Everything I Learned about CRO I Learned from Direct Response Marketing

Direct Response Roots of Conversion Rate Optimization Revealed

Next week at the Conversion Conference in Chicago, +Brian Massey  and I will give a talk on how CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) principles really had their roots in Direct Marketing Response.  We will talk about the discipline of conversion’s roots in direct marketing and how these principles have been used in traditional direct mail and can be applied to the web. We plan to introduce you to some of the names in the direct marketing and advertising field that you may not know and to share some of their wisdom. I use this wisdom in my classes and will share some of my examples of how to apply these techniques effectively.

This semester my students were creating paid search ads for real companies.  Usually about halfway through the exercise, they would say to me, “We have the right keywords and lots of impressions, why aren’t we getting any clicks?”  The answer of course is that the ads were not well-written, not compelling and did not encourage response. 

Just by adding to word “free” to an offer, using the principle of reciprocity, dramatically increased results.  Using the scarcity principle “act now while supplies last” also dramatically improved click through rates, which was our conversion measure.  So if you want to see and hear more examples and words from the wisest in direct response, come hear our talk on Tuesday at 10:30 am at the +Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

By Debra Zahay-Blatz.
You can find Debra on Google+ and Twitter as well as LinkedIn.