NOW we are getting somewhere! Good job Danny!

JUST for the record, the term "Direct Mail" IS the “generic” (all encompassing) term for mailing directly regardless of the targeted prey or the mass, unqualified mailing we get in our mailbox all too often...

BUT

For the sake of clarity, I agree it is good to differentiate and make powerful distinctions when discussing those big, “generalized” phrase such as “Direct Mailing”. (Target mailing, junk mail, market centric mailing, endorsed mailings… etc, just like ALL magic is NOT "just" close-up, or illusion or mentalism... etc or even bigger, The Human Race… dig?)

For the record, I am a huge advocate of highly, lazar targeted and qualified (even anticipated, or best yet, endorsed mailings…) marketing and such, direct response mailings. By n' larger, I am also talking about THAT important distinction as Danny so outlined.

There IS a place for 'each' depending on the product... etc.

This is where the 4 "M's" come into play in part.
The RIGHT:
- Market
- Message
- Medium
- Moment

Great discussion... Party on!

I am at your service and In HIS Service,
Deano (just being clear) in Reno
<><

PS
Maybe a glossary index of marketing words and phrases would be a good “sticky” that we can all add to over time to refer back to time n’ time again?

PPS
GREAT ROI Nick!

Dean

Good Stuff!!!

Ken

This raises the question that I have always had about direct mail. How does one determine the target market? I have a general comedy magic show. I don't have a motivational show. I don't do kid shows. Just a comedy magic show. I also perform strolling. I want to book corporated events. Either for stand up or strolling. How do I narrow my target market to do a mailing? Do I just pick a market? Is there a way to pick that market? something better than pulling a name out of a hat?

What a great question...


The answer is... you want to target people who buy you type of product.

Certainly the BEST way to do that is gaining access to a list of real BUYERES who have already shown a predisposition or propensity towards actually BUYING comedy and magic shows. (or what-ever your product niche is...) The obvious notion is that IF they have already bought and paid for your product range, they are more likely do it again.

OK... good, but where in the world do I get THAT sort of information?

- Well, you could start with a PHONE BOOK. Yep, surprisingly there are professional buyers of close-up and comedy magic shows already right-there listed in the phone book! Sometimes they are called agents, sometimes, event planners...etc. Hey, we KNOW they are more likely to have need for what we sell, so why not at-least let em' know we are here and capable of helping them make money in their business. (Huge tip and distinction, for those who 'get-it'.)

Obvious?

Maybe, but in my mentoring/consulting business and all over the net, you'd be surprised how few professionals really apply this basic, common sense strategy. Like it or not, common sense is not always common place! Sad, but true.

- Too, there ARE 'list brokers' who can grant you access to this, "very specific" information, but it WILL cost you.

- There are "directories" of every manor, shape, size and distinction.

- Awe shuck... how about the internet!

The simple POINT:
What-ever your product, you simply need to find and expose yourself to individuals and groups of people who are more likely, or have proven themselves to be YOUR TARGET AUDIANCE.

EXAMPLE:
One of my coaching student relationships is a children and family entertainer. We simply got him in front of likely prospective buyers of children and family shows and now his business is on fire! It was just that simple! NOW, we have to beat em' off with a stick... it’s nuts how busy and successful he is now!

Didn’t take that much, (LESS Than a month!) and you'd THINK that the answers are obvious (and they ARE!) but like I said, we too often are looking for some mysterious "No Sweat, Magic Bullet Marketing That's Do It All For You!" type situation and we forget the obvious basics of common sense success!

The TRUTH is, if we are honest with ourselves, we really KNOW the answers to our basic marketing questions, and often (Too often in-fact) we simple DO NOT “do” what we know we need to do waiting for that "Magic Bullet Marketing".

Heck, just do a simple search right here and you will find more suggestions that most would be ever willing to take actions on anyway, so it’s NOT really a lack of "information" is it?

Clearly it's NOT a "knowledge" problem, it's an "ACTION" problem! I have NEVER had a student who was willing to take the appropriate action not succeed, cut n' dry!

- Success is a VERB!
- It requires ACTION!
- It doesn’t matter how you FEEL!
…DO IT ANYWAY!

I am at your service and In HIS Service,
Dean
<><

"The KEY to Success is that Successful People have simply formed the habit of DOING the things that UN-Successful People are un-willing to do... regardless of how they FEEL!"

Dean, thanks for the response. I appreciate your advice. but I'm still stuck...
You're right, the phone book is the obvious choice, but unfortunately there isn't a heading for "companies in need of entertainment" or "companies that have hired entertainment in the past and will most likely do it again". Even a list provider will not get that specific will they? Since I don't have a specific target market, I have tried to create one. I have gone to internet sites such as info USA and typed in queries. I started with companies with 100-300 people, within 20 miles of my house. This gave me a listing of over 1000 companies. Now if I do a 3 part mailing (as many people suggest, you're talking $1000 bucks and that doesn't even cover the cost of the list) I don't have that kind of money to spend. So I narrow it down to within 10 miles. Still it gives me many more than I can afford. It seems to narrow it down enough I have to be SUPER specific - for example: banking institutions within 5 miles of my home with exactly 125 employees etc. There has to be a better way.

Call first, and ask questions. Then you will know who to mail to, or if they even hire entertainment. Targeting mailing is WAY more effective. Yes, it's more work in one way. But all worthwhile things take effort, not easy solutions.

- Donald

Yes, there are...


Nuthin' wrong with the folks who do this for a living is there? They certainly ARE "companies in need of entertainment" or "companies that have hired entertainment in the past and will most likely do it again" aren't they? (That is just TWO... there are more.



By definition, that is there job. Yes they DO get that specific. Now it's true that some list may be better than others, but YES, their entire job is to offer and the valued solutions they provide “is” VERY SPACIFIC lists... that is what they do. (Or they end up going out of business or on the net for free.)

Either way... it WILL require an investment of your most valuable resources, Time, Talent & Treasure. There is a price for every prize and YOU will have to pay that price for you, your business and your success.

I will re-state what I said earlier...
- Success is a VERB!
- It requires ACTION!
- It doesn’t matter how you FEEL!
...DO IT ANYWAY! (If you really want success!)

Free, online list servers will likely NOT provide the accurate solutions you want... it will cost you something one-way-or-the-other. (Time, Talent or Treasure!)



YES, "you" have to choose what your target audience is, not some free online list service, I can’t do it for you, no-one here can do that for you... it's all YOU.

I will say that you are right, if you just pick companies with 300+ employees you will get a pretty big, non-specific list. You have to choose your target and them pick your 'selects' (The list term) based on your chosen target market.

EXAMPLE:
I am doing a series of "Marriage Worth-Shops", in my area, so I would choose "selects' based on that target. Married Couple In Nevada is a pretty big target, right? How would I narrow that down to a reasonable list and appropriate 'selects'... so my list selects might be more specific:
- Married Couples
- With-in a certain geo/zip
- Married for at-least 10 years (for ONE mailing)
- Married for LESS THAN 3-10 years (for ANOTHER mailing though SAME event!)
- Bought marriage and family life books, programs or attended seminars, counseling... etc
- Online preferences and sites visited within my selects… etc
blah, blah, blah, blah... etc. The more specific, the better!

See how it works? Of course, each list co is gunna be different as to how specific they will be able to get or not, BUT it WILL cost you something! (Time, Talent or Treasure!)



WHY? If that’s a good match, what he heck is wrong with that list???

Certainly, if it were me, I would refine it a bit more, but THAT is what I am constantly referring to when I say that it will take some “Resource Investment” – Success ain’t free my friend… sorry! It’s gunna cost you something… time, talent to treasure to say the least.

Sorry that it’s not likely the answer that you wanted, but there is no “Magic Bullet” answer or solution to be had.

So maybe MONEY ain’t your most plentiful resource, (which is all the MORE reason to take action now!) so maybe you will need to invest more on the “Time & Talent” side to get the results you are looking for, but you WILL be required to invest one way or the other! – As they used to say on Dragnet; “Just the facts maam, just the facts.”

REMEMBER:
There is more than JUST the phone book and the list co’s… (Which are BOTH a killer resource if you know how to work-em’!) but their ain’t no free ride! Sorry I don’t have a better answer than that for ya’ than that!

The GREAT news is; if you are truly willing to do the work you can create a killer list for practically FREE, but it will take some real effort, but the payoff has always been some of the best ROI (Return On Investment) ever!

Good luck!

I am at your service and In HIS Service,
Deano
<><

"Success lies in the simple fact that Successful People have formed the habit of DOING the things that UN-Successful People are un-willing to do... regardless of how they FEEL!"

This may be begging the question, but once you do get some customers in your database BE SURE TO CATEGORIZE THEM. If they are listed in your database according to useful categories, then you can do some TARGETED MARKETING.

I think that some useful target categories are:
1. CUSTOMER TYPE - Daycares, Corporate, Churches, etc.
2. AUDIENCE TYPE - Kids, Adults, Senior Citizens
3. SHOW TYPE - Walk-Around, Stage, Picnics, Mentalism
4. TIME - December shows, summer parties, a particular date like a birthday or Halloween
5. FINANCES - Send special mailings to your TOP 100 customers.

I use MagicBase and I'm happy to say that it allows me to categorize and search on ALL OF THESE TARGET CATEGORIES.

I just did a little mailing to daycares last week. It was a simple click to search for all my daycare records and send them a letter and printed envelope with their name mail-merged into it.

The point is that there are a number of ways to target your customers. Store them that way and use them.

I mainly work trade shows and direct mail has never seemed to work for me. I call people directly and then follow up with a personalized mailing. This seems to work much better.

Direct mail definitely works. When I am not doing my mini chop cup routine, I work for a cutting edge marketing company that creates marketing and advertising material for everything from your local pizza place to the travel industry. We do a revolutionary three tier direct mail program that I have never seen done before and gets a response like no other. To simplify it, it is basically three mailings to the same list with a combination of tactics utilizing letters, postcards, etc. This is very cheep and extremely effective.

My thought on direct mail:

Actually receiving something interesting and clever in the mail has become a thing of the past. Because of the age of email actual snail mail has dropped by the wayside. This is why clever direct mail has such an impact at this time. People are almost shocked when they receive mail from others in their mailbox. Every year that goes by this becomes more apparent. The age for almost exclusive emailing is somewhere in the mid thirties right now and creeping older. Some people don’t even know the price of a stamp. Birthday cards, anniversary cards, Christmas cards, who does that anymore? Who even pays their bills through the mail? You know what I mean. But everyone checks their mail when they get home from work every day like there is going to be some kind of little surprise waiting behind that little locked door.

We do magic and there are so many clever things to do through the mail that is magic related. We have an edge that someone trying to sell a 7 day cruse doesn’t. Being different is the key, and that’s what we are. Targeting prospective clients are like hunting cows at the zoo.

If anyone wants help putting together a direct mail program PM me and we can talk further. I actually find this fun.