Time magazine called David Ogilvy “the most sought-after wizard in the advertising business.”
And today, the “Father of Advertising’ is going to teach you about cold email.
Here are my personal notes from his “secrets of success in b2b advertising” and how they relate to cold email:
- By and large, the advertising techniques that work in b2b advertising are the same that work in consumer advertising.
- Make sure what you promise is important for your customer.
- Make your promise specific. Instead of generalities, use percentages, time elapsed, dollars saved. You are talking to engineers.
- Testimonials work well, as long as they come from experts in reputable companies. A testimonial from Bud Dacus impresses tugboat engineers because Bud has worked the Mississippi for 25 years — longer than Mark Twain.
- Demonstrations are most effective when they compare your product’s performance with your competitors’.
- News works well. Proclaim your news, loud and clear.
- Layouts should be simple.
- In a Harvard Business Review study, the most successful companies were the ones that best differentiated their product or service.
- Top managers may not respond to, or even understand, the details that are important to the user. They are only interested in the broad benefits — particularly cost savings.
- It sometimes pays to run separate campaigns — one addressed to top management, the other to the specialists.