Monday, June 30, 2008

[Copyblogger] How to Collect Tons of Testimonials with the Secret “SPURF” System

Copyblogger


How to Collect Tons of Testimonials with the Secret "SPURF" System

Testimonial

In the world of selling, you can use testimonials – among other techniques – to take advantage of the principle of "Social Proof." According to this principle, all of us look to others to help us decide how to act. The more people doing it, the more correct it seems.

I illustrated this idea recently in part 1 of this series, Testimonials and Teenagers Whizzing in the Bushes: The Power of Social Proof.

Few people, however, make an effort to collect testimonials and keep them on file. So let’s look at a simple system I’ve developed to gather testimonials from your customers.

Just remember four letters: S.P.R.F. (pronounced "spurf"). It's short for Schedule, Phone, Release, and File.

Using The "Spurf" Testimonial System

Testimonials work best when they are believable, specific, and enthusiastic. How do you achieve this ideal? You use real testimonials from real people.

I know that some people believe you should write your own faux testimonials. But that's a slippery slope. The whole idea of testimonials is that they are objective endorsements of your product or service. So if you write them yourself, you don't have anything like objectivity. What you have is a lie. And if you're willing to lie about testimonials today, what will you be willing to lie about tomorrow?

What about writing testimonials and getting real people to sign off on them? I don't have an ethical problem with that. Often, people don't express themselves well in writing. Penning your own certainly lets you say what you want to say.

However, using the real words of real customers is the best long-term approach. Your customers will say things you could never dream up on your own. Their comments are often quirky and have a ring of truth that few copywriters can match.

Plus, real testimonials are a source of creative inspiration and a valuable peek into the opinions and motivations of the most important people in the world: your satisfied customers.

Here are the four steps in the Spurf system:

1. SCHEDULE. Make a commitment to bring in testimonials once a month, once a quarter, twice a year, or on whatever schedule you choose. You may even want to set quotas – 2 new testimonials a month or 10 testimonials for each promotion you do. The specifics are less important than your commitment to the routine. Just make sure your schedule is realistic and productive.

2. PHONE. Call a portion of your customer list according to your schedule. If you operate solely online and don’t have phone numbers, contact people by e-mail. You can even use snail mail if you have addresses.

Start by saying something flattering, such as, "The president of our company has personally asked for your opinion. Would you mind telling me what you think about our widget?"

Ask a few easy questions to elicit responses that are either positive or neutral in tone: When did you receive your widget? Did your widget arrive in good condition? Have you used it (tried it, tasted it, read it, worn it) yet?

Then ease into the real questions: What is your opinion of your widget? Why did you buy your widget? What is the one feature you like most? How has your widget saved you time (or money, or trouble, or embarrassment, or whatever)?

Keep it short. Write down (or electronically record) every word, even the bad comments. Get dates, numbers, names, and other facts that make testimonials sparkle with specifics.

3. RELEASE. When you get a good comment, write it up and send it to your customer. Include a message that says something like, "I was so impressed with your comment, I just had to write and say, 'thank you.' In fact, your kind words were so valuable, I'd like to quote you in our advertising. Do you mind?"

Ask the customer to sign a formal release (if you have one) or give you written permission to use the testimonial without limitation forever. If you like, you could send a small gift as a token of your appreciation. This assures you will get more "yes" replies to your request.

4. FILE. Organize and store your testimonials in a central location. You can print them and put them in a file folder or store them on your computer. The latter idea is best. Once you get a lot of testimonials, you’ll be able to do key word searches when you're looking for a particular comment or subject. You can quickly cut and paste testimonials when it comes time to write copy.

Of course, no matter how aggressive you are in getting testimonials, you should also provide a way for people to share their thoughts with you at other times as well. And you should be prepared to record and file any unsolicited testimonials whenever they come in.

On your website or blog, provide an interactive form or e-mail link for feedback. Often the only unsolicited comments you’ll get are complaints, so don’t be shy about asking for testimonials outright.

Once you have a system in place, you'll find that getting testimonials is easier than you thought. You may even come to enjoy it. But the real payoff comes when it's time to create a promotion and you have a pile of powerful testimonials ready to go.

Still to Come…

In the next installment in this series, you’ll discover how to use testimonials once you have them and how to go beyond the standard testimonial to put the principle of Social Proof to work in many other ways.

About the Author: Dean Rieck is a leading direct marketing copywriter. For more copywriting and selling tips, sign up for Dean's FREE direct response newsletter or subscribe to the Direct Creative Blog.


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Friday, June 27, 2008

[Copyblogger] The Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach

Copyblogger


The Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach

Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach

As promised, I’ve done a review of The Ultimate Desktop Copy Coach from Clayton Makepeace. The course just became publicly available about 30 minutes ago, and there are lots of extra bonuses thrown in for those who move fast (including one from me).

The short answer is… it’s a great A-toZ copywriting course taught in an accessible style. At over 1,000 pages of comprehensive copywriting knowledge, it’s likely the only course in copywriting you’ll ever need.

Click here for my review.


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Thursday, June 26, 2008

[Copyblogger] The Harpoon or the Net: What’s the Right Copy Approach for Your Prospects?

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The Harpoon or the Net: What's the Right Copy Approach for Your Prospects?

Harpoon

Once you decide to learn more about online copywriting, you quickly find out there are two schools of thought.

One school hammers the reader with red headlines, yellow highlighting, and aggressive copy that grips the reader like a terrier shaking a squirrel. The other school develops a compelling personal voice, nurtures a relationship with the reader, and uses soft-sell techniques to nudge the reader down the path to purchase.

So which one is right?

They both are.

How to harpoon a customer

It’s easy to make fun of traditional sales pages, but they’re widely used because they work. Like infomercials and Cosmo headlines, they may look dopey, but they convince millions of people to take action and spend money.

Traditional sales pages are ugly because they’re designed to hold and keep attention. Attractive design is completely secondary.

Readers for these pages typically arrive from an ad or an affiliate referral. The prospect tends to make up his mind in a split second about whether or not he’s in the right place. He then spends another three or four seconds deciding if this offer is going to meet his needs.

Red headlines, yellow highlighting, irritating pop-ups and pop-overs, fake handwriting and the other tricks of the trade are all ways to grab a stranger and focus his attention on what you have to offer.

Sure, long sales pages can be cheesy, but if you only have one shot at the prospect, they can work very well. A traditional sales page acts like a harpoon. When a likely prospect swims along, if the writer’s aim is good and she gets enough power behind that harpoon, she can make the sale.

Is a harpoon always the right tool?

Harpoons work great when you need to strike quickly. But they have a few problems.

First, they can convey shoddiness and a lack of ethics. That impression isn’t always accurate–long sales pages are used for great stuff as well as junk. But unless you’ve already established credibility with your audience, the prospect can’t tell the difference. If the reader doesn’t urgently need what you’re selling, she’ll hit the back button as fast as she can.

Second, it’s not as easy as it looks to write a good long-form sales page. The difference between effective sales letters and miserable failures can be surprisingly subtle. If you aren’t already Clayton Makepeace, you may find that although your letters look like his (to your untrained eye), they don’t work like his.

Third, cheap traffic is getting hard to come by. With competitive keywords going for a few dollars instead of a few cents on Adwords, most long sales pages are becoming less and less effective. The masters can still pull it off, and do, but you have to be a master.

If you’re still inspired to learn this strange and fascinating form, study the crusty old guys who developed the original techniques. Gary Bencivenga, Joseph Sugarman, Gary Halbert, Clayton Makepeace, and Dan Kennedy all have low-cost resources out there that can start you on your apprenticeship.

You could also use a net

There’s an alternative approach you might want to consider. Instead of hurling your single-pointed communication as forcefully as you can, consider encouraging your prospect to wrap himself in a friendly, supportive net.

In other words, rather than trying to harpoon customers with single-shot sales letters, snare them in a net of useful, relevant content.

Strong content will keep luring your prospect back for regular bites. Each bite builds a little more trust. Each bite builds your reputation as a friendly authority.

Whether it’s a freeform stream like a blog or the organized sequence of an email autoresponder, a well-crafted content net not only snags your prospect for this sale, it keeps him fat and happy for the next one.

Great single-shot copywriting is usually the result of many years of work and study. Creating a net of great content, on the other hand, is a lot easier to master. You don’t have to get every word perfect. You don’t need an arsenal of sales tricks. It’s mostly a matter of figuring out what your customer wants and needs, then getting out of your own way.

Copyblogger’s the best resource on the Web for writers looking to create sticky, persuasive, engaging content. (And I said that long before I ever wrote a post here.) If your harpoon’s a little rusty and your net’s full of holes, go ahead and subscribe now so you never miss a post.

About the Author: Get more online marketing advice from Sonia Simone by subscribing to her blog today.


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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

MyM Weekly Update


The Weekly Marketing y Medios Report is online.   June 25, 2008



Heineken Puts a Cool Touch on Dos Equis Ads
June 25, 2008 - A company called Visual Ice, Richmond, Va., is literally using warm air as a catalyst to run the brew's ads on store cooler doors.



Univision Nets Key Demos
June 24, 2008 - Some 1.2 million adults in the 18 to 34 who tuned in during prime time made it the second-most watched network last week, outpacing ABC, CBS, NBC and the CW, per the Nielsen Television Index (NTI).



Telemundo to Start Mornings via 'Lev�ntate'
June 24, 2008 - The live two-hour show will be broadcast live from Puerto Rico and will feature a mix of talk, viewer interactivity, news and entertainment.


Univision, Zubi Advertising Ink $80 Million Deal
June 24, 2008 - The deal includes advertising on Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision, among other areas of the company.



Conill, La Comunidad Win at Cannes
June 23, 2008 - The U.S. Hispanic ad shops were awarded Silver Media and Gold Film Lions, respectively, at the 55th Annual International Advertising Festival.



ImpreMedia Mobilizes Text
June 23, 2008 - The Hispanic print and online company has enlisted 4Info to provide entertainment, sports, and news content via mobile messaging.



HipCricket Signs SBS
June 23, 2008 - The Hispanic media company joins the mobile ad network in a deal being announced today, extending the network to 7 million U.S. Latino radio listeners in top markets.



Chase Goes After Hispanics
June 20, 2008 - The bank mounts a TV and radio push this month aimed at Latinos who want financial services are securely handled, convenient and easy to access.



Televisa, Univision Court Date Pushed Back Again
June 19, 2008 - The date for the trial has been shifted to Oct. 14, suggesting that the companies may be trying to settle the dispute out of court.



Corona Extra Taps Latino Pride
June 18, 2008 - A nationwide TV and radio push aims at Hispanics with Caribbean roots, including Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cubans and others.



Vital Dent Hires Vox Collective
June 18, 2008 - The dental clinic franchise has named the Hispanic ad shop to handle U.S.-targeted general market and multicultural marketing duties following a review.


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