Dvd > Improve Your B2B Direct Mail Response Rates With Premiums.

Improve Your B2B Direct Mail Response Rates With Premiums.

by: Alan Sharpe

Premiums are an effective way to increase your direct mail response rates. Whether you are selling a product or service directly through the mail, or whether you are using a sales letter to generate leads, premiums can help you boost response, increase conversions and motivate buyers to pay now rather than later.

A premium is simply an item that you offer to your buyer to take action. As Dick Benson has said, ?a premium is a bribe to say yes now.?

Premiums are effective because, dollar for dollar, they are better incentives than cash discounts. Given the choice between receiving a free Apple iPod or a $200 discount on their order, most buyers will opt for the iPod.

Here are some tips on using premiums effectively.

Aim for desirability over relevance

The key to choosing the right premium for your audience is desirability. If the premium is related in some way with what you are selling, that is great, but whether your prospect desires your premium is more important than if the premium is associated with your offering.

For example, a firm that manufactures heavy-duty fasteners could offer prospective customers an oversize bolt in the form of a paperweight, or they could offer a $200 gift certificate to Best Buy (the home electronics store). The paperweight is relevant but undesirable. The gift certificate is desirable but not relevant to the firm?s business.

The best premium, of course, is closely related to your offering, is desirable, and makes your prospect look like a wise buyer.

Choose premiums with high perceived value

You want your premium to look as though it costs more than it does. A leather attach? case, for example, that has a high perceived value but only costs you $30. Or a portable DVD player that appears worth $150 but costs you only $40.

Test your premiums

What works for one business buyer will not work for another. What works in one industry will not work in another. One inexpensive way to test high-end, expensive premiums is to offer them as ?back-end premiums? that your prospects must request. Segment your list into equal-sized groups, mail a different premium offer to each segment, and then count your responses to see which premium draws the best response.

Promote your offer, not your premium

Your premium is the bribe for saying yes now. It is not your offer. And because you should only sell one thing in a direct mail package, you should sell your offer and give your premium away. You want your premium to be the incentive to act, not the reason to act (after all, some people respond to direct mail offers just to get the premium, then they cancel their order).

Check the law

Some industries (defence, for example), forbid their employees from accepting gifts or premiums from vendors. So check before mailing.

About The Author

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using business-to-business direct mail marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at www.sharpecopy.com.

alan@sharpecopy.com

Home Equity Loan ? Home Theater Adds Fun and Value

by: Charlie Essmeier

In days gone by, the family typically spent their evenings watching television in the den or living room, crowded around a black and white television set that may have measured no more than nineteen inches in diagonal size. For decades, this scenario was pretty much the same in most American homes, with the only change being the replacement of black and white televisions with color models. This worked fine for many years, when most cities only had two or three stations, and most homes didn?t have cable television. With the introduction of high definition television (HDTV), DVD movies, high performance surround sound systems, and affordable video projectors and flat-screen plasma displays, many homeowners would like to have a dedicated room, or home theater, for audio-video use. In today?s housing climate, adding a home theater to your home is a smart move.

Few homes have a...

Home Equity Loan ? Home Theater Adds Fun and Value

Dvd > Home Equity Loan ? Home Theater Adds Fun and Value

GPS Navigation Systems: A Must-Have

GPS Navigation Systems: A Must-Have

by: Chris Robertson

GPS Navigation Systems are a lot like DVRs (better known as TiVo). People who don't own them fail to understand why they're such a big deal, and those who have them can't live without them.

Today's automobiles come with a variety of extras, from passenger side air bags to the ubiquitous car alarms. Entertainment options range from high-end speakers and CD players to multiple DVD players. The GPS navigation system, however, forms the bridge between safety and entertainment features. While they're definitely entertaining, they can also become a must-have safety net in your travels.

GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) navigation systems can replace all the maps in your glove compartment and ensure that you arrive at your destination on time. GPS navigation systems are equipped with mapping software and can give you driving directions, show you alternate routes if you're stuck in a traffic...

GPS Navigation Systems: A Must-Have

Dvd > GPS Navigation Systems: A Must-Have

Jack The DVDRipper Comes Back To The 21st Century

Jack The DVDRipper Comes Back To The 21st Century

by: Ted Peterson

Don?t worry! It?s not about killing; it?s about converting ?

Still, if you want to be a ripper, do it for a good purpose! For you, for your friends, for your computer, for your free time and - who knows - even for me!

As a matter of fact, I?m not talking about crime at all! That is, if you don?t have a strange fetish with DVDs. Though, if you have one, don?t worry, this DVD ripper is not that ruthless. You can only use it in order to convert audio or video data, to transfer what you have on your DVD to your hard disk, to make a digital copy of a DVD file format.

If you don?t trust share programs, if you have a low download speed and it would be easier to knock your friend?s next door than wait for hours until the movie you desperately want to see downloads, it?s better to borrow the DVD. You?ll have the possibility to see it a hundred times if you want! Unfortunately,...

Jack The DVDRipper Comes Back To The 21st Century

Dvd > Jack The DVDRipper Comes Back To The 21st Century

New Year - New Diet - New You?

by: Ron Goodwsen - Imagine Me Media

Are you about to make yet another new year?s resolution, as you see out the old year, along with it?s broken promises and failed, good intentions?

Fresh with new-found conviction, after the gross excesses of the Christmas period and our usual failure to control ourselves, we arrive at the new year?s resolution, an annual triumph of hope over reality!

Hope, that this time you will have the single mindedness to succeed, where last time you failed. I?m not suggesting for a moment that you do not want to succeed, I?m sure that your desire to lose weight is genuine, but here?s the reality, it?s a hope, a dream and what?s the point in having dreams if you?re not going to make them happen?

You may dream of winning the lottery and yes, you could win! But it?s down to chance and you have a better chance of flying to the moon, than of winning the lottery.

Making a real...

New Year - New Diet - New You?

Dvd > New Year - New Diet - New You?

Car Video Monitors: There Not Just For Your Kids Anymore

Car Video Monitors: There Not Just For Your Kids Anymore

by: Dwayne Wright

When car video monitors were first introduced to the market, they primarily consisted of either an overhead or flip down monitor. These types of monitors were geared mainly towards parents who took long trips in the family minivan with their kids. These days, there are quite a few more car video monitor options available to consumers with varying reasons as to what they are used for. Of course the market is still filled with parents looking to keep their keeps occupied during long rides, but now people are installing monitors to entertain business clients, review DVD presentations on the way to a meeting or play the latest Madden football game with their buddies on the way to a pro football game. Aside from the overhead and flip down monitors other types of car video monitors available to consumers include: in-dash monitors, headrest monitors, sun visor monitors, and mirror...

Car Video Monitors: There Not Just For Your Kids Anymore

Dvd > Car Video Monitors: There Not Just For Your Kids Anymore

Don't Use Markers to Label CDs and DVDs

by: Adam Platzer

Many people use markers to write on the surface of their CDs and DVDs when labeling their media.
What most people do not know is that using markers, such as Sharpies, ballpoint pens, or any other sharp object can be very damaging to the media.
Most markers contain chemicals that create oxidation, which can deteriorate the CD or DVD.
The oxidation can ruin the aluminum, which covers the surface of the media and ultimately can destroy the data on the disc.
Additionally, these types of markers can damage the physical structure of the disc.

There are a couple of ways to avoid these problems.
Special pens are now sold which are made specifically for writing on media.
One brand is called Staedtler Lumocolor CD/DVD Markers (pictured to the right).
Another tip to keep in mind is that off the shelf markers can be used on media that has...

Don't Use Markers to Label CDs and DVDs

Dvd > Don't Use Markers to Label CDs and DVDs

Dvd

Increase Profits on eBay by using Drop Shippers

by: Jason Cooper

You might already be one of the many eBay business owners earning a living online with eBay. While most people are working that nine to five job everyday, you're living the dream of self employment and running your own business.

But, if the long hours and hard work just isn't adding up to the profits you dreamed of, you may want to consider using drop shippers to increase your profits.

Drop...

Increase Profits on eBay by using Drop Shippers Dvd

Dvd > Increase Profits on eBay by using Drop Shippers

Dvd vacuum Improve Your B2B Direct Mail Response Rates With Premiums.

Motorcycle Tire Tips

by: Maricon Williams

Motorcycle tires are oftentimes misunderstood. This is a saddening fact. They must be well-taken care of because they affect comfort, safety, handling as well as the entire ride.

We riders must be aware of the two types of tire construction ? the bias-ply and the radial. Cruisers, usually use bias-ply tires. On the other hand, sport bikes use radials. Bias-ply has a round profile and high sidewalls while a radial...

Motorcycle Tire Tips Dvd toyo tires Improve Your B2B Direct Mail Response Rates With Premiums.

Dvd > Motorcycle Tire Tips