We’re going to put a bow on our discussion on irresistible offers today.  Below you’ll find the final 2 tips for crafting your offers.  To review where we’ve been, visit my blog post on deadlines and offers.

We’ll start with the call to action.  I think this is best summed up from an article I wrote a while back in my newsletter titled, “Marketing Lessons Learned from Kona.”  Kona, my Gold Retriever, is now 2-1/2 years old but at the time she had just turned 1 and passed her puppy obedience class.  Here’s the article (but first a picture of Kona and my son, Carson):

I’m very proud to announce that in March Kona passed, with flying colors, the American Kennel Club S.T.A.R. Program!  This is awarded to puppies less than 1 year of age who demonstrate social, training, activity, and responsible behavior.  I’m so proud of my pup!  We’ve already started basic agility training!

This got me thinking about all the things we need to do when we’re training Kona.  I’ve boiled it down to 5 items that we MUST do each and every time we’re training Kona in a new skill.  Here’s the list:

1. Tell her WHAT to do.
2. Tell her HOW to do it.
3. Tell her WHEN to do it.
4. Give her INCENTIVE to do it.
5. They must be clearly understood and concise.

These are the exact steps you must follow when creating your call to action.  For example, let’s say we’re driving our prospect to visit a website from a sales letter we mailed. 

You’ve got to tell them WHAT to do (go to the website www.3dmailresults.com).  You’ve got to tell them HOW to do it (take 5 minutes at your home PC and log on).  You’ve got to tell them WHEN to do it (Right now, don’t delay!).  You’ve got to give them INCENTIVE to act (You’ll get my free “Definitive Guide to Using 3D Mail.”)  And they must be clearly understood and concise.  Remember, confused people do nothing! 

When I think about it, training Kona is simply a series of offers, done diligently and with care and consistency, until the lesson is learned and it becomes habitual behavior.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have client habitually call you and pay you for your products and services??

Finally, it’s always a good idea to mention and emphasize your guarantee in your offer.  In fact, your guarantee should be part of all your marketing.  We’re going to do an entire series on guarantees soon, so we’ll leave it at that this week.

Stay tuned for next week as we’ll open and entire new discussion on using premiums and free gifts in your marketing.