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Well, hello, hello, everybody, it’s Mike Stewart. And here we are with Mike Stewart dot live, doing what I said I was going to do go live on a regular basis. And there’s all kinds of reasons that we’re going to get to in this show. And we’re gonna have all kinds of wonderful guests. And in fact, one of the dearest friends of the world of mine, a brother from another mother is our guest this morning, how calm and he’ll be on the show here in the second half. But right now, I want to go ahead and get straight into the content of today’s show. Number one, um, I want to share this slide with you. And what we’re going to be talking about today is direct response marketing, but how I’ve done it with video in the inspirations and things that you need to go to the Google and research and just understand about and, you know, look it up and just just look into these things
. So let me get over here to where I control my slides. If you’ve missed
Never heard of this man right here. This is my guest today how Coleman and mine he’s been a mentor. To me in his writings. He wrote a lot of books he’s written, he’s created a lot of events. This man has created more millionaires than you can imagine. You can’t You can’t count all the successful people. People like Russell Brunson, who has one of the most successful online businesses called Click Funnels was a mentor of Frank Kern, a lot of colleagues, I used to speak on the stage with our Dan Kennedy. mentors, and they were in his inner circle and, you know, they learned direct response marketing from him. And the reason I know he used to be, you know, the real deal. But anyway, Dan was my mentor. I was honored to speak on His Gk IC Glaser, Kennedy stage multiple times on audio and video marketing. There’s me speaking at Gk I say I did it many many times. And I got to hear Dan speak about direct response marketing. And of course, I apply these principles to video.
Now I want to talk to you about what I want to go in depth with my host today. How about direct response marketing? And I’m living proof of a lot of these strategies. And and of course, there’s a lot of advertising people out there that may not agree with what I’ve said, but you know, quite honestly, I don’t care i’m, I can just tell you that text, audio and video or media text was originally done in print,
direct mail, direct response marketing was done in magazine ads, newspaper ads, before there was audio and television. And now today, there’s audio and video media, which means
there’s print radio and television is what we had until the internet came along. And now the internet is all free. But at the same time, they’re all media and what Dan says a delivery of a message. Now,
Dan said one time on stage, all businesses need direct response marketing. Now you can do other types of marketing. But he said everybody if you want to
Get to make money, you need to create a message that gets a response. And that’s kind of why it’s called direct response marketing is because the message you give motivates people to take a response a yes or no
action to a call to action. And he also said one time, which makes a lot of agency people mad is small businesses can’t afford brand marketing. And what what he meant by that was to build a brand requires a lot of exposure and frequency, and it gets really expensive. Now, if you’re on a shoestring budget, or you’re just trying to build a business, and you’re spending all this money building a brand, but the phone ain’t ringing with business.
You can pretty much dig yourself a hole you can’t get out of. So that’s why he said you can’t afford to start with branding. Now. There’s nothing wrong with building a brand. I’m trying to build a brand with Mike Stewart dot live, but I’m doing it you know guerilla style. I’m doing
a shoestring style, I’m not trying to spend a whole lot of money, I just figure over time and exposure and frequency of doing it as affordably as possible. That brand will build. But right but to start off building a brand, you need direct response marketing. And what he said one time from the stage, direct response marketing is the perfect message to a hungry market. So in other words, you have got to construct the perfect message with a call to action. And you don’t you don’t send that message to the wrong market. It’s got to be a hungry market for the problems you solve. So an example he used to say many times problem agitate solve asked for the response. That’s the formula that has made me I’ll probably millions of dollars, have been tabulated Exactly. But over the past 15 years, millions of dollars literally by just using this one formula I heard from Dan years ago, state the problem that people have, tell remind, remind people how bad the problem is.
And then explain to them why you’re the solution. And then say, if you believe on the receipt of the solution, here’s the response I want to do join my email list, go to my website, call my phone number, those are all calls to action. And if you leave out that formula, it’s probably just a branding message. And a branding message is is great. But you know, it’s like, for instance, the big advertisers, McDonald’s, I’m loving it, you know, it’s a great brand message, but you know what, everybody’s not loving it. It’s not a call to action. It’s, I know you’re hungry, and have a growling stomach really is a bad thing. So if you come to McDonald’s, we’ve got delicious hamburger fries and shakes that you’re gonna want so what I want you to do right now is call the number and get 10% off your next visit. If you’ll just call the number come in and say you saw this ad that’s the same ad off the top of my head for the same product. So yes, McDonald’s is a brand very recognizable golden arches, all those things, but we know that from years of exposure
And billions of dollars are advertising. But when you state a problem, remind people how much the problem is bad. Tell them that you’re the solution and tell them what to do next, you can get a percentage of the people to spend money with you.
And this is the one that I know makes I had people the maddest, pretty doesn’t sell words and stories do I’ve heard Dan say that, you know, pretty is, is getting gorgeous logos and graphics and beautiful photography and high end videos and all those things. But if the message is wrong to the wrong market, it doesn’t matter how pretty it is. It’s the stories and the words that resonate with a market to make them take a direct response. And one of the most powerful media’s is my passion, audio and video delivering direct response content via audio and video.
And I know this is true, this is my good friend Jim Edwards and I we did a half a million dollars on the first ever To my knowledge, video training for the winner.
It was called website video secrets we sold
about $500,000 courses over a period of a year. And in 2005, before there was a YouTube before anybody, in fact, I believe To my knowledge, I’ll take credit for it. Gemini were the first person to ever to do what was called a video sales letter. Now what is word video sales letter come from? Dan Kennedy. Dan Kennedy was talking about building sales letters that were mailed out through the postal service. And then he said, I remember one time Dan said, the internet is nothing more than direct mail with electrons, meaning it was video it was sales letters that used to be sold, sent through the post office. And then people could go look at it on their computers on internet browsers. So the same cost psychology that worked with the direct mail business work with the Internet, and we took the psychology of the sales letter and just put it in video and it became known as the video sales letter. So I believe we invented it, we didn’t get credit for it. But you know, I I’d love somebody to
prove that they were doing it before 2005 Gemini were the first and we were teaching it back then at website video secrets.
So now, I want to introduce my dear, esteemed direct response marketing brother from another mother. I’ve known this gentleman for 41 years. And we both have a common bond of music. In fact, I met how
through a dear mentor friend of ours, Larry Latimer, because Larry was selling jingles sometimes tune again these days for the internet. And how, as an amazing singer, amazing guitar player, an amazing songwriter. And, you know, he’s got a number one country record called the bird you ought to Google that in YouTube and listen to the bird by Jerry Reed. How wrote that song written a lot of great songs. He’s one of the most creative human beings I’ve ever met. And that was the day that was back in 1980 when he and I met
Maybe it was 79 but that’s what how looked like and 79 that’s what I looked in 1980 that was the night I recorded. I was cable when cable wasn’t cool for Ted Turner. So how years ago said I want to do a Mr. offline and Mr. Online partnership with you, which we have we do it in the pest control business. And that’s what we’re doing these days. So I want you to see what you can see what I look like on the left over here. So let me bring in how right now
and get them this is one of the things that that’s practicing this stuff. I’m bringing how Larry are my friend. How are you doing, buddy? I’m doing great Mike. And it’s amazing that we both still look exactly the same as we did exactly this. Don’t wait. Oh, Lord. So how, if there’s anything you have any comment on there because I know from our experience working together all these years and being friends all these years and and having joint ventures and
partnerships that have been fun and profitable.
Just as you and I are both fans of music, you know, you see my guitar behind me and I see your guitar behind you. We still love music, we do music for Pest Control agencies, and all kinds of businesses. But tell me your perspective on the direct response marketing tips that you would give folks. Well, my thunder asked that you know that my favorite subject to talk about it, I would carry this this little illustration to show you how direct response marketing works. direct response marketing is designed to get somebody to take a specific action at a specific time. And the best way to illustrate that versus brand or institutional advertising is to I like to use Goodyear. Now, let’s suppose you’re sitting at a at a baseball stadium, and there’s there’s 50,000 people in that stadium watching a game
And you look up and there’s this blimp hovering up over the stadium you watch it for hours there’s a real good chance that that that is a Goodyear Blimp. It just says Goodyear on the side of the blimp. Okay, you’re with me. Now. Let’s suppose that out of out of the 50,000 people in that stadium Mike, how many automobiles do you think are parked in the parking lot?
You know, oh, well back in the days 50,000 Who knows? housing, you know, let’s say there’s 20,000 automobiles in the parking lot. Now. How many of those automobiles out of those 20,000 do you think probably need a set of tires? And people know they need a set of tires. You know, you can go a long wayon a set of tires, it’s worn out but you know you need them but, you know, it’s not like you notice you need it.
Next day and you get them so people put off by them so, so there you got you got 50,000 people sitting there looking up and seeing a Goodyear Blimp
and and, and let’s say 5000 of them need tires. How many people during that ball game do you think are going to look over at their spouse or their friend and say
I’m going out tomorrow morning and buy me a set of tires?
Just Just looking at the plant probably a nun? Probably probably none. But let’s suppose that on the side of that blimp instead of just Goodyear it said Goodyear, but under brand underneath it it said buy two tires get to free any Goodyear store and noon tomorrow.
Hmm. Tires get to free any good
Your store and noon tomorrow. Now how many people you think might look over at their spouse and say, Honey, I’m going out tomorrow morning and buy a set of tires?
Well, I’m sure with that perfect message to the right market, the the response was increased tremendously by that call to action. All I want to hear say the response would increase tremendously, because instead of just saying Goodyear, which is institutional or brand advertising now it says, buy two tires get to free, any good your store noon tomorrow, ends noon tomorrow, that is direct response marketing.
They want you to go buy a set of tires before noon tomorrow. That’s direct response marketing and like you said, there’s going to be a significant increase in the number of people that go out and buy tires tomorrow.
That’s, that’s a just a simple example of direct response marketing versus brand marketing.
You know, my good buddy Charlie’s here and he says ugly doesn’t sell, either, you know, I have this confrontation with people who are fans of brand marketing. I don’t say make it ugly. I’m just saying, What can you afford to do first and what you know, and my comprehension of what Dan was saying, he wasn’t saying do things in an ugly manner. He was just saying, You’re taking that message and you’re invoking a response and and in fact, a lot of things that he did were you know, when he said pretty doesn’t sell what he meant was is pretty alone if the message is wrong. I mean, you know, and that’s a great example that Goodyear Blimp we know that logo we know the blimp how many you know
How many tire companies have a blimp? You know, good years the only one so you don’t say the Michelin blimp, or the blimpy sandwiches blimp, you say the Goodyear Blimp. So they threw millions of dollars of exposure have associated blimps with their brand. And if you asked anybody in the football stadium, so that logo up there, what do they sell? Well, everybody knows they sell tires. But by adding that direct response message, a first can invoke a sale. And then when you start getting momentum and sales, then you can start building building that brand. And in some cases, there’s some people that, you know, if they’re growing their business and getting profitable,
that that brand expense may not be as important. You know, it’s like one of the things we talk in pest control. There’s an agency in the south of the United States I don’t know if they’re all over the United States but cookies pest control, they and they got a slogan looky looky looky here comes cookie.
Cook’s pest control.
And but it’s not an that’s a great brand and the world knows that brand. But when people are wanting to get rid of their problems, they’re going to go to Siri and go, Pest Control near me. And if cookie doesn’t come up, they’re going to get somebody that, you know, looks like they’re going to solve their problem. So those are the
those are the kind of things that, you know, the direct response market is good, but you know what is going on right now, I thought I’d throw this little slide up here. If you want to get some more of how Coleman’s wisdom Be sure to check out pest control, marketing podcast.com. And of course, every second and fourth Monday of the month, we are doing Pest Control marketing dot live.
Even if you’re not in the pest control business, there will be something that you can use for your brick and mortar business or even your online business. Because what we talk about passionately, is a direct response marketing, how we’re getting we’re getting a lot of comments here, but
Is there anything else that you want to
want to share about response marketing, number one, my Pest Control market and applies to any small business, any small business, not just pest control because they all basically the rules and laws of marketing and communication are the same, you know, but
going back to the prettiness the pretty doesn’t say Oh, glitter doesn’t say, oh, shiny doesn’t sell bow use sales. That’s another way of saying it. But you know, what has sold more
items than anything in the history of advertising? Black ink on white paper?
Yeah, black ink on white paper sales letters,
sales, you know,
people reading about products, and a lot of times, people tend to get things designed graphically so that the graphics totally overpower the message and the
Message doesn’t get read because people are too busy with the graphics and when that happens, you lose you just lose. You lose the sales
Well, you know, the whole purpose today is like I said is is to maybe stir up some controversy.
You know, everybody doesn’t agree with us All I know is for my business and I know your business. We are bigger fans for small business
using direct response and you know, there’s a lot of big business I know when we were on your show earlier today we were talking about
Mike with my my pillow calm. I mean, you know, there is a national brand, but his ads are just chock full of direct response, more direct marketing response triggers, you like to call on the response triggers once you talk about response triggers a little bit before we take some questions here. Well psychological buying response triggers your buying buttons or simply words, phrases
graphics that generate a buying response that makes somebody you know, in the early days when I went into the pest control business, you know, over 30 years ago back in 1990, I was in the Yellow Pages because there was no internet. And I put
a do together page, I do a lot of pest control companies in there. And that was a that was the Internet of the time. And when people would call and I would always ask, Well, how did you?
How’d you find out about me? They’d say, I found you in the Yellow Pages. And I would ask the question, well, because I put my name on my yellow page ad at the time, I really didn’t know how important that was, but I just thought it was cool. I was proud of my name and my company. So I put Hal Coleman. So I would say why did you choose my ad over the other ads? And they would say, most of the time that said, what could you had your name on there? And I felt like I knew somebody there that I could ask for. So
Putting your name and especially your name in a face attaching that to your company just like my Glendale did with my pillow just like Lee Iacocca did with Chrysler just like Dave Thomas did with
Wendy’s just like Colonel Sanders did Colonel sands putting a name and a face with a business is a response, you know, that generates a buying response from people, that one thing pushes them over the line and causes them to swipe a credit card. A call to action is a response trigger a powerful when rather than just putting your phone number,
give them a reason. Tell them to call now. And why should they call offer something of value to them free that they can get to help them without having to actually buy from me that’s another powerful response generator. An unbuilt a guarantee is a response generator though the longer the stronger the more response you get. So
There are all kinds of words and phrases
that generate your buying response. That’s the that that unlocks that buying vault in people’s brain and they say, Ah, yeah, that’s the reason I want to do business with you. And there are a lot of them. I actually have a
workshop I do you know, the top 12 buying response triggers that you should be using in all of your marketing and advertising and sales presentations.
Well, we got time enough for a couple a few questions. My good friend, Tom Brooks is here with a great question that I want you to address. And I’m gonna address and this is your chance, if you want to get a question in. This is what Tom says how I says what’s an easy way or best way to track your advertising effectiveness. And you know if it really works, well, I want to tell you something that that I highly recommend from the online side is, you know, number one, coupon codes and other words. In fact, in today’s livestream,
I’m going to have a coupon code that is only available from this live broadcast or from an ad. So, tracking coupon codes, I used to tell my clients in video to offer something of value for free at the end of the video, and in fact what it would be, it could be like a free hour of time or a 10% discount, or, you know, anything that says, Look, if you like everything I’ve told you in this video, here’s what I want you to call me and say, I saw your video and I will give you absolutely free this bonus. And when somebody calls or emails or responds with a coupon code or any of these tracking mechanisms, and the only way they could have found out about it was in either the ad or the video or the sales letter. And and then of course, my good friend Charlie Martin hairs here he’ll remind me there’s several
phone tracking systems out there. They’re very cheap.
So in other words, you can give out a phone number that will redirect from that number to your main phone number. And then, you know, you get a report of how many people call that. So in other words, if you put in your ads and your audio ads or video ads, your websites and you use tracking numbers, and then of course, the biggest thing that most people don’t configure, monitor or watch is Google Analytics, Google Analytics will let you know you know how many times people watch videos, YouTube gives you all kinds of analytics. So there’s plenty of tracking tracking mechanisms to let to know what works and what doesn’t work. And what about you how what do you think Well, there’s there’s one thing especially than my industry, which is a home service type industry
that overrides all of that.
And that is to ask this question, how did you find out about me
all boy that’s that’s really Mr. offline.
Right there 12 o’clock How’d you find out about me? I saw your Billboard. I got your thing, your flyer in the mail. A friend of mine referred me to you. I saw your ad. I found you on Google. I saw your all your review just ask. And, and I always had my my technicians with a little monthly sheet on their desk taped to the death. There was a little column
you know, internet billboard truck referral from real estate agent referral from neighbor referral from current customer, we had all these categories and when they talk to us, all they just do is put a check mark down there. It was so easy to track and at the end of the month, we added them up and and we knew where our business was coming from. And and then we knew which areas that we should be spending more time and effort. And you see, we knew where the fish were being caught. So we spent more time fishing in those places. You
You might say, so I get it. You used to have human beings with pencils and paper tracking it. Yes. And I’m recommending electronic computerized ways of doing it while you sleep. Is that what they’re saying? When I went in business my guys use quill pens.
Oh,
first customers, right 98 or 99% of my business comes from the internet thanks to you over the years beating me and kicking me and dragging me and humiliating me for 40 something years until now.
I have my own live streaming show also, but but still when people call say, they say I want to talk to you about your coaching. I said, Great. How’d you hear about me? I’ve been listening to your podcast for a couple of years. I watch that TV show you did with Mike Stewart the other day, or I found you online and I found
Some of your blog articles online or I’ll watch your YouTube videos. It’s all online with me now, but I still never failed to ask that question. And and you watch a podcast? Oh, yeah, which episode Did you watch? They, they tell me they love to talk about how they found you. So I never failed to answer that, to ask that question. And they always tell me exactly how they found me.
Well, I’m gonna do an old school thing right now.
So that if people want to get ahold how, and have a conversation with him, there’s his online presence Pest Control marketer.com. And this is old school, George’s area code phone number that he’s had. Since I can’t, that you had that phone number 41 years ago, didn’t you? Oh, I had that phone number since 1974 when I got married and
yeah.
That just shows
How far we go back my first one my first wife Lynn and I
had that phone number and Lynn and I still have that phone number 45 years later
well you know how you’re you’re just a
library of amazing direct response marketing you’re an incredibly amazing musician and singer and songwriter and and for the folks that don’t know how can sound just like Willie Nelson fact you gotta go listen to the bird by Jerry Reed go YouTube that and when you hear Willie singing, there is a chorus what I’ll show you what he looked like when he’s saying that
I was afraid that might offend Wally and at the Music Awards. We both went on stage together to accept an award for that song up in Nashville and I asked him I said, I hope that didn’t
offend you or any anything that that I was doing a satellite view and and i
I’ll never forget his answer. He said, Man, knock me out.
Well, you know what that that’s a
that’s a that’s a that’s a bucket list dream there. And that’s what how look like when he was singing
the bird. And that’s what I look like when I was trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. And so later on
and we haven’t changed a bit. I haven’t grown up that’s that’s exactly what’s happened to me. So I’m going to look at these comments one more time. Folks, you got Hale here right now if you got any other comments or questions, I like what Tom said here brand plus offer expiration date increased equals sales. Tom is a great marketer out on the on the list. Steve Clark, you say the left coast I think he’s out there in Oregon somewhere. So Tom, glad you’re here. It’s great radio guy, great marketing guy.
Our good buddy, Roger Wilson. We all know Rogers is how’d you get all those words on the blimp? How’s that
I think that’s a that’s a private one on one call with the two of you. Yeah, you’ve got to have a tall ladder Roger, a tall ladder and a big paintbrush. A tall ladder the big thing I think they do it with electric lights out I don’t think they use paint brushes and tall ladders. Well listen folks, thanks for attending this episode of Mike Stewart dot live brought to you by dot live secrets go live repurpose an archive. This is all about content marketing. I mean we love it. I love this interactivity I haven’t people show up. So share us with your friends we’re going to we’re in Apple Spotify. We’re going to be everywhere watch the replay and one of the things that’s great about this the minute we’re done, the replay is available warts and all because this is live television through the internet. So until next in two weeks 10am Central Time Mike Stewart dot live is the channel 10am Monday morning second and fourth Mondays and be sure to check out Pest Control marketer dot live with how there’s plenty
Great information there. I was glad to introduce and have you as one of my first guests on this new show. This is my second show. How had Jeff herring last week. Go back and watch that show? And would you come back if I invited you someday? Oh, I’d love to. This is fun, but I’m wanting to do jail before you had made.
Well, okay in in the scope of technophobia. Man, you know, in the scope of technophobia. Jeff has his own story and you’re 100
All right. See you next time, buddy. Appreciate it. Bye bye.