Should You Be Using OPGI In Your Online Marketing?
Internet Marketing Article
Should You Be Using OPGI in Your Online Marketing?
Copyright 2010 Donovan Baldwin
What the heck is OPGI, anyway?
There's another term for it, but I prefer OPGI for three reasons:
1. Nobody's ever heard of it and it arouses curiosity,
2. I think it's more complimentary to the people involved,
3. It's less likely to turn people off than swipe file.
So what the heck DOES OGPI stand for?
It stands for Other
People's Good Ideas.
Let me ask you a blunt question. Just how creative are you? Do you
believe that you can write exciting, order pulling ads
off the top of your head? Sure you can, but are there other people
doing it more effectively than you could? Really, just how good are you
at that sort of stuff?
(Aside here: If you are really great at it, have I got a deal for you!
Now back to the rest of us.)
I'M WILLING TO TELL YOU THAT I'M NOT THAT GOOD AT IT!
Most of us are not that great at creating
effective ads and ad copy. Simple fact. Even if
we have the basic talent, there's going to be a lot of trial and error
before we get it right.
Whenever we want to learn a new technique or skill, we go to the
experts. We read books, we watch professionals at work, we listen to
the instructions of those who have been there...done that. We do this
all in order to acquire the basics and refine our skills as they
develop. This works in the world of business as well.
By the way, did you ever see a fast food company establish a new
location? Shortly after, there were several other fast food facilities
there as well, weren't there? They saw what the first one did and
learned from their research, didn't they? It's a lot easier to plan
something if you can see who's being successful and how they are doing
it.
That's what you need to do. That's why you are going to learn from your
competition (and others) and not just read books on marketing. A book
can give you some great generic tips and ideas on product, location,
presentation, etc. but what is going to show you what actually works?
Simple question, simple answer. What's working for others is what will
probably work for you.
To use Other People's Good Ideas, you first want to establish a "swipe
file". This will be a collection of advertisements, letters, and other
marketing material that appears to be successful, eye catching, or of
other value to you in preparing your own ads and copy material. Now,
you are not going to use someone else's material word for word, but if
a technique, headline, or turn of phrase is working for someone else,
usually there is some way to adapt it to your needs.
If something stands out or catches your attention, you want to keep a
copy of it and see if you can use a variation of it in your own
marketing. Something a little less obvious is the ad that doesn't seem
to that great, but keeps running week after week, or month after month.
It will usually only keep running like that if it is helping someone
make money! You may have to study the ad carefully, maybe even order
the materials offered, or acquire a sample of the product in order to
determine the effectiveness of the ad.
Maybe it's the guarantee, the service after the sale, the quality of
the product. Maybe it's the backend.
In marketing, companies often lead with a freebie or inexpensive item
in order to elicit inquiries. Once the marketer establishes a
relationship with the customer, he or she begins to present other
products to the customer. This will be the backend, or the actual
product the marketer wants to sell.
For example; I could offer a free network marketing report, such as
this one, which cost me nothing to acquire, since I wrote it myself.
When someone requests the report, I can include an offer for a
collection of my network marketing reports for a small fee...barely
enough to cover my mailing and advertising costs...maybe even at less
than my cost. If the customer is willing to part with cash to order
these reports and trusts me enough to believe that I will fulfill my
end of the bargain, it is time for me to present my backend (no, not
that backend)...the product or service on which I really hope to make
money.
That's an overview of the backend, and that is where the money is made
in direct marketing. Ads requesting up-front payment for products or
services don't do very well overall, but once trust is established you
can start asking for money. If you don't believe me, just order my
report on the two-step marketing process. It's only a dollar!
I'm just kidding. It's free, and here's the link which opens a new
window, by the way.
There are two other areas in which OPGI's can help us.
First, the products other people offer may be important to us.
Sometimes people who are new to marketing see a large group of people
marketing the same or similar products and conclude that the market is
saturated. Let's take a fresh look at this. All this activity may very
well indicate the existence of a hot market or product. If a lot of
other people are selling something, it may very well be because they
are successful doing it!
Secondly, see where ads are being placed. In terms of types of products
and services, there isn't much new under the sun. There may be a new
weight loss product, but weight loss products have been around for a
long time. If people selling a certain product or opportunity are not
advertising in an established publication or at an established site, it
is probably because it has already been tried and didn't work. Don't
reinvent the wheel. If exercise equipment is not being advertised in a
quilting magazine, there may be a reason! If fourteen ads offering
power saws are found month after month in a woodworking magazine, there
may be a reason.
Of course, if you have the insight to establish a link that has not
been seen before, that is great. For example, I marketed weight loss
meals that required no refrigeration and could be prepared several
different ways. I marketed to truckers who not only tend to have a
problem finding healthy meals on the road, but who are constantly
searching for less expensive ways to eat while over the road. (I know
because I was one once myself.) I made the point to them that using my
meals, they can eat for a day for about the same amount that one truck
stop meal would cost...plus they eat a healthier, balanced diet and are
less likely to gain weight while over the road.
Anyway, if you are selling drill bits, ask yourself, "Where are drill
bits being sold?" Is it in cooking magazines or in woodworking
magazines? Look through a magazine for computer games. How many ads for
weight loss products do you see? Now look through a health magazine.
Did you find some weight loss products? If you did, ask yourself why
that company chose to buy that expensive ad in that magazine. The same
steps apply to the internet. Just look at web sites instead of
magazines.
By the way, if the ad looks great, add it to your "swipe" file.
Sometimes the best way to be successful is to copy what successful
people are doing.
About The Author:
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Donovan Baldwin is a Dallas area freelance writer and Internet
marketer. A University Of West Florida alumnus
(1973) with a BA in accounting, he has held several managerial
positions and run his own business. After retiring from the
U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in Internet marketing and
developed various online businesses. He has been writing
poetry, articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently
publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other
webmasters. Get free advertising
at xtramoney4me.net/free_advertising/adlandpro.html.
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