If your target audience is the wealthy, there are certain unique aspects of marketing to them rather than the general consumer.
In marketing to the affluent, you follow the same direct response rules as for anyone, but there are differences in strategy, tactics, copy, and art that are going to help increase response.
A variety of ways exists to communicate opportunity to the wealthy (those with an income of $250,000 or more or a net worth of $2 million or more).
This is a unique group, besides being in the top 10% of all Americans.
And they are not all the same. Their psychographics – how they behave based on their perceptions of reality and preferences – are just as important as their demographics.
In reaching the wealthy, I have laid out three categories of marketing/advertising choices to target them for your business/investment opportunity.
The first category: It’s the most efficient marketing strategies and tactics because you’re communicating only to the wealthy. The target market is specific. You don’t waste money and time on non-prospects.
The second category: Your marketing message is reaching the wealthy, but not all. Some don’t qualify as wealthy. You’re wasting marketing money and creating a greater burden to qualify each prospect.
And the third category: A very small percentage of the total marketing audience is actually your target audience. Most of those receiving your marketing message do not qualify.
The three categories explained
CATEGORY #1: Highly Targeted Wealthy – 6 Powerful Tactics
The most effective way to only communicate to your target audience of the wealthy is by using four key marketing tactics – and incorporating these few tactics into one hugely impactful strategy to generate leads or sales.
To come close to 100% targeting of this group only, you’ll want to use (1) direct mail, (2) a direct response landing page designed only for the campaign, (3) remarketing with banner ads only to your prospects, (4) email directed only to the identifiably wealthy and (5) video – when used with email, banner ads/remarketing, landing page, and (6) Facebook custom list.
This multimedia integration works best when direct mail is the foundation because only with direct mail can you precisely and comprehensively preselect only the affluent audience.
These six media, especially when integrated, will produce the lowest cost per lead and the lowest cost per sale in generating new leads or sales.
Let’s look closely at the six key elements to a successfully integrated campaign.
Element #1: Direct mail
Direct mail is the most efficient and effective way to target your wealthy prospect. With direct mail, you’re able to target only the wealthy because the mailing lists can identify your prospect by income and net worth (again: the target audience has an income of at least $250,000 or a net worth of at least $2 million).
No other media can do this in a comprehensive and confident marketing campaign.
The marketing cost for direct mail may be higher than some other media. But the cost per lead/cost per sale justifies the extra upfront costs because your actual cost per lead and cost per sale will be less.
With direct mail, you have several tactical/strategic choices, as you will see:

Element #2: Direct response landing page
A special landing page is necessary to maximize response.
You do not want your prospect to go to your corporate website.
You want your prospect to go to a specific landing page that matches up with the copy of the direct mail, email or other advertising/marketing efforts you are using.
Watch my video brief on landing pages, here.
Element #3: Remarketing with direct response banner ads
Banner ads by themselves are okay for general marketing, but not great.
Add remarketing to the banner ads and everything changes – they become a great marketing tactic.
Remarketing is a powerful way to keep your name in front of your prospect. With remarketing, your banner ads for your offer will follow your wealthy prospect around the web. Your banner ad will be seen by your prospect wherever they are on the internet.
See my video brief on remarketing, here.
Element #4: Email
Email lists of the wealthy allow you to target your audience, but not completely. The email lists of the wealthy only comprise about 25% of this group compared to direct mail, so they aren’t as complete as direct mail.
Using the same names on the email list and the postal list will have the best impact generating more leads at a lower cost per lead and lower cost per sale.
Email used alone will not be as effective in producing leads.
If you analyze the bottom line, email cost will be higher per lead and at a higher cost per sale if used by itself.
By combining email and direct mail, you improve your ROI on both the email and direct mail campaign.
Element #5: Direct response video
Videos on sites like YouTube will not be effective for the wealthy target audience. But the video strategy can be highly effective when combined with your email, banner ad/remarketing and landing page. In fact, banner ads, email and your landing page are much more effective with a video campaign.
Element #6: Facebook custom list
This is where we take the email list you’re using, identify the facebook page of the wealthy prospects and run ads in their newsfeed.
The ultimate approach is a combination. The landing page with video is the foundation. Then you send direct mail, email, banner ads and facebook newsfeed posts – all to the same names.
CATEGORY #2: Targeted, but not as efficient or effective
The following tactics touch the wealthy, but they are not as targeted.
Display ads
Display ads and magazines that aim at the high net worth prospect can be powerful complements to your marketing campaign. These print magazines are often city or regional magazines with a banner ad component. They target only high net worth prospects.
Seldom do they produce enough response to justify the campaign by itself without an integrated marketing approach described above in Category #1 to ensure they can be effective.
And they will not be as targeted, so you’ll be wasting resources outside of the audience you want.
Facebook
A high percentage of your prospects will not be on Facebook or actively engage in Facebook, for that matter.
But Facebook can be a complement to a campaign.
It won’t generate new clients but it can help in the sales process. And it has limited targeting of the wealthy.
Paid Search
Paid search is inexpensive. But it’s difficult with paid search to reach the wealthy. This could be a small portion of a campaign, but not as effective as those in Category #1.
And precision is questionable.
CATEGORY #3: Untargeted, fewer prospects
Direct response television
TV commercials – including infomercials – can be a powerful and effective way to spread your message. But they do not reach enough of your target audience.
Even targeting financial stations, most of your audience is not qualified. But a test on Fox Business, CNBC, Bloomberg and a few others will recruit some of the wealthy prospects you want.
I started my career over 25 years ago with TV. I’ve created more than 400 TV commercials and 13 infomercials.
So I love this media.
If you do TV on the financial stations, test 30 and 60 seconds and consider an interview on Fox Business, or 30-minute infomercials.
Direct response radio
Radio is inexpensive and can be powerful – including a 30-minute radio infomercial. You can even target financial talk and  news stations, where there will be some wealthy prospects – but the vast majority are not.
Next steps?
Most reading these pages will want to start their marketing campaign with the media outlined in Category #1, targeting specifically the wealthy.
The highly targeted, multi-media integrated approach will give you the best cost-per-lead and cost-per-sales for the affluent.
If you’d like help putting together your most successful integrated campaign to the wealthy possible, contact Craig at (310) 212-5727 or [email protected].