Hello,
I am looking to improve my marketing and increase my response rates. I have read Big Cheese’s post and the testimonials she has on her website where people claim to have 10%-20% return. This is an outragiously high return for a direct marketing campaigns and I want to hear from actual users if they can confirm these results and which of her product did you buy?
I have not used her services, so I can’t answer your question the way that you want.
However, my wife and I have previously run a very successful online marketing business for over eight years, and there is little doubt that good copy usually pays for itself many times over. So, if you already know that your copywriting skills are not awesome, you can probably pick up some response points by either paying to learn how to improve or hiring someone–a real professional, mind you–to do it for you.
Now, as for 20% response rates…these are achievable only when the list is either super-deluxe targeted and/or the list is very small. So, do people get these response rates? Sure, absolutely. Are they probably mailing a hundred letters? Maybe less? Yeah, probably.
I mean, if I pick five really great properties that I know need my services and hand-write them a letter, I am pretty sure one of them will call me. That’s a 20% return…point being, take those metrics with a grain of salt.
Thanks for the response Paul!
If the response of 10%-20% is for real, then mailing 100 is equivelent to running 1000-2000 pieces in the traditional response rate so it is viable. Copywriting wise, I have purchased marketing materials from multiple sources and Dan Kennedy’s course.
What I am still lacking is a solid marketing plan that would keep predictable flow of leads. My target is by end of year/next year to have enough leads to be able to close one to two deals a month.
So far, my returns have been unpredictable and I have not been able to keep a good flow of leads.
There is little doubt in my mind that a targeted list of 100 people is as good or better than an untargeted list of 2,000.
At the end of the day, though, it’s all about cost per lead.
If you get 20 leads from the small list (a 20% response) and you spent $1,000 on the mailing ($50 per lead), that would still be less cost-effective than spending $1,000 on the larger list and getting a 2% response ($25 per lead).
Of course, you’ll spend less on postage and materials with the smaller mailing, but if you’re handwriting letters or spending a lot of time putting the list together, you have to count the value of that time, too. If you have all the time in the world, though (meaning you’re not that busy), then the value of that time is minimal.
Sounds like we both have the same problem…how to develop a steady stream of leads. My business seems to ebb and flow. Some weeks it’s red-hot, and some weeks I can’t find a deal to save my life.
I think you just have to keep looking for deals using all of the various methods until you see what methods have the lowest cost per lead while being scaleable on an ongoing basis. As for me, I’m starting to consider some of the more “auto-pilot” approaches such as cable TV, mobile billboards, and phone-book (yellow page) advertising.
What things are you doing that seem to be working well?
What worked best for me was a 3x4 display ad on the front page of a weekly free circulation. It was placed by mistake on the front page and pulled a good 5-10 calls a day. Once it went inside, it pulled absolutely nothing. The problem is that there is a back order on the front page and I can’t get back on the front page. Also, at the time I ran my ad, I was a total newbie and did not know how to close deals so they went to waste.
I found a lengthy ad in the daily paper to work also, but the cost is prohibitive at this stage. I think the budget I am throwing on my display ad can pull better results doing something else.
I also found the “yellow letter” approach to work. I mailed preforeclosures and was getting 2-5% return, but it is a hit or miss since Texas has 21 days process and at $1500/month marketing, I stopped it for now.
I just mailed out 3,000 post cards to a farm area. I will hit them 5 times 3 weeks a part. Hopefully I can get a deal or two from them.
My goal is a solid 1-2 deals a month. I will increase my marketing once I get and sell some houses.