The direct response site customer list only applies when the customer has an existing customer list which is generated at a traditional offline business.  Additionally the business having permission to email to them has not put it into an autoresponder.  This is the time to add them to the database.

I’d made the promise to go through each of the 10 Components of a Direct Response Website.  We are going to look at the 1st Component the customer list.

Perhaps it would have been just fine with Direct Response Customer List, but with the addition of the word site it shows the intent of the statement.  Simply put the business has generated leads and a customer list in their store or place of business.  These leads may have utilized free giveaway(s), discount(s), one time discount(s), or perhaps a prize drawing.  All of these activities can generate leads for offline businesses locally.  When doing this ask for their email address and get permission from them to subscribe to your Newsletter.

How to properly convert these Offline Customer lists to an email list.

1.  Set them up on your Autoresponder

- I realize that I might have lost you there so just in case I did let me explain.  An autoresponder is where you will input the customer list for the purpose of sending a newsletter out to your list of opt in subscribers.   You will need an autoresponder that has a good interface and is user friendly.  If you don’t have an autoresponder solution I’d recommend that you sign up for  Awebber is $19.00 monthly or GetResponse is $17.95 Monthly, additionally GetResponse offers a 30 day free trial.

The next step will be to load the leads into your autoresponder.  There is good documentation on the internet on the topic and both Awebber and GetResponse have it right on site for your convenience.

After you have finished loading your leads into your autoresponder I’d recommend crafting your first email welcoming them to your mailing list.  ie. Welcome to the Community Mart Newsletter which will keep you informed of the news and specials we are offering .  In case you don’t remember signing up we were having people … Enter the means the names were collected…  Then the next paragraph will let them know that if they are still interested to click on the opt in link and you’ll be looking forward to send them the news and the specials so that they can be notified before the public.

Once your customers opt in that’s the 2nd time and it’s called double opt in.  The reason for this is that it’s been affirmed twice to them and it lends credibility to the responsible use of the autoresponder if someone forgets and complains.  The great thing is that it helps build additional trust with the customer and they are looking forward to receiving it after that.

Next you will want to craft a welcome message to your customers.  This would be a good time to:

2.  Thank them for joining the email list and to let them know that you value their business.

3. Offer them something special and give them another reason to do business with you.  This might be by  way of a discount, special price on a product or service, a free consultation, a free product or …

4. Give them an incentive to invite friends, families, or acquaintances to join in on a special deal or a free consultation…

5.  Close the message out by letting them know to be watching out for the next Newsletter in their email.  It’d be a good idea to start with more frequency as needs dictate and then settle in a steady, predictable, timing.  Such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

6.  Begin crafting your next message now.  Make sure to put it on your to do list for a certain day of the week and week of the month.  Plan out what your promotion is and write about it.

7. Input the messages into your autoresponder.  Rinse and Repeat.

I trust this post is beneficial to you and would encourage you to signup for the Newsletter and/or the RSS feed to keep up with the news and great information from ssr4.com.  Where we talk about Direct Response Marketing Strategies for Offline Businesses.

If you have found this beneficial I invite you to comment on this post.  You are also welcome to write down questions that could be addressed in future posts.  If you want to know about it most likely others do to.

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We are going to briefly cover each component in to give you a general knowledge of what each component is and it’s purpose as well.  In later posts these will be covered in more depth to provide a more useful format.

1. Direct Response Lead Generation

The lead generation component has two purposes and they are to generate the leads and move them toward the sale.  This can be facilitated utilizing a Landing Page or by utilizing it On Page.  In either case an auto-responder captures the leads when people fill out their email address and name and click subscribe.  When they subscribe it goes into the database and creates the mailing list.  When this happens the subscriber automatically is sent a confirmation email and when they click the link they are on the mailing list as a double opt in subscriber to that mailing list.

2. Direct Response Site Customer list

The direct response site customer list only applies when the customer has an existing customer list which is generated at a traditional offline business and the business having permission to email to them has not put it into an auto responder this will now be the time to add them to the database.

3. Direct Response Site Design

The direct response site design needs to be done with the objectives of the company needing the site.  It needs to be designed in a professional manner for the industry that the company is in.  It needs to be designed so that it can be utilized to guide the prospects through the sales message.

4. Direct Response Site Copy Writing

The direct response site copy writing needs to be written in a moving and compelling way to guide people through the process so that they know what you expect of them.  Are they signing up for a mailing list?  Are they being sold on buying that product or service?

5. Direct Response Site Product or Service

The Direct Response Site or Service needs to have the market research already in place to help support the person writing the copy to know how to guide them through the process to move them to the desired decision as a fully informed customer.

6. Direct Response Site Presell Page (s)

The direct response site presell page (s) purpose is to presell signing up for  a mailing list or buying a product or a service.  They can be designed onsite and/or offsite.  The copy is designed to inform, the prospect to create the interest, create the desire, and guide them to the sales page.

7. Direct Response site Sales Page

The direct response sales page is the component that is designed to close the sale.  It is designed to captivate the attention of potential customers, get their interest, peak their desires, and then spur them to take action. AIDA

8. Direct Response Site Order Page

The direct response site order page is the ecommerce shopping cart where the customer is brought to so that they can make the purchase that they decided on.  It needs to be well laid out, simple to navigate, designed to accept credit cards and other means of payment to finalize the transaction.

9.  Direct Response Site Transaction Receipt

The direct response site transaction receipt needs to cover all the details of the transaction and written so it gives the purchaser peace of mind and leave them as a happy customer.

10.  Direct Response Site One Time Offer

The direct response site one time offer is designed to allow the customer one or more special offers while they are still in the buying frame of mind.  They want to know more about your products or services, and at this stage the trust in you as a merchant has increased so they feel more comfortable dealing with you.

This concludes the post 10 Direct Response Business Components.  These ten topics will be covered in more depth in the future so feel free to stop back for a visit.   Sign up for the newsletter or the RSS feed so you can keep informed of a new post or of news we’d love to have you visit.

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Building trust with people opting into your newsletter or e zine is key to that relationship becoming reciprocal. With Direct Response Lead Generation you’ll find that at the point where you’ve contacted them at least seven times and they’ve made a purchase of a product or a service you’ve only achieved the first step of building their trust, which lead to your first sale to them. Continue providing them with what they need to know to make informed decisions about your products or services in the niche you serve and be yourself when you communicate with them and you’ll be able to foster the relationship with your customer who has now moved up to your buyers list.

Personally I have a number of newsletters I subscribe to and find myself drawn to the people that have provided needed information including tips, tricks, methods, facts, and related details. As I’ve been in their sales funnels I’ve moved from being a subscriber to a buyer and as the relationships have matured in some cases it’s been multiple sales as well as moving into higher ticket items. This has all happened as a natural result of wanting to know more about the product or service, being provided the information without a catch, and having things of value offered at a reasonable price from the now trusted source.

We’ll cover the internet based Direct response methods we need to utilize to generate these leads, additional methods to develop the relationships, as well as more on the sales funnel that was alluded to in another post. For now I trust that you have a great and productive New Year and that you’ll click on a feed button so that you will be notified when there’s a new relevant post.

When you go to the bank you’ll notice that they have very specific logos and they are on their signs, letterheads, brochures, web sites, advertising specialties, and everywhere else they can publish it either online or offline.  When you see the logo you don’t even have to be able to read the sign since that identity is so prominent.

This is what you want to achieve for your business so that people will identify that logo as being your business.  If you work primarily out of a local market then the people of the local area need to know who your are by the logo.  When they do your business is properly branded.

Creating your businesses logo isn’t something which you should create on the fly.  It needs to be something that is quality work by a designer who has a focus on branding as well as excellent graphics skills.   This logo is worth investing in and will carry you through the years when it’s done right.

Keep in mind that when the logo is utilized it should be with specific fonts as well as spacing so there is consistency no matter where it’s published whether it’s offline on brochures, business cards, or on the sign for your business or on a website, web directory, or a blog. When these things are utilized consistently it’ll optimize your brand awareness campaign and raised consumer awareness.  With the raised consumer awareness the revenue should be more consistent and will aid in your companies viability in the marketplace as well as the profitability which is every business owners desired outcome.

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The questions which might have come to mind to some people might be:

How on earth could these two worlds converge?

What would be the purpose of the converging?

Why would a business owner want them to converge?

All three of those are great questions and let’s take a look at each one.

How on earth could these two worlds converge? This begins when a business owner decides to have an online presence.

What would be the purpose of the converging? The purpose is to broaden the exposure of the business to a much broader market in order to inform, educate, and/or interact with potential customers.

Why would a business owner  want them to converge? The reason why a business owner would want them to converge would be to utilize the world wide web to brand the company, create visibility of the company along with it’s products and services as well as the promotion of the company resulting in increased revenue. Ironically most of the Web Designers designing great technological websites which really look nice miss out on what would be considered by many to be the main purpose and that is to create a website that generates revenue for their clients businesses.

There are a couple of reasons why this may be the case.

1. The Website Owners didn’t express their intended purposes or know that it could truly generate revenue for their business.

2. The Website Designers specialize in creating great websites, but may not have a marketing background or any training in Internet Marketing.