![\"Marketing](\"http:\/\/blog.feedthebeast.biz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/new_letter.jpg\" "\\"Marketing")
<\/a>The two most successful ways to achieve marketing breakthrough are: spend a gazillion dollars, and\/or be really clever. The nice thing about clever is that it doesn\u2019t have to cost a lot, and it\u2019s not that common, so it stands out more.<\/p>\nClever means making your prospect smile, or think, or marvel. Clever is often a little less branded, than more branded \u2013\u00a0using mystery or intrigue to get your prospects into your tent, and saving the branding for once they’re there. Clever is a persuasion sequence that moves a prospect from curiosity to action. The best clever is personalized.<\/p>\n
Mailing a simple door key with a cryptic URL “WhatIsTheKey.com?JoeSmith<\/span>” will more often produce higher response rates than you are used to seeing from any kind of mailing (email or otherwise). We’ve seen response rates as high as 70% within three days of these kinds of direct mailings, where the mailing sends prospects to a well-thought-out landing page. Those numbers are spectacular by any measure.<\/p>\n “Direct mail? Really?” Think about it. The world has moved to email. When done well, intriguing direct mail can now stand-out better than ever before, and serve as a great opening bid to an ongoing relationship program.<\/p>\n “But direct mail costs too much!” It doesn’t have to. The mailing you see above cost under $1 per prospect, postage in. And here’s a thought… what if you identified your top 50 prospects\u00a0\u2013 those who, by all rights, should be your customers\u00a0\u2013 and just mailed them to start? Then proceeded in batches of the next “top 50” prospects, and so on. Do the math. This approach can be very affordable, and very effective.<\/p>\n Proof’s in the pudding. These are programs we’ve run using this approach…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n