Here's Other Version Headers - Flyer - Opinions Wanted

dirt diggler

i hate sounding pushy ... here's a couple more


WANT A BUILDER WHO KNOWS YOU BY NAME AND NOT YOUR PROJECT NUMBER?

(i know, wordy ... comment on the message rather)

WANT TO ADD A PERSONAL TOUCH TO YOUR PROJECT

(some might get the wrong idea here .... )

again, opinions wanted

i really feel conscientious about sounding tacky or like I should be wearing plaid -

ruskent

A couple of the advertising books i've read said you should always come up with 12-15 different headlines before you choose one. So you better get cracking!

dirt diggler

then any suggestions on the first two??


cmon guys - just thumbs up/down works

john elliott

I think I would prefer to communicate the personal (local?) aspect of my business by implication. I think that if you could somehow give the impression of being a contractor with whom they can develop a good relationship but without actually saying so then that would be far more effective

What works for us is keeping our advertising very local, having a sign board that we put out each day and doing everything we can to get across that friendly, local feel-good feeling.

John

__________________
Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

DamionR

Couple notes Dirt...

First - you have tp figure out what the needs of your prospects are. Do they really care that you know them by their name? Will that alone make them buy? If so - it's good. if not - it's bad.

Secon - you have to develop your unique selling proposition (USP). Simply put, this is the value that you offer to a client that sets you apart/differentials you from competition - and makes you a worthwhile investment. Remember, it's not What We Do, it's Whats' in it for Me. Peopel do not care waht you do or how great you are, or how many years in busines you've been, or how great you say you're customer service is, etc. they care about one thing - how you can solve their problems. your USP should be based on that.

3) You're headlines shoudl command immediate attention by hitting on the needs of your prospects. Suppose that, the biggest concern your customers have is the guaranteed response time to their call. Perhaps a headline could be..

Plumber Announces a GUARANTEED 15 minute response time Program

I typicalyl write out 20-50 different headlines whenever I start a marketing campaign. Just a lot of brainstorming. I then narrow them down to the ones that most match the prospects needs, and my USP.

Finally, I run A/B test with different headlines to see which ones generate the highest response rates. Eventually, you know EXACTLY which ones elicits the best responses, and obviously you use that and move to testing somethign else

Think of some more and post 'em...

ruskent

I took this seminar at NESPA show 2 weeks ago called monoplize your market place. They guy went into detail about how to right a good ad.

He said if you could cross off your name on the add and put your competors name, your ad is no good. He told we need to have more of a ad/flyer then just having your name, services and a pretty picture.

He showed us a ad from a moving company "The BBB in xyx county had 450 complaints against moving companys last year" was the headline. The reast of the ad was just text. The company went from 120k gross to selling out for 2.2 millions 2 years later.

The seminar really got me thinking outside the box. One of my ads is going to say something like "What concrete pool builders don't want you to know about fiberglass pools"

Another one going to be "Top ten reasons why brick pavers fail" After i list each reason i will state what we do to prevent failure.

Matt

dirt diggler

guys - i skimmed all this -- GREAT STUFF

i will read later more in depth

dougchips

Matt, did you go to Hershaw's 1 hour class or the 2 day one? I went to the one hour one and then flew to Dallas for his 2 day class. One of the best ROI's that I have ever experienced!

Danahy

How about;

Let Dirt Diggler build your next house.

When it comes to building, remember the name Dirt Diggler.

Dirt Diggler, build me a home.

My home was built by Dirt Diggler.

Dirt Diggler builds a darn good home.

Elect Dirt Diggler for builder.

Dirt Diggler. Now that you know my name, I'd like to know yours.

ruskent

doug- I took the hour class. I got alot out of it. Actually i think he gave me the confidence to try the ideas i had in my head. I knew most of the ads out there were crap, i just did not have the confidence to go try something else.

Best part of any convention are the business seminars!

dirt diggler

funny


you know - i think i'll just start using that as a pick up line

ruskent

Dirt- What type of work are you trying to pick up with this advertising?

DamionR

I completely believe the resutls from the first post. I track and track and track every piece of marketing I do. Consistantly... strong headlines... pursuasive copy, a call to action, and a PS out do any visual marketing I've done. Online and offline.

RobertCDF

So you are saying a sales letter outdoes a postcard? I have done the postcards and am now doing some sales letters based upon stuff I have read from MYM website and John Cummuta's programs (hes got some great stuff)

In fact John even says that some of the most successful sales letters are 4 pages long... I am thinking there is no way I can get 4 pages done.

But I have always felt if you hit the right person, the person who NEEDS what you are selling. They will read everything they can get thier hands on about it. Think about it... When you bought your last truck did you look up stuff on the net and read everything you could about the truck? I know I did... I spent days looking at all the differant manufactures to find the one that fit my needs. Customers are the same way. If you give them something to read about the $20,000 they are about to spend... They will read all they can about it to see if it fits them perfectly.

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

POOLMANinCT

Best part of any convention are the business seminars! [/quote]

and all the free dinners the reps take you out to

Second Look

I like the first headline better. The "personal touch" is too generic. Knowing a person by name is something everyone can relate to and appreciate.

__________________
Second Look home improvement www.SecondLookHome.com
Handyman and Home Repair Specialist in Rhode Island
RI Licensed Lead Safe Remodeler/Renovator, RI Registered & Insured Contractor

DamionR

Yup... for a direct mail piece.. a 4 page letter is too long. However.. the format is important.

Once you have a prospect "intrigued"... the longer sales letter works well. What you have realize is that the person will most likely NOT read all 4 pages. They wil skim and look for somethign that interests them. That is where proper sub-headlines and formatting come into play.

ruskent

I think a four page letter would work great if your targeting high end work. Almost every book on advertsing i have read says long copy will outsell short copy every day. I think statstics show that if they make it to page 2 they will read all 4. Even if they don't read all 4 pages, they will say to them selves "This guy must have something important to say"

I am planning on trying a sample batch of maybe 500 long copy letters. Only 2 pages long.

Matt

dirt diggler

good to know ... just mailed some "Hi, nice to meet you now gimme your money" letters

I ended up editing it down to one page --- i was really subconcious that it was too long ...

guess now it's not long enough, lol


what's his reason for a 4 page letter?

I'd fall asleep by then ...

RobertCDF

Depends upon how much the customer is spending... If they are spending $200 for you to do a hour long job... Then 4 pages is too long.

But if they are dropping $20,000... They want to know everything they can.

Also keep in mind that you need to get the person to read it. The 1st page should be as much "open" or "white space" as possible without looking stupid. They see a few paragraphs with a few sentences each and they say "I can read that real quick" Make it your best part. Talk about them and how you can solve thier problems.

2nd page can have a little more text and less white space... as they are comitted at that point. But you never really want to croud any of the pages with lots of text. Also dont forget to number your pages so they know if one is misplaced or they get out of order they can fix it.

__________________
Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks