Over the last year, I've noticed email has become a point of resistance for me.
At first, it was the volume of email. I've put some strategies into place to reduce how much I receive. Now I resist email because many times I just don't want to deal with it.
Perhaps it's the impersonal nature of email. People can say things they normally would not say in person. Or perhaps it's a feeling of overwhelm... that I'll never catch up on all the email I've received (much less all the email that is sent in the copywriting/advertising market alone).
I don't know if you're aware of this, but Dan Kennedy does not use email. Like him, my preferred mode of information consumption is "analog"... books, magazines, hard copy newspapers, etc. So Dan uses the fax machine. A lot.
If somebody wants to reach Dan, they have two options: fax or phone. He severely limits access by phone, so fax is about the only choice an "outsider" has to reach him. (If you're really desperate, I suppose you could corner him at a seminar.)
If you were going to try to do more communication offline, how would you handle it? Would you even want to move away from email and toward other methods?
I've thought about it and have some ideas:
Use the fax machine as a primary communication tool.
Generate leads offline. Send leads a physical letter by mail.
Attract "old school" clients who prefer offline communication.
Now that I'm thinking about it, online leads are hit or miss. Sometimes they're great and sometimes they stink. Perhaps it's the ease of response that causes these low quality leads to slip through. I don't know. But it seems offline lead generation would provide consistently high quality leads. (Can you tell I'm thinking out loud?)
If you have ideas about how you would do more communication offline, I'd love to hear them. Please post a comment below.
Ryan,
Over the past year, I have tested both online and offline methods for marketing and communication of my copywriting services.
In terms of communication, the telephone has always been my number one choice because I can "feel" the tone and voice inflection of the person on the other end. I also listen to breathing, and can tell if I can "close" a client on my services or not.
You cannot feel that with email.
In terms of marketing...
I have found offline (telephone, mail, fax, etc...) to produce ten times more qualified leads, literally. Face to face, I have contacted more business owners than I have emailed in total.
I guess the key is how you market offline and who your target market is.
Joseph Ratliff
Posted by: Joseph Ratliff | January 02, 2007 at 02:29 PM
Hi Ryan
In my experience a *combination* of approaches seems to work best:
1. Sales letter, followed up by
2. Phone call, followed up by
3. Email, followed up by
4. Another phone call, etc.
Clients I've approached in this way have been ad agencies and other copywriters.
Best
Eldo
Posted by: Eldo Barkhuizen | January 05, 2007 at 09:37 AM