it right now before you do anything else?

Ad Man's Book Club: August 2010 Choice

A Technique for Producing Ideas -

James Webb Young

"James Webb Young is in the tradition of some of our greatest thinkers when he describes the workings of the creative process. He not only makes this point vividly for us but shows us the road to that goal."

–William Bernbach, Former Chairman and CEO, Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB)


This book is a step by step guide for producing ideas for anything. Before I tell you what the steps are, let’s look at the man himself.

James Young Webb is ranked at the 52. of Advetising Age’s Top 100 People of The Century. He is listed higher than Lester Wunderman, Victor O. Schwab and J. Walter Thompson.

James Webb Young build a successful mail-order business after he retired from JWT advertising agency, where he worked as a creative director and vice president.

Five steps to big ideas

1. Gather material about the problem
2. Digest it
3. Let go of the problem
4. An idea will appear
5. Shape the idea

Now, I won’t tell you exactly how the process works because I want you to read James Webb Young’s A Technique for Producing Ideas. The paperback has only 64 pages. It takes less than an hour to read. Amazon sells it for 6.95 $ last time I checked. Order it here.

Checklist: How to design a landing page that sells

1. What are you trying to achieve? If you are trying to create a landing page that converts your visitors into paying customers, I can help you.

2. Does your opening has a strong promise that leads the reader into your copy? Don’t give away everything at once. News and benefits in the headline work every time.

3. For example: the title of the bestseller book “How to win friends & influence people” still sells today – after 70 years. Why? Because it promises a benefit that appeals to the reader’s self-interest, and has the words “How to” that command you to find out more.

4. Do you demonstrate the product? The internet allows you have as many videos, pictures and words as you want. Try Before & After shots. They tend to work.

5. Don’t be afraid of long copy. Be afraid of not being interesting. Say enough to make the sale. To get ideas on what say on your website find out what are the most common questions people ask from your customer service. You will help everyone if you answer them in your copy.

6. Do you use active language and short, simple words? Instead of “we utilize” say, “we use.”

7. Are you appealing to logic only? Humans are emotional creatures, even business people. Did you know gimmicks work especially well on them? Many of them are bored behind their desks.

8. Add icons of banks and credit cars to your website to increase your credibility. Make your phone number visible – and answer it if someone calls.

9. Mention your money back guarantee early in your copy.

10. Have you tested different versions of your landing page? Here’s one free tool for that: www.google.com/websiteoptimizer

11. Do you have high production quality? It builds trust. Clear pictures are important because the reader cannot see the physical product.

12. Do you show people on your landing page? This also build trust.

13. Testimonials from your customers and respected authors in the field are convincing and should be used lavishly.

14. Do you have an incentive if the visitor acts today?

15. Do you ask for the order at least three times? McGraw-Hill research revealed that an average salesman makes the sale after the fifth call. 

16. Captions under the picture are read more carefully than rest of your website. Use them to sell.

17. When you design your web site ask what the visitor is looking for when they arrive? Where do they come from? Directly or through a special ad? Are they able to find the information they are looking for quickly?

18. Is the message personal, clear and direct? Claude Hopkins, the author of Scientific Advertising says: "Your message should single out your prospect like a bell-boy paging a man in a crowded hotel lobby."

19. Are you talking to yourself or to the prospect?


Please write to comments what would you add?

A free gift for Finnish readers

As the rest of Europe is still on summer holiday, us Finns are working. Here's something for Finnish readers only:

Tulospohjainen internet-mainonta Suomessa: Näin kasvatat myyntiäsi ja voittojasi ilman riskiä  Lue ilmainen 8-sivun opas.

Discover the hidden profits that lie in your online advertising budget

If you are like most marketers today, you are losing money online – and you don’t know it. Read this and I will tell how you can discover the fortune that lies hidden in your online advertising budget.

There are three ways you can advertise on the internet:

1. Display advertising
You pay for attention. You buy time on the media or views. Media owner’s pet. This model is familiar from TV and print advertising. You don’t have to pay for clicks or sales that your advertising may produce. Easy to buy and budget.

The least interactive – and usually the most expensive – way to communicate online.

2. Pay Per Click advertising
You buy visitors to your web site. You pay only when someone clicks your ad. You get the views for free. Easy to buy and budget. Google makes their money here.

You don’t know who clicks your ad. You need be ready to “invite people in” at your web site. Don’t make the mistake most companies make; flush your visitors down the toilet. Try get the people to your database to start a relationship with them.

3. Cost Per Order advertising
You only pay when someone buys something from you. If you don’t sell anything online you can use this model when someone registers to your service, signs-up to your newsletter, inquires for more information, for example. You get the views and clicks for free. This is risk-free advertising.

For an advertiser, the Cost Per Order / Cost Per Action advertising is easy to buy, but challenging to budget because no one can guarantee sales in advance without testing.

Can you guess which models are the most popular? The first and the second. Hard to believe? You are not alone.

Why the Cost Per Order / Cost Per Action advertising is the underdog of online advertising and how you can profit from it:
It’s a sad truth that an average marketing director rather spends his budget on something that doesn’t produce results than to budget a part of it to something that guarantees profit.

“What if no one buys from us?” “What if I’m not able to spend my budget by the end of the year?” “I may not get as much money again.”

What many marketers and agencies fail to understand: You can’t lose money with Cost Per Order advertising, because you only pay for your advertising when someone buys something from you. The commission is fixed, your cost will never outmaneuver you – even if you are poor in math like I am. It's an investment that feeds itself. You can’t lose.


PS. Please share this message with anyone you think could profit from learning more about risk-free online advertising.

How to sell: Why keeping your mouth shut pays you more than talking

Don’t know how to sell? Shut up and listen.

It’s that easy. When was the last time you met salesman who listened you? Was he or she a someone who asked lots of questions before the sales pitch? If you met a person like that, chances are you didn’t see him or her as a someone in sales, but as a someone who was genuinely interested in you and your problem. 

Discover why keeping your mouth shut pays you more than talking

1. How do you know your prospect really interested in your offer if you don't get to know his or her situation?
2. You spend less time with your prospect after you have asked enough questions about his business and field to understand it better, rather than shooting with eyes blinded. With more information you can tailor your offer to match his needs.
3. How many times when a telemarketer has called you, you would have told that you have already a similar product or that you just don’t need it right now – but never got the opportunity to speak? Instead of questions about you, they talk how great their magazine is, even though you may only read articles and news online. If they asked more questions, they would know that, and could be already talking to the next, more potential customer instead of wasting time with you.
4. Next time when you run out of words with your customer, hold your tongue. Watch what happens. Often it is the customer who starts to talk to fill in the silence. That new information you get might help you to make the sale.
5. It is much easier, and smarter, to keep the prospect talking than try to come up with clever lines just to impress a silent rock. You need feedback to target your message. Your questions produce that feedback. Questions are also a great tool to build trust between you and your customer. It shows that you care about them.
6. During all my time in sales, no person has ever asked me to stop asking questions about him or her. (Do you enjoy talking about yourself or do you enjoy a pushy salesperson who tries to force you to buy instantly the new super glue? Frankly, I’m more interested in myself.)

How to make people buy from you  

People buy from people whom they believe and trust. Your first goal as a salesperson is to make your customer trust you. You can't start selling before that. Trust is the only way they will buy ever from you. Ten odd years ago I learned that the job of a salesman was to ask excellent questions from customers, not to create sleek sales presentations. Don't believe me? Try it.

For more information about listening your way into sales, listen Brian Tracy’s The Psychology of Selling audio cd and read Dale Carnegie’s How to win friends and influence people

As Dale Carnegie's book says: “From now on, I keep my mouth shut. It pays.”

Ad Man's Book Club: July 2010 Choice

How to Write Sales Letters That Sell: 

Learn The Secrets to Successful Direct Mail 

- Drayton Bird

David Ogilvy said, "Drayton Bird knows more about direct marketing than anyone in the world." That's the statement that got me curious about Mr. Bird. To my surprise – and maybe to his own – Drayton Bird is still around writing copy after 50 years in the business.

He has written four books so far. I think How to Write Sales Letters That Sell is the most practical. There is very little theory. The book is filled with examples from companies you would never guess use direct mail. 

Who uses direct mail today

One letter sells frozen steaks, one is from Richard Branson offering free drinks on a Virgin airplane, another one is the famous "Quite frankly, the American Express card is not everyone" -letter. There is also a copy of the Wall Street Journal's two-page letter that sold subscriptions for over ONE BILLION dollars.

Bird doesn't just show you successful direct mail, he explains why they worked or didn't work, and how you too can write successful letters that make people buy.

Why direct mail is more than just paper in a flashy envelope screaming "Buy!"

On the page 129, there's a story how Ogilvy & Mather used live pigeons to deliver their sales message to Cessna airplanes' prospects. To get a free test flight, the prospect had to let the bird out. The story goes that many of the pigeons never returned because, according to David Ogilvy, "Some of those mean bastards cooked and ate the birds."

On the page 18: The most important letter you will ever write... 

... Your job application. And you will learn to do it better than most of your competitors by reading this over 300-page book. Did you know that Victor Ross, the former Chairman of Reader's Digest said it is, "the ultimate how-to book of direct mail letter writing."

You can get How to Write Sales Letters That Sell from Amazon.

Online Advertising: A Challenge to Marketing Directors

This article is my war cry to you, fellow marketer. I live in a country where engineering skills are more appreciated than salesmanship. It is a common joke in Finnish universities that those who spent their first year partying go study marketing, and later to work in marketing.

In Finland people who are fascinated by facts and measurable sciences usually study finance or engineering – but not marketing. In my experience marketing subject appeals to those who like big ideas, theories and intangibles. I want to change that.

Before the year 2000 things were different. Earlier marketing managers and their advertising agencies celebrated their TV and print ad campaigns. When sales grew, the clever campaign earned advertising awards.

When sales came down during the ad campaign, agencies invented new ways to measure success: brand familiarity and awareness. “Brand is feeling, and it cannot be measured in money” was the new mantra. And again, marketing directors and agencies popped bubbling wine to celebrate as the new metrics grew. But then something happened...

...A new comer started to gain ground – the internet took off. Unlike any other media in the history, the reason why the internet was invented – was not to make money, but to connect people and make information sharing easier. I don’t have to tell you that it didn’t take long for companies to spot its potential. It makes sense to advertise where lots of people spend time. And soon online services financed by advertising like Google and Facebook started to flourish. Popularity of the web wasn’t the only change that threw marketers and agencies off balance.

The internet and three major changes facing marketers

Online you can measure the results of your advertising per every cent you spend: who saw your ad, how many clicked the ad, who bought your product after they clicked, and who bought it two weeks later? This changed three things in marketing and media:

One, your return on marketing investment (ROMI / ROI) can be measured more accurately than ever before.

Two, your advertising needs to make people act now – not after 18 month multi-million brand advertising circus.

Three, the business model of media changed. Instead of media coverage, online medias sell you clicks i.e. visitors to your web site, or you only pay for the results your advertising gets. That’s result-based advertising where media coverage is free and you only pay for results you get, such as orders or inquiries.

Publisher’s confession

Against common belief, the result based advertising model is not new. For decades newspaper and magazine publishers around the world have sold their media space to mail-order advertisers, who could prove that the order was made because of the coupon on the paper. The same model can be seen on music television where ring-tone advertisers pay for the orders that their TV ad gets. These companies get the coverage and media time for free.

With online advertising networks, the advertiser only pays for the results which the ad network brings in. The online ad networks – such as AdEffie, to whom I work for – have collected hundreds, sometimes thousands of popular web sites together to aim automatically your advertising to right people, in relevant content, at the right time, to produce you maximum amount of sales, inquiries, visitors or coverage for you. All the advertiser needs is a set of banners, and the online ad network does the rest.

Risk-free advertising?

You think that the concept of results based advertising would be easy to sell for marketers, but so far my experience in Finland has been opposite. Sure, there are savvy marketers who get the it at once (thank God for those clients) but the majority of companies are still living somewhere in 1990’s where accountability and marketing is not mentioned in the same sentence. Unfortunately, the socially skilled Chief Marketing Officer who spent their youth partying in college may be unable to handle the challenge of scientific advertising.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons why TV and print still gets the biggest part of the marketing director’s budget. It’s old and familiar – and without any guarantees of concrete results such sales. Albert Einstein put it well, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

To managers it’s useful information that advertising and media buying has become a risk-free investment which can be a powerful weapon in right hands. Here is my question to you: what should the marketer do in this changing world?

P.S. Subscribe to my blog via email CLICK HERE

Ad Man's Book Club: June 2010 Choice

How to Write a Good Advertisement

- Victor O. Schwab

I was skeptical about this book for months. Its green cover with a weird picture of an old computer keeps showing up if you browse advertising books on Amazon. I didn't think the book had much to offer. How wrong I was...

The author Victor Schwab worked 44 years in advertising. He is a hardened mail order man who counted sales from every direct-response ad he wrote.

Besides selling products for millions of dollars, he documented what worked and what didn't work in advertising. Schwab doesn't guess, he knows, thanks to the scientific methods of testing every element of the ads he created.

One time reading is a mere scratch on the surface of this 224 page book. The best way to read it, is to enjoy it bit by bit and let the information sink in slowly. There is simply too much cake for one sitting.

How to Write a Good Advertisement includes:

-List of 100 headlines proven to sell
-Psychological backgrounds of common buyer types and how you can influence them

-It answers whether negative or positive tone works better
-You learn the eight milestones to a sale
-How to design effective layouts
-And much more...

Curiously, the real secret of the author's success in advertising was to work harder than his peers. Victor Schwab openly suggest to his readers to do the same, if they also want to get ahead in their careers. My advice to get started on that path is to read the book.

How to Test Your Online Advertising

Do you know how to test your online advertising? Here's what little I know about testing your advertising. Testing tells you what works and what doesn't work.

Test big things. Don't guess – test. On the web testing is not about money. It's about knowledge.

Small differences in statistics are not enough to make an assumption. Just like in investing, the past doesn't guarantee your success in the future. Direct marketing is like gambling where you control the odds, but they are still odds.

It's easy to draw convincing curves of your expected response with your computer, but nothing happens until someone buys something.

What to test: The list* in its order of importance.

1. Target group/Segmentation
2. Positioning
3. Channel
4. Offer
5. Incentive
6. Strategy
7. Creative

*From the book Reinventing Direct and Interactive Marketing by Stan Rapp and his friends.

Notice anything strange on that list? I brought up this topic in my previous article Digital and Direct Marketing: Elements of Promotion, creative work ranks LAST in the order of importance.

If you aim to the right customers and make a good offer, you are almost there. Brilliant creative work can't save you if you don't reach the right people.

Now, it's tempting to say that creative doesn't matter, but it does. Bill Bernbach once said, "Properly practiced creativity can make one ad do the work of ten." Amen.

Digital and Direct Marketing: Elements of Promotion

"I have never tried to be original in my life." –Mozart

I believe in stealing ideas. What works in one country often works in another country too. It's much easier to use time-tested methods than to re-invent the wheel every time – especially in marketing. Inspired by Mozart here we go.

Bob Stone and Ron Jacobs, the authors of Successful Direct Marketing Methods, say there are five elements of promotion. Here they are with their weight in a direct marketing program:

• List / Media 40%
• Offer 20%
• Layout / Format 15%
• Copy 15%
• Timing 10%

The traditional elements of a direct marketing program are list/media 40%, offer 40% and creative 20%. Because we live in a world where everything can be measured, I recommend the more detailed approach. But don't fall in love with numbers – only measure things relevant to you.

Most people make the mistake to focus on the creative side rather than finding answer that has weight in the scale. If you compare the old and new approach you will notice that creative gets only 20-30% of the weight – while picking the right media with a good offer brings 60-80% of the success of your marketing program.

By the way, I'm sorry that I haven't been writing to you as much as usually during the past three months. I will try to write more.

I'm proud to announce that lately I have been pushing forward our new business AdEffie online advertising network in Finland. In the past weeks I have got many new clients – including Reader's Digest.


Until next time,

Timo

Ad Man's Book Club: May 2010 Choice

Writing That Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business - Kenneth Roman and Joel Raphaelson

"It's the Strunk and White of the business world" promises the cover.

I read The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White, after Matti Apunen, editor in chief of Aamulehti (Finland's second largest newspaper) recommended it to me when I asked him how to write better.

This article should be a triumph for both books, but because we are both in a hurry, let's focus today on Writing That Works.

You may be surprised how much you write. Today emails, Twitter and Facebook force you to write much more than you would have ten years ago – and it's public. How many emails do you send daily? How people see you based on your emails?

Here is my point. You will be judged based on your writing more and your physical presence less. While people skills are probably the most important skills you will ever need in life, today, it is your writing in business that people judge before you get to meet them.

Think about what Google does. It's a master at scanning and understanding text. For Google, pictures are still secondary. If over 90 per cent of business starts from a Google search, how important is your written material?

Let's boldly assume that you are now just a little more motivated to learn how to improve your writing. Writing That Works is just the right tool for you. It's clear, easy to read and has less than 200 pages.

Writing That Works will teach you how to write:

• Presentations that move ideas to action
• Memos and letters that get things done
• Plans and reports that make things happen
• Fund-raising and sales letters that produce results
• Resumes and letters that lead to interviews
• Speeches that make a point

Why should you listen to these authors?

Kenneth Roman is former Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide. Joel Raphaelson is former Executive Creative Director of the same company. After David Ogilvy finished writing Ogilvy on Advertising, he sent it to Joel with a note saying: "Please improve".

By the way, a good to way improve your writing is to read more.

You can get Writing That Works from Amazon

8 Ways How to Write Better

1. Clear headlines. 80 per cent of your readers decide based on your headline whether to read your message or not.
2. Brevity. Use short simple words. For example, pick the word Use over Utilize. Make sure that everyone understands you. Winston Churchill says, "Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all."
3. Use numbered lists to tie your text together. Numbers make your message faster to read and easier to refer to.
4. Don't write when you can say it in person.
5. Does your writing sound like a real person talking? It should. Write the way you speak. I hope you don't speak the way most people write.
6. Learn your grammar. My grammar is horrible, I know. But at least I'm working on it.
7. Use sub-headings to make your long texts easier – and more interesting – to read.
8. End your message with a call to action. Make it clear exactly what you want your reader to do. I.e. "Can you comment this by the end business on Friday?"
And here's one little suggestion more for you – keep studying. The best resource I know about copywriting is here.

"Why Salesmanship Matters Today More Than Ever Before"

Why salesmanship matters

1. We have moved from advertising simple commodities like washing powder to more complex services and products which require greater salesmanship skills to persuade people to use them.

2. Today the customer has a wider selection of choices and competition is tougher than ever before – and the situation isn't going to get easier.

3. The results of your advertising can be tracked down to every cent you spent.

4. It's almost frightening to think that on the internet your every click, minute and action is saved to some distant database. Whether that information is used or not is a different story, but it's there.

5. Companies have started to measure their marketing activities more. A new group of consultants have began to help clients to understand massive loads of online behavioral data. The next step is to use it. But how?

6. You need salesmanship to make people act. Even the fanciest graphics and analysis can't replace the fact that today you need to be better at selling than you were ten years ago. It's salesmanship, not statistics, that makes your prospects buy.

I think Rory Sutherland, vice chairman of Ogilvy Group UK, is one of the most interesting characters in advertising business today. Rory Sutherland's one of the latest videos is titled "Why Salesmanship Matters Really Matters" where he tells you interesting facts about advertising today. Click here to watch it.

If you want to learn more about how Rory Sutherland thinks, watch his TED Talk "Life lessons from an ad man" – You will learn how a group of naked supermodels could have solved a problem that an army of engineers, several years and billions of dollars couldn't.

How to Create Responsive Banner Ads

Yesterday I was watching videos from

"Direct marketing is any communication through any medium which reaches people directly, or where they respond directly."

Encouraged by the previous words – here's a part from the book called in it is titled

Testing has confirmed that following guidelines lead to banner ads that get the highest number of clicks:

• Keep it simple. Too much text, too many graphics, too many colors overload users and discourage them from clicking through.

• Show people. Banner ads that depict people that users can identify with get higher CTRs (Click-Through-Rate).

• Use clear qualifying language. The better the copy describes what a site is about, the better qualified the the person clicking through will be.

• Use a strong call to action. The call-to-click should define the main action(s) prospects are expected to take.

• Create a sense of urgency. Ask users to click now; no one can click on a banner once it's gone.

• Use the words "Click here" on the banner. Simple as it sounds, banner with "Click here" consistently pull better than banner ads without.

• Use color carefully. Look at the sites (if possible) where the banner ad will run and choose colors that will compliment the campaign objective on those sites.

• Use movement. It draws attention to the ad on an otherwise static page.

• Think of a banner ad as teaser copy for a Web site. 

• Use high production values. The cleaner and more professional a banner ad looks, the more credibility it conveys, and the higher the CTR will be.

• Test, test, test. Test new banner ads, new offers, new calls to action, new approaches, and rich media.

Stay tuned for more information about digital and direct marketing. If you didn't get enough, you may also read:

"Top 7 Mistakes on Performance Based Online Advertising in Finland – and How to Get Them Right"

This one is also worth reviewing (I didn't write it)

As always, please share these articles with your friends and colleagues. Sharing knowledge helps everyone.

[Want more online sales almost automatically? Try this new email marketing tool free.]