35 Direct Response Techniques that Improve Response Rates

With back to school in full swing and fall is upon us, it’s time to hunker down and get serious about increasing your response rates.

To help, here is a brain dump of 35 direct response techniques I learned while working at various direct response agencies over the years. While not a comprehensive list, it will at least give you some ideas to work with and help lift your response rates.

Before I dive in to things, remember that direct response is different than general advertising.

Direct response is …

• Sales oriented
• Makes an irresistible offer
• Backs things up with a guarantee
• Prompts the prospect to take action
• Compels the prospect to take action
• Is measurable

General advertising is…

• None of the above

The good news is that direct response applies to both online and offline marketing vehicles.

35 Trusted Direct Response Techniques

1. Be selective on where you advertise and how you market
2. Target your audience so you don’t waste your time or money
3. Always build value
4. Establish your credibility
5. Make an irresistible offer
6. Test several irresistible offers (Be sure to measure ROI)
7. Ask for the order multiple times, not just at the end
8. Tell them what happens if they don’t take immediate action
9. Use an eye catching visual
10. Use a caption under your photos
11. Use pictures of people throughout
12. Include the word “you” as much as possible
13. Use a photo of the offer
14. Be concise but descriptive
15. Tell a story
16. Compare your services to something else
17. Use black type on white background
18. Personalize throughout the message
19. Assign a dollar amount to your offer
20. Offer a no nonsense unconditional guarantee
21. Put a deadline on the offer
22. Focus on benefits to your prospect
23. Test multiple headlines
24. Don’t offer too many choices
25. Make it clear why they should do business with you
26. Make it clear what the offer is
27. Make it clear how they can redeem the offer
28. Use compelling testimonials with photos
29. Talk about how you’re different from your competition
30. Use simple calls to action

Now it’s your turn… help me get to 35 tips that help lift response rates.

Share your response rate ideas in the form of a comment below!

Popularity: 3%

Top 10 Posts of All Time Revealed

A quick note in case you didn’t notice the new “Top 10 Posts” link in the navigation bar.

As you know, I like to do popular post round ups every month in order to help people visiting this site know what’s popular so they can easily get caught up.

However, I also wanted to provide something a little bit more comprehensive as there are a lot of articles that have received a ton of traffic since I began that might not have made it in the latest monthly round up.

So, I compiled the top 10 posts on Marketing Martial Arts of all time and included a brief write up on each post.

These are the posts that have received the most unique visitors since I started this website.

Check them out and be sure to leave your comments on each post!

Popularity: 1%

Making Every First Impression Count

“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.”

How many times have you heard this statement?

However, there are a lot of first’s that happen with prospective new students. It’s not just about the first time you meet.

And, all are equally important.

Here are some of the firsts you need to consider with your prospects:

• First time they see your ad in the yellow pages
• First visit to your website
• First time they land on a “thank you” or confirmation page
• First time they call you
• First time they drive up to your martial arts school
• First time they step foot in your martial arts school
• First time they shake your hand and meet you
• Your first conversation
• First time they talk to one of your assistant instructors
• First time they talk to one of your students
• First time they use your restroom
• First email they receive from you
• First class they watch
• First lesson they take from you
• And more.

The reality is that most of these are in your direct control.

How can you make each interaction the most remarkable it can be? How can you make a lasting positive impression?

If you haven’t done this in a while, evaluate every contact point you have with prospects and see if there are ways to improve those critical first impressions.

Put yourself in their shoes and remember it’s about them, not you.

How do you address some of these opportunities to make great first impressions?

Popularity: 2%