Business owners are the target of so many advertising and marketing companies. Companies eager to extract their cash in exchange for “image building”… “brand awareness”… and other such almost-impossible-to-measure ” benefits.

Now, I’m not strictly against those terms. They can be, and ideally are, the by-product of good marketing & customer service. But if that’s all you’re getting…?

For the owner of a small to medium sized business, ideas like this will put them out of business damn quick. And that’s one reason why I’m such a fan of direct marketing websites, direct marketing emails and offline direct marketing campaigns.

Measurable results. Relatively low cost. The ability to test without being locked in to 6 month or 12 month advertisements.

But of all the traditional advertising and marketing schemes out there, surely few are more evil than the jingle.

Let me be clear – I hate jingles.

Just so there’s no confusion.

But why, you ask? Aren’t they a clever way of helping your ‘brand’ to be remembered by the public? Surely, this is a good thing?

Look, I don’t listen to the radio very much but when I do, there are a number of jingles which have me jumping for the controls to change the channel. I mean… really? Who writes these things? More over, who pays someone for the finished product, and actually thinks they’re good?!

The worst of the worst – “ABC Industries… helping people…” and other such meaningless trite. Who gives a rip? Who else are you going to help?

Or one I heard recently… “<brand name> Builders… building dreams… build your dream with <brand name> Builders>”

1. Yup.

Powerful stuff.

Clearly worth $10k – $20k plus air time.

Where do I sign…

Sorry for the rant. It just pains me to see business owners sinking good money into such crap! If you’re a business owner, and you’re seriously considering a jingle – even despite my ramblings – well, go ahead & do so on the following conditions:

1. You don’t need the money you’re about to “invest”. Wouldn’t notice it gone at all
2. You already have a great business and are not depending on the jingle to produce profits instantly (or ever)
3. Your wife / husband / partner said they will leave you, if you don’t get a jingle written

No proof of results. No guarantee that it will generate sales. Or that it won’t completely annoy the public

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In Part 1 of this series, I covered some of the ways you could use autoresponders to build your business automatically.

Now I’m going to reveal one of my secrets for writing effective sequences of emails for prospects. Specifically, these are people who have visited your website and requested information, but are yet to make a purchasing decision.

Here’s my formula:

1. Identify the biggest 4-6 problems that your target audience face today, which are solved by your product or service
2. Create a series of 6-8 emails (2 more than your identified number of problems)
3. The content of the emails is as follows (assuming 5 problems have been found:
   
   • Email 1: Introduction / overview of the 5 biggest <topic> problems faced by <target market> and how you can overcome them with the right <product / service type>
   • Email 2: Problem #1 – <Problem faced>
   • Email 3: Problem #2 – <Problem faced>
   • Email 4: Problem #3 – <Problem faced>
   • Email 5: Problem #4 – <Problem faced>
   • Email 6: Problem #5 – <Problem faced>
   • Email 7: Summary & call to action

4. Included inside each “Problem #” email are the following key points:
   
   • Easy-to-read, conversational copywriting. Wording such as, “What we’re finding is that a lot of businesses are grappling to deal with <specific issue>. Perhaps you’re in the same situation today. Well, the good news is that with the right <product / service>, these kinds of issues can be easily overcome… forever.” Remember the cliche (but cliche for a reason), “Advertising is salesmanship in print” as a guide
   • Language that resonates with your target market (i.e. industry jargon & references may likely be appropriate here to relate better to your target market)
   • An option to “speak with a human being” if they wish, rather than wait for future emails
   • A link to another video on the website which runs through an example of how the product / service overcomes this Problem
   • NO SELLING OF YOUR SPECIFIC PRODUCT OR SERVICE (other than what is said by OTHERS in testimonials… below) This is crucial, & many reading this will think I’m completely bonkers, blaspheming, or both. But hear me out – there is a lot of psychology behind this approach. At this stage of the buying cycle, you’re still establishing trust & getting the prospect comfortable with YOU and your COMPANY. Product comes after this… and price is last on the list!
   • One testimonial at the end that addresses the specific Problem being discussed. Eg, if the problem is “spending too much money”, your testimonial should explain how your customer saved $3,279 per month in just 3 months. It goes without saying these have to be real figures – you’re only hurting yourself if you fabricate these kinds of stats! You can use two or three testimonials if they’re relevant to the specific problem, but avoid stuffing the same testimonial in all emails (never repeat them in these emails if at all possible.)

5. The emails can be scheduled in your autoresponder program (such as Aweber.com) to go out every day consecutively, or there is an advanced approach I’ve discovered which seems to work even better (sorry, some things have to say a secret… you understand!)

The idea with this approach is to provide your prospects with a non-threatening way to get to know you and your company better, and the kinds of services / products you offer. Then, by the time they’re ready to make contact with you, they’re far more qualified & informed than if you “hit them up” with an order the moment they stumbled across your website.

So… is this all more work for you?

Damn straight.

Is it necessary in a negative, sceptical “been ripped off one too many times” world?

Absolutely.

Can someone else do it for you, so you don’t have to add anything more to your already over-flowing To-Do list?

Definitely. I can even suggest someone…

Until next time…

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