Comments on: Is This Where I Came In?

By: Lee Marc Stein

Lee Marc Stein — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:17:48 +0000

Thanks for the support, all. I thought I was a goner six/seven years ago when all the people launching dot.com companies seemed to have no respect for dm principles.
And, Jonathan, it’s interesting you bring up T.S. Eliot. In my last newsletter, I said “April reminds me of T.S. Eliot and that reminds me of the Prufrock line “Do I dare disturb the universe?” And I think about TESTING copy and offers that do disturb the universe.

By: Nick Usborne

Nick Usborne — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:11:05 +0000

One of the reasons we conducted that teleconference clinic was because so few people test web page headlines.
I’m old DM pro myself, of almost thirty years now. And yes, all this is known by the DM community.
But whenever I read threads on this topic, I hear everyone saying, “Oh yes, of course. We know that.”
So here’s my question…
If we know it, why don’t we do it?
Even the few companies which do conduct simple A/B split tests of web page headlines often don’t understand the finer points of testing. Many aren’t even sure of the validity of the results they see. Some will make changes to pages based on invalid results.
Meanwhile, we DM pros sit back and mutter, “We already know that stuff. It’s obvious.”
So why don’t we apply what we know?
It sometimes feels like the DM community is observing, but not participating.

By: Stephanie Diamond

Stephanie Diamond — Tue, 02 May 2006 14:21:16 +0000

Lee is right on target! Direct marketing principles are even more relevant today given our ability to test. Anyone who wants to boost their website traffic should begin by rewriting their content and testing it rigorously.

By: Sandra Eggers

Sandra Eggers — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:55:48 +0000

I agree, Lee; these results are not surprising.
As a direct marketer myself, I know that the key is benefit-driven copy, starting with the headline. (That benefit could be saving money, solving a problem, providing peace-of-mind, etc.)
And, in my book, this tenet is not just for direct mail; it is for all forms of communication between business and customer/client.
In the client’s/customer’s mind, there is no more important question than: “What’s in it for me?” And the sister question, “Why should I care?”

By: Jonathan Kranz

Jonathan Kranz — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:52:26 +0000

Right on, Lee! Clever is for amateurs. The real DM pros practice what T.S. Eliot preached: Find the objective correlative, the tangible, visible, physical THING that manifests the promise and makes it real. (Such as statistics, concrete analogies, physical attributes, etc.)

By: Flint McGlaughlin

Flint McGlaughlin — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:30:28 +0000

Thanks Lee…
Flint