Can You Spend Brand Awareness?

This is an odd question to ask, but it's relevant when it comes to marketing. Why is that, you ask?

Because it ties into the seemingly never-ending debate between the merits of ad agency "branding" (or image)-type marketing... and old-fashioned direct-response marketing. If you've read my blog for any period of time, you know that my bias is towards the latter.

The reason I thought of this question was because of a meeting I had with two local radio hosts. I met with them to see how I could increase the effectiveness of their advertisers' radio ads. The better response they get from their ads... the more sales and money they would make... and that would increase the chances they would stick with this radio show as a longer-term advertiser.

Makes perfect sense, right? Well.... not exactly.

As I explained the difference between direct-response and branding-type marketing, it was obvious that one of the hosts wasn't sold on it. He starts asking question after question about "if" direct-response marketing was effective... and the one question that he asked (that I wish I had this answer for at the time) was:

"Well, what about brand awareness in marketing?" 

My natural instinct was to give a smart-ass answer and say: "Well, what about it?" But that wouldn't have done much good to avoid an argument.


Let me take a step back and explain this marketing theory.

Ad agency folks love to talk about "brand awareness" because they tell their clients that the more you get your name in the marketplace... the more people will be aware of your brand... and eventually this will lead to more sales and cash flow. But - these "creative gurus" will tell you - this will take time for their creative genius to work its magic, and get the results you want.

Never mind the fact that you can't track how well the ads or campaign are working. Just trust them, keep giving them your money... and eventually it should work out alright. And the more time it takes to "get your name out there," the more money you're paying for unaccountable marketing.

Let's get back to the topic: "Can You Spend Brand Awareness?"


Go to a Starbucks and order your favorite beverage, then ask the clerk if you can pay for it in brand awareness. He or she will look at you like you're crazy, and rightfully so.

Obviously you can't spend brand awareness to buy the material things you want in this life. So why should your marketing be focused on something that's difficult (if not impossible) to measure... and is useless to buy the things you want?

I like marketing that you can measure, monitor and adjust, and will bring in US dollars... fungolas... Federal Reserve Notes - and lots of them. When done correctly, that's what direct-response marketing will do for any business.

Forget about being cool or creative, unless it increases your sales and positive cash flow. If an ad agency or or marketing consultant talks about brand awareness instead of results, snap your wallet shut and end the meeting. Then find a marketing professional who believes in accountable, results-oriented marketing - and not some half-baked yuppie fantasy.

You'll save time, energy and frustration, and have more business success.

Why You Shouldn't Rely On SEO To Make More Money Online

Almost every business owner I talk to wants to have their business on the first page or #1 on Google search results. SEO does make a difference, but it isn't the "magic bullet" that will solve your online marketing problems.

Good SEO practices will help get traffic to your website, but if you don't have good copy and follow-up (via auto-responder e-mails), it won't help you that much. To paraphrase an old saying: "You can lead a prospect to your website, but you can't make them opt-in." 


When you look at improving the results from your website, look at increasing the conversion rate first - before you increase the amount of traffic. It's best to test changes in marketing on a small scale, make sure they're working to increase conversion... then roll them out on a bigger scale (i.e., sending more traffic to your website).

If you get these steps backwards, you will be leaving a LOT of money on the table if your conversion rate sucks. Here are a few quick tips on how you can grow your e-mail list, increase your conversion rates and make more money from your business website:

1. Make sure your website or landing page solves a painful problem for your prospect. Everybody is looking on the Internet for a solution to their problem - not to read how great your company is, how long you've been in business, or if it's "family-owned and operated." Hate to burst your bubble about that, but it's true - it's human nature that we all look for things that will benefit us.

Make sure that the focus of your marketing and copy is on the prospect and his problem. Doing this alone should drastically improve your online marketing results.

2. Offer valuable free information (or "opt-in bait") in exchange for someone giving you their name and e-mail address. Good marketing is content or education-based. As you've probably discovered, people are becoming more selective about how (and with who) they spend their hard-earned dollars. That's a trend that started with the real estate and stock market collapses of 2008, and I don't see it changing any time soon.

The good news is that if you take time to provide quality information, and build trust and credibility with your prospect, he'll be more likely to buy. This will take more time and effort on your part, but if done correctly it will be worth it. And many of your competitors probably won't do this.

3. Have a good series of auto-responder e-mails to follow up with, once someone has opted-in to your list. A common (and true) saying in sales and marketing is: "The fortune is in the follow-up." And it couldn't be more true today. When you write auto-responder e-mails that are fun, interesting and useful, this will let prospects get to know, like and trust you... which ultimately will lead to more sales.

Remember, always test these changes with small amounts of website traffic (to make sure they work) before you roll them out on a bigger scale with larger amounts of traffic. You'll have more sales, better results, and more peace of mind as a business owner.

Is E-Mail Marketing Dead? Far From It...

With all the buzz on how Social Media is taking over the business world, you'd think that e-mail marketing is going the way of the do-do bird and will soon be extinct as a major marketing medium. However, when you look at how marketers are making money online, that's the farthest thing from the truth.

To paraphrase Mark Twain: "The reports of the death of e-mail marketing have been greatly exaggerated."

Savvy marketers such as Matt Furey, Perry Marshall and Tellman Knudson have made and are making most of their money through 'old-fashioned' e-mail marketing. They write their own copy, or have a full-time copywriter perform economic alchemy - magically turning words and ideas into money.

The foundation (or DNA) of your marketing - which includes your website, marketing communications and e-mails - is built upon words. The right words can inspire trust, build relationships, and ultimately persuade enough people to connect and do business with you.

Mark Twain also had another great quote: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes." The Social Media hype and buzz of today is similar to the tech/telecom/dot.com boom of the late 90s. Internet marketing 'gurus' said it was all about 'clicks and eyeballs.' Profits didn't matter because 'it's different this time.'

Social Media gurus talk about the power of "likes" and "re-tweets" as proof that SM marketing works. I don't doubt there's some value in being popular; however, I'm not sure this popularity always translates into profitability and sales - which should be your main goals as a website or business owner.

E-mail marketing has one big advantage over Social Media: When someone is reading your e-mail, you have their undivided attention. With Facebook and Twitter, you're competing with dozens - if not hundreds - of other people and companies. I know that e-mail marketing has worked (and still works) consistently for savvy marketers - if done correctly - time after time.


A good landing page and series of auto-responder e-mails will attract qualified leads, and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. If your website isn't generating the leads and sales you want, ask yourself these questions:


1)  Do I have a good landing page (or opt-in field on my Home page) that's easy for people to sign up?
2)  Am I offering valuable free information in exchange for someone's e-mail address?
3)  Am I following up with enough auto-responder e-mails to educate the prospect on the value of what I have, and...
4)  Am I making an attractive (or preferably an irresistible) offer?


If you've been using Social Media marketing without much success, maybe you should consider giving 'old-school' e-mail marketing a try.