The Financial Post newspaper ran an interesting article on the morning of November 23rd titled, “More art than science.”

The article discusses the need for more companies to measure their marketing and look at their ROI. Wow, that’s a new idea!

I’m joking. In case you’re new to this blog, a quick review of past articles and you’ll know that the idea of marketing ROI as a must, isn’t new at all.

You can give the concept any name you like, direct marketing, direct-response, measurable, accountable, scientific advertising — call it whatever you like, but it’s been around for hundreds of years — and it’s what consistently builds the most efficient of successful businesses.

The article does provide an interesting statistic though…”almost half of the chief marketing officers surveyed felt accurate ROI data is hard to obtain.” Bullocks!

It’s only hard to obtain when you’re looking for it in the wrong places. Every year, testing, tracking and measuring marketing and advertising investments has become easier. For one, there are more tools available to automate this process. And two, with the rise of the internet (rise, is an understatement), the idea of ROI has become common sense — yet far too few practice it.

The article seems to be confusing two points. It makes measuring ROI seem like a one-time evaluation. That if a marketing campaign fails its first time off the block, it’s done - a failure.

And, when that same campaign pays off a year later, its success, the article concludes, comes from the campaigns creativity — and that clearly there is no value in measuring its ROI.

That’s all wrong. Marketers test. When they deliver a campaign, they are testing and measuring several aspects of it. When something works, they do more of it. When something doesn’t, they don’t give up; they test a change and keep making adjustments until the cash register starts singing.

There is one more problem with this article. A distinction that must be made…

…this article was not written with the small business in mind. Its examples, like most you find in the media, relate to corporations that have millions of dollars, and often much more, to spend on marketing and advertising each year. They can sustain years of ineffective marketing with brand awareness and brand building programs…paid for in part by shareholders money.

Small businesses don’t have that luxury. They must make every marketing investment count. They must know what is working, what isn’t, and why? Then go right to the heart of the problem and fix it.

And that’s why direct-response measurable marketing and advertising is so effective…and why serious business owners will take nothing, and have nothing less.

To your success,

Michael Zipursky
 

All around us, in almost every neighborhood throughout the world, millions of dollars sit, collecting nothing more than dust.

What could I be referring to?

Don’t be too surprised….

…Bee Oh Oh Kay Esu…BOOKS.

As a young kid I used to loathe books. In school, when we were assigned to read a book and write one of those dreaded ‘book reports”, I’d be the first to dash off to the library and find a Coles Notes, that summarized the book for me…so I didn’t have to read it.

I think the first book I ever read; from cover-to-cover at least, was The Godfather. That opened my eyes to the power of writing…since then I’ve read over a hundred books.
And while I love fiction books. I don’t make time to read them regularly. However, when I go on holiday, that’s my weapon of choice. There’s nothing like a Robert Ludlum plot to take the mind off, well, pretty much anything else.

Darn it, it’s been a long while since I’ve made the time for those cherished hours of exploring the galaxy of fiction. Why?  Because I’m constantly, actually, almost every day reading non-fiction books, reports, manuals, and other pages related to my business.

When I’m working on a client project there is always research to be done, facts to uncover, numbers to find. And the same goes for my own product and business development.

I Got Hit One Day

Years ago I was punched in the face by the realization that books are worth their weight in gold. Seriously, in that moment of realization I almost lost my breathe. Really, where else can you pay $10-$20, spend a day or week, and have soaked up what someone else has spent a year or two writing, and often a decade or more learning? Where else can you get fresh ideas, techniques, and lessons from the frontlines with detailed insider insights, for such a small price in both time and money?

That Is Beautiful

On my website I state that I’ve studied over 60 books related to my business. But a friend told me that’s not impressive. “Just sixty books, are you kidding? I’ve read hundreds of books.” So I asked him, “Do you take notes when you read each book? Do you make an effort to apply at least one idea from that book directly to your business or life right away? Can you summarize the main lesson and idea from each book?” He was left speechless. And then we both laughed. And then he said, “I’ve read them, but they just sit on my bookshelf.”

That’s common. We read books, feel like we’ve gained so much knowledge, and then put them on our bookshelves.

How many books have you read twice?

When I say I’ve studied over 60 books on marketing, advertising, business strategy, and copywriting…I mean I’ve read each of those books more than once. I keep them handy and open them up on a regular basis. I refer to them. I’ve made notes from them. I’ve used their ideas to bring new profits to my clients’ and my business.

And I guess, that’s what I’m trying to say….books are immensely valuable.

But don’t be satisfied that you’ve read a book and that now you can add it to your library — mission accomplished? I think not.

Hey if it’s your hobby…power to you.

But, if you really want to blow past your competition, not step, but leap to new levels of success, then I implore you to study books, not just read them.

Treat them as gold and you will get gold in return. They always have been, and always will be, one of the best investments you can make.

Think about it…$20 to learn what it took someone a lifetime to master.

To your success,
Michael

A friend just the other day told me he envies smokers.

Why’s that I asked? Because they can get up, walk away from their desk and go outside for a ’smoke break’ anytime they want and not a single soul would think they’re slacking, he said.

He went on, “And for those of us that don’t smoke, if we got up several times throughout the day to sit outside and relax, we’d get dumped on for taking ‘too much time off’”

Gosh I’m glad I don’t have to sit at a corporate desk all day. But this got me thinking.

That break smokers take is great. Sure, not so for their lungs, but for their minds.

Too many people get clued to their desks, or run frantically around all day…without taking the time to just stop. STOP!!

Breathe.

Whatever is going on in your life, during that day, make sure you take time to stop.

 Find time to ’smoke air.’

Why is this so important? From personal experience I can say that some of my biggest and best ideas have come, not when I’m sitting in my office writing or strategizing, but when I’ve been talking a walk, relaxing on a train ride, or even in the shower.

To avoid taking too many random breaks…in the hope that you’ll get struck with a great idea each time…this is how I’ve found it to work best…

Whatever I’m doing, whether it is crafting a year-long marketing strategy or writing an ad for a client, or writing a report, or working on my book…I find it good to soak up the research or background information…whatever it is.

I take it in. I don’t fuss over the small details, but I get it in my head. Once it is in, then I’m off. To the gym, for a walk, to shower, or to sleep, again it doesn’t matter. But giving my brain that time to relax works wonders.

All of a sudden you’ll find your mind going back to that information you soaked up…analyzing, grinding, and then it happens. A great idea for an offer, a better title for that book, an additional product that will double your income from that next project….it just pops out.

I don’t know the science of how this works…I’m fascinated to find out why it does. But it does and has hundreds of times.

So if you don’t smoke and even if you are stuck at a corporate desk, allow yourself to take breaks and ’smoke air’ it’s good for you.

To your success,

Michael Zipursky

As an advocate of direct-response money making advertising, my bones shudder when what I’m being sold really isn’t what the ad or salesperson makes it out to be.

A RECENT EXAMPLE
Two months back I decided to become more active in managing my financial investments.

I’ve had investments for years, but for the most part I ’sat on my hands’ and let them do their thing.

But one morning I woke up and decided I’d shave a small corner from my holdings to ‘dabble’ with on my own.

I found a trading service that I could ‘trust’ and dropped in a small chunk of change.

What got me to put my money with them? A friend has been using them to manage his money and I’ve seen them around for a while.

NOW HERE WE GO

They also advertised trades at $9.95 and if you sign up now you get 100 free trades for free. Yeah! I like that. That’ll be more than a year of trades, for free,” I thought.

A day later I sent in my application and a few days after that got an email to start trading.

Excited I logged into my account only to find out that unless I put in $50,000 I can say goodbye to the $9.95 trades - they are now $19.95 each.

No matter, I have those 100 free trades to get me started, right? WRONG.

I’m told I’d have to drop in $30,000 minimum to qualify for that.

Naturally I’m disappointed. What they ’sold me on was a fake.

That’s not 100% true. They did list all this information on their site. I just didn’t squint hard enough and for long enough to read it all…woof.

If you’ve ever made a claim to bring new customers in or ‘make the sale’ by ‘hiding’ certain aspects of your offer, be prepared. This kind of advertising and marketing always comes back to bite you on the butt.

Most buyers despise being ‘tricked’ into the sale. Yes, maybe you made the sale and reaped a profit, but you won’t ever again, not from them.

Remember, you’re not in the business game; you’re in the relationship building game. If you can’t build strong relationships with your customers…you’re gone-baby-gone.

Plus, you can expect that those customers that feel cheated won’t keep quite. They’ll tell their friends and people they meet how they feel about you at every chance they get.

That’s why so many companies make big profits for a short time and then disappear and become statistics.

So I warn you, when you make claims, follow through with them. Or make it perfectly clear for your customer so they know what to expect.

And what about my investment money? While I first planned to put in a small amount and follow it up with larger chunks, I’m now holding back. I’ve paused to see what else there is out there. And this company has potentially lost what could have become a long-term loyal patron. What a shame.

To your success,

Michael Zipursky