This Underrated E-mail Marketing Technique Can skyrocket your ROI

---

I get dozens of marketing pieces in both my mailbox and email box on a daily basis. I’m betting that you get more than your share, too. How do you sort through it?

Most of us only read the headline and take a quick glance at the photo on direct mail pieces – using less than five seconds of our attention to deciding if we are interested to know more about this product or service. LESS THAN FIVE SECONDS! The same is true for a radio ad and television spot, too. 

Our ears are finely tuned to discern an ad spot from a news spot. We as consumers are inundated with new offers every day. The novelty of direct mail and other advertising venues has worn off. The sheer volume of promotions being pushed at us is overwhelming. 

E-mail marketing can be too expensive if you are not getting fair ROI. This can lead to failure of your campaigns and eventually cost lots of money. And sometimes, it becomes hard to find self-motivation after failure. That is why having a strong and persuasive email marketing plan is a necessity. 

Use your five seconds wisely by getting to the point and getting there fast!

For example, tax season is here. If you’re a tax preparer, it’s prime time for you to advertise … right alongside your competition. Which of these headlines have the best chance of being noticed?

A. Taxes ‘R Us offers fast, dependable service.

B. Put More Money in YOUR Pocket on April 15th!

For my money, “B” gets my five seconds of attention. As the client, I want to either pay less or get back more. That’s my bottom line benefit. “A” tells me too much about YOU … I don't care about you, I want to know about ME.

Here’s a three-step process to help you create your client’s or customer’s bottom-line benefit headline:

Step 1:

Using a two-column page format, make a list of features of your product or service in one column. Directly across from that, identify the “bottom line benefit” of that feature for your client/customer.

For example, in the above tax preparation ad, a feature of your business would be: “We work hard to find every tax deduction possible for your individual return.” To transform that feature into a benefit, simply ask, “Why does my client care about that?” What good is it to the client for you to find every tax deduction possible?

Answer: You save your client money in what they have to pay in, or you put more money in their pocket with a refund. That’s a bottom-line benefit for your client.

Features focus on you. Benefits focus on your clients. List as many features and benefits as you can.

Step 2:

From your finished list choose a recurring benefit or one that is unique that can’t be claimed by your competition. Maybe you are equipped to process returns in 48-hours or less. If that is unique to your company be sure to say so in your ad to differentiate yourself from your competitors. (Caution … don’t promise something you can’t deliver.)

Step 3:

Once you’ve chosen your strongest bottom-line benefit, experiment to work it into an eye-catching, PERSUASIVE headline. Try to keep it to ten words or less. Five words would be even better to make the benefit unmistakably clear. And remember, when crafting the verbiage, clients don’t really care what you can do; clients care about what you can do for them!

It’s difficult to master bottom-line benefit advertising, but if you take the time — or spend the money — to develop just one great ad headline, it can double or triple your ad response from your targeted audience. And that kind of return on your investment puts MORE profits in YOUR pocket!

Rahul Rokade is an author at Cherish Happiness. Read his latest blog to witness instant happiness.