Direct response advertising is a marketing technique with one purpose in mind. As the name implies, you want a direct response from the consumer. The aim of direct response marketing is to produce an action from the customer. This can be to make a phone call, sign up for a service, request a brochure, buy a product, click on a link, or send in a reply card.

Your offer is made directly to your customer and your goal in direct response advertising is for that customer to take some form of action. The ad itself can use words and/or graphics, and can be used in almost any advertising medium, including TV and radio, direct mail or the internet. The key to effective direct response advertising is the persuasiveness of the ad. In order for direct response marketing to be successful, it must move the prospective customer to do something.

Tracking Your Ads

The call to action either gets a response or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t produce the response you want, some aspect of your ad needs to be changed. One of the great things about direct response advertising is the ease with which you can track the results. Because of this, if you have a campaign that’s not working as well as you’d like, you can change an element and track those results to see if improvements have been made or not.

Sometimes changing a single word in a headline can increase your return on your investment dollars 300% or more! Placement of a reply card may affect how many are returned. The time of day may influence how many people respond to your TV or radio ad by calling your 800 number. But in order to know, and more importantly, correct, any of these things, tracking is essential in direct response advertising.

If You Don’t Learn Anything Else…

Perhaps the most important thing to know about direct response marketing is the impact of the headline. It doesn’t matter if it’s a radio spot, a TV commercial, or a sales letter, the headline can make or break the success of your ad campaign. If it doesn’t grab the attention of the reader or the listener or the viewer, they have no reason to continue reading, listening, or watching.

Your headline, or opening statement, should give your prospective customer a reason to continue paying attention to what you have to say. They should see or hear immediately why it will benefit them to continue.

A Great Headline is Not Enough

Unfortunately, you can have a great, attention-grabbing headline, but if you can’t spark interest, you’ll still lose that customer. After the headline, your next few words need to capture their interest. If you manage to maintain their interest, your job is still not over. You must instill in your customer a desire to learn more. And on the heels of desire, a strong call to take action is imperative.

Direct response advertising can be powerful when used correctly. All the elements must be included, tracking results should be done regularly, and changes made when needed. It isn’t easy to perfect the skills necessary to create a successful direct response ad campaign, but once you do, it can be extremely profitable for your business.