Thoughts on Life, Liberty and Hybrid Marketing
Hybrid Marketing
The Biggest Marketing Secret I Know…
Aug 22nd
You may know I have been marketing online since about 1999, but you may not know some of the more intimate details. I want to share some of my story with you today, and also share the biggest marketing secret I know…
Humble Beginnings
I started my first business SoCo Solutions, LLC in 2001 and I scored my first BIG online success in late 2002 when the company enjoyed its first $5,000 day and its first 5-figure month. It was an incredible milestone for me and my new company. And it cemented my resolve to stop building businesses for other people and do my own thing, control my own life and destiny.
A LOT has happened between that balmy November day in 2002 and now.
Another important milestone for me was when I quit my very nice, cushy 6-figure corporate management job in 2007. Some people though I was CrAzY to quit a successful corporate career with such great pay, benefits, and growth potential. (Robin’s dad even pulled me aside and asked me “what the hell am I thinking?”).
People have also asked me “if you had a successful online business why did you still work for corporate for 5 years?” but that’s a story for another time… I will say it’s a matter of personal goals and dedication/perserverence to a personal challenge. (Ask me more when we meet in person).
When I met my goals at my job and left my corporate career in August 2007, I named my right-hand man my replacement (as promised), got him a BIG raise and “burned the ships behind me” so I could give my own business ALL my attention.
The Turning Point
The other cool thing about 2007 is that is the year I discovered the BIGGEST marketing secret I know – and in November of 2007 my company enjoyed it’s first 6-figure month as a result! Then in 2008 we had our first 6-figure DAY.
(Kinda makes me NOT look crazy for walking away from that 6-figure per year j.o.b. now, huh?)
Anyway, you may be wondering…
Why is that important to you?
Well, before I learned this secret I was “Internet Pan-handling” just like you. And even though my company honestly was making good money online (hopefully you are too) it was pennies on the dollar compared to what happened almost immediately AFTER I learned this one little secret.
And I want to share this secret with you, just like it was shared with me. If you’re ready to receive it. If you’re not ready to receive this gift, that’s OK. I’ll still be here when you are ready. 
Why would I share this secret?
Why not.
It’s not mine to keep.
And honestly, I’m just paying it forward.
Also, I gain nothing by keeping this a secret. But I’m not just going to blast it out to the masses. In honor of and respect for the gentleman who shared it with me I’m only sharing it with those who are ready to receive it.
Plus, if I can help you make your own milestone (maybe your first real milestone) it’s worth it to me for you to have it.
Just Ask, and Its Yours
The cool thing is — it won’t cost you a dime.
Look, a lot has happened to me in the past 11 years, especially within the past year my life has changed tremendously. This one secret can make a significant positive change in your life, when you’re ready to receive it.
Do you want the biggest marketing secret I know?
(Just say yes).
Rock hard kick ass,
Lee Collins
Simply provide the information below and in 10-14 business days the biggest marketing secret I know will arrive in your mailbox in a sealed, white 9×12 envelope, along with an important personal note from me.
I know you will love it, and you will benefit almost immediately – just like I did when it was shared with me “way back” in 2007.
How To Write A Killer Ad
Aug 14th
A lot of folks have been asking me how to write a killer ad.
Here’s how you do it in 11 easy steps, and of course this is a Hybrid Marketingtm strategy so it will work equally as well online or offline (Google Adwords, newspaper, Craigslist, etc).
- Talk it out first before you write it.
- Call a friend, associate or employee and explain your product or service to them.
(This will help you get common questions out in the open, and also help with overcoming common objections) - Tape record that call.
(Digital recorders work fine if you don’t have a tape recorder, guess I show my age haha - Have that conversation transcribed onto paper.
(Or into a word processor, then print it out. I find it’s easier to work on real paper) - Label every single sentence in there with an
- F if it’s a feature (describes what your product or service does),
- A for an advantage (over a competitor), and
- B for anything that’s a benefit (tell your customers what it does for them). - Write the sentences rated 1-10 by their importance. 1 being the least important and 10 being the best. You will have an F-1, F-2, F-3, etc. B-10 would be the most important benefit.
- Combine all features, advantages and benefits ranked 6 or higher and create a headline from there. In other words, if you’ve got a B-10 and B-9, A-10 and A-9, an F-10 and F-9, you want to create your headline out of those. Use the 6-8 benefits to tell your story. Your 6-8 advantages will create interest and your 6-8 features will credentialize your story with details and facts.
- Tell them how to order and how to order now.
- Reverse the risk from them to you using risk-reversal.
- Reward them for immediate action.
- Re-write five different versions.
This seems like a lot of work, but it’s really not. (Hey, it likely beats the pants off what you’re doing now).
This is how you will end up with a killer ad.
Roll it out small and test it, and when it works, roll it out in a big way.
Easy enough for ya? Please comment below.
- Lee Collins
Sell Them What They Want, Give Them What They Need
Aug 8th
There’s an old saying that you should find a need, fill it, and you’ll get rich.
It’s not really true. You need to find a want and fill it.
People often do not want what they need. They need to eat right, but they don’t. They need to stop smoking, but they don’t. They want to be more healthy, but they make unhealthy choices.
You want to stand out from the crowd.
You want to sell them what they want, but give them what they need.
Your prospects and customers are people just like you and me and they’re going to respond to messages similar to ones we might respond to. They’ll get turned off by the same things and exaggerations that we do.
Filling their needs and wants typically involves things that we’ve talked about – convenience, long-lasting, time-saving, better-looking, more functional stronger guarantees, better service, etc.
We never know which hot button is their buying button.
We need to test one feature or benefit against another until we discover what their hot buttons are. Your objective is simply one of matching your marketing mission to the functions of the products or services that your business offers.
If your business offers products and services that by design are problem solvers, then you need to use this function in your marketing approach. You want to accentuate the types of problems they may have because your product or service will solve them. Point out a problem in detail and tell just how your product or service is designed to solve that problem.
Here’s a couple of examples:
- A diet program. You don’t want to sell the powder or the vitamin, but you want to sell better confidence, better health, greater attraction, and long life.
- Toothpaste. You don’t want to sell the fluoride, but you want to sell the whiter teeth, brighter smile, and less trips to the dentist.
How do you uncover their real wants and desires?
If you listen, you’ll discover the customer talking back to you in many ways.
They might speak directly with you, your employees, the media, other customers.
You have to pay attention.
You’ll hear more of what they don’t want instead of what they do want. They might say prices are too high or there’s not a big enough selection or the quality isn’t high enough. That’s telling you the opposite of what they really want.
However and whatever they say – listen to them!
You’ll learn something every time you do. Back to our quote from earlier, the truth is this:
“You can make a living selling people what they need,
But you can get RICH selling people what they want”
(excerpt from Lee’s “Book of Many Things”)
How do you fee about this? Comments very welcome…
- Lee Collins
14 Key Points to Profitable Direct Response (Part 1)
Sep 18th
As a Direct Response Marketing consultant, there’s one sentence that really bugs me. (Honestly there are many, but we’ll talk about just this one today).
Here it is: “I’ll run an ad and see if direct response mail order really pays!”
Why do I hate that sentence? Because these words are spoken only by a total beginner or someone completely lacking in the most basic business experience.
Being in the business of selling by direct response mail is a continuous, ongoing activity. NOT a one shot “see if it works”. Day in and day out we do something to improve our results.
Here are 14 key points that you should consider EVERY TIME with your direct response advertising to ensure you get the results you desire.
I’ll cover the first 7 points today, and will continue the discussion with the final 7 points within the next few days.
Here we go:
#1. Purpose?
Before you place that ad you MUST ask yourself: “what is the purpose of this advertisement?” The answer will probably fall into one of two categories:
1) to generate a lead
2) to generate a sale
If you’re charging less than $10 you may be able to get some orders directly from a 1″ or a classified ad. Asking for $10 and up? Then you better go for a 1/3 page or more or just try to generate leads!
#2 Expectation!
It seems many new direct response advertisers have unreal expectations. They believe they can get a 1% return from a publication by using a small classified ad.
I have used full page ads and get less than 1/3 of 1% and we were happy with it. It’s always better to be more realistic with your expectations to avoid the perception of disappointment.
And know your numbers!
#3 Where to advertise?
You can use direct mail or ads in publications that are geared to the group you are trying got reach. Direct mail can be great if you are able to rent “hot” names that are recent buyers of items similar to yours.
Carefully search out the publications best for your offer. Your local library or bookstore (take a look at the magazine racks) can be your best source of such publications.
#4 Who buys by mail?
Believe it or not, even in today’s Internet age, an estimated 71% of the public has purchased by mail in response to a direct response advertisement.
Just use publications that already have a lot of mail order ads. Choose your publications carefully – the daily newspaper is NOT a good way to reach mail order buyers.
#5 Test, test, test!
You need to code your ads – every ad – in some way so you know the results you are getting from each publication. Some inquiries may cost you 50cents and from another publication they may cost you $1.75! You MUST figure out the value of each inquiry based on eventual orders received, so you can discontinue ads that are not showing a good return on investment.
Most people don’t even track their ads, so coding your ads will put you in the top 1% of other direct response marketers in your industry.
#6 Run ads in the best performing publications on a steady basis
Month in and month out keep your ads running in the publications that pay off. many people don’t respond the first time they see your offer. Familiarity and repetition build trust.
And keep in mind some months you will get more responses than others, but keep the ads running in every publication where it is profitable to do so.
and our final point for today…
#7 Ad Copy
A good direct response ad should have a headline that appeals to the people you are trying to reach. Period.
Do not use the word “Free” in a headline unless you want a whole bunch of inquiries from people who may not be seriously interested in your offer. (It’s better to get 10 people who are seriously interested in your offer than 100 tire-kickers “just checking things out”!).
Headlines should catch the attention of your potential BUYER… the body copy should give them enough information to make them act on your offer. Remember, “what’s in it for them?”.
Alright that should be enough to get you started with profitable Direct Response advertising. I will share the final 7 key points of my “14 Key Points to Profitable Direct Response” with you in a couple of days!
Direct Response Marketing 2.0
Jun 23rd
What happens when you combine the power of Web 2.0 Internet and tried and true Direct Response Marketing techniques?
That’s the question we asked ourselves almost two years ago, and Hybrid Marketing was born.
But there was still a void. Maybe not a void but we felt there was something bigger. Something we were missing. So for the past 20 months we went searching for that missing ingredient.
You see, what we realized (and you will too when you really think about it) is the people making the most money online (consistently, and that’s important) were the people who came from the OFFLINE world.
People like Dan Kennedy. And John Carlton. And Ted Nicholas. And Robert Allen. And Frank Kern. And Mike Filsaime. And T.J. Rohleder. And Michael Penland. And… the list goes on, but I think you get the idea. These are the people who use Direct Response Marketing techniques as a WEAPON and consistently crush it online.
These are our mentors. And most are now close friends.
And through studying Direct Response Marketing DIRECTLY from the Masters, our Hybrid Marketing system took on a whole new life. A life that was MUCH bigger than me and Robin could nurture by ourselves.
So from Hybrid Marketing, and our study of OFFLINE Direct Response Marketing, a new era is born.
The era of Direct Response Marketing 2.0!
Direct Response Marketing 2.0 is the TRUE synergy of online and offline marketing. It combines the prowess of our Hybrid Marketing system, with the tried and true direct response skills of crusty “I was making money online before there was an Internet” marketer Alan Bechtold (we love ya man), copywriting genius “Million Dollar” Mike Morgan, and branding expert Erik Stafford into something that could change your perception of MARKETING forever!
- Did you know: If you’re just an Internet Marketer you’re leaving an estimated 72% of your potential profits on the table? The Internet is just ONE media for your message, so why limit yourself to earning so little?
- Did you know: An estimated 50% of email NEVER reaches the intended recipient? Contrast this to REAL MAIL where over 92% is consistently delivered to the intended recipient!
But rather than ramble on, I want to invite you to enjoy our creation – Direct Response Marketing 2.0: The next generation of online and offline Synergy! We’ll give you FREE access to a DVD we’ve put together for you and a complete, state of the art online eCourse that takes you from simple Internet Mar(ke)ter to a REAL Direct Response Marketer in 10 quick lessons.
Grab this now before we start charging for it => http://www.DirectResponseMarketing20.com
– Lee Collins and Robin Collins
Direct Response Marketing Experts
