MaryEllen and Charlie got into an argument the other day. Now don’t get the wrong idea – no fists were flying. And, in fact, their discussion can help you become a better marketer. It could even win you some new customers… and more money for your bottom line.
Here’s the back story: We wanted to send a note to some of our customers. They’d purchased a product, and we wanted to let them know about some great new add-ons they weren’t aware of.
“Great!” Charlie said. “I’ll write a letter explaining the bonus material.”
“No way,” said MaryEllen. “We should send them a video instead.”
You see, Charlie – in addition to being ETR’s Associate Publisher – is our top copywriter. And as a copywriter, he KNOWS the power of good copy.
But MaryEllen is a diehard multi-channel marketer. And she’s got years of experience proving that the more ways you can “touch” your readers and customers, the better.
“Listen,” MaryEllen said, “There are tons of reasons for us to send them a video.
“For one thing, it’s a personal connection. They’ll get to see my face and hear me telling them exactly what they’re getting.
“For another thing, it’s different. We’ve already sent these customers regular letters. We don’t send out videos all the time. It’s unexpected. So even the people who have too much e-mail to get through might click ‘play.’ Which means they’ll get information they might have missed otherwise.
“Not to mention, Charlie, you’re in the middle of writing a big sales promotion. And filming a quick video will save you time… and allow you to concentrate on other important copy.”
MaryEllen’s sound reasoning won Charlie over. And 10 minutes later, a friendly, informative video was all ready to go.
Should you fire all your copywriters and rely solely on video? Of course not. Great copy is irreplaceable. But every marketer should branch out into multiple ways of reaching their target audience. That means using e-mail sales letters, video, banner ads, television ads, and much more. You’ll reach more people. And you’ll reach them more often. So whenever they’re ready to buy, you’ll be right in front of them.
[Ed. Note: The more marketing channels you use, the more money you stand to make. But before you jump into any new form of marketing, you should know a little about it. You can get the details behind channels like Internet marketing, television, magazines, and much more in the brand-new book MaryEllen Tribby co-wrote with Michael Masterson. The book doesn't come out until October 28 - but you can learn more about it and the power of multi-channel marketing at www.ChangingtheChannelBook.com. And keep reading ETR for details on when the book "drops" for real.]
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