The Edge Marketing

If you want to uncover a little secret about how John Kerry and the Democratic party is "building their e-mail list", with literally thousands of qualified leads... then listen closely!

I know nothing about John Kerry, and I know even less about his running mate, John Edwards. But, I do know this:

They've got one heck of a smart marketing team on their side!

Check this out: Before John Kerry revealed who his running mate was going to be, he announced on his web site, if you "signed up" to be on his e-mail list... he was going to tell you his vice-presidential running mate selection... several hours before he made his "official" announcement to the public.

Do you know what John Kerry was doing, by giving you this "incentive" to subscribe?

He was using a good old-fashioned 2-step lead generation selling formula, to add qualified prospects to his mailing list.

Just think about it: Political parties, like any other business, can't do anything without supporters. And for the most part, unless you're politically-minded and politically involved, you're not going to be surfing around John Kerry's web site in the first place, right?

You see, John Kerry didn't want your e-mail address just so he can tell you who his running mate was going to be... he wants your e-mail address so he can send you a consistent flow of marketing messages.

He wants to “drip” on you periodically.

Because the truth is, you don't become an asset to the Kerry campaign just by "visiting" his site -- you become an asset to them if they can stay in constant contact with you, sending you marketing messages... getting you all fired-up to vote for him... and hopefully, getting you to...

Donate Money!

What else were you thinking, he wants you to come over and watch the Golf channel with him on Sunday afternoon?

Anyway, there's an important lesson in this, for smart direct-marketers like you... to learn from John Kerry and his team.

And here it is: Remember... your prospects aren't visiting your web sites... they're not reading your display ads... and they don't register to be on your e-mail list, unless they're...

Interested in what you're selling!

It's true!

Whether you're selling political party beliefs... furniture... or hearing aids, people won't "sign up", unless they want some of what you've got.

So how can you use this to generate qualified leads in your business?

Well, let me give you a real-life example of a company that's had an incredible history of using direct-marketing to create fiercely loyal customers who are simply starving for more product, and... it's in an industry where you wouldn't think you'd have such strong direct-marketers, to boot.

Remember the rock band, "The Grateful Dead"?

The Grateful Dead's web site, www.dead.net, is incredibly well-run and consistently marketed.

Here's what they do: Whenever a new CD is going to be released (which seems to be about every 2 to 3 months), you get an e-mail message notifying you in advance, and giving you a chance to "pre-order" this new CD.

But that's not all -- usually, each pre-order comes with an additional CD, that's commercially unavailable -- meaning, you can't get it anywhere else. The only way you can get this additional "FREE Bonus CD ", is by ordering your CD from their website.

So you see, this offer does two things:

First, it's a compelling offer. Getting a FREE Bonus CD (which is usually a live concert recording, or some studio out-takes -- and they're always good) gives you a ton of incentive to order directly from them.

And second, the Dead's record company makes a heck-of-a-lot more money selling to you directly, instead of through one of their distributors or affiliates.

Could the Dead's offer be improved?

You betcha. See, they're really not giving you a powerful reason to "act now".

In other words, you can wait until the CD comes out, or wait a few months from now, and you'd still get to take advantage of this offer to get the extra "FREE Bonus CD".

They should offer you one extra thing, like maybe a FREE set of stickers, or another FREE CD, "if you order sometime in the next 10 days"... or "if you order by the "18th of April"... or "if you're on of the first 1,253 people to order"... or something like that.

But by-and-large, they do a much better job of marketing than most businesses. And they do it consistently.

And even if you're only a semi-decent marketer, doing something... and doing it consistently... is bound to put a nice little bundle of money into your pockets.

So whether you're selling candles... or psychic readings... or business opportunity packages... you can use these exact same techniques to make more money for yourself in your business.

P.S. Next week, I'm going to reveal another lead-generating selling formula, that can make you a fistful of dollars. It's exciting... and it's a lot of fun to use... but it's often over-looked.

It has to do with Radio Shack... furniture stores... and Clarissa The Goat!

P.P.S. Just kidding about the goat.

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