Planning and using infomercial campaigns effectively.

As a direct marketer, you know that the longer you keep a prospect's attention on your product benefits, the greater the chance they'll become a customer. But did you know that as customer cynicism becomes more the cultural norm, the more information a prospect will demand before making a purchase decision? Utilizing a half hour on national cable and broadcast television, a product's story and benefits can be communicated effectively to millions of prospects for an average of 20 cents per viewing household. Direct sales are made in proportion to the number of television viewers. The cost per lead (CPL) or cost per order (CPO) of an infomercial can usually match or beat other direct marketing channels, such as direct mail or print ads. In addition, retail store sales can skyrocket as a result of inspiring and educating direct response resistant consumers.

All good reasons to consider selling your product via an infomercial. However, there are some details that must be considered when outlining and implementing an infomercial campaign.

Evaluate Your Product

Infomercial success is fundamentally product driven. Your product must fulfill a common need. Evaluate your product for these five basic characteristics: 1) Is it unique? 2) Does it have mass appeal? 3) Can you demonstrate features and benefits in a fascinating way? 4) Is it marked up at least 3:1 over cost of goods? 5) Does it produce a "magical transformation" in consumers' lives?

Of course there are many successful infomercials that embody exceptions to these requirements, but what it really comes down to is this: you just need a product or service that has enough mass appeal today to pay for the media costs because an infomercial's impact on retail sales is phenomenal. More on that later.

Structure the Offer

Second to the product benefits, your offer is the most important key to direct response success. Determine the product elements, price point, bonuses, and premiums. Don't wait until you are in the editing suite ... If you can't afford to make your offer motivating, you can't afford to do an infomercial. Remember, the strongest word you will ever use in your offer copy is "free." Would you pay $39.95 for one pair of BluBlocker sunglasses? Probably not. But get a second pair free, and thousands pick up the phone and pay $49.95.