Posts Tagged ‘direct mail’
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It’s said that the purpose of a direct mail letter is to sell, whereas the objective of a mailing’s brochure is to explain.
That said, many mailers seem to have a compulsion to include a brochure in their mailing. But before you join the rush, note that very few of us have mailings whose purpose is to “explain.”
For most of us, the objective is to increase the mailing’s net profit, and too often a brochure distracts the reader’s attention from responding.
Yet adding particular inserts to the mailing can increase response and – despite the added cost – increase the mailing’s net income.
Here are examples of 5 inserts that you should test.
As you’ll see, their purpose isn’t to explain but to enhance the value of the benefits offered and to reduce any reluctance the reader (more…)
Tags: cost of direct mail, direct mail, direct mail brochure, direct mail fundamentals, direct mail offer, direct mail premiums, direct mail strategy, direct mail test, increase direct mail response, test direct mail
Posted in Premiums, Strategy, Testing | 1 Comment »
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When attempting to beat the control, the temptation is to focus on new copy. But testing new copy alone has far less potential to influence results than does making changes to the mailing’s offer.
Here are 10 easy ways you can increase direct mail response by revising your offer.
- Offer something free. Your mailing can include an offer for free shipping, free financing, 3 months’ free membership, address labels, a bookmark, a decal, etc. On the back end, you can fulfill a nearly endless list of gifts – in all price ranges – for those who respond.
If you already offer a premium, test a new one. It doesn’t need to be expensive – or even relate to the organization’s mission – as long as it has a perceived value.
Unfortunately, many groups – and especially boards of directors – hate premiums, believing they cheapen the organization. But most donors and customers respond to (more…)
Tags: copywriting, direct mail, direct mail fundamentals, direct mail guarantee, direct mail offer, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing
Posted in Copywriting, Premiums, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
This is the second of a two-part series.
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Getting the basics right goes a long way toward achieving direct mail success. In my last post, we discussed 11 strategies that you’ll want to include when planning your next campaign.
You can see these here.
To complete 21 Steps to Direct Mail Success, here are ten more often overlooked strategies that you’ll want to include in your next (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail lists, direct mail offer, direct mail order form, direct mail planning, direct mail response, direct mail response rates, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response, test direct mail
Posted in Campaign Planning, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
This is the first of a two-part series.
Download as a pdf
The key to success is to avoid making mistakes. And with direct mail, getting the basics right accounts for 95% of all successes.
21 Steps to Direct Mail Success
You can find many articles about effective direct mail testing, copy and design in my other posts, but here I focus on key–but often overlooked–elements of a successful direct mail campaign.
Below are 11 essential elements of a successful direct response campaign. In my next post, I’ll follow up with an additional ten steps that you’ll want to (more…)
Tags: cost of direct mail, direct mail, direct mail lists, direct mail offer, direct mail planning, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing
Posted in Campaign Planning, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
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Direct mail is a sales medium. We use it to sell ideas, products and services. And like any other form of sales, its success is based on trust.
Regardless of how much the prospect may value your offer, if he or she doesn’t trust the person attempting to make the sale, it’s not going to happen.
In direct mail, our salesperson is the letter signer. And to establish trust we use testimonials, money-back guarantees and clear, straightforward language.
By definition, an asterisk “indicates omission…”
An asterisk signifies that the claim being made isn’t complete. There are qualifications and/or limitations to what you’re being told. In blunt terms, an asterisk says that (more…)
Tags: copywriting, direct mail, direct mail copywriting, direct mail design, direct mail graphics, direct mail guarantee, direct mail offer, direct mail readership, direct mail response, direct mail sales, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response
Posted in Copywriting, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing, Thought Provoking | No Comments »
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With direct mail, it’s often said, “The letter sells while the brochure explains.” With this in mind, it’s important not to let your explanation get in the way of making the sale.
I do a lot of “Beat the Control” work, and whenever I’m up against a package that includes a brochure, my first instinct is to test eliminating the brochure. More times than not, dropping the brochure will increase the mailing’s response.
Why? Because when people are reading your brochure, they aren’t responding. Too often, the brochure becomes a distraction and diverts the reader’s attention from the letter’s call to action.
Yet, there are times when it makes sense to test a brochure.
With some products and services, you can better communicate their benefits with a picture, illustration or (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail brochure, direct mail design, direct mail graphics, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response
Posted in Copywriting, Graphic Design, Miscellaneous, Strategy | No Comments »
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Whether you call it an order form, a response form or a response device, it’s one of the most crucial components of any direct response mailing.
The response form is the tool the prospect uses to complete the sale. Yet when creating a new direct mail package, we don’t always give the order form the time, attention and respect it deserves.
Too often, we write copy that excites readers and motivates them to accept our offer only to lose the sale (or contribution) with simple, easy-to-correct design flaws in the order form.
Here are 18 tested and proven ideas you can use to make your response form more profitable. (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail copywriting, direct mail order form, direct mail reply form, direct mail response device, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response
Posted in Copywriting, Graphic Design, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
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When receiving direct mail, the outer envelope is the first thing we see. Yet too often, its design is an afterthought.
But without a convincing envelope, even the strongest offer and best-written copy will take a quick, one-way trip to the trash.
When creating a new direct mail package, I try to think like a door-to-door salesperson. The outer envelope is my knock on the door and how effectively I use it, will determine the mailing’s success.
ELEMENTS OF THE ENVELOPE
Eye-study research reveals that recipients will spend no more than 7 seconds deciding whether to open the outer envelope. Fortunately, we have five tools we can use to convince the recipient to look inside. These are (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail carrier, direct mail design, direct mail envelope, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing
Posted in Copywriting, Graphic Design, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
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If you watch sports, you’ve seen a “pre-event routine” in action.
In baseball, major-league batters will go through their pre-event routines before every pitch. Watch them and you’ll see some batters come to the plate, take two swings and then tap the edge of the plate with their bat before each pitch. The routines vary with each batter, but practically every major leaguer has an established routine.
You’ll see the same thing in basketball. The next time you see a player taking a foul shot, watch what they do. The player may bounce the ball twice, hold the ball and then bounce it again before taking the shot. Whatever their routine, they will go through the same sequence of events each time they take a foul shot.
Athletes use pre-event routines to prepare for success. It gives them focus and purpose, and helps them achieve a higher level of performance. Now we need to develop our own pre-event routine to make our direct mail more profitable. (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, how test direct mail, increase direct mail response, test direct mail
Posted in Data, Miscellaneous, Premiums, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
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When times get tough, everyone wants to cut direct mail costs. After all, if we can bring in the same amount of money and spend less, our profits increase.
And there are ways to cut costs without necessarily hurting the effectiveness of your mailing.
Cut Costs or Make Money?
You can, for example, trim your package format by ¼ inch or so to make it run better on your printer’s press, use a cheaper paper, test smaller formats, omit package inserts or eliminate the premium.
But don’t act too quickly.
Before getting caught up in the rush to cut expenses, we need to remember the objective (more…)
Tags: cost of direct mail, direct mail, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, test direct mail
Posted in Copywriting, Graphic Design, Premiums, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
