I would like to feature a project we have recently completed and discuss direct response marketing, and how to get your product on TV.  We recently completed the website, infomercial, and marketing for the following direct response product:

www.ElectronicLicensePlate.com

We hope the product will be a big seller - so our clients are happy and we are happy (of course).  Lets discuss some important components of a successful direct response online marketing campaign:

• Sex sells, be certain to use beautiful women and men in your marketing pieces.  BASICALLY: If your not using sexy women or men, your not marketing correctly.
• Testimonials, Testimonials, Testimonials….You need testimonials (video, pictures, and write-ups).
• Performance based marketing - Call us at 843-425-3566 or email Support@BannerBlindness.com to discuss how we can get your product on a CPA basis with major display advertising networks.  This type of advertising costs you nothing unless they sell one of your items.  Companies like BlueLthium recently acquired by Yahoo will advertise your products for FREE so long as they sell and you can offer them a competitive CPA (cost per action).
• Blogs - use a blog!  Blogs are dynamic websites that are easy to update and utilize in a guerilla marketing campaign.  So if you want other blogs and user generated media sites to link to you, you need to get them to you, and this is really only possible with a blog - thats because you blog about something that makes other blogs want to link to you (because you baited them).  This is a basic marketing (not advertising) principle - but very difficult to visualize and achieve.

Some marketing mistakes that direct response marketers make:

• They don’t use attractive males or females to push their products in videos and pictures.
• They don’t use testimonials, but an in-effective and unknown infomercial actor.
• They purchase CPM advertising without the use of an adserver and lose thousands.  Advertise on a PERFORMANCE basis and have a good tracking system in place to prevent advertising agency scrubs.
• Make it difficult to purchase an item.  So that means, offer your product for $4.95 - customer only has to purchase the shipping, and if not returned, you get billed the full amount.  But you can make people aware of the full shipping price by making them check of a terms and conditions box.  To see examples of this look at colon cleaning pills and weight loss patches/pills.

If you need a direct response marketing campaign and website created please call 843-425-3566 or email Support@BannerBlindness.com

I would prefer if you emailed myself and my staff will be traveling in India to meet with our outsourced employees and independent providers.

I recently came across this Dermitage facial rejuvenation and wrinkle reduction product. Ever since I was a young boy I have seen products being advertised that claim to reduce wrinkles. I can also recall my Grandmother applying these products, her wrinkles were never reduced, but she did smell like an old woman with wrinkle cream (I love you Grandmother!). Below are a screen shot of the banner and website I came across:

We can learn a great deal, from a marketing perspective, from the two pieces above. Firstly, the banner is a great marketing piece because it is shocking, interactive, and has a strong call to action. Secondly, the website is easy to navigate, has testimonials (it should have video testimonials) and immediately places a call to action on the top getting users to fill out their information. I assume that Dermitage is not advertising this product on a CPM basis, rather; a performance basis and giving the network a $20 - $40 CPA for every product sold. Many health related products (weight loss, skin, hair, etc…) operate on a very shady model. They allow you to purchase an initial supply of the product for shipping and handling. After, typically 2 weeks, you get charged the full purchase price (which is rarely disclosed) and you have to contact the company to stop them from billing your credit card. Contacting the company is often difficult as they make you call numerous numbers and force you into a vicious circle with no way to get out. If you have a medical product and would like to create a direct response website similar to the one above, please call one of our online marketing consultants at 843-425-3566 or email Support@BannerBlindness.com.

The internet, in 2008, will continue to envelop the phone book, television, radio, print, and all other mediums. The internet is like the famous 1980’s movie, “The Blob” (starring Steve McQueen) because it continues to break down traditional media and incorporate it into itself. I would estimate that in 2010 televisions will become WiFi enabled and traditional television (Cable & Airwaves) will no longer have the stranglehold over the market. Soon, independent production studios will be able to deliver their content to millions of homes that have Wifi enabled televisions. This is one of the reasons, why I believe that YouTube will be considered the greatest business acquisition of the 22nd century.

The following is an advertisement I saw on Drudge Report (one of the first internet blogs - Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky story) by Domino’s Pizza. There is nothing new about pizza companies (Papa Johns, PizzaHut, etc…) advertising on the internet. However, this is direct response marketing, affiliate marketing, and real world products/services at its highest level. Domino’s can actually determine their ROI from advertising pizza - as you can place an order through their website and have it delivered to your house in under an hour. The following are the advertisement and landing page from Domino’s Pizza:

Banner Blindness online marketing professionals can assist your business in building online direct response marketing campaigns with an ROI focus - so that means no expensive advertising solutions. We specialize in working with companies that are looking for results! Contact Banner Blindness today to learn what we can do for your business.

I came across this late night infomercial: Kinoki Detox Foot Pad, (direct response television advertisement) the day after New Years. The Kinoki Detox Foot Pad is another brilliant marketing product that I’m sure will be a top selling DR product in 2008. Livemercial is the company behind this brilliantly executed DR product. January and February are the biggest Direct Response marketing months of the years – New years and Valentines day, people want to make changes. The following is an analysis of the Kinoki Detox Foot Pad and how Livemercial is making millions of dollars from this incredibly worthless (but highly believable) product.

Firstly, lets discuss the late night infomercial I saw on NewYears at 2 am in the morning (I would have been out later, but LA shuts down rather early). The infomercial contained all of the components of a high end direct response marketing piece:

• Attention getter (A big “WOW” opener) that immediately shocks and focuses the watchers attention on the commercial.
• Explained the benefits of the products: drains your body of toxins, poisons, bring back health, removes pain, fatigue, and LOSE WEIGHT- basically a CURE ALL product.
• Testimonials from beautiful people explaining the incredible benefits of the product and how it has cured them from ills and emotional distress. The testimonials were very personable and amateur looking – as generic high end testimonials are very unbelievable.
• The call to action at the end of the commercial encouraging viewers to immediately purchase the product either by calling in or ordering through the website.
  

The website contained all of the components of a high end direct response marketing website:

• Portions of the television advertisement are featured on the landing page
• Highly believable testimonials that are featured on the home page and on its own separate page
• FAQ’s and clinical information that supports the claims of the product
• Call to action that is above the fold on the home page – far too many DR landing pages on the net have call to action links that are below the fold.
  

I called the 1800 number and was greeted with, “Hello, this is Susan.” I said, “Hello Susan, I would like to order the health product.” Susan responded, “which product is it that you want to purchase?” I said, “The one that makes you healthy, I can’t remember the name of it, I am drunk and it is New Years.” Susan said, “You must tell me the name of the product otherwise I am unable to sell you anything.” I responded, “Ok, tell you what, I just want to buy everything you have, what can you sell me.” Susan was unable to tell me what products that they sell – this clearly seemed like some type of scam operation. I’m unable to determine why she was unable or unwilling to tell me what products she sells in the call center she works at - probably because it is a call center that handles hundreds of products. I hung up on her and went to the Kinoki website.

I placed the order on the website so I could take photos of the product and expose it for the incredible scam (which I believe and will report truthfully on) that it is. This is where the Kinoki Detox Footpads really shines in the marketing world – they offer two types of products to purchase:

1. The Kinoki Detox Footpads for a one time charge of $19.99
2. The Konoki Detox Footpads for a monthly recurring charge of $19.99
   

The average user probably enrolls for the Kinoki monthly foot club and doesn’t even know they are enrolled in a recurring billing trap. The website makes it very confusing (*Free for life continuity program) when you determine which product to purchase, the monthly foot club purchase option is pre-populated and therefore, somewhat deceptive but truly brilliant. I would estimate that it takes 3-6 billing cycles before a subscriber actually cancels his or her membership (so a blended CPA average of $80), and I’m sure some people will stay a subscriber for life, as the placebo effect (which I believe and will report on) has a positive impact on the users mental psyche. The profit margin on these detox footpads are probably some of the highest in the direct response marketing industry. I would imagine that they cost less than a dollar to manufacturer and package. The shipping fees for these pads are egregious and clearly not the real value of the shipping, the additional amount is called, “Handling”.

Before your purchase is completed you are presented with additional products to purchase that can make you look 10 to 20 years younger. Livemercial truly knows how to monetize its users, through recurring billing and up-selling. The elements outlined in this article, and clearly demonstrated by the Kinoki foot detox pad, are the fundamental building blocks of a successful direct response marketing campaign. The product is incredibly profitable, the television commercial is professional (contains high end graphics, testimonials, etc…), and the website offers continuity as well as high end graphics and the same elements as the television commercial.

The consultants at BannerBlindness.com study, design, and execute highly successful campaigns just like the Kinoki Detox Footpads. Banner Blindness online marketing professionals specialize in developing:

• Product development and outsourcing
• Direct response television marketing pieces
• Call center and online ordering support
• Direct response ordering websites
• Online marketing (paid search, display advertising, affiliate marketing)
• Multivariant and A/B split testing for all components of the DR campaign
• Customer support and product reconciliation
  

To speak with a Banner Blindness online marketing professional call: 843-425-3566 or email Support@BannerBlindness.com

Happy New Year!