What are the 3 steps that successful direct marketers always follow?

From: Ayuto Aso

You run ads, but get no response.
You rewrite your copy over and over, yet for some reason, it doesn't sell.

Have you ever had that experience?

Actually, it might just be that your efforts are misdirected.
In direct marketing, there is a "sequence" that successful people always follow.

If you get this sequence wrong, no matter how talented you are, you won't get results.
Conversely, if you just correct the sequence, a market that wouldn't budge before will start to move quietly, but surely.

In this article, I will share the essential mindset that determines ad response, not as a feeling, but as a principle.

What are the 3 steps that successful direct marketers always follow?

I will start with the answer.

The sequence that determines results in direct marketing is: Media, Offer, and Creative.

The moment you get this sequence wrong, your efforts will not be rewarded.
Conversely, just by correctly following this sequence, your results will change dramatically, even with the same product and the same budget.

Why do so many people get the sequence wrong?

The answer is simple.
It is because they jump at what is most visible.

When things aren't selling, people first rewrite their copy.
They change the phrasing, strengthen the hype, and refine the expression.
But, to use an analogy, that is like "changing the shape of the bait without changing the fishing pond."

You cannot catch fish in a place where there are none, no matter how attractive the bait is.

What is direct marketing in the first place?

I will define the term here.
Direct marketing is a marketing method where the response to an advertisement can be measured directly.is.

・Saw the ad
・Took action
・Bought

This entire flow can be tracked with numbers.
That is precisely why "principles," not feelings, are important.

Why is "media" the top priority?

The answer is,because it determines whether or not there is a response at all.is.

Which newspaper?
Which mailing list?
Which time slot?
Which medium?

This choice alone determines whether you get 10 responses or 100,000.

No matter how excellent the offer, no matter how brilliant the copy,
it is as if it does not exist in a place where there are no prospects.

Most failures are not because the product is bad.
It is not because the copy is poor.
You are simply speaking in the wrong place.

Is the offer the next most important thing?

The answer is yes.
Because the offer is the 'reason to act' itself.

What is an offer?

・What you get
・How much it costs
・What the conditions are

It is a combination of these three points.

Even with the same product,
people will not act if there is no 'reason to buy now'.

In terms of numbers,
if the offer is weak, the response rate can easily drop by half or more.
However, it is still not as fatal as the 'wrong medium'.

What is a good offer?

Ask yourself if you can answer all of the following questions.

・Is it irresistible?
・Is the guarantee sufficient?
・Is it specific?
・Is it different from others?
・Is it important to the prospect?
・Can it be understood in an instant?

An offer that fails this check cannot be saved by any copy.

Then, why is it said that 'copy is king'?

The answer is paradoxical.
Because media and offers are fixed to a certain extent.

In real business,
effective media are found quickly.
Offers also settle into a 'winning pattern' after testing a few times.

However, copy is different.

No matter how excellent the copy,
it stops working the moment the market gets used to it.

And when your copy stops working,
even if you change the media or the offer,
that copy will not be revived.

Why do excellent copywriters keep earning?

The answer is clear.
Because they can generate a response again with the same media and the same offer.

When marketing hits a dead end,
there is actually almost nothing left you can do.

・You have already tried the media
・You have polished the offer to its limit

The biggest lever remaining is
the next new creative.

It is only natural that value is concentrated here.

The perspective that the market is a living thing

There is an important perspective:
the market is always changing.

An offer that didn't work 6 months ago
might get a surprising response now.

The reason is simple.
Because people's emotions, environments, and desires change.

That is why,

・Keep looking for new media
・Keep experimenting with offers rationally
・Keep polishing your copy

You need to keep these three things running simultaneously.

Good advertising is ultimately unavoidable

The history of direct mail is often told starting from
A. Montgomery Ward.

In 1870,
he sent catalogs to farmers who could not go to the city.

Some people disliked it.
Some people even placed large orders as a form of harassment and then returned them.

Even so, people continued to receive advertisements.

Because
people do not inherently dislike being made an offer.

In fact,
when you are lonely or feeling down,
a single advertisement arriving at that moment can be surprisingly comforting.

A good advertisement is not a nuisance.
It is welcome information.

So, what should you do right now?

The answer is simple.

1. Review your media

2. Question your offer

3. Put your all into the copy

And you must absolutely follow this order.

Do not change the amount of effort, but rather
the order of your efforts.

Just by doing that,
your marketing will definitely become something else entirely.

That is all for today.
Thank you for reading until the end.
See you in the next article!

P.S.
Likes and comments are a huge encouragement!
Please, I would appreciate it!