E-Mail + Cash Copy + The Rule of Seven = Big Profits For You!
Qwik-Smarts w/ Dr. Jeffrey Lant
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you use e-mail to sell your products or services? If not, you will. A new survey of 580 small and mid-
size companies by George S. May International Co., a Park Ridge, Illinois consultant said that 45% of
companies currently do. This is up from only 19% in February 1996. Moreover, half of those who don't say
that they'll be using e-mail by the end of 1997. In other words, if you don't use e-mail, you're definitely on
the side of the dinosaurs, and you know what happened to them.
The problem is, most people using e-mail to sell their products and services don't do it right. That's because
they think the technology alone will sell what they've got. This is a completely erroneous deduction.
The only way to achieve maximum sales results with e-mail is to use this critical formula:
e-mail + cash copy + The Rule of Seven
Only if you use each part of this equation will you achieve the stunning results that you should be striving
for.
Let's look at each part of this equation.
E-mail represents
. speed
. low-cost
. the ability to transmit unlimited amounts of material.
When both parties have e-mail (as, in business, a rising percentage of parties clearly do), you'd be mad to
use any other means of communication, so long as you can send your prospect EVERYTHING she needs
to make a decision about what you're selling.
E-mail enables you to communicate instanteously, inexpensively, completely.
Because of these wondrous perperties, many "marketers" think that e-mail alone will solve their marketing
problem. It won't. Think, for instance, how many times you've got to your e-mail in-box and found a ton of
stuff. Like most people, you probably hit the trash button for the large majority of what you find.
Marketers must understand this. They must know that despite speed, low-cost and completeness of
information, e-mail alone isn't enough to boost sales. It must be allied to two other factors.
Client-Centered 'Cash Copy'
Take a moment to review some of the e-mail transmissions you'll get today. You'll find them a pretty
dismal lot. They start off apologetically ("sorry to have disturbed you"). They then proceed to make a lot of
high-blown claims with lavish use of capital letters and exclamation points. This isn't marketing. It's
hyperventilating, cyber-style.
Just because you're marketing via e-mail doesn't mean you throw your client-centered cash copy training
out the window, though too many do. With e-mail, as with any other kind of marketing, you still need
. an offer. Why should your prospect respond NOW? If there's no offer, you're crippling your own
marketing.
. benefits. Adjectival puffery is not substitute for client-centered benefits. In an age of bloated hyperbole,
your prospects still want to know precisely what's in it for them. E-mail is perfect for this. In "real" life,
where letters are weighed (and charged by) the ounce, you have to consider everything carefully. Send a
two-page fax instead of a single page? You pay more. Send six pages instead of five? You're in another
postal category -- and pay more!
With e-mail, however, you control the message. If your prospects need five pages of solid benefits, if five
pages of solid benefits is what it takes to sell your offers... why, then, use five pages of solid benefits. No
hype. Just the facts, ma'am, as Sargeant Friday used to say.
Too many e-mail marketers just don't get this. Because they're enthralled with speed, they try to motivate
by inflating the adjectives and adverbs... instead of basing their case on precisely what their prospects are
going to GET.
Remember, marketing, all marketing, works because people want what they know they can GET from you.
That means "you" (the prospect-) centered benefits. The more the merrier.
Next they want testimonials. Hardly an e-mail transmission arrives in my in-box that features client-
centered testimonials. People want to know, they'll always want to know, what other people, people just
like them, have gotten by using the product/service. These testimonials must be real, must talk about
benefits received, and must be signed with real names and addresses, and, these days, e-mail addresses.
Why shouldn't your prospects be free, whenever possible, to contact others and say, "Well, what did you
GET when you used this thing?" These kinds of contact are invaluable for marketing success.
So, we've got
. offers
. benefits
. testimonials.
Don't be afraid, too, to include a page of frequently asked questions and answers... and a page of
product/service features. Again, tell what's necessary. Shortness isn't a benefit if vital client-centered
information is left out merely for the sake of brevity. Err on the side of too much information, not too little;
remember, with e-mail you're NOT being charged by the word, the page, the ounce.
The Rule of Seven
How many times have you been "hit" by e-mail marketers with the same offer? In my experience, most of
these "marketers" risk their success on a single throw of the dice, that is, one e-mail transmission. This is
ridiculous.
The other day, for instance, I got an unsolicited e-mail about study in Italy. My mother's been talking about
wanting to do something just like that and I downloaded the information -- and, in my cluttered office,
promptly mislaid it. Will I ever hear from the Italians again (who have, remember, my e-mail address and
an expression of my interest)? Doubtful. It was one shot. That's all. Have a nice day. This isn't marketing.
It's dumb and dumber.
If you've read my other books and articles, you know how important I consider The Rule of Seven. This
Rule, originally developed by Hollywood film companies in the Great Depression, to charm nickles out of
poor people and get them to the movies, said that you had to hit the same designated audience of prospects
a minimum of 7 times in 7 days.
Thanks to the Internet and the far faster speed of technology, the 7-day time span has changed... but the 7
times remains valid and is still a minimum, just like it was in 1935.
Thus, make your initial offer at 6 a.m. Follow up with another message at noon, indicating how many
people have responded and how much of your product/service has been sold. Note: if you only have so
much of what you're selling, say so. A depleting amount stimulates faster prospect action.
Follow up again before you go to bed, maybe this time adding just a note at the top of the original memo,
saying "I'm surprised I haven't heard from you!" or "I thought sure this was something you'd want!" In
other words a personal note with an exclamation point.
Carry on with this procedure until you've hit your designated market at least seven times. Each time
particularly stress your offer, testimonial and critical client-centered information.
Don't Use Bulk-E-mail
The kind of marketing I'm talking about is strictly limited to your house e-mail list, people who have
answered your ads, called you (you are asking for their e-mail addresses when they do, aren't you), signed
your guest book online, etc. I am NOT advocating this procedure for bulk e-mailers and strongly deprecate
that practice. The only people you should be doing this with are those who have, in some way, expressed an
interest in your product/service. If you're using the kinds of client-centered advertising I strongly stress in
books like CASH COPY, you'll get a ton of these people... and they're the ones on whom you should be
using these techniques! If you are tempted to use them with bulk e-mail, I can assure you that they number
of "spam" notices you'll generate within hours will almost certainly ensure your access account being
cancelled. Be warned!
Last Words
A year ago when you asked people if they were using e-mail, most said no. Today, as the survey by George
S. May International clearly proves, half are already using e-mail; by the end of the year that figure will be
about 75%. The real question, therefore, is not whether smart businesses will use e-mail to sell
products/services. That's already clear.
The real question is whether these same businesses (for the ones without e-mail are hopeless) will
understand that e-mail alone cannot give them enhanced marketing success. That can only come when the
benefits of e-mail are linked to cash copy and The Rule of Seven. Then, and only then, will you be using
this magic medium to increase your profits. Try it and see for yourself!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resource Box
Dr. Jeffrey Lant is the internationally known marketer. Benefit from his books like CASH COPY: how to
offer your products and services so your prospects buy them... now! (480 pages, $39.50 postpaid); NO
MORE COLD CALLS: The complete guide to generating -- and closing -- all the prospects you need to
become a multi-millionaire by selling your service (675 pages, $45.95 postpaid), and Web Wealth: How to
turn the World Wide Web into a cash hose for you and your business... whatever you're selling! (248 pages,
$29.95 postpaid). Get these with MC/VISA/AMEX by e-mail from drjlant@worldprofit.com or by calling
(617) 547-6372. Make sure to visit his online catalog at http://www.worldprofit.com/surefire. To get a free
subscription, call or e-mail. Be sure to visit his Worldprofit Mall Complex at http://www.worldprofit.com.
Over 7,000 will -- today! To get UNLIMITED FREE ADVERTISING for whatever you're selling, visit
http://www.worldprofit.com and click on CashQuest. Your FREE advertising starts at once. To get a Web
site in, link or, banner ad in, or 20-megabyte domain from Worldprofit, e-mail
webmaster@worldprofit.com, call (403) 425-2466, or use 24-hour fax on demand (403) 425-6049,
document #1 (#2 for domain information).