January, 2010
30
Ways to Boost Direct Mail Response
Whether you're creating a new direct mail campaign
or updating an old one, you have an infinite variety
of choices for improving response. Based on decades
of testing, here are 30 of the easiest and most
effective. - Make an irresistible offer.
- Give away something free.
- Consumers prefer a free gift over a discount.
- Increase the perceived value of your offer.
-
Reduce the perceived risk in accepting your
offer.
- Offer attractive payment options.
- Use a time limit to increase urgency.
- Test a two-step offer for high-priced goods.
- Test a yes/no offer to clarify the buying
decision.
- Test a yes/maybe offer to lower perceived
commitment.
- Dramatize your offer with stamps or stickers.
- Make your offer tangible with a check or coupon.
- Create your envelope to get noticed and get
opened.
- Use teaser copy to tease, not tell.
- Consider using a plain envelope.
- Try an official-looking envelope.
- Use a low-key envelope for business prospects.
- Use your sales letter to sell and your brochure
to tell.
- Make your letter look like a letter.
- Grab attention in your letter with a short first
sentence.
- Express one central idea in your letter.
- Write your letter in a friendly, personal tone.
- Call for action early and often in your letter
text.
- Have a high-authority person sign your letter.
- Personalize your letter if possible.
- Use a P.S. to cite a benefit, deadline, or extra
detail.
- Use your brochure to add credibility.
- Use brochure tables, charts, diagrams, and
visuals to support your claims.
- Design your brochure for easy reading.
- Use clear benefit heads and subheads in your
brochure.
---Source: Dean Rieck
|
Getting Your Mail Noticed ... It's The Envelope
U.S.
households received 100 billion pieces of direct mail in 2008,
according to the recent U.S. Postal Service Household Diary Study. Not
surprisingly, an overwhelming percentage arrived in an envelope. While
there may be less in your snail mailbox today than even a year ago,
those envelopes must work harder to get noticed and opened. Here are
seven proven ways to push your envelope to prominence:
THE STEALTH APPROACH
It
may seem counterintuitive, but a white envelope with a return address
is more intriguing than a colorful, splashy envelope. The reason is
simple: The white envelope suggests official correspondence, while the
colorful, splashy envelope screams "promotion."
SIZE MATTERS
Studies
show most people fan through a pile of mail looking for items of
importance (like bills), items of interest (like special offers or
sales), and items of intimacy (greeting cards or personal notes).
Varying the size of the envelope adds another element: intrigue. An
envelope that is larger or smaller than most of the stack stands out in
the pile.
THE BIG TEASE
Copy
on the outer envelope should be intriguing, irresistible, personal and
specific. It should provide a compelling reason to open the envelope.
"Information You Requested" is like the aroma of bread baking as you
walk past a bakery, it lures you in.
PULL MY STRING
Involvement
devices like pull strings, window reveals and unusual ways to open the
envelope can make the mailing work harder and, often, with little
additional cost. Place an envelope that opens by pulling a string in
the hands of most people and they can't resist pulling the string.
THE BIG PICTURE WINDOW
For
affinity programs, the same large window envelope can be used for
multiple versions of letters with different logos, different brands and
different return addresses. Cost savings and easier inventory
management are just two benefits of this approach.
IT'S A PRIVATE MATTER
While
self-mailers and postcards are effective for some markets and offers,
information that comes in an envelope feels more private, more secure
and more protected from peering eyes. Using a kraft envelope with a
teaser like, "Important Documents Enclosed" adds to the sense of
authority and importance.
THE DIES HAVE IT
The
window on your envelope doesn't have to be a rectangle. The cost of a
special die to create an unusually shaped window or to trace the edge
of an image is minimal when amortized over the cost of the entire
mailing. Experiment, but be sure to work closely with both your
envelope manufacturer and your lettershop to ensure the shaped window
can be patched and won't interfere with the inserting process.
Your outer envelope is your first, best and sometimes last chance to get your offer noticed. Make it work for you.
Excerpted from: http://www.directmag.com/mail/1001-get-mail-noticed
|
