ROOSEVELT: Quite right!

KARON: Now you are using this method and approaching other publications, aren’t you? How do you get your offer to right people?

ROOSEVELT: Yes, I do approach others with offer and it works well. I generally contact magazine or newspaper’s Promotions Manager with a free offer. (Normally, they simply love word free so it gets their attention.) I suggest that publication could have first quarter of ad to talk about free offer. The rest of copy and space will be taken up with my images and up sell copy. To expedite process and make sure that offer and information will sell well, I provide publication with my own copy and images. (Obviously, copy is critical element.) I also insist on seeing a proof before publication.

I suggest they include a “splash” on cover announcing free reader offer, and include it in table of contents along with page number. Keep in mind that offer should appear to be an editorial, not an advertisement.

KARON: Sounds wonderful! Can you give us some data on results you’ve achieved?

ROOSEVELT: Certainly. On a fairly recent offer I included in New Woman [British magazine with a circulation between 370,000-400,000] I used a free report from my Astrology First site at http://www.astrology-first.com. The free profile was valued at £5.95 (approx. $9.50US). The free offers returned totaled around 9,500, and up sells totaled about 5,200. You can view a sample offer (which Karon wrote copy for, by way) by clicking this link: http://www.ktamarketing.com/images/NewWomanPDF.pdf

KARON: How fantastic! That is over a 50% return. How wonderful for you! (And thank you for mention .)

ROOSEVELT: Yes, quite! And this return is typical. Most offers – whether for Naturally First products or Astrology First products – pull equally well.

KARON: So with investment of some time to prepare an offer and contact newspapers or magazines, and a little creative work to develop strong copy that presents your offer well, you can receive a free, full-page advertisement in major publications.

Very innovative, Roosevelt! I thank you so much for sharing this technique with us.

ROOSEVELT: You are most welcome, Karon. All best! Goodbye from rainy London : )

For me, I offered something of interest to my visitors. They came to my site seeking marketing and copywriting information. It made sense that they would be interested in course. Viewers never read every single word of your Web site, so pop-up window gave me opportunity to tack a “PS” onto their visits. Sort of stating, “Oops! You might have missed this. Don’t you want to take a look before you go?”

There are several things to keep in mind when creating pop-up windows (based on my opinion).

1. Do make your pop-up window visible on exit, not entry, of your site. The reason being that when people enter your site and a window flashes up immediately, it blocks their view of your index page. It also can be annoying. Allow them to browse around a bit and then, when leaving, have your window pop up.

2. Do make your message short and sweet. Giant, flashing signs and windows tend to give an overwhelming impression and cause your visitor to back away. Keeping your message short and your pop-up window small are less obtrusive and, therefore, more widely accepted.

3. Don’t use multiple pop-ups on your site at same time. That is one surefire way to send your visitors packing.

4. Don’t put pop-up windows on every page of your site. Regardless of what so-called marketing gurus tell you, it will backfire due to annoyance factor.

While I can’t tell you what would work for your site or your particular target market, I do recommend that you experiment a little with pop-up windows. You might just find another inexpensive marketing method that will increase your cash flow!

Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too! Let Karon write targeted copy and ezine articles for you. Visit her site at http://www.ktamarketing.com, or learn to write your own copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Karon’s free ezine! join-businessessentials@lyris1.listenvoy.com