Why all your marketing should be direct response marketing

Understanding direct response marketing is critical to your business' success. The title is usually reserved for businesses who sell their products by mailing an offer to list of prospects but I'm here to tell you why you need to make direct response principles part of all your marketing.

First, let's look at the name – direct response – that indicates that when you send prospects marketing material you should receive a direct response. I'm here to tell you all your marketing should be doing that.

If you put an ad in the paper don't you want people to ask for more information? If prospects are visiting your website don't you want them to raise their hands to show interest? Every marketing action you take should receive an action... but are you asking for it?

The danger of brand marketing

Big companies spend millions of dollars a year trying to get consumers to remember (and sometimes even purchase from) their brand. While it's easy to see the success of big companies and try to copy their strategies they simply won't work for our businesses.

As a business owner, brand advertising is simply unadvisable... even if you have millions of dollars to throw around. You want marketing that leads to sales... now! After all, wouldn't you prefer to build your brand by making more sales than your competitors?

"Make them an offer they can't refuse"

The main concept behind direct response marketing is making an offer to your prospects e.g. if you contact me I'll give you this.

It may be more information or have them actually purchase the product right there and then. It doesn't matter as long as you're making the prospect take action. You just have to decide what that action is beforehand.

The 6 principles of direct response

While each of these principles could have a book written on it, here they are in short form so you can immediately start using them in your marketing:

1. An irresistible offer – As above
2. A compelling headline – Grab their attention
3. A focus on benefits – Tell them what's in it for them
4. A watertight guarantee – Take the risk away
5. Believable proof e.g. testimonials – Back up your claims
6. A deadline – Make them act now

Simply add these 6 elements to your marketing and watch the response... you'll never go back to brand marketing again.