Quite a fun and productive couple days in New York with Maverick members…
Everything from the huge billboard we rented in Times Square, to the Dangerous Dinner featuring “Swords and Sabers,” or a little meet-and-greet with the Bad Idea Bears from Avenue Q. (There are a handful of fun pictures inside the private Facebook group. Plus, check out Sophia’s full recap of the events here.)
It was great having so many Mavericks come in for our first Multiplier Day. (Remember: This is another perk of your membership). This is a day when all Maverick1000 members can connect together in person, to share ideas, network, and learn — and help empower the next generation of entrepreneurs.
(Next Multiplier Days are October 3rd and January 16th – don’t miss ‘em!)
Now we spent the two days before the Multiplier Day with Maverick MEGAmind members, masterminding and going on a special workshop ‘field trip’ to Boardroom, Inc., a $100MM publisher. We met up with a powerhouse team of direct marketing experts, who are responsible for mailing over 50+ million pieces of mail each year.
I want to fill you in on some of my notes from that day:
Brian Kurtz (Executive Vice President of Boardroom) put up a slide that read: “Don’t define yourself by a channel.” (Michael Fishman) On this note, one of the tenets we discussed was: “Nothing scales like direct mail.” I talked about mailing 50M pieces per year – and there have been years when Boardroom was dropping 250M pieces out.
Direct mail may be out of favor with many marketers today, but if you ignore it, you’re missing out on a tremendous lever to grow your business. Mail might seem so “last century,” but it works over and over again. If you can create a control piece for your business, you can extract tremendous leverage and profits. Failure to understand how to use mail can mean you miss out on a profound multiplier to your bottom line.
What’s more, direct mail is not as easily “knocked off” as something you’re doing online. If you create a breakthrough copy angle or offer online, you can bet within weeks (if not sooner) someone else will be “stealing” it. Not so with direct mail.
One of the best places you can experiment with direct mail is with your existing customer database. Start off with a small segment, but I think you’ll be surprised at the results. Brian said their results are going UP, since less and less people are in the mail. Personally, when I was doing a lot of mail to our customers, I’d try to skew it so I could make it work with a really bad response rate. I was looking at mailings for higher-end products, so even if it bombed, I’d still come out okay. It’s tougher to make mail work at low price points. That’s when you really need to get everything dialed in.
The 3 key elements Boardroom shared with us on direct mail success were:
- Understanding list segmentation
- Market research
- Copy and creative
List Segmentation can be something as simple as R-F-M: Divide out your most recent buyers, most frequent buyers, and highest dollar amount spent. (Or it can get way more detailed.)
Market Research is pretty clear: The more you know your customer avatar, and exactly who you are targeting, the more on-point you can be, for #3…
Copy and Creative. Boardroom (and most other big direct marketing companies) pays a lot for — and pays a lot of attention to — their copy and creative. They mostly use freelancers who are at the top of their field.
The team at Boardroom was kind enough to provide Mavericks with a little Go-To Resource Rolodex of list brokers, mail houses, copywriters, etc. You can see a copy here: www.maverick1000.com/dmresources
Note: This is for YOUR eyes only. And if you contact the vendors, please reference Boardroom and Maverick so they can take better care of you.
At each MEGAmind meeting, we focus on a different workshop or multiplier to add to your business. It’s a small group setting with direct input from me and the other members. If you’d like to know more about it, see www.maverick1000.com/megamind/
Now in just a couple weeks, we’re heading off for our 2nd annual Maverick Family Freedom event over July 4th, in Park City, Utah.
Remember: This is the only event of its kind, designed to bring entrepreneurial parents and children together. We keep it small to maintain intimate conversations and experiences.
Your kids will learn about business — which includes heading out to sell items during the parade. Meanwhile, parents will have discussion and sessions around how to raise less entitled children. And of course there several adventures and unique family bonding moments, to make it one of the best experiences you can have as a family.
There may still be a spot available if you hurry! www.maverick1000.com/family
Lots more exciting stuff on the horizon for the Maverick ‘Eco-verse’ of companies…
Look out for information on how you can sponsor three scholarships for 21st century multiplier skills, and get 3 “virtual interns” working for you. Plus, there’s going to be an exciting new way to connect with the entire Maverick network, to ask for help, resources, or a “hook up.” Wait til you see this new addition!
Stay tuned…
PS: Be sure to pick up a copy of my new book, Maverick Start Up. It comes from good pedigree.
Click here to buy a copy now.
