Brian Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for over 40 years, the author of two books, and spending the second part of his career teaching everything he did.

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Guest Resources

Titans Marketing – Connect to Brian and be a part of his online family.

Overdeliver – Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing.

3 Value Bombs

1) The formula of direct marketing for the success of any program is 40% on the list or media, 40% on the offer and 20% on the creatives or messaging.

2) The simple concept of thinking that every email sent is paid will make email marketing a much better form of communication.

3) A “relationship account” is an account with a compound interest and it is the most valuable account anyone can have.

Sponsors

HubSpot: Grow better, faster with HubSpot’s all-in-one intuitive customer platform. Visit HubSpot.com to learn more!

FranBridge: Many EOFire listeners have launched franchises in a variety of industries outside of food – and FranBridge Consulting has guided them to these premier opportunities! Sign up for a free consultation with Jon – or get a free copy of his book, “Non-Food Franchising” – at FranBridgeConsulting.com!

Airbnb: Your home might be worth more than you think… Find out how much at Airbnb.com/host!

Show Notes

**Click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.

Today’s Audio MASTERCLASS: Dinosaurs and Cowboys: Can’t We All Get Along

[1:14] – Brian shares something that he believes about becoming successful that most people disagree with.

• Money is important but everything in life and in business is not a revenue event but a relationship event. Customers refund transactions but they  don’t refund relationships. People in marketing should spend most time first in relationships and delivering value.

[2:51] –  Brian talks about some eternal truths of direct response marketing that will never go extinct.

• The formula of direct marketing for the success of any program is 40% on the list or media, 40% on the offer and 20% on the creatives or messaging.
• If you don’t have the right media or audience, the creative and the messaging are going to be irrelevant because even if the creative and messaging are right but it goes to the wrong audience, you can’t sell the offer and create relationship to anybody.
• If you have dialed in the list and the segmentation of the audience even with a mediocre offer and creative, you will get some order and sales and that is the indicator.
• The copywriter and the marketer doesn’t create the desire in the market place because the desire is already there. Its how the copywriter and the marketer channels that desire which takes hard work and research.
• His 41/39/20 rule is a fundamental truth of direct response marketing that everybody needs to know so that everyone does things in order and they can maximize their impact and profit.

[7:02] – Brian talks about marketing using paid postage direct mails and emails.

• Printing postage cost money while emails are free.  Email marketing is much more powerful if you think about paying for each and every email.
• The discipline and the care we take for every piece of direct email should also be taken for every email. Just because you are not paying for it doesn’t give you a permission to be sloppy. The simple concept of thinking that every email sent is paid will make email marketing a much better form of communication.

[11:50] – JLD adds about the higher the barrier , the lower competition when he shared about his podcast journey.

[12:39] – Brian gave an example about AI and Chat GPT.

• It is important to keep stacking your business , to put an effort and not just relying on AI or Chat GPT when doing creative or messaging.

 [14:28] – A timeout to thank our sponsors!

• HubSpot: Grow better, faster with HubSpot’s all-in-one intuitive customer platform. Visit HubSpot.com to learn more!
• Airbnb: Your home might be worth more than you think… Find out how much at Airbnb.com/host!
• FranBridge: Many EOFire listeners have launched franchises in a variety of industries outside of food – and FranBridge Consulting has guided them to these premier opportunities! Sign up for a free consultation with Jon – or get a free copy of his book, “Non-Food Franchising” – at FranBridgeConsulting.com!

[17:06] – Brian speaks about the three-legged stool.

• People think marketing is an elaborate funnel but its really simple. The 41/39/20 rule is about the level of importance in marketing. First is the list and media , second is the offer and copy and third is the creative. You have to dial in the first two and once its done, the creative becomes most important.
• He added two more ideas, the Lifetime value and the RFM.
• An offer with a lifetime value of a minimum of 2 years is a good offer. You have to make sure that there is another offer to give behind it. The idea of business is having multiple products and delineation of products. The concept of lifetime value is starting with one product and thinking about the derivatives of that product to stack it up.
• RFM stands for Recency, Frequency and Monetary. This concept is not a rule of thumb in marketing but of how consumers behave in the market place. The key is putting these three together because they are not isolated. Its all about accumulating the data of the customers that transact with you on a regular basis so you can plan when to put out the next offer,
• The three-legged stool is where it starts and it extends to lifetime value and RFM.

[23:12] – Brian talks about the compound interest that comes from relationship capital.

• He says that he hates the word “networking” and he changed that word to “contributing to connect”
• He considers himself as a giver with no expectation in return but ironically, he got a lot of return.
• Never make an “ask from nowhere” to someone because asking needs to have a deep relationship. When you ask for something, you have to ask from someone who you have a “relationship account”. It’s an account with a compound interest and it is the most valuable account anyone can have.
• You need to cultivate this account by building and contributing to others and earn their relationship.
• Mentors choose you and it is not you who choose your mentors. Strive to have a symbiotic relationship that goes on forever. Don’t ask, just give and contribute.

[31:08] – Call to action.

• Titans Marketing – Connect to Brian and be a part of his online family.
• Overdeliver – Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing.

[35:10] – Thank you to our Sponsors!

• HubSpot: Grow better, faster with HubSpot’s all-in-one intuitive customer platform. Visit HubSpot.com to learn more!
• FranBridge: Many EOFire listeners have launched franchises in a variety of industries outside of food – and FranBridge Consulting has guided them to these premier opportunities! Sign up for a free consultation with Jon – or get a free copy of his book, “Non-Food Franchising” – at FranBridgeConsulting.com!

Killer Resources!

1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!

2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!

3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!

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