Taken from the front of Jeff Dobkin's book, "Successful Low Cost Direct Marketing Methods"

Successful Low Cost Direct Marketing Methods
A Handbook of Highly Effective Marketing and Direct Marketing Methods

If you have an idea or product to market, you’ve come to the right book. This manual is magic. This book shows you step by step one of the most effective ways to market a product with little money. No experience is necessary. And no selling phone calls are needed - ever.

New ways to immediately start marketing are discussed in depth. A how-to guide makes your marketing and advertising more effective. The book is rich with ideas presented with exceptional clarity, in an easy to understand and easy to use fashion.

Unique campaigns are presented with explicit directions on how to adapt them to your own products. Where to discover new markets, and how to explore them. How to enhance your own current campaigns and make them work harder.

Discover procedures for exploring new markets; learn the rules for increasing response, including the reasons behind them. It’s quite simple, really. If you have product, you can begin marketing it right now. Instructions are all included in this reference text. If this sounds like your dream I assure you it can be your reality. This book shows you how to achieve it - step by step. Anyone can do it.

Every product has an inventor. Just look around - everything you see was at one point a thought, a glimmer in a person’s imagination. Some people worked hard and long to get their product or ideas to the marketplace, some had assistance and expertise from people who have done it. Some people hit a home run the first time they stepped up to the plate. Through these pages I’ve tried to increase your batting average, and make sure you’re on the scoreboard as soon as possible, at the least cost.

Money is not the determining factor of the successful marketing of a product. If it was, Euro Disney and New Coke would be knee deep in profits. You just need a product or idea, a plan easy enough to implement so you will, and some perseverance. Throughout the book I have outlined in a clear and precise manner exactly what to do, and what steps to follow.

Don’t let your early sales attempts be misdirected. Don’t follow the path of so many who plan for failure: calling a dozen or so firms, then when no one buys their product, they give up. Having counseled many individual entrepreneurs, start-up firms, young firms, and small, medium and large businesses, I understand completely how devastating a few early sales rejections can be. It’s very tough talking to people on the phone and having them say “no” to your sales pitch time after time - to a product you invented, are developing or marketing.

Ask any sales person - you’ve got to knock on a lot of doors to make a sale. For every “Yes” you may get a hundred “No thank you’s.” Sounds pretty dismal, doesn’t it? Or does it? One positive response out of a hundred sounds like a winner to me. Kindly remember, a 1% response rate in direct mail marketing may be all you need to become very rich, very fast.

This book is based upon my founding principle of Multiple Exposure Marketing. It concentrates on finding qualified prospects through both established and nontraditional direct marketing strategies. Following up by a planned sequence of multiple exposures to your best prospects. All without a single selling phone call.

Through skillfully planned marketing as demonstrated in this reference manual, your customers will raise their hand and come to you. I accept the fact there are thousands of people who aren’t interested in your product. Fine. They won’t call. There will be thousands of people who definitely will be interested in your product. And they will call. This is the way the campaigns in this book are designed. Use the step-by-step techniques to initiate the campaigns, and interested customers will step forward.

The enclosed method of marketing doesn’t use any telephone selling. From the privacy of your own home or office you can initiate entire campaigns without a single phone call. So in case you have call reluctance, don’t like the phone, or fear call rejection and getting the “no’s” most salesmen get paid to hear, you won’t hear any. Non-selling telephone campaigns are included for those who don’t mind telephone work.

When you market a product, there are only a few moves you can make that are the most effective, the most profitable. Fortunately, with their correct selection they can be very, very effective. They are the basis of every marketing program I have ever written. Here they are.

~ Overview ~

Getting Results from Free Press

Generating publicity: Publicity is not just for the rich; the media responds to any well planned and executed campaign. What is it? How do you get it? How do you generate it? The specifics: how to get maximum free press coverage - and get written-up in as many magazines as you would like.

A press campaign is simple to understand. A press release is a short description of your product typed on a sheet of plain paper or letterhead. It is sent with a photo of your product to editors of newspapers and magazines. When published, it appears as a short story written by the publication, plus the photo.

The statement “everyone loves new products” includes newspaper and magazine editors. I don’t know of any who don’t welcome a well presented new idea or product. The pages of some publications are comprised of as much as 80% press material.

By reading this book, your chance of sending a publication a press release and having them publish it is unusually good: maybe 80%. If you’d like to see your idea or product write-up printed in a magazine - for free - the press release is the vehicle to do it, and the chapter on consistently getting free press is the way to go about it.

From the free write-up you receive, you’re likely to get a few orders, plus lots of leads and inquiries: people expressing interest in buying your product or service, or at least receiving more information. Depending on the type of inquiry you receive, you’ll respond with a direct mail package to entice them to buy. If you follow the outline of the press release plan, you can get multiple free write-ups, and get more inquiries than you ever thought possible at almost no cost. The direct mail chapter then shows you how to prepare effective mailings to these inquirers.

The beauty of a press release: the only cost is the sheet of paper it’s written on, the photo, the envelope and the postage to send it. Unlike an ad that you write, design, typeset, lay out, and purchase magazine space for, a press release is run for free.

Bad news: Since the write-up from a press release in a magazine is free, as you can imagine lots of individuals and firms send press releases. Good news: Surprisingly this can work in your favor. Most press releases are not to the specifications the editors would like, and because of this are unsuitable for publication.

When following the guidelines in this book for submitting press releases, your press release has the same opportunity for review and publishing as one sent by General Motors. If properly prepared and sent with a nice letter, your chances of having it published in the magazine may be even greater. Yes, even if you work from your home or a small office. I can’t tell you how many brilliant new businesses have started this same way. Everyone likes new ideas, and most innovative ideas come from entrepreneurs and smaller companies.

Writing press releases • Writing style • Design and layout • Photo Releases • Rules for correct presentation • Why follow these rules? • Targeting the releases to the correct editor • The editorial selection process • How to increase your chances of having your release printed • Actual campaign to have the best possible chance of getting it printed in your top 12 favored magazines • How to write an effective release, one that won’t have the benefits edited out • Timing • Marketing campaigns using only free press • Submitting press releases • Getting maximum exposure • Writing benefit oriented releases to maximize response. Don’t risk writing or sending a press release until you read this chapter of specific instruction and insights.

Direct Mail

The longest, most in-depth chapter in the book to market a product or service.

Direct mail enhances all other marketing campaigns. It’s also the lowest cost way to enter most markets. Costs for direct mail campaigns can be well under a dollar to reach each of your very best prospects, on a one-to-one personal level, several times. You can aim an entire campaign with precision, with virtually no wasted advertising expense.

What are the important parts of a direct mail campaign? Which elements work the hardest inside your mailing package? Which parts of the package do you really need? And which ones don’t you need when confined with a tight budget constraint? The results may surprise you: a simple series of letters may be the key to selling your biggest accounts. No fancy brochures may be necessary. Just the precise aim of a very targeted campaign of a series of letters. If you can write a letter, you can be successful in direct mail. If you can’t, you can learn how to from this book. Or you can copy the model letters in this book and use them. Letters are included to help you market your product to catalogs, to your largest accounts, and to your biggest potential customers.

Effective campaigns on a limited budget using almost no money • Letters as direct mail vehicles • Copy for letters and flyers • The creative package • The offer • Pricing your product • Tricks of the trade • Limited time offers • Lift notes • Setting shipping and handling fees • Increasing order size • Envelope teaser copy - getting your package opened or thrown out? It’s up to you • Informational data sheets • Long copy vs. short copy • Lists - specifications, selection of lists for you to mail to, how to sell your own list • Catalog campaign, how to get your product in catalogs, where to find catalogs in the specific markets you select • How to submit your product for the best chance to have it included in a catalog.

Marketing

What the heck is marketing, anyhow? If you’re not sure what exactly marketing is, you’re not alone. The shortest definition I can think of runs just five words, marketing means “Selling to a defined group.” Sales means selling to anyone. When you narrow your selling effort down to a targeted audience, that’s marketing.

In a broader based business meaning, marketing includes everything you do to sell the product, and get it to the purchaser. So it includes pricing, packaging, distribution, advertising, press releases - everything. In the marketing chapter, we’ll discuss marketing in the sense of finding the people who want or need your product. This is direct marketing, as addressed in this book.

Once you have defined who the people are that want or need your product, the marketing chapter shows how to find them. We’ll find groups of prospects who are the most likely to become purchasers.

Let’s take an example. If you have a product that water skiing enthusiasts will love, the marketing chapter will show you in clear and direct terms, an easy way to find water skiers, instructors, boat owners, water ski shops and marinas. Let’s not stop there - let’s find people who rent slips for their boats, jet ski owners & licensed boat captains. Obtain names of competitors in water ski events, and find people who have boat licenses. Let’s compile ship supply store owners, and property owners with boat docks. You’ll find campaigns to get your product into water ski catalogs, power boat accessory catalogs, and see if mailings to their recent purchasers will pay off. This is just to start.

Here’s an unusual statement. (You might want to check this out right now to see if this really can be done.) Without any experience, using the methods outlined, it’s possible to find all the people in your specific target markets in a single evening. Then the next day create a press release and send it to all the magazines in their target markets. Don’t believe this can be done? Check it out - you have the book in your hands.

If you have a product that sheet metal workers will buy, or football players need, or florists can use - all these groups are easy to find, following the step by step instructions included. Any group you can define you can find.

I’ve taken a lot of marketing classes, read tons of books on marketing, and have counseled many clients on marketing. I’ve even presented classes on marketing. What I’ve learned is that everyone has their own ideas about how to market - and I can’t argue with any way that makes you money, as long as it’s within the realm of legality and good taste. In this book there are methods that will work for you, and there are strategies that will supplement and enhance your own marketing methods. They’re plentiful. Complement your own style with these programs. And make your own selling method work even harder with the principles found on these pages.

Use this book to enhance your current campaigns to become additionally successful. Discover more ways to find new prospects, low cost ways to enter new markets, and increase your client base inexpensively.

If you have a product, this book shows you - step by step - how to find the people who are
most likely to purchase your product, then several methods of how to reach these groups at an exceptionally low cost.

Marketing Through Magazines

Magazines give you wide reach to a market, but no depth. Ads give you big numbers of possible readers, but the very format sometimes makes a harder hitting sales tool (such as a direct mail piece) necessary to give prospects a more in-depth sales pitch. But to reach the numbers, the magazines are a great start.

Once you have identified your audience, you’ll learn how to find all the different magazines serving those industries in the Marketing Through Magazines chapter. How to use the magazine reference books for this purpose, and the advantages of each are shown. You’ll see which manuals to use where, and how to use them more efficiently. Searching for your markets will be narrowed down to about an evening at the library; it will be time well spent.

This is the chapter that shows you how to do all your marketing in one evening, and how to execute the complete press release campaign the following day. In addition, you’ll find the specifics of negotiating with the magazines for a good rate, and good ad position. This placement strategy is simple, and the rules follow logic and common sense. What to say, and exactly when to say it, will help even the first time buyer of magazine space sound like a professional. Finally, how to pinpoint the magazines in which you’d like your ads to appear - out of the sea of magazines serving your markets. It’s easy once you follow these procedures and tips.

Marketing Through Magazines shows you specifically what easy-to-use reference tools are available in any library - to quickly learn the marketing function.

How to define your Markets: figure out who you are going to sell to and where they are • Where and how to reach them • Easiest to use marketing reference tools, and the characteristics of each • How to use marketing references most effectively the first time you see them • Additional services they provide • Defining your markets • Pick your most likely target audience from potential markets • Primary, secondary, and tertiary markets • Different industries serving each of your markets • Specific magazines that address your target industries • Assessing each industry • Assessing the magazines serving those industries • Tightening the list of markets and magazines when you are getting serious • Good advertising and press months • Bad months to advertise • How and when to negotiate for ad space costs and position • Don’t miss the one evening marketing plan • The execution of the entire PR plan the following day • How to analyze the magazines serving each market

Ads

The logical progression from a successful press release campaign is to start looking at magazines for the placement of an ad. Find the magazine that has the very best chance for your success. Generate some sales from the ad directly, then send direct mail literature (from the direct mail chapter) to people who have inquired, which will generate additional sales.

How to create an ad that generates the maximum response is easier than you think - whether you do this yourself or give it to an ad agency. Either way, how to achieve better direct response effectiveness is addressed in depth. Make sure your ad will absolutely positively be the most effective it can be.

Making the ad yourself • Ad size considerations • Ad design • Rough and tight comprehensives, final mechanical • Writing the headline • Writing the body copy • Finalizing your ad • Most important part of an ad • Marketing with free gifts and premiums • Qualifying the respondents • Setting Response Parameters • Qualifications of each type of response • Qualifying the response you want to receive • Generating the response you are looking for • Lead generation vs. Direct orders • Make sure your ad will be 1. Effectively written - to receive the most response 2. Placed in the best possible magazine 3. Run in the most effective month; that 4. Ad space is purchased at the maximum discount you can get 5. Appears in the best position in the magazine

Plus: How to find a good agency. Some agencies are like boats - they are large holes into which you endlessly throw money. Some have never had a campaign for a client that made money for anyone besides the agency. They all look good up front. This is how you pick one out correctly, the first time.

The Ultimate Campaign

Using what you have learned in the other chapters, you are encouraged to create a
winning sales campaign aimed at your best markets and your 100 (or 1,000) best prospects. As incredible as it sounds, is how incredible this campaign works. All you need is your idea or product, and to follow this step-by-step plan for an excellent marketing campaign.

You’ll be able to introduce any product to any industry, to any marketplace nationally. Conduct a comprehensive multi-industry marketing campaign that addresses both a media campaign and multiple contacts to your 100 best and largest prospects. Note that there are NO TELEPHONE SALES PHONE CALLS used in this campaign. Wage an unusual print campaign based on my own proven marketing methods; use the same materials in any industry or market; sign on new inquirers into the same program at any time. It’s a formatted, systematic program that can be expanded or reduced according to your needs.

There are hundreds of different ways to sell or market products. I have presented an easy to follow step-by-step method of finding and reaching people who need your products, then producing meaningful sales. It’s a formula you can duplicate and use over and over to repeat your success with every new product and idea.

Ideas are presented for your immediate use. Implement campaigns to get new customers and increase your depth of exposure in your current markets. Then add new markets you’ve resisted entering because of the unusually high market entry costs. Get more customers and reorders. Get more and more catalog houses offer your product, so you can sit back and get checks in the mail. I’ve seen it happen to clients, and it can happen to you.

Learn hundreds of tips, tricks, and inside information about marketing that are presented in a clear, easy to understand style of writing. Step by step instructions on how to be effective in bringing a new product to market. Read this book in a few nights of enjoyable reading. Read it again and again for the wealth of information. Keep it as a valuable resource in marketing.

You don’t need anything to start but an idea, a product, or a service, and the desire to make it happen. Call if I can be of any help: 610/642-1000 rings on my desk.

Please drop me a note if you like–or dislike–this book, or have any criticism or suggestions. It’s only through your feedback that I can make the next edition better and more effective. I hope you enjoy this marketing reference tool and make good use of these marketing and direct marketing techniques. Feel free to write me (jeff@dobkin.com) anytime with questions or comments. If you would like a full table of contents, please email me with this request. Thanks.