The President's Email Campaign

Recently, my left shoulder almost fell off. Okay, that was what I told my wife to get nonexistent sympathy. (Last time I had a cold: “Honey, my lungs are filled with lava; I require coddling.”)

Since I’ve had joint surgery on other limbs, my left shoulder felt ostracized, alone. So it developed a bone spur the size and sharpness of an eagle’s talon that dug into nerves, flesh and anything else to make you cringe on your way to sending a donation to help pay the orthopedist.

Perhaps charitable donation copywriting isn’t for me.

But it certainly was for the team that recently got 690 million dollars donated to Mr. Obama. Via email. All online. You read right.

Whether it’s political fundraising or contractor services, mass persuasion that drags nearly ¾ of a billion dollars with no direct benefit to the donor is a flat-out marvel. So how good would it work if you offered a very direct provable benefit? (I’m referring to you, dear contractor!)

A team of 20 writers and 4 strategists composed these emails, and allowed some students (including pain-riddled and groveling me) to review the techniques. And here they are…

This is not about political fund-raising. For this editorial expose, I could give a rip who got elected, or their platform. This is about the dissection of persuasion, and one you might employ, since the ONLY difference between a rotten marketing campaign and one that keeps you busy for weeks is your ability to persuade.

In fact, if you were NOT for Mr. Obama, then perhaps this is your rare opportunity to extract value from the re-election. Personally, I’d grab it.

Toby Fallsgraff, lead strategist for this avalanche of emailed millions, has a word he uses a lot: testing. So you can look at this very short list and draw two conclusions.

1. You realize that its relative simplicity resulted from complex testing of 4.5 million coded responses, in layered double blind, A/B split testing that considered manifold data query, constantly re-setting the controls at each “win” or…
2. You think it’s bunk and you want to do it your way.

Either way is fine by me; one of the choices can greatly impact you.
NOTE: Regular SMI readers and MegaMarketer members may recognize some steps from earlier research, also used in our Web Marketing PowerProgram. Yet to re-affirm their incredible effectiveness with added data, here you go:

1. List Segmentation – Fallsgraff’s main 7-figure genius. He found that the more specific the emails were in recognizing donors, the more they donated. (My overly-repeated phrase “Specificity rules response.”)
   
   That is name, behavioral habit (“You gave $75 in 2008”) and familiarity-triggers. “At our age, you and I remember when…” etc. The days of “one ad fits all” copy is dead. Targeted, tonal copy matters, folks.
   
   The researchers found the Top donor groups as follows, and I’ve inserted the direct parallel equivalent (PE) in your business.
   
   
   • Previous – Those who’d given earlier in the campaign were asked again. PE: Most recent purchasers. Recent repair to old system credited to new system.
   • Quick – A subset of the above whose information was saved for the automatic payment. PE: “We have your information on file and can process your Agreement instantly.”
   • Non – Names on file but no donation. Copy was specially formed to move them forward. PE: A credible message, laced with testimonials, guarantees, “trust builders” and solid offer.
   • Lapsed – Those who’d donated in previous campaigns. PE: What we call “reactivation” letters and emails in our PowerPacks and PowerPrograms. These are mildly guilt-inducing, enticingly reactivating.
     
     
2. Quick, Convenient – Short sentences, email length limited to 300 words, line length pared to < 10 words, paragraph depth < 6 lines, “donation options” shown 1 per line (reduced confusion, focused attention on single numbers) such as:
   $3
   $35
   $50
   $100
   $250
   
   Notice carefully chosen price points clustered where they felt most would give ($35-$50) and larger differentials at top and bottom.
   
   
3. Conversion Magic – 300% increase in response here with one change. The ‘old’ way was to link to a brief form for demographic capture. (Nearly all fund-raisers function this way now in muted effort to segment.)
   
   Yet genius testing proved that those numbers automatically triggered payment, specifying with clarity, “Your donation will go through automatically.”  There is power in each word there, removing the mystical middleman, or processing costs, or other subtle impediments to unfiltered donation.
   
   
4. Test the Message – The 20 top copywriters poured copy onto the strategists and programmers. Testing was fast and furious, with “winners” (we say “controls”) remaining king until toppled.
   
   As covered in Coaching calls and seminars, I often yell … I mean “coach”… about the importance of Subject lines. All the great copy, fancy linking software and sophisticated segmenting mean NOTHING unless…
   
   They open the email. Most writers treat subject lines like an afterthought, yet they’re the caviar of copy. (This very SMI tested 2 subject lines; I’ll publish the winner if you vote at the bottom.)
   

The #1 Subject Line.
Prior to the Web PowerProgram, I’d written perhaps 1,500 subject lines and pared down open rates to 3 categories:

• Curiosity – Is this yours?
• Situational – Was it something I said?
• Impending event – This ends soon.

From these results, we ended up with 44 Subject lines (having just added 16 more for a collection of 60 “rip me open now” email lines) but the #1 Subject Line, out of over 200 written to nearly 3.4 million people for the most lucrative online fund-raiser ever conceived was synergistically linked to the emotions and sensibility within the target groups. It breaks new ground for Direct Response copywriters due to its first-person, near-defeated stance.

It read:

“I will be outspent.”

That email by itself, raised $2,600,000. (And yes, we’ve already written and are launching our test equivalents to this subject line, ready for the Version 3.0 PowerProgram to debut February 28 nationally. Want to be on the notification list? See below.)

Perhaps you can use these suggestions to help get some of your customers to donate to you. I suspect they’ll get more from you than promises and taxation.

Should you do really well, I’m still accepting donations for my shoulder. My orthopedist thanks you too!

Adams Hudson

• Which is the more-opened subject line? (Results in next issue of SMI.)
• TEST #1: Secret Email Strategy that Re-Elected a President
• TEST #2: The President’s 690 Million Dollar Email Strategy

• Click to be put on the Advance Notice list for the much-awaited Marketing PowerProgram 3.0. This program integrates offline and online marketing, and is an entirely new level of “done for you” marketing for contractors.          

Turn Brain Dust into a Brain Trust

Seemed a fair question. A few articles ago (11/28/12),  I asked you kind readers whether or not I should join Dan Kennedy’s Titanium Group. Let’s not mention that none of YOU has to pay the annual fee that is more than I spent for my daughter’s “nearly new” Honda Accord.

Some of you felt the fee was a bit of a rip-off. Of course, you answered fairly, based on what information I supplied. This was Unfair to you, since I do get extremely energized at the meetings, and felt more “one-on-one” would be helpful.

Yet most of you said – and I’m paraphrasing here – “Just shut up and join, then extract many nuggets of wisdom, and cast them my way on demand.” So yes, dear readers, I joined.

And a funny thing happened that I cannot explain, but will try: Though I have not yet attended a single meeting…

I’ve already extracted value beyond the entire year’s fee. And here it is…

Let me back up a second. Years ago when I began giving live seminars for various groups, an odd exchange took place. I was discussing arrangements with two different distributors, same time of year, same number of reachable dealers, same marketing topic, with the same fee quoted.

But their responses were quite different.

One said, “I have such a hard time filling the room, so that fee is pretty expensive.” Another said, “We’ll have no issue filling the room, so your fee is fine.” What was the difference?

The first one – surprisingly enough – didn’t charge his dealers anything. His assumption was “no barriers” meant a higher turnout. He saw dwindling, largely disinterested audiences of “about 20 or so” at his meetings, too often there for the coffee or to complain about the seating arrangements.

The second one – wisely enough – charged $59 a head, discounted to $40 each for additional attendees. He regularly put 50-70 eager contractors in a room who were more qualified, more interested and actively seeking a business advantage.

The lesson ended up being that dealers put a value on what they were there to learn; each formed a “you get what you pay for” mentality. The “free” 4-hour seminar reeked of low value, and perhaps a misuse of time. A slight fee elevated the value, the attention and the will to extract knowledge.

Lesson learned.

Since my newfound MasterMind group meeting was to be an “investment” of about $7,000 a meeting, a certain “value seeking missile” was ignited in my brain. (Or perhaps my “cheapness gene” went into self-protection, hard to say.)

Regardless, I adjusted our annual goals. This was eye-opening. I dropped one product entirely, but added focus to another. Later, an idea about subcontracting a troublesome part of Hudson, Ink to a better-qualified off-site expert emerged.

Then it became wise to extend “my” mastermind to include my managerial brain trust at Hudson, Ink, so I put 3 managers on a “Net Profit” bonus. This ignited their value-seeking missiles. Soon, ideas were formed out of this discussion on how we (Hudson, Ink) could build a better product launch for Spring in a more efficient, effective way. One example:

Instead of time and effort for Direct Mail that pointed recipients to a Landing Page, we decided to employ our Affiliate Partners to help us launch a video training series using email first. Based on the results of that, then a push using Direct Mail made more sense. (Direct mail, by the way, is still experiencing a rather large comeback, returning the best ROIs we’ve seen since 2007 across the board.)

So, before the first meeting, our focus began steering toward more meaningful goals, to be reached faster with greater overall benefit. Yet there’s a second reason I began doing this little exercise that has nothing to do with the money.

Competition.

In the room with other high achievers, I didn’t want to be the weakest link. I wanted to show up prepared and – if necessary – quantify reasons to belong, and share as I could. Maybe that’s my ego, but that’s what I was feeling.

I am now completely, thoroughly, positive that I’ll extract even more value, well in excess of the fee paid. There is indeed something magical and internally motivating about being in a MasterMind group. If belonging to, sharing with and being accountable to other success-minded people was NOT in your 2013 goals, I encourage you to add it. How?

• Have a monthly “meeting” either online, in person, via phone/email where you provide an orderly exchange of ideas, goals, challenges with others.
• Join an existing “best practices” group – could be one of the larger paid groups with “Live” events, a more casual ACCA Mix group or our MegaMarketers. (If you join in January, you get the whole first month complimentary, PLUS 2 training videos and downloads.)
• Plan to attend at least 4 smaller, focused seminars and at least one large national seminar within your trade. 
• Other? Tell me what you plan to do in 2013 to turn your brain dust into a brain trust: goals@hudsonink.com

My promise: The rewards of any of the above will far exceed your time and investment.

Here’s a no-cost video on the MasterMind concept explained more fully.

5 Things the Super Successful Do Not Do

The hyperactive, hyper-achievers seem to relish differentiating behavior. Why? Market leaders, by definition, don’t copy and can’t wait on the crowd. However, they often sensibly “reformulate” based on proven criteria. Those stories, new successes and “breakthroughs” carry them into the future. They tend to see a wave coming and prepare to ride it ahead, while others frantically splash about. Which way are YOU going next?

The 5 Behaviors and “New” Habits of Successful Contractors are revealed below. Do not read this if you are unwilling to read some harshness.

1.  Accept the Norm. 

A few examples: If “normal” contractors spend over half their budgets in the Yellow Pages and perennially complain about the sorry results, the leaders shun same. Our top clients spend about 20% in the Yellow Pages – less if we can make a business case for it.  Likewise, the “normal” ad is a stupid, puffed up, ego-driven and ridiculously ineffective ad designed for “Free!” (featuring sweating penguins, starbursts and “for all your heating and cooling needs”) by the staff whose design criteria is to “not stand out too much.”  (They succeed – the ads in the heating and cooling section all blend together in a sea of sameness. Guess what? That’s bad.) Leaders advertise with customer-focused direct response ads that DO stand out.

Likewise, if the “crowd” is not having success with Maintenance Agreements, the leaders find a way to pile them on.  If the “crowd” is not getting publicity, the leaders focus on it. If the “crowd” doesn’t want to invest in customer retention, the leaders quietly amass legions of devoted fans by using it.

2.  Resist Outside Advice from Qualified Experts. 

The “fear of change” aspect again. Leaders typically hire specialists in finance, estate/succession planning, insurance, legal, marketing, sales, personnel and technical training. They see these as “investments;” the crowd sees them as “unnecessary costs.”  In time, the gap between the investor and the fearful non-spender widens. The “crowd” calls them lucky. The leaders would call the crowd names, but they have bigger things to focus upon.

SIDE NOTE: Our Coaching Clients typically say things like “just having someone on my side, giving advice and urging me forward is worth several times the fee.”  That was NOT a plug to join OUR Coaching 

Program, but to find someone, someplace, where you get a regular “sense of mission.” Looking at the same walls, the same employees’ blank faces, generally will not do it.

3.  Refuse to Look at the "Hole in the Bucket." 

If the website visits are going down, there’s a reason. If the response to direct mail has sunk, there’s a reason. If your ‘old’ customers aren’t calling you back, there’s a reason.  If you regularly hear people ‘not’ requesting a certain tech of yours, there’s a reason.  All are costing you.  Turning the other way doesn’t make it go away or get better.

Self Admission Time: Though our ‘renewal’ rate for newsletter clients had gone up, I still wondered about those who did NOT renew. So we launched a 3 part mail/email/call campaign to all who – for any reason at any time – didn’t renew.  It’s amazing.  Many new phone calls, old clients feeling “appreciated” and new orders came in.  The hole in the bucket is now smaller.

There are negative habits, practices, trends in your company NOW that are reversible. Take a hard look at them. Be the leader who a) Admits b) Takes corrective action c) Measures and repeats accordingly.

4.  Get 'Hurt' by Criticism. 

Sorry, but we’ve become wimpy, politically-correct, crybaby-prone fence sitters concerned about everyone’s self-esteem.  This is, to me, the ‘fear’ behind change.  We fear resistance, reluctance, ‘making a wrong move’ (so we make NONE) or offending.  Respectful leaders forge ahead without bullying but also without regard to slings and arrows of sideliners. Most critics do little other than criticize. So, if you have something you’ve “been thinking about doing” for awhile, there’s a God-given reason it won’t leave you alone. Apologies to Nike^©, but just do it.

5.  Expect New Results from Old Habits. 

The “old” model has died. The economy rupture of last year just gave it a not-so-respectful funeral.  Those who change are going to manifest their destinies accordingly.  Yet following the same marketing pattern, sales presentations, going to the same discussion boards and same industry events with the same speakers, are NOT going to bring change.

Best thing you could do is buy a plane ticket to visit a business you want to become and find out what they did. Ask whose advice they sought, what ‘systems’ they have. You’ll find that they were never afraid to change. Emulate that.

Watch for these 5 nasty habits in your business, and pick one thing you can change now.