Niche Marketing
Mass Delusion and Other Good Marketing Ideas
One of the very critical techniques that I have used in my mail order ads is a process called “linking.” Basically, it is the technique of relating what the consumer already knows and understands with what you are selling, to make the new product easy to understand and relate to.
One of the easiest examples of this trigger is to explain how it works in a fad. A fad is simply a craze that usually captures the public’s consciousness and quickly creates strong demand, awareness or behavioral changes.
The demand can be for a product such as for the Beanie Babies in 1998 or the citizen band (CB) radios back in the ’70s. It can be simply the strong awareness of a product or concept, such as the Viagra craze in 1998, or it can be for behavioral changes, such as women throwing away their bras during the women’s liberation movement of the late ’60s.
The Power Of Controversy Marketing, Part II
Disagreeing With An Expert.
If there’s one thing that will get people to open up their eyes and ears is when you disagree with someone who is seen as a noted expert in their field. Just the other day I was reading an email that was promoting an internet marketing product. The email claimed that a specific internet marketing guru was wrong when he said that making money with Google’s adsense program was “dead.”
That sparked a controversy that got a lot of people talking about this new product. Here are some experts in our society that many people respect and whose ideas and beliefs are held to be true.
The Power Of Controversy Marketing, Part I
Over time, people tend to assume certain things are just a fact and they accept them as such. When someone comes along challenging that long held belief, it creates a controversy.
For instance, it was believed for many years that the earth was flat. When one man came along named Christopher Columbus, who proved that to be false. It created quite a controversy and everyone began to know who Christopher Columbus was.
What are some other longstanding beliefs that can be challenged…
1. Getting a college education will help you make a lot of money.
2. To be successful you have to work extremely hard.
Raising Dirty Laundry Up a Flag Pole
Picture this. You’re talking to a prospect, trying to sell him or her a product when deep inside you know that the product has a flaw in it. Let’s say it is the worst-looking product you could possibly offer. Furthermore, it has a stupid name. Even worse, you normally sell the most advanced-looking products—ones that win awards for their beauty, design and technology—and this one is plain ugly.
That’s exactly the challenge I faced when I offered a thermostat made by a small company in the Detroit area. The Magic Stat name was not very memorable, the plastic case looked cheap and the entire unit looked like it was a throwback to Thomas Edison.
Lessons From The Vice Squad, Part I
It’s no secret among top marketers that some of the smartest salesmen are con-artists. I do NOT suggest you get involved in any sort of unethical project... and, in fact, I hope you rot in hell if you do.
However... you cannot afford to ignore the outrageously-accurate knowledge of human behavior that is the stock and trade of the conman. (And I include politicians as well as multilevel marketers in this category.) The same charm tactics used by the cad to steal hearts can also be used by the nice guy to win his soul-mate. And the compelling sales pitch used to sell worthless junk will work just as well selling your honest-to- God hot stuff products.
4 Simple Promotional Ideas (Dan Kennedy)
This was a great example of how anyone can succeed in promoting their business by following these four simple ideas:
#1: Worry less about image than everybody else does.
#2: Write like you would talk - selling face-to-face, person-to-person.
#3: Be friendly, not stuffy
#4: Be courageous.
As a final comment on this subject, I'd like to encourage you to really work at putting together good direct marketing campaigns for your business. Don't just hastily throw something together or just wholesale copy an idea you got from these emails.
It takes time, effort, research and sweat to make direct marketing work. One friend of mine in the business forces himself to write at least fifty different possible headlines for the same ad before settling on the best one.
