The anatomy of a good direct mail piece
What determines whether your direct mail has power?
What determines whether your direct mail piece has
consummate salesmanship? What determines whether your
direct mail piece can compete with the many others
clamoring for the recipient’s attention?
A good direct mail piece has three elements: exhortation,
description, and easy means of response. Does your
mailing have those elements?
Careful, now. Don’t get confused, and in the
process confuse those who get your mailing. Follow
these simple rules and you’ll wind up with a
“good” direct mail piece:
The letter exhorts.
Use the letter, not the brochure, to exhort.
The letter is the selling element. It should open
with benefit, explain the benefit, justify the benefit,
warn the reader of what he or she will lose by not
taking advantage of the benefit and – several
times within the text – tell the reader how
to collect the benefit (repeating a toll-free number
is the easiest).
How long should the letter be? That question parallels,
“How big is a house?” No one-piece answer
exists. The letter should be long enough to sell.
That might be one page, two pages, four pages, or
even longer. Just don’t overwrite. And don’t
squeeze because you’ve decided the letter has
to fit onto one page, no matter what.
The brochure describes.
Reader tests show that although the typical recipient
reads the letter first, the brochure determines whether
the claims made in the letter are valid. Does your
brochure accomplish that?
You don’t need lavish photography, full color,
or enamel paper. You do need clarity. Sometimes inclusion
of a “Question-and-answer” column in the
brochure de-fangs the inevitable skepticism. Clarity
is paramount, and it’s the job of the brochure
to supply that element. Be sure your brochure recapitulates
the means of responding, because elements of a mailing
can become separated.
The response device makes response easy.
The response device, or order form or coupon or certificate
or whatever you call it, should repeat the offer and
the benefits. When the recipient is at this point,
don’t lose him or her through uncertainty or
failure to pump up the buying impulse.
Response should be as easy as you can structure.
If you ask for a ton of information, be prepared to
see response drop. Get the necessary information,
of course, but don’t overdo it. You can always
get ancillary information in a follow-up congratulatory
call or written communication.
Have you included a business reply envelope? Even
though you’re encouraging phone or online response,
you know that the older your target is, the more likely
it is that the individual will prefer responding by
mail. If you don’t supply the envelope, you
haven’t made ordering as easy as it could be.
The envelope has to be opened.
Don’t forget the envelope carrying your message.
The carrier envelope has a single purpose, other than
preventing its contents from spilling out onto the
street: to get itself opened.
Sometimes saying nothing on the envelope maximizes
response. Sometimes a provocative message maximizes
response. Which is proper for your mailing? Ask yourself:
If I were getting this instead of sending it, would
I open it?
That’s all there is to it. Now, get
your list, prepare your mailing, and make some money.
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