CHALLENGE

Back in September 2000, we brought you a Case Study about JAM Communications, a direct marketing agency in Washington DC, which had garnered 400 qualified sales leads by running text ads in email newsletters that marketers read. (There's a link to the original Case Study at the end of this story.)

By late November 2000, the sales team had worked their way through all of the sales leads from that campaign, and they wanted more. Their target: marketers with serious budgets who would like to use direct mail to drive traffic to their Web sites.

CAMPAIGN

President Neil Griffen decided to reprise the tactics that had worked well that summer -- running text ads in email newsletters that qualified prospects read frequently. Instead of running an ad once, he bought a month's worth of ads in a weekly letter and ran the same creative each time to maximize impact.

He describes how his creative team came up with the copy for the ad:

"We followed every rule we know works:

1. We put FREE in the headline.
2. We put FREE in the body copy.
3. We included some scare tactics in the copy… like money you could lose if you make a mistake. Of course, JAM's White Paper would ensure this never happened!
4. We put numbers in the copy…like "Discover the 12 facts using direct mail"
5. We made sure they knew this description was just the tip of the iceberg by telling them they'd get MUCH, MUCH MORE!
6. We created a special microsite so the prospect could register for the White Paper and download it in a matter of seconds, without having to search JAM's information-packed home page."

(You can see the actual creative for both the Summer and Winter campaigns below.)



RESULTS

Over the four weeks that the ads ran in December, a combined total of 10% of the newsletter's opt-in subscribers clicked through to JAM's special microsite. Immediately after the Holidays, an additional 2% clicked through as subscribers caught up on their back reading.

JAM'S sales team received over 1,000 sales leads, and they're now busy converting them to paid customers.

Griffen remarks, "We've been sending White Papers out of here like a bloody UPS shipping center. New clients as a result. Oh yeah. And they're still coming in…."

BTW: Where did these ads run? In two of the MarketingSherpa newsletters -- however, that's not why we are running this Case Study. (Our inventory is already sold out right now.) Instead, we thought you'd like to see exactly what type of creative really works for text ads that appeal to marketers. In our experience, it's not easy to write a successful text ad, and Griffen is one of the best!

NOTES: Samples of the creative from JAM'S campaigns are below, in addition to links to the original Case Study in 9/2000 and our know-how report on creating effective text advertising.

Original Case Study: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/barrier.cfm?contentID=874

Creative from July 2000 Campaign:

)))))))))))))))))) Free Direct Mail Report ))))))))))
Get Your FREE Copy of “Website Marketing: How to Drive Traffic Using Direct Mail.”

You’ll learn how to use DM to drive qualified traffic to your website and the top 12 facts to avoid wasting money. Plus see lots of useful live samples.
For your free copy: http://www.jamagency.com/email
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Creative from December 2000 Campaign:

((( Free: 12 Direct Mail Facts to Drive Web Traffic! )))

Download a FREE White Paper from Jam Communications -- an integrated direct marketing agency.

Discover why DM is your best bet for marketing your website, 12 facts to improve your DM program, DM strategies that keep customers coming back, and more!
http://www.jamagency.com/email
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