The Fear of Loss is Often More Powerful Than the Desire For Gain

In my seminar, Why People Buy or Don’t Buy, the eight most powerful buying motives are revealed.

Two motives that often trigger the most buying are the Desire for Gain and the Fear of Loss.

The Desire for Gain is when you have something good and you want more, whether it be money, health or any other prized object.

The Fear of Loss is often tied to financial loss, but likewise could be the fear of poor health or losing freedom and independence.

If you can tie one of these buying motives to an urgent problem, you can get the attention of prospects.

For example, a landing page I wrote for a unique prostate formula uses this headline:

                                  Prostate Rip-Off Leaves      
                                Millions of Men in Misery

Countless men are suffering with urinary frequency and urgency, even feeling helpless in the bedroom, because of FAILED prostate supplements.
                 

                                             Learn how a new breakthrough delivers      
                                    15 times more powerful prostate and urinary relief.

 

The landing page goes on to reveal why a special type of saw palmetto is being effectively used by men in Europe to alleviate their prostate, urinary and performance problems, yet most Americans are not taking it.

It also exposes five Saw Palmetto Rip-Offs that are leaving many U.S. men in misery. 

The solution?  A superior Saw Palmetto comparable to that used in Europe that’s 15 times more powerful that typical saw palmetto.

What’s more, it’s been clinically proven to increase maximum urinary flow by 51.4 percent…reduce frequency of nighttime urination by 73 percent…decrease prostate size…and improve sex!

The Fear of Loss has powerfully motivated men to order this unique prostate supplement—and the promotion is currently running very successfully.

Could a landing page design make a big difference in sales? You bet!

It’s been known that in direct mail, graphic design excellence can boost sales and profits.  This is why the best graphic designers are most often the ones behind pieces that mail in the millions.

         

But would this hold true for a landing page selling a nutritional supplement?

         

A recent split test by one of my clients showed the value of hiring a top-notch graphic designer for landing pages.

In this test, a landing page I wrote was laid out by one of my freelance designers and by an in-house designer
 

Every send was split tested to see the difference between the designers.  The results?  Eye-opening!  The freelance designer’s piece generated 60% more $$$ per name and 50% more $$$ per click. The end result?  Over 53% more dollars generated!

Proves this point:  It's worth it to hire a freelance graphic designer.

   

The Direct Marketer’s “Ultimate” Customer

Ask any direct marketer of consumable items such as natural health supplements who is the ultimate buyer and the answer is likely, “Anyone who buys on Auto-Ship.”

As you know, “Auto-Ship” is when a customer signs up to buy a product AND also agrees to have more product automatically shipped at an agreed upon time, like every three months.

Of course, this new shipment is automatically charged to the client’s credit card (with approval)…so for a direct marketer, this means a steady stream of income without having to send out renewal notices or additional promotions. 

           

Ideal, right?  You bet.

Normally, I’d say you should test “Auto-Ship” offers.  In the past, I’ve only had one package that went out with an “Auto-Ship” offer and while it did well, it wasn’t a super winner.

But now that’s all changed with a piece I recently wrote which is now rolling out.

The offer was not tested.  The client made the decision to turn the “Best Offer” 6-month supply, with the greatest savings and FREE Gifts, into an “Auto-Ship” offer.  We also included typical 3-month and 1-month offers with no “Auto-Ship.”

To be frank, I was a little worried about the offers—as you know, the offer is 40% of the success or failure of the promo.

The piece is a winner!  Surprisingly, 50% of the orders are coming in on “Auto-Ship”—making the piece even more profitable!

I’d still recommend you test “Auto-Ship” offers.  But this has opened my eyes to the HUGE benefit of “Auto-Ship” orders.  If most or all of these customers stay on “Auto-Ship,” this product’s sales could be off the charts!

Can subject lines affect size of average order? You bet!

You know testing subject lines is vital for on-line marketing. 

These tests can result in significant differences in open rates, click through rates and of course, orders.

         

But could they make difference in the size of the average order?  Yes!  And this can make a huge difference in your profitability.

         For a natural testosterone boosting product, I wrote two different subject lines:

         Subject: 3 reasons why most testosterone boosters fail

         Subject: Will the next great testosterone booster be unjustly banned?

The first subject line (3 reasons) was followed by an email that revealed that most testosterone boosters fail because they work too slowly…have only been tested on rats…or lack high enough dosages for fast results.

The second subject line (unjustly banned) was followed by an email that revealed that most every low testosterone solution has come under scrutiny by Big Government.  I then added that if history is any indication, the government may soon ban many legitimate natural testosterone boosters by lumping them in with steroids and unnatural hormones.  I then told readers that this new breakthrough T booster is perfect legal, over the counter, clinically tested and still available “at this writing.”

The results of this test?  Both subject lines produced similar open rates and click through rates.  But the average order of the “Unjustly banned” subject line was much higher—so it was the clear winner!

“Ultra Specificity” in Headlines Boost Response

When I write a headline, for a direct mail piece, a landing page or a video sales letter, one thing I have to ask is—is the headline specific enough to make it stand out?

“Ultra Specificity” is a term coined by American entrepreneur and writer Mark Ford.  It’s one part of the four “U”s he and his business partner Bill Bonner identified in studying successful headlines.

They discovered that all great headlines had a sense of Urgency…contained something Unique…offered something Useful…and were Ultra Specific.

So when I write a headline, I want to make sure it includes specific features and/or benefits, facts or statements that make it stand out among competing headlines and make it more authentic and more believable.

Here are three examples of very successful headlines…

For Reconnect, I came up with a headline that doesn’t just promise conquering hearing loss—but 5 types of hearing loss.  As the prospect reads on, he/she learns these include age-related hearing loss…blockage of normal sounds…vertigo (imbalance)...ringing in the ears…and noise-induced hearing loss. 

For Advanced Cell Rescue, I zeroed in on the secret of healthy 100-year-olds, not just healthy older people.  If these centenarians could escape major age-related health problems, I figured prospects would want to know their secret. 

And for Seanol I first asked the question if this rare sea plant was better than green tea.  Then wrote you’d have to “drink 200 glasses of green tea a day to get the antioxidant protection of a daily dose of this 62-cent extract.”

I always try to write headlines that single out a product or service, headlines that are “ultra specific.”  As the examples above show, these work like gangbusters.

Why testing is vital to keep a package alive

I must confess…it’s very easy to get “comfortable” when I write a winning promotion.

It’s easy to rest on your laurels—and let the package mail and mail, sometimes for years.

But I was recently reminded of an important lesson when it comes to successful direct marketing: 

You must always remember to TEST to keep a package alive and to boost response.

Case in point are two mailings that have been successful. 

The first is for a unique supplement that helps alleviate urinary incontinence and bladder control

problems.

The old control used a headline format that had worked well for the client.  I call it the “Never worry” headline.  In this case the client was using, 
“Never Worry About Urinary Incontinence Again…Guaranteed!”

This teaser copy was tested against a new headline I wrote, 
“Three biggest lies about urinary incontinence…exposed!”

The new package, which also included slight changes in the letter headline and lead-in and the

newsletter headline and lead in, beat the old control by 29%.

The second example is for a men’s prostate formula.

The old control used a headline the client wrote, 
“For Men Who Want Better Holding Power.  
Cash in on a Guaranteed Natural Solution.”

This teaser copy was tested against a new headline I wrote, 
“Startling new prostate warning from The Mayo Clinic for every man over 40…”

The new package, which also included slight changes in the letter headline and lead-in and the newsletter headline, walloped the only control by an eye-opening 64%!

These two examples once again prove that testing can often keep a package alive…kick-start

response…and bring in tens of thousands more dollars on each mailing.

No wonder advertising great David Olgilvy wrote, “The more you test, the more profitable your direct

mail will be.”

And direct marketing legend Claude Hopkins added, “Almost any question can be answered cheaply,

quickly and finally by a test campaign”…and “Let thousands decide what millions will do.”

Test, test, then test again.  Your pocketbook will thank you.

Writing Killer Subject Lines

I‘ve been fortunate to help my clients sell a gazillion dollars worth of on-line products and services—and that success starts with the Subject Line.

A great subject line has one and only one objective: To get a prospect to click and read your next message.

If you fail at this stage, your online promo will sink faster than the Titanic.

So what makes a killer subject line—one that the prospect must open?

I’ll answer that in a moment, but first, here are some subject lines for successful on-line promotions I’ve written:

Subj: Why Most Detoxes and Cleanses Fail

(for natural colon cleansing product)

Subj: Double Your Testosterone Without Shots or Gels

(for e-book on men’s sexual potency and health)

Subj: Why the Chinese Don’t Get Sick Like We Do

(for health newsletter on Chinese Healing Miracles)

Subj:  4 Surprising Forecasts for 2014

(for an investment newsletter on premier Blue Chip Growth stocks)

Subj: Reduce Nighttime Bathroom Trips by 64%

(for a special men’s prostate/urination health formula)

Subj: Rare Sea Plant Better Than Green Tea?

(for a unique natural health formula sourced from the sea)

Subj: The CoQ10 you don’t know

(for a special, more absorbable form of CoQ10)

Each of these subject lines was linked to an email ad that led to a landing page or video sales letter…or directly to the online promotion.

What do they have in common?  Ideally subject lines…

1. Are short, around 5-6 words
2. Make a controversial or contrarian statement
3. Tease, tease, tease
4. Ask an intriguing question
5. Reveal a unique promise or benefit—the more specific the better
6. Attract the ideal prospect
7. Make the reader stop—and click
8. Stand out from the ordinary

In many ways, a killer subject line is like a killer headline for an ad.  It must make the reader, stop, read and read on—or in this case, click.

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If you’d like to see samples of my successful online promotions—landing pages and VSL (video sales letters)—just email me at kkomae@aol.com