OFF LINE MARKETING ARTICLES

This is something everyone should be testing in some form or another. It's great for lead generations. You should still have a strong benefit-driven headline and a clear call to action.

Free reports work very well with classifieds. My local paper, the Hartford Courant even has an ongoing deal of 3 lines for 3 days for free! Even adding more lines only ends up costing a few bucks. With a price like that, there's no reason anyone with a website should not be testing ways to draw traffic to the site with classifieds.

Direct Mail Nothing beats direct response when it comes to results-driven proven advertising. And messages sent directly to your highly targeted market via direct mail can deliver a terrific return on investment (ROI) when tested properly.

There's a wealth of information on direct marketing by Michel Fortin, David Garfinkel, Gary Halbert, Dan Kennedy, and many more experts. Here are some sites where you can learn more:

* http://www.successdoctor.com - Michel Fortin's main site

* http://www.world-copywriting-institute.com - David Garfinkel's site

* http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com - Home of the Gary Halbert Letter

* http://www.dankennedy.com - Dan Kennedy's site

* http://www.srds.com - The Standard Rate & Data (SRDS) List Book, a great resource to locate mailing lists of nearly any type you can imagine. You can also find it in some larger city libraries.

* http://www.referenceusa.com - Reference USA is a great place to get compiled lists by industry, SIC, demographics and more. It contains names, addresses and lots of other great information on more than 12 million U.S. businesses, 102 million U.S. residents, 683,000 U.S. health care providers, 1 million Canadian businesses, and 11 million Canadian residents.

* http://www.usps.com - The US Postal Service website has a variety of tools and educational materials about direct mail as well.

Postcards Yes, postcards are a form of direct mail, but it warrants its own category. Postcards are cheaper to produce and mail than full-blown direct mail packages or sales letters, and they are great for generating leads.

Like classified ads, a free report or free gift often works well here. Postcards are also a great way to stay in touch with your customers and prospects, and they also work well as part of a sequence of mailings.

A good place to go for customized postcards is http://www.usps.com (the US Postal Service website), because the USPS has partnered with a company that will print and mail your postcards for you! Best of all, you only pay for the postage (i.e. FREE printing costs).

Hint: be sure to include yourself on the mailing list so you can get your own mailing as well. Yellow Pages Another great resource that is often underutilized or used ineffectively. Yellow page ads are great because when someone sees your ad, they are already in the market for your product/service.

Yellow page ads need to be benefits-driven, with your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) stated clearly and boldly (remember, this is the one place where your prospects will see your ad alongside all of your competitors).

You want your ad to stand out from the clutter. Use a direct response type of ad, and again, free gifts or premiums work well here. Gary Halbert has written about yellow pages several times in his newsletter. To find them easily, just enter the following search at Google: site:thegaryhalbertletter.com +"yellow page"

Another great resource that JP Maroney recommends is Alan Saltz's course on the subject, available at http://www.yellowpagesprofit.com A great thread on this topic can also be found on Michel Fortin's forum at: http://www.copywritersboard.com/viewtopic.php?t=1652

• Space Ads
• Blimps - Banners and Billboards
• Package Inserts
• Coupons
• Event Marketing
• Dimensional Mail
• Creative Business Cards
• Secret Sales
• Novelty Items