It’s an entirely different experience when a mobile phone is used to visit a Personalized URL (PURL).  The visitor is likely on-the-go, and the time you have to grab their attention is even quicker.  Mobile phone users are more likely to be looking to accomplish something specific and get out quickly.  So it’s your job, as the expert Personalized URL (PURL) marketer, to give them exactly what they want, quickly, in a format that is easily read by any mobile device.  Sound complicated?  Its really not.  All you have to do is include less on the mobile version of your PURL landing page.  Your mobile-friendly microsite should include, and ONLY include:

• Your logo or other graphic element that ties the look of the offline piece to the mobile page.
• A single sentence describing what you would like the visitor to do.
• A form with no more than 3 fields to fill out.
• A link to the full HTML version.
• That’s it.  Don’t include anything else!  Seriously.. you’ll regret it

The design of your PURL landing page has one goal – to get the visitor to act upon something. The action could be to fill out a survey, download a file, pint off a coupon, you get the idea…

You have about 8 seconds to give your PURL visitors a compelling reason to stick around.  Use the tips below to create a PURL Landing Page that encourages your visitors to take action.

• Personalize the page to the visitor by using their name and other relevant information.
• Make sure the offer stands out and is above the fold -  Weather it is to take a survey, fill out a contest entry, download a white paper or schedule a free consultation.
• Limit the number of pages. A microsite should be between one and five pages.
• Remove all navigation or links that can take the visitors away from the offer.
• Keep a strong, consistent design theme. – The main headline, offer, and overall look should match the promotional piece that drove them to the site.
• Only ask for information you need and will use. – The less information you ask from the visitor, the better.
• Remove anything that is not necessary.  Only show parts of the site that will drive conversions of the “maybes.”
• In a 5 second test, could someone tell what tour page was about?

The offer is the second most important part of a marketing campaign (after the list). People are always looking for an offer they can’t refuse. There are two crucial aspects to get right in your offer:

1. A clear and simple message.
2. A compelling reason to respond.
3. The right buzzwords.

The “clear and simple part is easy to get right.”  Keep it short and sweet – no more than 20 words long.

The “compelling reason to respond” requires a bit more thought.  Brainstorm offers that you think would really grab the attention and be relevant for your audience.   Add urgency to the offer with an expiration date, purchase limit, limited quantity available, or last chance notice. You want to make it a no-brainer to take action.  If you are asking for to much information from the visitor, in exchange for something that is insignificant, your offer will be insignificant.

It’s also a good idea for your offer should to be relevant to your product/service.  Otherwise you’ll end up with a bunch of un-qualified leads that are just after that free iPad, and don’t give a lick about what your have to offer!

Finally, take advantage of buzzwords in your offer.  “Free” is the most powerful word when, used appropriately, increases the effectiveness of your offer.  Most people would prefer a free item, rather than one drastically reduced in price.  Other buzzwords hint towards a steal, bargain, or a first chance at something.

********
TIP: Test the Emotion of Your Offer

The advanced Marketing Institute has a slick little tool that will analyze your headline for emotional value.  You can check it out here: http://www.aminstitute.com/headline/
********

The Perfect List
The perfect mailing lists are the lists that pull in the mind-blowing response rates you read about in the case studies. You know… the 30-40% response rates.  These response rates do exists, I’ve personally seen them, and they all have one very important thing in common – the perfect list.

The perfect list has 2 qualities:
1) The recipients know who the marketer is
2) The recipients have given the marketer permission to advertise to them.

As you can imagine, these lists are typically created in-house, and take months, if not years to gather.  The time and effort you put into creating your list, will be directly correlated to the success of your PURL Campaign.

Here are some ideas you can use to create your perfect list:

• Collect the contact information of customers at the time of purchase.
• Create a contest that entices customers to enter their information for a chance to win.
• Request feedback from customers and invite them to leave their contact information.
• Give your online visitors something of value in exchange for their contact information.

Purchasing a List
If you don’t have time to create an in-house mailing list you’ll have to resort to purchasing one.  Although purchased lists will not pull in the massive response rates, they can still result in a successful campaign.

Think about who your typical customers are, and try to target the list as much as possible to that demographic.  The more targeted your mailing list the better.  If you send somebody a discount for a baby crib, but they don’t have a baby, they won’t respond.  I know this seems obvious, or just flat out silly, but it happens -  Please, please, please… Don’t let it be you!  If you settle for an un-targeted mailing list, your campaign will fall flat, and we’ll all look like idiots.

Transform your Purchased list into the Perfect list.
The first time you market to a purchased lists your response rates will likely be lower than you expected.  But there’s a trick… When you use PURLs, you have the ability to see exactly who responds to your message online.  From the results of online respondents, you now have a more targeted list of prospects that have shown interests in your product or service.  This is powerful!  Take this more targeted list and use it for future campaigns to get the higher response rates your after. With this approach you can transform your purchased list into a perfect list where the marketer knows who you are and has given you permission to market to them.

Campaigns that utilize relevant graphics and text commonly see a 2-5X lift in response rates.

- PODi Response Rate Report
http://www.caslon.net/Knowledge-Base/Reports/Response-Rate-Report-1123/View-details.html

A successful PURL campaign has much more to it then simply creating a personalized landing page for each of your prospects/customers. That, in fact, is the easy part.  I’ll cover the options you have available to actually handle the technical stuff later on.  But first we need to lay the ground work for what actually makes a successful PURL campaign.

The three most important aspects of a successful PURL campaign are:

1. The List
2. The Offer
3. The Creative

You might be surprised to see that I did not mention the technology you use to execute your PURL campaigns. Or the format of the PURL.  Or even, the domain name used in the PURL.  That is because a PURL is only a tactic used to boost a campaigns results.  Placing a PURL on top of a poorly executed campaign will still result in a poorly executed campaign -  there’s no way around it.

The list, offer, and creative are the essential elements of a well executed campaign.  And when you place a PURL on top of the well executed campaign,  that’s when the magic happens!

Purlem introduces instantPURL(tm) technology

The shorter the domain name higher response rate you will have.  Try to use a memorable name that they can remember.  A name that is associated with the campaign, as opposed to associated with the company, usually works best.

Do not use:

http://mywebsite.com/january2011mailing/mike.jones

Instead, use a short & memorable domain associated with your campaign:

http://purlcampaign./mike.jones

Another tip is to use the “sub-domain” PURL format – http://mikejones.purlcampaign.com.
Sub-domain PURLs typically generate a higher response rate.

Learn more about purchasing a domain name.

A seasoned marketer will tell you that one of the most successful marketing methods is to create name-specific pURLs which relate directly to the customer.  This personal approach has changed the face of internet marketing and a pURL landing page is a truly powerful B2C marketing tool.

pURL marketing campaigns are effective for the following reasons: you can track customer response in a precise way, you can add a personal touch for each customer and you can build a strong brand identity.

So we’ve established the potential of pURL landing pages, but is that all? When it comes to internet marketing, nothing is effortless, and the answer is, of course, no. The way you optimise your landing page is often the backbone to your campaign’s return on investment.
Here are our top tips for improving your pURL landing page:

1.    Register a dedicated domain
Although many people use pURLs with their ordinary domain, there are some campaigns which could benefit from a dedicated domain name.  This level of personalisation makes the offer / promotion appear to be very important, so important that it’s worthy of its own web address.

2.    Use images and videos
Just like any other page that can be found on your website, you need to make your information stand out.  Add media such as images or videos to capture the attention of your audience.  A pURL landing page should be treated as an advert, a promotional tool, so it’s important to be creative and interesting.

3.    Short copy is better than long copy
The biggest mistake to make on a pURL landing page is adding too much information.  Never add content that can be found on another page.  This is about first impressions and encouraging web user to sign up / purchase. Find a key message with your copywriting and stick with it. Try short copywriting techniques such as straplines and catchy titles instead of long pieces of information.

4.    Remove distractions from your page
Avoid over complicated graphics and make sure that any images / videos you opt to use are relevant to what you’re trying to promote.  It could also be worth taking away your navigation bar, logos, advertising banners so that you have a clean, concise page that conveys a clear message.

5.    Don’t forget to test
Guidelines can point you in the right direction, but ultimately only thorough testing can give you the best reassurance of what works and what doesn’t.  You can test the effectiveness of a campaign by sending it out to different groups.

—-

Author:
The WebMarketing Group is an internet marketing specialist, offering search engine optimisation, social media and online PR services to businesses of all sizes.  Visit the The WebMarketing Group to find out more.
http://www.webmarketinggroup.co.uk/