The Online/Offline Combination
We would be happy to listen to and respond to your comments below. You can subscribe to SRDS online at SRDS.COM. I don’t recommend you get the SRDS subscription or purchase a list unless you have some background in it. We teach you how to buy the right list in Tactic7.
September 21st, 2009 at 9:50 pm
I FINALLY feel vindicated. I’ve been telling online marketers they need to use direct mail since 1997. Everybody ignored it because sending e-mail was “free”. The few smart ones who took my advice DOUBLED their sales in just a few short months.
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one teaching this anymore.
Good job, Harlan.
All the best,
Doberman Dan
September 21st, 2009 at 9:52 pm
First, Happy Birthday Harlan!
First time I saw a PURL was from a car maker trying to drive to to a website to look at their new model.
It worked too. I couldn’t help myself … I NEEDED to see what they had done specifically for ME!
Your presentation also highlights the value of leveraging multiple methods of connecting with clients. Folks that ONLY use one method could wake up one more “legislated” out of business. (Like when infomercials were outlawed for a time)
Thanks for the insights.
Once again Happy Birthday.
-Mark Dresner
http://www.markdresner.com
September 21st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
It is an honor to have you post. The use of the PURL software CRUSHES responses.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Hey Mark, PURLS create that “I gotta see why they have a website with my name on it response.” Peace. Harlan
September 21st, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Hey Harlan!
Somehow this has been called “hybrid” marketing, but really it is just a sound approach. We use it for offline businesses in different cities here in Canada, where we sell them turn-key seo solutions to get them out of PPC, and into organic traffic. We use postcards/website/email combination, and are now exploring an infomercial to connect them further.
It is such a great idea to be diverse in marketing channels, and really it just makes sense, as it is incredibly economical, and allows you to reach people that may not be online.
Happy B-Day Harlan
Great job, always cool stuff I don’t see anywhere else.
Ron Davies
http://www.RonaldDavies.com
September 21st, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Since meeting you at the Super Conference in Minneapolis and getting on your list, I have been drawn to your messages. I appreciate your information and style of communication…very refreshing! Happy Birthday!!
September 21st, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Hey Ron, I may not be very popular with the gurus selling the crappy PPC scrapping software. But I’d rather wake up in the morning with integrity.
Peace.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:04 pm
You can tell how poorly I play let’s pretend. Someone has to stop the lying. Harlan
September 21st, 2009 at 10:23 pm
That is SOOO bang on. I’ve got a great local magazine I assist online that gives me terrific exposure to about 75K people offline…it’s a BIG win-win… and it’s free for me which is a HUGE bonusI haven’t taken advantage of PURL’s yet but just got set up with SendPepper and will now take a serious look at it.
The offline opportunities are huge even with no budget if you’re creative. It’s amazing how many businesses have mailing lists that will allow you to ‘piggyback’ for a trade or discount on some online work.
I’ve been very impressed with your information and I’m really enjoying being on your list. When I get my sorry butt out of the hospital…long story, I look forward to putting this tip in motion!
Thanks Harlan!
Phil Hughes
September 21st, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hi Harlan Happy Birthday!
thanks for giving me a birthday present. I am looking forward to your email tomorrow.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Go for it Phil. And get yourself out of the horse-pital. It’s no place for a person.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Thank you Linda. Harlan
September 21st, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Greetings Harlan & Team,
I’m writing to complain:
I think my sleep patterns have been altered and it’s only the first day…
First you pulled back the curtain on all the garbage products and pitches, of which I’ve done my share of purchasing, Then you turn up the heat by addressing many of the reasons so many website owners don’t have a viable business. At this point my face turns flush, I’m nailed….
So i take some time to cool off. Then you send out this video on what the guru’s won’t tell you,
right as I’m relaxed and ready to call it an evening. The problem there is that not only do you make a heck of a lot of sense, but you give away in ten seconds, something that will take hours to digest all the ramifications.
So in summary, in the interest of full disclosure, maybe you need a warning label: WARNING: “Tactic 7 may be hazardous to your sleep, (and your sleepy business)”.
September 21st, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Hey Harlan, Happy-B-Day…
Every day’s a school day and today you made mine more interesting, thanks…
September 21st, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Thanks for your generosity and obvious sincerity in wanting to help others achieve success. May blessings find their way back to you.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Hey Don, thanks. Hope you can use what I’m teaching. Harlan
September 21st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Thanks Dennis. Glad you learned something.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Happy Birthday to you Harlan and great video on the PURL (not too many talk about that and the power of offline direct mail!)
Giving that script away for FREE is worth thousands to lots of marketers! Well…probably more used correctly…thanks for sharing!
Cheers, Maria
September 21st, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Thanks Maria. Just want to make sure the little guys succeed online. Harlan
September 21st, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Awesome, Harlan… and Happy Birthday!
We’ve been using offline mail (using SRDS lists) to drive very targeted prospects to “secret”, unpublicized PURL sites for several years. Because we target very specific prospects who are somewhat pre-qualified because of previous purchases, our marketing costs are far less than trying to pay the PPC and SEO games, hoping that somehow we’ll trip over someone looking for us. The key words we’d have to bid on are upwards of $5.00 per click, so to generate any appreciable number of names would cost a small fortune.
Your gift is VERY generous. But what else would I expect from you? That’s your nature, your history, and your modus operandi! Thanks for all you share with us mere mortals.
Martin Howey
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:15 am
Hi Martin. An honor to hear from you. Yes, using PURLs seriously kicks the behinds of using PPC. But don’t tell that to the gurus pushing the PPC products.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:19 am
I’ve been bombarded as of late with “postcard marketing” pitches. Was even entertaining the idea. I used direct mail in my brick and mortar business years ago until it became diluted because everyone was doing it, but it wasn’t very target oriented like this is. With a script like this, I could (am?) get excited about direct mail once again! Especially with this personalized url twist.
Love your stuff. Keep it coming!
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:58 am
Thanks for the eye-opener Harlan. Man, not a day goes by that I don’t learn something new. I appreciate your no bullsh*t style; very refreshing.
I also used to use direct mail coupons targeted by zip code so I can see the power of targeting using srds…wow! What a great idea.
September 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 am
Hey Ken, if you get more targeted than zip code – you can target buyers by zip code. When I had my hypnosis weight loss clinic, we did direct mail to women who bought oversized clothing from catalog companies. Those campaigns kicked butt. It was like finding money. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 am
Masel Tov and Happy Birthday Jedi Master. I truly appreciate your generosity and honest, candid information. You are truly a breadth if fresh air in the midst of all the crap, hype and spin from gurus, PPC and otherwise.
Thanks!!
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:47 am
Can’t wait to try this strategy Harlan and a HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU xx Pam
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:19 am
Hey Harlan,
Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday dear Harlan, Happy birthday to you!
And many more……….8-)
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:41 am
Thanks Harlan for all you do. Happy birthday bro.
Can’t wait to get on board!
Charles
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:51 am
Hi Harlan
Happy birthday, absoutely fabulas stuff; l had sneaky idea that this was going on as Matt Trainer aka TheMarketingMoron just did a JV about offline postcards. Thanks for the birthday gift, also like to thank my good friend Pam Brossman for the heads up about Tactic7. l hopfully wil be working with Steve & Pam shortly.
Than you again
Regards
Martin Bellinger aka Maven in training
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:01 am
I gave Matt this script and taught him about the postcard trick. Peace. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 am
Thanks Charles. All the best.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 am
Thank you Erich. Looks like I’m ruffling some feathers.
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 am
Happy Birthday Harlan!
This video was exactly what I needed at this time. I had heard of the SRDS lists but wasn’t quite sure what I would do with this info after I obtained it. Now I know…
Thanks
Hilda
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 am
Being a direct consumer marketeer, The combination of off and online makes sense. The key, of course, is getting the targeted list with current information and producing a compelling sales message so they type in the URL. Then you get 46% opt in….
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
Very cool info. I had never heard of this before. I really appreciate your no BS style of communication.
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:21 am
Cool. Cool. Cool. Harlan I love your teachings! I am presently taking your NLP courses (all of them) and also learning about Internet Marketing from some other good teachers (and yes, I am rather new to this). But I have a unstoppable strong belief that I will be very successful in the Internet Marketing world.
When I saw your video on the “SRDS” and “The PURL” I really became excited. I have had success in the past with regular offline businesses with direct mail campaigns. So I understand just how powerful direct mail can be. And when you add the SRDS to find a target audience and The PURL to personalize the mailer this is POWERFUL.
Hopefully you will have both Tactic 7 and the SRDS/PURL script and system available in the upcoming months. It is too early for me to participate right now. But I will be using it in the near future if you still have it available.
I just hope all of your subscribers and readers appreciate you as much as I do. You are wonderful.
Happy Birthday
Penny
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 pm
It’s your special day, Harlan… so, an OFFICIAL Happy Birthday!
Please allow me to take your incredible offer another step farther… I want to make sure every reader of your post clearly understands how powerful what you’ve shared with them really is.
The Internet is largely a “Den of Thieves”. Here’s what I mean. You come up with a great idea based on your personal experience and/or research and develop an incredible product or service hoping to capitalize on and profit from your work. So you build a website, spend countless dollars on generating traffic, make a killer compelling offer, and wait for the orders to come in. But for some reason, either nothing or very little happens.
So you do a little more research and find that someone has seen what you’ve done, knocked you off, and is offering an “enhanced” version of your product or service for less money. Worse yet, they’ve found a way to “steal” or somehow divert the traffic that either has gone to your site previously, or that should be going there.
In many cases, this “thief” has no real-world experience or background in your subject. What they have in their corner is the ability to 1) find someone who can rewrite your program (elance, scriptlance, etc., are good places to start); 2) write a better sales letter than you have (again, elance, scriptlance, or perhaps a copywriting course they’ve bought); and 3) bundle some other products with their offer that boost the “value” of their offer. I put “value” in quotes, because oftentimes, the add-on products are nothing more than products that may or may not be related, but that they get affiliate commissions for.
In other words, put your product or service on the Internet, and be prepared to be ripped off sooner or later. Go into this market and that’s the game you play. As they say, “It comes with the territory.”
Want proof? Look at the latest that some of the so-called, self-proclaimed “gurus” (I hate that word!) are marketing… Go to ClickBank, see what the top sellers are, buy the program, rewrite it in your own words, write a better sales letter, offer some additional products as “bonuses”, put up a website, find out what keywords they are using to drive traffic, and then promote the heck out of it. Some of the biggest name in Internet Marketing are openly and blatantly promoting this method.
Is that what you want people to do to you? If not, then take Harlan’s advice. Find the ideal target market for your product and or service… who is already pre-qualified (based on past buying behavior), pre-disposed to buy (because they have a problem that you can solve with your product/service), pre-motivated (they are actively looking for a solution), and pre-sold (they’ve bought similar products/services in the past hoping to solve their problem. If they’ve bought more than one product/service, that’s even better… it shows that they still have the problem and are still looking).
How do you find this market? Harlan gave you the answer… the SRDS. It’s a collection of lists of lists. In other words, it lists companies that have lists of customers that they are willing to rent to other marketers.
You know the little “Registration” card that comes with your blender that asks for all the personal information, and if you don’t fill it out and return it, and the blender blows up, you’re out of luck? (Hey, it’s a $20 blender… it’s a throw-away item… so what if you can’t get it fixed!) Well, that Registration Card does more than activate your warranty. It collects data that can then be sold (or rented) to other marketers for a price. In other words, the blender company is collecting data from you that they can monitize.
So, you want a list of red-headed, one-legged, single women who have purchased a hub cap for a 1979 Ford Escort and used a Visa card? (That’s a little over the top, but you get the idea.), you can get it. A good list broker (you can do it yourself if you know how), can “merge-purge” several lists until you get exactly the match you want.
Now you go offline via postcard, letter, or some type of special mailing and drive them to their personalized website, using the PURL script that Harlan is offering. NOBODY knows what you’re doing… what your product or service is, who you’re contacting, or what your offer is… except the people who are getting your mailings. In other words, you’re working behind the scenes and bypassing the Internet Thieves that I mentioned earlier.
Compare the cost of getting a list (usually around 80 cents a name) and sending a CASS-Certified, personalized postcard to a highly targeted prospect. Betcha it’s comparable or even less than PPC… and it’s stealth. That is, no one knows what you’re doing except the prospect that gets the mailing.
And the people you’re mailing to? Since they’re responding to your postcard, and not doing a Google search, they’re exposed to ONE offer… YOURS!… and not to all the other organic listings and paid ads that come up when they type in what they’re looking for. So in essence, you have pretty much a “captive” audience. Yes, some may continue to do research online and check out other offers, but since you’re generating a list using offline methods, your audience, for the most part, won’t go any further than just checking you out.
Think about yourself. When you see an ad in the newspaper, a magazine, Val-Pak, or some other type of mailing, and you’re interested in the offer, what do you do? If you’re like most people you contact the vendor that placed the ad directly. You don’t go online and check out all the other companies. In some cases you may, depending on what you’re looking for. But carpet cleaners, pool companies, garage floor resurfacing companies, storage cabinets in the garage, granite kitchen counter tops, and tons more businesses depend on Val-Pak, Money Mailer, and other offline methods to generate business, and many don’t have websites.
Sorry for the long post, Harlan, but the information and offer you are sharing with your readers is extremely important, incredibly valuable, and if someone is looking for a way to jump ahead of their competiton and keep from getting ripped off in the process, they’d be nuts not to take advantage of your offer.
As you know, I don’t make posts to blogs or forums, so this is a huge departure and exception for me, and I want your readers to know just how powerful what you’re telling them is. Personally, I’ve built a $4.7 million plus business using this very approach, so I can vouch for everything you say.
Martin Howey
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Harlan … Pure genius … that has to really propell your response rate!
Let me share this with you & your readers. If you want to send people
to a site all you have to do is add a ? after the URL.
For example, say you want to drive MaryJones to http://www.xtendlifenaturalproducts.com.
What you would do is set it up like this:
http://www.xtendlifenaturalproducts.com/?MaryJones
Anything after the ? is not read by the search engines.
Then take your list and when you do your postcard or letter, you do a merge.
Thanks again.
Barry
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Happy Birthday Harlan!!I am so happy that I found you and am able to I watch your videos Thank you
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Thanks Diana. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Barry, that’s not going to help personalize your website. I’m missing something here. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
We aren’t playing the guru game of get it now or it’s going away forever. I don’t believe that’s the way to build a business. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, Harlan!!!! A very auspicious day indeed!
Thanks for your very down-to-earth and straightforward approach to coaching people to online (and offline) success!
All the best to you, and many happy returns!
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Harlan,
This was excellent information. I knew offline was not dead just for the simple fact that guys like you, Clayton, Bly, Carlton, etc…still do big business, and they are primarily offline marketers for the most part, although their online activities are surely growing.
I study every piece of direct mail I get and 95% of it is pure amateurish sh*t. Every now & then Ill get a decent piece, but rarely. From the CableTV 2-pagers, home improvement flyers, real estate post cards to letters from mortgage brokers and car dealers, it’s amazing how bad some, more like most, of them are.
Thanks again for reaffirming my thinking that offline DM marketing is not dead, by a long shot.
Hope to join up with Tactic7 in the very near future.
And, Happy Birthday to you also, old man.
Best,
Jim Rodante
Maywood, NJ
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Hey Jim. Glad you learned something. Keep with us. Harlan
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
Thank you Zora. Peace.
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:55 am
Happy B-Day Harlan,
Once again you give the best advice in the net… There are so many “gurus” trying to get you to buy more and more crap that you never actually get anywhere except emptying your wallet.
It is good to have you my friend and I am grateful I have learned to follow your advice.
You are truly a great person Harlan… Keep up the great work and I will keep giving you money =)…
Hope you had a splendid B-day,
Jason
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:58 am
Happy Birthday, Harlan
You don’t look a day over 45.
For your birthday I would like to take you and your wife to dinner this time next year. I am so grateful for having found you. Wish I could even remember how I stumbled on to your site. It must have been devine intervention…really. I have been a xxxxxlist marketer for about a year. At first it was very exciting, but over the past 5 months it’s really been more like a netmare. By the time I found you I was getting ready to lay down and give up, I made the purchase Platimum Level by listening to my gut feeling. Several friend are planning on looking into tactic7 as well. They hear the hope in my voice…you see these people have seen my go through so much needless CPA drama…up all nigh trying to figure out what on earth I’m doing! I don’t knoe the exact date I found you but something deep in m spirit resonated – and I appreciate that youre not attacting new students by affiliation. Life is very hard right now, but the harder it gets the more time I will have to sit down and reallygo through all the materials here. For the first time in months I feel hope, Harlan, and I wish I could come up with the words to tell you how crucial this hope is. I was ready to give up…I mean really who can possibly go thru all these hype offers, find one that makes any sense at all, and then go foward without someone holding their hand. All the other programs give us just enough to hold on, but never enough to move foward. I hurt my neck and back this week….some would say that is the Universes way to saying “SLOW DOWN”…and that it is. I am so hopeful and comforable getting involved with your tactic7 program and plan on treating it like a fun job. Truth is…if I don’t move forward soon I’m probably going to lose my mind; the worst part about that is that I have a good mind…addled by certain techniques that simply DO NOT work long term. I hope I’m making sense. My last year has left me cynical and exhausted, almost totally depleted.
I meant what I said about taking you and your wife out to dinner. Maybe not next year….but if not, then the year after.
I am so hopeful now that I’ve found you. I still, for the life of me, cannot remember how I got here, but by God I did and I’m “home”
Again, and sorry for the rambling. If we have a chance to get to know one another you will most likely be overwhlmed by my ability to talk.
Ok, I’m going to cruise. Your opening day was amazing!
Brenda Rose
But enough about that. I want to let hope wrap its arms around me and then sit down and have lunch with my brain and see what we can come up with.
I am honored to be a part of this amazing chance, and I will give it %150 percent of my heart and time.
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:50 am
Harlan,
The information you present is truly a breath of fresh air. In a day of fast pitch efforts filled with hype and outrageous claims. You present information in a easy, simple, down to earth style with clarity. I have learned more through your short 10 minute videos than I have surfing through some forums. Happy Birthday!
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Harlan,
You are 100% correct … it will not personalize the website, it will only
creat the curiousity of someone seeing their name on a URL.
Thanks for sharing!
Barry
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Thanks PJ, breathe deep.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Happy Birthday Harlan!
Thank you for your amazing gift. You’re such a blessing.
Daphne
September 27th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
GREAT stuff (as always), Harlan!
I am a little late watching the video and hope your birthday was the best one ever.
Looking forward to learning so much from you, others in Tactic 7 via the forum, all the great videos, and extra surprises you have in store for us.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Hi Harlan,
I can’t remember when I bookmarked your site, but after seeing that video I KNOW WHY! That was astonishing information that I would think most business could ans should use. I am a newbie(haven even made my first dollar yet) to internet market, and it is so hard and has been a struggle not to get caught up in all the guru hype that’s out there.
I look forward to checking out your site and see how Tactic 7 can finally help me on a path to set me and my family financially free.
Thanks,
Eric
P S HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY
September 30th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
There is always money in the list,
:
with amazing offers that are to good to be true or
smarter sales techniques like from Dr. Harlan
Hurry, you have one day left,
PS. You have got to at least try the $97 trial offer. Take me at my word
Of course your word is true:
as you take a student in – Daniel The Toilet Cleaner: -
who makes 10 figures and u will teach hime how to make 7 figures. Looks like a clear possibility.
Love learning from your customer approach though, just that trial offers shoud be offered as said
If you offer God a prayer, you don’t ask him for money in advance, do you?
Peace,
Stef
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I think you make more sense than any of the so called gurus out there. I can’t wait to get started.
Thanks