Cut Your Budget While Getting More Leads

Let me say for each and every one of us marketers and smaller business people, getting an edge with better marketing strategies and technologies now is more important than ever.

Consider that as the economy shrinks, the same number of people will be going after fewer dollars.

As with any economic hard times, some industries will prosper, just as the movie business did in the depression. (People wanted to escape the reality of the times by going to a film for a few hours.) Most marketers, though, will face a stagnant or shrinking market.

The full article is here . . .

Cost-Effective Marketing for an Edge

Last time, we talked about ways of marketing in a tighter economy.

Consider this: There are essentially 3 ways of getting leads for most service businesses and those marketing to businesses.

Prospects can respond to an Event, act on a Consultation or Trial offer, or they can request a Report (get something in writing).

So which one is probably the most-underutilized while also being the most cost-effective per lead?

I would argue the report. Why?...

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An Offer You Can’t Refuse

"Let me make you an offer you can't refuse."

Many of us direct marketing geeks point to Claude Hopkins as one of the best marketing experts and authors.

You won't find his work next to Seth Godin, Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, or any of the latest marketing gurus.

The fact is, Hopkins created his last marketing offer years before Al Gore "invented" the Internet.

But what this man did…

The full article is here . . .

Real Simple Innovation for 16x Results

Sixteen is my favorite number.

Now there is a reason for it to be yours as well in the form of a relatively new booklet "16x: Real Simple Innovation for 16 Times Better Results" by Richard Koch, author of "The 80/20 Principle."

You have likely heard of the 80/20 Principle -- simply stated, 80% of the results come from 20% of the inputs.  Or to say it another way, the majority of results come from a minority of inputs.

For smaller businesses, your sales will likely trend toward…

See the complete article here . . .