These are rules to making
powerful, profitable direct response commercials and infomercials:
1. Five
categories that will always sell:
Beauty
Weight Loss
Exercises
Get rich
quick
Instant
miracle (Gagdets)
2. The more you tell,
the more you sell:
The
most important thing to understand about
DRTV
is that each commercial needs to function as a complete, stand-alone
sales presentation. That means that by the end of your spot, the viewer
must have enough information to feel comfortable making a purchasing
decision. It’s your job to give them that information. That
means presenting as many features and benefits, answering as many
questions and overcoming as many objections as possible in the allotted
time. Don’t cheat yourself out of a sale by leaving valuable
information out of your spot.
3. The product is King:
Don't re-invent the wheel.
A great product sells itself. Create a show or spot that is fun and
easy to understand. If the product is a winner these two elements
should be enough to motivate the viewer to buy your product.
4. Size matters:
Forget everything
you have been told about the tiny attention span of today’s
consumers. Every test ever done shows that the longer your DRTV commercial
is, the more effective it will be. That’s why 60-second commercials
outperform 30-second commercials, 120-second DRTV outperform 60-second
DRTV commercials, and infomercials outperform them all. If you can’t
do a better job of selling your product in 30 minutes than you can
in 30 seconds, stick with general advertising.
5. Demonstrate your
product:
The viewer
needs to see your product demonstrated. More often than not, a great
demo is the biggest factor in convincing a viewer to get up off the
couch, reach for their credi card and order the product.
6. Use graphics to reinforce
key selling messages:
Study after study has
concluded that people understand and recall information better when
they hear it and see it. Therefore, make sure that all the key selling
points are also written on the screen as graphics at the exact same
time as they are being spoken by the talent.
7. Include a powerful
offer:
Great value runs a close
second to demonstration in motivating a person to buy. Start with
an up front offer loaded with value, add a low price point and finish
with a money back guarantee and you will maximize your chances of
completing a sale.
8. Add a Premium:
There's nothing like
an inexpensive add-on to get a viewer to feel like they are getting
something for nothing.
9. Be passionate:
Passion
sells. That doesn’t mean you have to be loud, cheesy or over
the top. However, if you can’t get the viewer excited about
what you’re selling, you’re going to have a hard time
convincing them to buy.
After all, if you’re not pumped about your product and your
offer, why should the audience get excited?
10. Reason to believe:
If your product or service
is better than everyone else’s is, tell the viewer why. What
is the science behind this product? What technical innovation or recent
discovery has made this miracle possible? Give them a reason
to believe.
11. Establish credibility:
It's critical
to establish and maintain credibility. This can be done through testimonials,
studies or third party endorsements.
12. Testimonials work:
Consumers respond to
hearing other consumers talk about how wonderful a product or service
is and how much they love it. Especially if they happen to mention
how skeptical they were before they tried it. To find out how well
testimonials work, just try doing a successful infomercial without
them.
13. Endorsements also
work:
Third party endorsements,
preferably from credible, respectable sources, also carry a lot of
weight in DRTV.
14. Ask for the order:
Tell the viewer exactly
what you want them to do, which of course is to call now and buy the
product (or at least request more information).
15. The script is everything:
If you haven’t
already noticed, DRTV is a scriptwriter’s medium. If the script
is written properly, using proven time-tested DR principles, the phones
will sing. If the script is not written properly, your commercial
will die a silent death.
16. Test, test, test:
The only way to be absolutely
certain what price point, which offer, which demonstration is best,
is to put them on air against each other and compare the response
rates.
17. Use problem/solution:
Showing the viewer a
problem they can relate to, and them showing how your product or service
can solve that problem,
is never a bad idea.
18. Minimize the viewer’s
risk:
The lower the risk, the
higher the response. Ways to lower the risk include guarantees and
refund policies.
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