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-   -   How I do my TEST marketing! (http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138)

J.F. (Jim) Straw August 18, 2000 03:23 PM

How I do my TEST marketing!
 
"Testing" is what separates the winners from the wannabees in the mailorder business and, now, the Internet marketing business.

In the mailorder business, 'testing' is usually accomplished by printing a code on the order form or response envelope; adding a suite # to a street address; adding a letter-code at the end of a Post Office Box #; or using an extension # in conjunction with a telephone number. Then, as responses (orders or inquiries) come in, the printed codes are tallied, response rates are computed; productive media are identified and non-producitve media are discontinued.

Having been involved (successfully) in the mailorder ... direct mail ... business for over 30 years, "testing" has become almost second nature to me - but - when I started marketing on the Internet, I had to find ways to adapt my mailorder testing methods.

My first attempt at learning where my potential customers were coming from was to ask my ISP to provide me with a "traffic report" for my web site. -- They did, but it provided very little detail ... only counting the number of visitors with no information about where the visitor came from or what pages they visited while on my site.

After testing an half-dozen traffic reporting services, I settled on the FREE service from http://www.websitetrafficreport.com. -- I added their very simple HTML code to every page on my web site. -- Their daily e-mailed reports give more detailed information than I had originally ever hoped for, including ... where the visitor came from; if from a search engine, referring web site, an e-mail I sent, a discussion board, or from one of my article sposted on someone else's site ... the exact time (to the second) of when the visitor visited ... what pages the visitor visited; with the exact time they went to that page ... the number of search engine hits; with the key words ... and much more. -- By reviewing the FREE e-mail report each morning, I can get a comprehensive overview of the activities of my visitors for the preceding day. (About the only thing it doesn't tell me is the visitor's e-mail address ... dang it.)

One of the things I like about my morning traffic report is that I can see, not only what pages my visitors visited but also how many minutes & seconds each visitor spent on each page ... how many times they revisited a page ... and where they went from page to page. -- I study the report ... sometimes running to 20 pages or more ... every day.

How do I use the information from my traffic report for my testing purposes?

By studying my traffic reports, I can tell which referring sites are giving me the most response. -- For example, if you click on the link at the bottom of this posting, I will know (tomorrow morning) that you visited from this posting ... what page you entered my site on ... what other pages you visited ... how long you stayed on my site ... how long you stayed on each page. -- Knowing that, I can determine whether or not this posting inspired anyone to visit my site.

Another way I use the traffic reports is to check how many visitors I get from paid ads. -- When someone visits my site by clicking on a link in a paid ad, the traffic report tells me the source. -- That way, I can determine whether or not the paid ad was effective.

One test I ran was when I used one of those services that promise "thousands of visitors to your site, guaranteed." -- That particular service didn't produce the "thousands of visitors" they promised - but - they did produce a few hundred - BUT - each of the visitors came directly to my home page, stayed a few seconds (just long enough to leave mud on my carpet) ... never went to another page ... never visited again. (Found out the "service," paid people to visit the sites listed ... total payments equalling about one-fourth of what I paid for the ad.) -- Didn't do that again.

Another way I use the traffic reports is to check "updated pages" on my site. - Since I keep records of each page's visits, when I update a page I simply compare the visitors' activities for the updated page against the visitors' activities for the old page. -- Do they stay longer, or leave sooner? Do they revisit the page? Do they leave the site at that page? Where do they go from that page? - If the "new" page is better than the "old" page, they will stay longer ... maybe even revisit the page. If the "new" page isn't as good as the "old" page, they will leave sooner and not revisit the page. -- You would be amazed at the things I learn about my visitors' foibles from the way they navigate my site.

While I was learning to use my traffic reports to 'test' my marketing stategies, I also learned about the "query" line. -- By simply putting a "?" at the end of my URL, the server would ignore anything after the "?" but whatever was after the "?" would appear in my traffic report at the end of the URL for the page address visited.

Learning that, I could very easily add a "query" line (just a "?" followed by my code) at the end of my URL ... no matter where I posted or listed the URL ... and know where the visitor came from.

Also, when I use a mailto: e-mail address in an ad, posting, or article, I add the "query" line at the end with "Subject=" followed by my coding message to be placed in the subject line. -- That let's me know exactly where the inquiry (or whatever) came from. -- I use the same technique for my autoresponder ads. The 'subject' in the autoresponder inquiry tells me where the inquiry came from.

Beyond the "query" line, I also asked my ISP to set up my website e-mail so (anyname)@businesslyceum.com would come into my central mailbox. Then, I set the filter on my e-mail program so each different name would go into a separate folder in my inbox. -- That way, I could use the e-mail address itself as a "code" to track responses.

With these limited tools ... I am sure there are others I haven't discovered, yet (I'm a newbie) ... I can "TRY" every harebrained marketing scheme that comes down the Internet pike - and - by tracking the responses, or activity, I can pretty easily determine what will work for me ... and what won't.

As an example: An Internet marketing guru advised that posting to "News Groups" was a highly effective method of driving "traffic" to a web site; giving a number of News Group addresses that would accept ad-copy. So, I joined all the News Groups he recommended and proceeded to post my messages ... each message with one of my tracking methods embedded in the message for response ... obeying the rules of each group. -- It didn't take very many postings to learn which News Groups produced results and which were a waste of time.

I have also used the same technique for various (and many) "Free Classified" sites, "FFA" sites, "E-zine" ads, "Discussion Boards," and even direct e-mailings to (supposedly) qualified opt-in lists. -- Keeping those that produced results ... deleting those that didn't.

Just as I have always done in my mailorder business, I will slowly, but surely, build a stable of methods, techniques and media that work for me and just do it over, & over, & over ... multiplying my profits. And, even when I seem to have a full stable, I will continue my testing to continue adding methods, techniques and media that work for me.

As I said in the beginning, "testing" is what separates the winners from the wannabees in the mailorder business and, now, the Internet marketing business. -- But, you gotta do it every day ... you can't just use your tracking methods once and forget it. You have to do it with every method, technique and medium you use ... keep good records ... watch every indicator ... leave nothing to chance.

Right now ... using only the tracking methods I have thus far discovered ... I can identify the source of right at 80% of the visitors to my site. -- Not quite as good as my mailorder tracking - but - it's getting there.

By the way, I am still learning -- so, if, after reading this article, you know of other testing methods I might use, PLEASE tell me about them.

Ain't it terrible ... having to work so-o-o-o-o hard to get rich quick.

Jim


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Gordon Alexander August 18, 2000 07:01 PM

Men, play with your pink balls and score...
 
a lower round of golf.

It's true. Men who play with pink balls will shoot below their handicap. They may get laughed out of the clubhouse...

Maybe the headline would go:

They laughed when I teed up my pink balls, then cursed when they reached for their wallets.

Bear with me on this one for a minute.

About 12 years ago I created the Winged Wedge 222, an all purpose wedge with variable loft and bounce. It is designed to be used by the "average" golfer for any shot from 40 yards and in.

You only have to learn to use ONE club, rather than half a dozen you'd normally carry around for greenside shotmaking.

The truth is that you (the average golfer) don't have the time to master all the short shots, the finesse part of the game.

So I built the Swiss-knife of golf clubs, ONE club that could get you out of any kind of sand, off hardpan, high grass, ANY condition found around the green. So instead of having to learn how to hit 5 or 6 different clubs, you only had to master one.

And the "average" person could master the club in about an hour of practice.

Anyhow. I wanted to make the little wing I had put on the toe GOLD. To make it look classy, and add some expense to it. Then I met with a MASTER club maker, who gave me a lesson in colors.

Now, I was told that golf clubs should never be in gold, the excpeption might be a putter...but why not a wedge?

It turns out there is a whole industry of color...and golf club designers know this.

A BLACK shaft will be perceived as being more powerful than a silver one...and a gold one (the shaft, not the clubhead) will also imply more power, thus more expensive.

How do they know all this.

They TEST.

And the pink balls with male golfers has been tested, and I've done it with my own students, and used high speed video cameras to PROVE it to myself...

men just won't swing as hard at a pink ball...therefore they are more in rhythm, have a better tempo, are more likely to return the face of the club to the ball squared...and the result is a better golf shot...

and a lower overall score.

TESTED and proven.

I wanted to have my wedge FORGED, but the marketing company wanted investment cast...and at the time there was a PERCEPTION of value between the two processes...

TESTS show that today there is no difference in performance in either method, but some pros (us OLD ones) swear we can tell the difference...and a forged blade gives you more ability to work the ball...

but TESTS show there is still the perception of QUALITY in the minds of more savvy golfers that forged is somehow "better" and more valuable than cast clubs...so what?????

Forged clubs command up to 3 or 4 times the PRICE of their cast counterparts. How do I know this...the big boys....TEST.

I guess you are getting my point.

You see, Jim Straw is a MASTER marketer, albeit a newbie on the Net...yet what has he learned to do...

if you said....................TEST......you get a gold star.

PRINT his post out. Study it. What he has revealed is the secret to success in marketing.

On the web. In mailorder. In golf even.

Don't guess. Don't accept the "expert" opinion. Don't believe the guru's every utterance.

TEST.

I don't how true this is, but I've been told by a couple of well known marketer's with some pretty heavy traffic, that my posts are often the most read on their forums?

Why? Probably because the rest of the bar is waiting for ol Cliffie to stick his foot in his mouth, with such enthusiasm it makes his red suspenders snap...or whatever.

But how do THEY know this. They keep track of such things, because they are looking for information, for feedback, to make ADJUSTMENT with their ACTIVITY, which will accelerate their movement toward their goal...just like in the POA.

Jim Straw is telling you to TEST.

I'm telling you to LISTEN to Jim Straw.

Now you guys, get out those pink balls and go play a round with your self. You'll be amazed.

Gordon (TESTY)Alexander

PS. The only thing that gets read as much as a headline...is the PS.

Dien Rice August 19, 2000 11:33 AM

Great article Jim... and your mailorder manual has arrived :)
 
Jim,

Thank you for that FANTASTIC article....

I recently got back to Australia, and found your mailorder manual, "Own Your Own Mailorder Business" here waiting for me....

I've only had time to leaf through a few sections of it so far, but what I've read already (from just leafing through it) is really good.

I have quite a few mail order books, and yet I've already learned new things from yours I didn't find in the others....

Thank you. I'll be reading the whole thing with great anticipation. :) If anyone else is interested, from what I've read so far, Jim's mailorder manual comes HIGHLY recommended....

(I value it because it has *already* taught me some new things.... and I haven't even read the whole thing yet....)

Best wishes,

Dien Rice

J.F. (Jim) Straw August 21, 2000 03:13 PM

Silly boy ...
 
Tell me why a grown man would want to chase a silly little white ball around a big ol' cow pasture?

Anywho ... Thank You for the kind remarks.

Jim


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J.F. (Jim) Straw August 21, 2000 03:15 PM

Glad You Received It ...
 
Read it in good wealth.

Jim


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