By Wesley B Murph

Ever hear of legendary copywriter Gary Halbert?

He was one of the greatest copywriters that specialized in the ability to turn even the most skeptical prospect into a buyer using only print media. This is not the easiest thing to do, and yet Halbert did this consistently time and time again.

But so what?

What’s this have to do with you growing your small business?

A bunch.

You see you too need invigorating fresh copy to persuade prospects to drop what they are doing and buy something from you. You can do this with a hot sales letter, a client newsletter or some other kind of direct response marketing campaign.

And the truth is Gary Halbert was one of the best at doing this.

The purpose of this article is to give you a few tools to kick start you next small business marketing campaign using three tips taught by Gary Halbert.

Ready to see what those are?

Let’s dive in.

3 Small Business Marketing Tips By Copywriter Gary Halbert:

1. Put a good sales letter into place.

Imagine having the ability to mail a sales letter to a group of prospects, and have a predictable percentage of them buy from you. So let’s say your sales letter gets in the hands of 500 prospects. And of those 500, 3% buy from you based on what’s in your sales letter. That means you just picked up 15 new customers.

And the cool thing is you can mail this letter over and over again.

So it becomes a predictable way to grow your business based on how many times you mail it.

Make sense? Good, let’s move on to the next idea.

2. Movement beats meditation.

Halbert was famous for saying this in just about every seminar (or publication) he ever gave. It’s a funny way of saying do something. There is nothing new behind this concept. But how many people do you know have great ideas in their head, but they never act on them. I know a lot of people like this. In the business world, these types love to gather knowledge. Buy sadly, they rarely do a darn thing with what they know. So what’s the purpose of knowing a lot unless you take action of what’s in your head?

I think people are afraid of making mistakes because it’s easier to know something and not act on it, than it is to act on something you know.

3. Implement fast.

Gary was all about implementing marketing campaigns fast so you know immediately if you have a winner or a dud. This way you don’t waste time wondering how something may perform. You know right away, and you can keep it or move on to something else.

By Chris Buell

Newsletters are a great tool for businesses that want to keep in regular contact with their customers and prospects, build lasting relationships, and market their products and services effectively. But there’s a certain science to effective newsletter marketing. It’s different than traditional direct mail marketing where you blast out a hard-selling advertisement to your mailing list.

To get the best results from your newsletter marketing campaign, follow these simple tips.

Know your audience

Who is going to be reading your newsletter? Current customers? Prospects that you hope will one day become customers? Your colleagues?

You need to clearly identify who your audience is, so you can create a newsletter that appeals to their interests. The more you know about your audience, the more effective your newsletters can be.

Focus on building your list

Your mailing list will play a huge role in the effectiveness of all your direct mail marketing efforts. You want to make sure the people receiving your newsletters are actually interested in reading them. Otherwise, you’re just wasting money and killing your potential return on investment.

You need to make sure your list is top quality. If you’re going to buy a list, be sure that the recipients on that list meet the criteria of your target audience. You should also put some energy into building your own house list as this will always be more targeted than a list you buy from a vendor.

Don’t always sell, sell, sell

Yes, newsletters can be a great marketing tool, but that doesn’t mean that you should approach it like you would a traditional direct mail marketing piece. You don’t want your newsletter to be one big advertisement. It should contain useful content that your audience will find interesting. Remember, newsletter marketing is about building relationships. Focus on presenting yourself as a trusted expert, and when applicable, push readers to take some specific action.

When you give your readers information they can benefit from, they’ll continue to read your newsletters and turn to you whenever they need your products or services.

Study other newsletters

Take a look at newsletters being sent out by your competitors and even companies in other industries. Learn from them. What do you like about their newsletters? What do you dislike as a reader?

By studying other newsletters from the point of view of a reader, you can do a better job of creating newsletters that will appeal to your audience.

Listen to feedback from readers

Let your readers tell you what kind of content they want. Encourage your readers to contact you with their honest feedback about your newsletter. Whenever someone new subscribes to your list, give them the opportunity to share their preferences with you. All of this ensures you create a reader-centric newsletter that people will love, share, and respond to.

By Melanie C Turner