AdWords, steak knives and late-night TV

“Infomercials” exploded after 1984, when US government regulators lifted the 18-minute-per-hour cap on commercial TV content.

At first, TV networks didn’t know how to price these new 30 or 60-minute timeslots. Previously, they had simply closed stations down at night until the next morning. But the networks were happy because every dollar in new advertising was “found money”.

Advertisers liked it too. They quickly worked out how to sell via direct-response TV, and the advertising cost was next to nothing. Those in the know were predicting a new age of easy money and runaway business expansion.

Then, almost overnight, everything changed…

The TV stations started to realise they were undercharging. New advertisers arrived with their cheque books open. The price of media rose, fast.

Mediocre products and mediocre marketing folded and fewer advertisers starting making more of the wealth.

The Internet started out the same way – especially when Pay Per Click advertising started and clicks were 5 cents.

It was easy to make money, even with a terrible website and lame copy. “Early adopters” thought they had it made. But sure enough, over the last 5 or 6 years, we’ve seen the “Infomercial Effect” take over…

New competitors have arrived…

Click prices have risen by 800 to 1500 percent in many markets…

A few years ago 1 or 2 companies in each market were doing SEO… now there might be a dozen or more…

When I founded MR in 2003, I really thought the Internet was the “secret sauce” for making marketing more profitable.

I was wrong. That’s because…

ALL emerging media started out cheap.

Just like infomercials, the days of cheap traffic are over. To dominate your market online, you need to return to fundamental direct marketing principles:

1. Make sure there’s a market for your product or service
2. Craft a compelling USP that differentiates you from your competition in a meaningful way
3. Track everything so you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t
4. Use proven direct response marketing principles to attract and keep customers
5. Treat your web strategy like the important business unit it is
6. Deliver what you promise

The good news is, most people in business today either don’t understand this, or they don’t have the team or infrastructure to make it happen.

That’s why I invite you to plug into our proven team and infrastructure for putting your online marketing and lead generation on autopilot – so you can generate more leads and sales with less marketing cost.

Here’s where to apply.

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