10 Direct Marketing Resources

Here's Managing Editor Eileen Shulock with those 10 direct response websites you need on your radar screen. Take it awaaaay, ES...

Search Engine Direct Marketing

KeywordSpy
http://www.keywordspy.com

This tool will show you exactly which keywords your competitors are bidding on in Google AdWords and how much they are spending.

For example, at the time of writing, we entered the phrase "Internet marketing" and discovered that a certain email service bureau that you've probably heard of was one of the biggest advertisers for that keyword. We then did a reverse search for the company to find out what other keywords they were bidding on.

In this case, the company was also bidding on the phrase "email software" and paid $3.79 per click. We could see the total number and list of keywords the company was bidding on and the ad text they were running for each keyword. We could also see their position for each keyword, clickthrough rate and competitors for each of the words.

In terms of competitors, KeywordSpy will tell you how many keywords each competitor (by name) is bidding on in their campaign (some number in the hundreds of thousands) vs. how many keywords you are bidding on so you can analyze the size of your PPC campaign against theirs.

This is a must-know reconnaissance tool for Internet search engine marketers.
Visual Search Marketing

TouchGraph
http://www.touchgraph.com

TouchGraph is a visual search engine. When you enter a keyword or URL, it will create a graph for you (that sort of looks like a spider web) with little circles representing related websites and lines drawing the connections between them. These relationships are graphed according to results from Master of the Universe Google. Think of it as "Six Degrees of Separation," but instead of Kevin Bacon substitute a specific site or a concept.

For example, we searched for "www.wdfm.com" and saw on the left-hand side of our screen a written list of every page in the site. We could click on any specific page from that list, and the screen on the right built a universe of circles, each representing other sites that link to that page, and sites that link to them, and so on, and so on.

What set this editor (who is an e-commerce maven by day) atwitter was the version of TouchGraph for Amazon.com, which shows the network structure within purchase pattern recommendations. In English, that means you can enter a keyword and see what books, music or movies people bought that focused on that keyword, and what other books/music/movies they tend to buy beyond that specific title.

Should you be a social media star, you will also want to check out TouchGraph for FaceBook, which shows you how all your friends are connected, either in words or in photos.
Email Direct Marketing

RetailEmail.Blogspot
http://retailemail.blogspot.com

Email marketing is one of the most important direct marketing tools for retailers, and this blog tracks the email marketing campaigns of the 100 largest online retailers every single day. (Note: If you are not an etailer you will still find much to learn about email marketing here.)

The coverage ranges from the micro to the macro. On the micro level, the daily "Subjectivity Scanner" lists the subject lines of all the email messages received that day. Moving beyond today, you will find roundups of the most popular content for a particular week or month.

The RetailEmail Index tells you industry-wide what retailers are up to by week (at the time of writing, it measured "211" which meant that the top 100 online retailers sent approximately 2.1 promotional emails each on average during that week).

You will also find regular analysis of individual retailers in email action, including their marketing messages and strategy and how they have evolved over time.

Direct Marketing Research

Marketing Experiments Journal
http://www.marketingexperiments.com

This editor finds that when she visits this site, a panic sets in. Why? Because there is so much that she needs to know about how to optimize online marketing, and it appears to be all right here.

Marketing Experiments is in essence a research laboratory focused on analyzing websites top to bottom. They then distill that information into reports and briefs and Web clinics and blog posts galore, all yours for the reading (you can also sign up for an email newsletter to get the latest research as it becomes available).

The categories covered are site, email, ad and search optimization. For example, under email optimization you can learn about welcome messaging sequencing. Under the search optimization category there's a study that analyzes whether social media sites are as good as, or better than, Google AdWords for driving site traffic.

Under the topic of site optimization, one study debunks the "above-the-fold" mantra of website design, stating that by forcing all messaging to fit in such a limited space your messaging can get very confused, so going below the fold may actually be a good thing. Much to learn.

Direct Marketing Calculators

Bplans.com Business Planning Calculators
http://www.bplans.com/bc/

Direct marketing is all about ROI, and to help you assess yours you will find several handy calculators at this site. While they may appear very simple, they are actually very helpful. There are profitability calculators, investment calculators, PPC calculators and more.

One we particularly found useful was the "Email Marketing ROI Calculator," which asks you to enter audience size, campaign cost, conversion rate, response rate and average purchase and then churns out overall ROI as well as revenue, cost per contact, number of buyers, cost per buyer and even more essential data.
Direct Response Copywriting

bly.com
http://www.bly.com

Direct response copywriter extraordinaire Bob Bly writes sales letters, direct mail packages, inserts, Internet direct mail, ads, brochures, articles, press releases, newsletters, Web pages, white papers and marketing materials.

As a freelancer, he's written copy for more than 100 agencies and advertisers and, prolific writer that he is, he's the author of 45 books, including "The Copywriter's Handbook," "The Perfect Sales Piece" and "Business-To-Business Direct Marketing." He's also written "Internet Direct Mail" with Steve Roberts and Michelle Feit, who is no slouch herself in the list management business.

You'll find reams of information about copywriting at this site, whether you are looking to hire a copywriter or you yearn for the writing life yourself... as Mr. Bly has made a second career out of helping other freelancers become more successful. Do be sure to subscribe to the "Bob Bly Direct Response Letter" email newsletter.

Next-Generation Marketing Blog

Jim Edwards' "I Gotta Tell You" Blog
http://www.igottatellyou.com/blog/

Jim Edwards is a marketing guru who is always way, way ahead of the curve. You can get a taste of his wild and crazy style at this site, which he proclaims is the first multimedia blog on the Web. That means every post is actually a video featuring Mr. Edwards himself.

You can prepare to learn ("Strategy VS Tactics (Video): How 1 Hour A Week Spells Success or Failure in Online Business," for example) or be entertained ("Fat, Forty and Fed Up (Video) - Why My Losing Weight Will Make You Money Online... "). And whether or not you are into his outrageous persona and biz oppy approach, you will learn a great deal about the next generation of video blogging and other forms of multimedia direct marketing.
Direct Marketing Blogs

Marketing Pilgrim
http://www.marketingpilgrim.com

Marketing Pilgrim is one of the Web's top-rated blogs. It covers online marketing from a variety of angles, including affiliate marketing, email, online advertising and more. Editor Andy Beal mixes things up with news and commentary, plus lots of posts on new tools and sites that belong on the radar screen of every Internet direct marketer.

At the time of writing, we found of compilation of "26 Free Buzz Monitoring Tools." Find out who's talking about you, and you have found an audience that's more than likely ready to talk with you. We also found the list of "200+ Internet Marketing Gurus on Twitter" to be indispensable. You can count on this blog to keep you up to date, including a category called "Rumors" that no Internet marketer should overlook.

Larry Chase's "Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day" Blog
http://www.wdfm.com/internetdirectmarketingtips/

To receive short and actionable direct marketing tips delivered directly to your desktop, look no further than WDFM publisher Larry Chase's "Internet Direct Marketing Tip of the Day" blog and RSS feed. Here you will find succinct direct marketing tips, many of which are traditional direct marketing tactics that have been proven successful online. Each tip originally appeared in Larry Chase's Web Digest For Marketers weekly email newsletter, so you know they're good. ;)

Topics covered include search engine marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media marketing, email marketing and more.
E-Commerce Direct Marketing

Marketing Sherpa Shopper Report
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30611&?=9750

MarketingSherpa publishes a plethora of valuable Internet marketing content on a daily basis. This particular report demonstrates that not all shoppers are created equal. As a matter of fact, even though you might try to have one very clear path from home page or product page to purchase, they are likely to meander all over the place to get from Point A to Point Z, like a herd of unruly cats.

The most basic division of behavior occurs when a visitor chooses internal site search vs. menu-based navigation (in their study the split was 50-50). However, the visitor's choice did depend on the types of products a site offered -- higher-consideration items like clothes tend to send someone to the menu bar rather than the search engine. This is a fascinating report that will help you figure out how to direct your market to your end goal within your site. The report is yours after gratis registration.