Steve Hackney: 
"The Wipeout Technique"

Important note: This is a critical book-review and not a salesletter or an ad! 


Format

PDF-document. 78 pages.


Review 

This book by Marketing consultant and author, Steve Hackney focuses on Directory Advertising - also called Yellow Page Advertising, though it covers more than the typical Yellow Pages directories.

Several marketers have discovered that advertising the right way in the right directories, can mean a lot for their businesses. One such example is Shel Horowitz who found out that his directory ads outpulled all his other marketing efforts (Grassroot Marketing, p. 7).

And this is all the more interesting considering that about 60% of all users of directories make an immediate purchase. The people looking in the directories usually aren't reading them for entertainment purposes. No, they pick them up for a very definite purpose. They look for the best business to place their order with.

So, Directory Advertising can certainly be very effective.

But according to Steve Hackney this is definitely not always the case. In fact, says Steve Hackney, according to recent research around 90% of all Directory Advertising is a loss of money. People like Shel Horowitz and Steve Hackney may know how to turn directory ads into a profit, but most business owners don't.

As in all his other books, Steve Hackney clearly favors a Direct Response Marketing approach.

And I totally agree.

The principles and methods upon which Direct Response Marketing is based are the most effective way to profit from Directory Advertising.

If you take a look at a typical Yellow Page directory, you'll soon notice that almost none of the ads are Direct Response ads. Most of them contain general, boring slogans with no real power, and they heavily focus on graphics, which don't sell.

Not only does Steve Hackney promise that you can spare a lot of money by using Direct Response ads, but your ads will also become much more effective. They'll pull orders like crazy.

So, skip most of these graphics and focus on the proven Direct Response copywriting techniques used by the most successful copywriters, and you'll see a real difference in the number of orders you'll get. That's the promise Steve Hackney gives.

And I totally agree! In my own experience, the Direct Response model is much, much better.

And best of all, almost no one uses this approach. Almost none of your competitors uses it. So, if you rewrite your ads, following the proven Direct Response principles, your ads will stand out among all your competitors. They'll probably laugh of you, calling your ad amateurish, but you'll reap the profits.

In "The Wipeout Technique" Steve Hackney shows you how to build your directory ad from the ground. He has split up the whole process in seven simple steps that most business owners ought to able to easily follow and implement.

Steve Hackney shows you how to write ads that grap the attention of your potential customers. At this point I like the many samples - illustrating both the wrong and the right approach to copywriting.

Nothing grasp the attention of targeted prospects as a strong and enticing headline. And Steve Hackney really gives the headline of your ad all the treatment it rightly deserves. He gives you 12 different kinds of headlines that has proven to really grasp the attention of directory users.

But in addition to the section on attention grasping headlines, Steve Hackney has also added a really good and helpful bonus report focusing even more on writing headlines.

He also shows you how to let your ad become an intergral part of the process of getting new, targeted leads and customers for your business. It's not enough to grasp the attention of your potential customers. You've also got to lead them all the way through your ad until they make the decision to actually act on your ad. And I think Steve Hackney gives you a good basis for deciding which action you want your readers to take.

After you've written your ad, you need to find the best possible placement for it. Steve Hackney shows you what is the optimum placement, and he gives you a very smart tip to achieve this placement in most directories - without violating their policies.

This is a really cool part of "The Wipeout Technique"!

One of the most important parts of "The Wipeout Technique" is the section on how you can test and track the effectiveness of your ads. Of course testing directory ads is usually somewhat more difficult than testing ads in newspapers and magazines. But if you take the time to properly test your directory ad results, you'll reap all the benefits and be able to change and adjust your next ad accordingly.

What I really like in "The Wipeout Technique" is Steve Hackney's elaborateness. This book is really a how-to book in the real sense of the word. You get all the details you need to go ahead and implement these techniques for yourself. And Steve Hackney takes into considerance the different rules different directories follow - and how to let these rules work for you instead of against you.

In short, no stone is left unturned, so far as I can see!

At the same time "The Wipeout Technique" is easy and entertaining to read. The real-life stories, the illustrations and the useful samples all work together to make this book a pleasure to read.

I also really like the objective tone Steve Hackney keep throughout his book. He bases "The Wipeout Technique" on his own experience. But the his methods is backed up by marketing research. Thus his techniques aren't just a reflection of his own preferences.

This doesn't mean the book is boring. Far from it! It just mean that you get the impression that you aren't just reading a bunch of pure speculations. Steve Hackney - and many other marketers - have tried and tested this approach again and again, and have earned small fortunes from doing so.

Also, I'd like to commend that way Steve Hackney takes the time to answer the questions which may be raised by his readers when they read the book. This way of interacting with the readers make the book much more helpful. And it shows that Steve Hackney is keenly aware of the potential questions and problems directory advertisers may run into.

Finally, the bonus report containing ready-to-use templates for your directory ads, is really useful. These templates leave you with no excuse for not implementing Steve's wipeout technique. This is a very valuable bonus, in my opinion.

Overall assessment 

Personally, having discovered Steve Hackney's book-series has been a really pleasant surprise for me. Just when I thought I "knew" most of the top marketers in the World, I discovered Steve Hackney and his excellent - yes, outstanding - books. That's my impression of the other books I've read by Steve Hackney.

Steve Hackney simply has an outstanding ability to combine top marketing advice with exceptional teaching skills.

"The Wipeout Technique" is no exception to this.

This book keeps the high standard I think Steve Hackney has set out in the other books by him which I've read. I've read several other books on the subject of Directory Advertising, but so far I think this is the best and most realistic.

Thus I give "The Wipeout Technique" my highest recommendations if you would like to reap the potential profits available through Directory Advertising.

About Steve Hackney 

Who is Steve Hackney? Click for the answer! 

Buying information 

Website 

http://www.powermarketingstrategy.com/directory/

Email

info@powermarketingstrategy.com

Snail mail

Hackney Marketing Limited
7 Copse Close, Leicester Forest East
Leicester. LE3 3NZ.
United Kingdom


Phone

+44 116 239 4433
 

Fax

+44 116 239 5658