for time upfront. This is more expensive per order if you have a successful campaign, but it lowers upfront investment in media.
Marketing Architects (Radio) (www.marketingarchitects.com)
The de facto leaders in radio DR but a bit on the expensive side. Almost all of the most successful DR products—Carlton Sheets No Money Down, Tony Robbins, etc.—have used them.
Radio Direct Response (Radio) (www.radiodirect.com)
Mark Lipsky has put together a great firm, with clients ranging from small direct marketers to Travel Channel and Wells Fargo.
Online Marketing and Research Firms (PPC campaign management, etc.)
SEMPO (www.sempo.org; see the member directory)
Clicks 2 Customers (www.clicks2customers.com)
Working Planet (www.workingplanet.com)
Marketing Experiments (www.marketingexperiments.com) This is my team.
Did It (www.did-it.com)
ROIRevolution (www.roirevolution.com)
Cost is determined by a percentage above monthly PPC spend.
iProspect (www.iprospect.com)
Full-Service Infomercial Producers
These are the companies that made Oreck Direct, Nutrisystem, Nordic-Track, and Hooked on Phonics household names. The first has an excellent DRTV glossary and both sites offer excellent resources. Don’t call unless you can budget at least $15,000 for a short-form commercial or $50,000+ for a long-form infomercial.
Cesari Direct (http://www.cesaridirect.com/)
Hawthorne Direct (www.hawthornedirect.com)
Script-to-Screen (www.scripttoscreen.com)
Retail and International Product Distribution
Want to get your product on the shelves of Wal-Mart, Costco, Nordstrom, or the leading department store in Japan? Sometimes it pays to have experts with relationships get you there.
Tristar Products (http://www.tristarproductsinc.com)
Behind the PowerJuicer and other hits. Tristar also owns their own production studio and can therefore offer end-to-end services in addition to retail distribution.
BJ Direct (International) (www.bjgd.com)
Celebrity Brokers
Want a celebrity to endorse your product or be a spokesperson? It can cost a lot less than you think, if you do it right. I know of one clothing endorsement deal with the best pitcher in Major League Baseball that cost just $20,000 per year. Here are the brokers who can make it happen:
Celeb Brokers (www.celebbrokers.com)
President Jack King was the one who first turned me on to this fascinating world. He knows it all inside and out.
Celebrity Endorsement Network (www.celebrityendorsement.com)
Celebrity Finding
Contact Any Celebrity (www.contactanycelebrity.com)
It is possible to do it yourself, as I have done many times. This online directory and its helpful staff will help you find any celebrity in the world.
LIFESTYLE DESIGN IN ACTION
After I read the section on outsourcing, I thought it sounded like a novel idea but would never work for me. However, since the rest of the book was “spot on,” I decided to try it. Rather than ship my money overseas, I opted to keep it in the U.S. and use my niece in college, with skills on computers I can’t even fathom, to test the theory. Turns out it has been a great experience and timesaver for me, as well as moneymaker for her. It seems I have all of the positives of out sourcing but none of the hassles of language and such…. Being able to mold a young mind for the better ties in well with the rest of your book …
Hey Tim, You mentioned www.weebly.com a few months ago, and I’ve been using that to build all my muse sites and think it’s great! Also, Facebook groups has (almost) every niche imaginable. So what I have found success in doing is: (1) Finding a niche group that would buy my muse, (2) sending a message to each admin telling them how my muse will help their group members. Then politely asking them to put a blurb in the “Recent News” section of the group. This makes it more trustworthy than a wall post, and it stays up there (free advertising) until the admin removes it. One hundred times better than a wall post. In one case, the admin purchased my muse, posted my note for me on the groups’ “Recent News” section, then e-mailed the entire group telling them they have to check out my site.
50. Richard Tedlow,
51. This is adapted from “The Remote Control CEO,”
52. Actually, I’m the ghost in new machines now, as I sold BrainQUICKEN in 2009 to a private equity firm.
53. “Contract outsourcing companies” can be as simple as dependable web-based services. Don’t let the term intimidate you.
54. Sample e-mail responses for fulfillment purposes can be found at www.fourhourblog.com.
55 Joseph Sugarman,
56 Depending on whose math is used (number of cars vs. gross sales), some claim the original Volkswagen Beetle holds the record.
57. For the benefit of the customer and to capitalize on universal laziness (me included), provide as much time as possible to consider or forget the product. Ginsu knives offered a 50-year guarantee. Can you offer a 60-, 90-, or even 365-day guarantee? Gauge average return percentages with a 30- or 60-day guarantee first (for budgeting calculations and cash-flow projections) and then extend it.
