Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Toll Free # And Website In Direct Response Ads???

Posted by Anonymous on 3/26/2009 at 1:25 PM ET 125 Points
Hi all!

I'm brand spanking new on here, so, first off, nice to be on board.

I will be launching business card sized ads in newspapers nationwide in a few weeks. The purpose of this is solely lead-generation. Here's my questions:

1. Is it better to have just a toll free # in the ads, or, the toll free # AND my squeeze page? I would MUCH prefer the leads call in, but, am I being unrealistic?

2. Do the same numbers apply to my campaign as they do in direct mail - .25% to 2%?

3. I have a strong headline, great copy, a nice call to action & a super offer. Am I leaving anything out? Do you guys have any feedback on working with an ad space so small (getting attention, layout, position in the paper, etc.)?

4. Anybody have any similar experiences with something like this? Would like to hear your "war stories".

Thanks - Joe
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 3/26/2009 at 2:18 PM Accepted
    Hi Joe,

    In answer to your questions:

    1) Yes! Absolutely include both. And, if possible, put a slightly different URL or extension in each ad, so you can tell where the traffic is coming from. If that's not possible, include a code, as well as an incentive for using it.

    2) Response rates will vary greatly depending on the offer, the list, the creative - and how well they match up (an ad for Geritol in a publication for new mothers probably won't do well). It will also depend on how attractive your offer is. A free iphone offer will get a high response rate (but the leads may not be qualified).

    3) Without seeing your ad, it's hard to tell how good it is, but sounds like you have everything covered. If you send it to me offline, I'd be happy to take a quick look at it.

    4) After nearly 20 years of direct marketing, I've got lots of war stories, but the key ingredients to success, as noted before, are list, creative, and offer.

    Hope this helps.


    Jodi

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/26/2009 at 2:46 PM Accepted
    If you can, instead of launching nationwide in one swoop, do it gradually, testing the results as-you-go and tweeking it for results. Ideally, split test the ad if your newspaper supports this. If you do a single blast, you won't be able to tell what worked (and didn't) and potentially improve the ad next time.
  • Posted on 3/26/2009 at 5:09 PM Accepted
    The happy medium, if you want calls, make the phone # dominant, and at the bottom of the ad in tiny type have your website with a unique landing page as mentioned above.

    Second. Make sure you can answer the phones. If you are running a lot of ads, or maybe even one, and you are unprepared for taking the calls, you will be wasting your money. That's a common mistake.

    Third. There is no such reality as an average response rate to go by.

    Four. Most newspaper ads are; Run of Press. i.e. they put you where you fit. If you had a choice, you would want to be on right side of an odd page 1,3, 5, 7, etc. Odd pages are right side pages.

    I have some good articles on the subject, contact me and I'll give you the URL to get them free.
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