You'll need: A pay-as-you-go media strategy.  Breakthrough creative.  Persuasive in-bound telemarketers or on-line selling pages.  A Logical Method of turning today's results into tomorrow's tactics. Get them all here.  You also need a product or service that people really need.  Got one?  Good!

Direct Response Radio is Instant Justice.
If you offer intelligent people a legitimate solution to their real problems, a fair number will try your brand, like it, tell their friends, order more, and enthusiastically help you build your business.

If your creative sounds like everyone else's, most people will tune you out.  If your in-bound telemarketers read dull scripts, most callers will hang up.  If your web site is cluttered, long-winded, or hard to navigate, most Impulse Shoppers will give up. If you pay too much or too little for airtime you'll throw most of your money away. 
Instant Justice.

Your success will stem from a disciplined approach based on the Three Basic Principles of Direct Response Radio, to the right, and one Immutable Truth:

Without a Budget and a Deadline there is no Reality - only wishful thinking.

To get started in Direct Response Radio you'll need to prime the pump with an upfront cash budget equal to about 5.0% of your Target Year I Incremental Profits. 

During the next six to eight weeks we will spend that princely sum building the Four Parts you'll need to earn a 95:5 return on your investment:

• BLUNT FORCE: A 3 to 10 Day Media Test & National Rollout Plan.

• DRAMA: Distinctive radio commercials based on a well-crafted Brand Promise.

• CHEERFUL SALESMANSHIP: In-bound telemarketer scripts and a pithy selling page for your own website, or a separate Radio URL.

• RAZORSHARP ANALYTICS: A clear way to track the impact of CPM,  Response & Conversion rates on your Target Media Cost per Sale.

Next Steps:

When you're ready to make money in Direct Response Radio, do what you want your own prospects to do.
Pick up the phone.

I.  Broad Reach Builds Response.

Your best prospects have an immediate need for Your Thing and are willing to buy direct.  One or two exposures to compelling copy are usually enough to prompt a call or click.  You cannot bludgeon the Disinterested or Unwilling into submission.  Heavy frequency wastes money better spent elsewhere. 

Only 1% to 3% of any station's core audience are in the market for Your Thing - this week.  If that supply refreshes itself gradually, modest frequency can maintain steady response from new Active Shoppers over several months, even years. 

Only broad reach - i.e. running briefly on a great many stations, network programs, streaming networks, and satellite channels - can build huge response and revenues. 

II.  High Conversion Builds Profits.

In Direct Response Radio, Conversion is King. Radio respondents are slightly more open-minded than Keyword Searchers, but no less impatient. Your in-bound telemarketers and web designers have about three minutes to deliver just enough factual information to rationalize a purchase decision driven by the emotions kindled in the advertising.

In-bound telemarketers should convert 22% to 35% of inquiries to sales.  Streaming radio landing pages should be tweaked until they convert 8.5% to 12.5%.  Cluttered corporate home pages rarely convert more than 1% to 3%.  Most Direct Response Radio campaigns should include a Radio-URL devoted entirely to making the first sale. 

If your commercials pull well and your conversion rates are high, you can easily afford to run (briefly!) on the leading stations and network destination programs that reach millions of prospects.

III.  Real People Build Brands.

Real People - your own customers - can often sell Your Thing better than any copywriter, even me.  Real People Radio can keep your brand fresh, lively, and topical.

Most Direct Response radio advertisers and local advertisers contribute willingly to the Daily Drone of Powerful Announcer copy that numbs the ears of most radio listeners. 

If your creative breaks through that Daily Drone you'll pick up most of this week's Active Shoppers.  You'll also build awareness and intent to try among next week's Active Shoppers.  So next week you can spend less money running fewer commercials. 

Stand out from the pack and you'll leave the pack behind.

Your Commercial Should Be
One of My Top 20.

Advanced Concept: The longer the time lapse between Initial Inquiry
and Final Sale the less likely the latter will occur.

Act Now!