“When Your Sales Copy
Simply Doesn't Matter!”

by Craig Garber

First, before I get started -- I've just GOT to get something off my chest before I explode.

And if you'll check out the P.S. at the end of today's tip, you'll see what I'm talking about, and why I'm so excited!

See, sometimes even when you're paying top-dollar to hire the very best copywriter out there... to craft the very best offer possible... using the most insightful, eye-opening, and compelling sales messages in the world... it just won't matter.

Why?

The answer is simple:

Your List Sucks!

It's like this:  if you're selling expensive artwork, and you send your direct-mail piece to a list of people whose idea of "artwork" is hanging vintage movie posters up on their walls...

You're Sure Not Going To Sell Much!

Not at all!

That's like going to visit your foot doctor if you need open heart surgery!  Close... but no cigar! 

Same thing if you're going bass fishing, and the only bait you have is juicy, thick black worms from the richest soil in town.

The thing is, you still won't end up catching a damn thing if...

All The Bass Are Biting On That Day... Is Shiners!

See in selling, being "close"... is really not close enough.

And the point is, who you're marketing to, is actually a LOT more important than your sales copy.

You can have the sweetest offer with the most compelling copy out there, but if you've sent that offer to the wrong list...

If you've sent that offer to people who really don't want what you're selling...

You'll Be Going Nowhere... Very Quickly!

And I'll let you in on a little secret:  This screw-up is the primary reason why most direct response campaigns fail.

They don't fail because of poor copy -- or because of a weak product.

They fail because you end up sending your offer out to the wrong list.

Period.

And this is true regardless of who you are, or what level you're functioning at.

I was at a small Dan Kennedy seminar last week, with some very sharp... and very successful entrepreneurs -- most of them in the Information Marketing business.

And when we were discussing what some of our failures were, the lion's share of them were simply related to sending the right message out to the wrong people.

So how do you target your list accurately?

Well, today I'm just going to talk about the most accurate way to target your list if you're using direct mail.

If you want to target your list with pinpoint accurracy using direct mail, the only thing to do -- at least if you're trying to market to people living here in the United States -- is to sit down and open up the SRDS Direct Marketing List Source.

The SRDS (which stands for Standard Rate and Data Service) List Source, is a telephone book-sized directory.  The one I'm looking at right now, is Part 2 from June 2002, and there's 1,883 pages of data inside of it.

On these pages are listings of nearly every single mailing list you can rent, that's out there.

This book contains information on all the various demographics and buying habits of consumers, all over America.

There are so many kinds of lists in this book, and perhaps I'll talk more about this in the future, but for now, let's just take a look at one example, to see how you could possibly use the information in the SRDS directory, to help you make a fistful of dough.

Let's walk through the process of what you'd do, if you were selling let's say... some kind of Jewelry products through the mail.

First, you'd look up "Jewelry" in the Subject pages in the front.

If you did, you'd find several listings.  For now, let's just take a peek at the one that's called "Jewelry - see Gifts & Gift Buyers, 554; also Home & Family Service, 558; also General Merchandise Mail Order Buyers, 553; also Women's, 612."

We'll go to the first listing under "Gifts & Gift Buyers" in section 554 (the numbers represent sections, not pages).

Inside Section 554, you'll find a HUGE variety of mailing lists geared towards people who have already bought gifts.

There are lists that reflect the buying habits of consumers of The Art Institute Of Chicago's Museum Shop list... The Swiss Colony buyers list (broken down by actual offline Catalog Buyers, and online Internet buyers)... and... lo and behold, right there on page 2,282, you've got the Tiffany & Company Jewelery list, along with a handful of other jewelery buyers lists.

And here's what that Tiffany list contains:

• The List Manager - this is usually the company who is in charge of managing the mailing list.  It lists the company contact information, in case you want to rent the list.

For this list, the list manager is Mokrynski & Associates out of Hackensack, New Jersey.

I once went to a nightclub in Hackensack, but I'll be darned if I can remember why.

Anyway, the next item you'll find, is the...

• Summary Description - and this describes the characteristics of the list buyers... their buying patterns... any specific response characteristics... and the average buying price per unit of sale.

Relevant information for the Tyffany list is that these people are "Mail catalog buyers of jewelry, crystal, tabletop pieces, etc.  65% of them are women, their average age is between 40 and 45, and the average unit of sale is $175 Dollars."

This information is critical to know, because if your product is selling for $350 Dollars for example, this list may not be the one you should use.

Remember, information is the most powerful tool you have, so take advantage of it and use it wisely so you up the odds of your promotion being a success.

• List Source - direct mail. 

This is simple enough to understand.  Since the list is made up from a list of the names of people who placed catalog mail orders, the source of the list is direct mail. 

Again, knowing your customer is a mail order buyer, is critical information if you're trying to sell by mail.

Always use the past known habits of your buyers, to predict their future behavior.

• Selections With Counts - this basically tells you how current the list is, and the cost.

In this case, the information is current through March 2002 (remember, this is a June 2002 catalog we're looking through, so that's pretty current)... there was a total of 31,190 "Hot List" names, which mean the people who have made purchases in the past 3 months... and the cost to use these names is $130 dollars per one-thousand names, with a 10,000 name minimum order.

• Other Selections - this tells you all the other ways you can break your list down.

For example, this list can be sorted by state, zip code, and amount of purchase (which WOULD let you sell a higher-priced item than the $175 dollar list average). 

And each of these additional breakdowns will cost you more -- anywhere from $6 dollars extra per thousand names -- to $50 dollars extra per thousand names.

• Commission Policy - has to do with how list brokers get paid

• Method Of Addressing - tells you how you can get your data (stick-on labels, downloadable database, whatever)

• Delivery Schedule - lets you know how long it'll take to get your information sent to you (7 days in this case).

• Restrictions - usually has to do with any parameters the list owner has set up, regarding you using their names.

In this case, you're going to have to show the list owner the letter you're going to be mailing to their list.  And depending on what you're selling, they may -- or they may NOT -- let you rent their list.  Different companies give you different amounts of leeway here on this one.

• Maintenance - tells you when the list is going to be updated next.  In this case, the list will be updated on May 15th, 2002.

And there you have it. 

This SRDS list directory is pretty neat, hey?

If you've bought something by mail, or if you subscribe to a publication, or even if you've filled out some kind of a survey... chances are excellent, that mailing list... subscriber list... or those survey results, are buried away somewhere in teeny tiny print, in the SRDS book.

Remember one thing -- the smart thing to do, is to find out what people are buying first, by going through this SRDS guide, and then go out and get yourself a product to sell to that list.

This way, you won't make the same critical mistake most marketers make, and that is...

“Gambling” your prospects
will want to buy what you have to sell!

P.S.  And now, let's talk about those housekeeping items I wanted to go over with you:

First, I'm going back to my old stomping grounds in New York City for a few days, so there won't be any tip next week.

I'll be giving you a full report of anything new I discover while I'm up there though, as soon as I get back.

And second, here's that exciting news I wanted to share with you:

Sometime in the next few weeks, I'm going to be making an announcement about a brand spanking new, offline hard copy newsletter I'm going to be publishing.

This newsletter will be packed with the newest and hottest information about what's working in direct-response... maybe even more important -- what's not working... and ALL the inside copywriting secrets I'm using to get my clients more than their fair share of business.

Well... maybe not ALL the inside secrets, but I won't be holding back too much, believe me.

Anyway, the newsletter is going to be called...

“The Official
Direct Marketing Newsletter!”

And it'll be published 10 times a year, delivered straight to your mailbox by United States First Class Mail.

It'll be priced somewhere in the neighborhood of $229 dollars a year, with annual renewals running slightly cheaper, and... if you're outside of the United States, you'll probably have to add on a few bucks extra to make up for the additional postage it'll cost to get your copy out to you.

Each issue will be between 8 and 12 pages long, and believe me, I'll be throwing in some amazing bonuses if you subscribe early... and some darn good bonuses if you subscribe at all.

Here's what I want to know from you though:  If you're going to subscribe, would you like an option to pay monthly -- say something like $19.95 a month -- or is annually fine... or do you not care either way?

Do me a favor and let me know.  Just send me an e-mail to dmnewsletter@KingOfCopy.com, and put "Ordering your newsletter" in the subject line, and tell me how you feel about this, along with anything else you feel compelled to tell me.

If you're kind enough to take your time to answer, I'll send you an e-mail that'll literally, dramatically change your business, once the The Official Direct Marketing Newsletter comes out, if you actually DO subscribe to it.

You have my absolute word on this.

P.P.S.  Many people have asked me over the years, if there's something like the SRDS listings, outside of America.

And the truth is, I don't rightly know for sure.  If you happen to know, please tell me so I can let all my other subscribers know.

Thanks a lot, and have a great week!

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them -- I appreciate your feedback!

You can reprint, or link to this article, or to any article on this web site, as long as you include the following text-box:

“Craig Garber is America's top direct-response copywriter.  Join the ranks of Garber's swelling list of global VIP's who subscribe to his unconventional weekly marketing moments, and discover how to dramatically boost your sales and improve the response to your sales copy, on his website at http://www.kingofcopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber.  All rights reserved.”

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