Write direct mail envelopes that get opened
The direct mail envelope is both the easiest and hardest part of every direct mail package.
It’s easy in that there’s just not that much space to fill with copy or design. But it’s hard in that there’s so much riding on what you say or don’t say.
The envelope determines whether your direct mail package gets opened or trashed.
Before I give you some envelope writing tips, let’s get one thing straight.
You should not expect an envelope to position your product. You should not use it to show off your design skills. Its job is not to entertain or amuse. You are not required to cover it with clever copy to impress a client.
Aside from holding together the contents until delivered, an envelope has only one job: to get opened.
Here are few ways to do that.
Follow headline rules to write teaser copy. Generate interest with a provocative statement. Provoke curiosity with a question headline or incomplete statement. State a problem on the envelope and suggest the solution is inside. Teaser copy acts like a headline and leads people to read the letter.
How to use direct mail to drive website traffic
If you want to drive traffic to your website, which media should you use?
Email delivers traffic quickly and at low cost, though open rates can be low. Social marketing shows great potential, but it takes effort to make it work.
Then there’s PPC, banner ads, and other online strategies which deliver varying results. But what about traditional direct mail?
Too many people suffer from an “oil and water” mentality when it comes to mixing online and offline media. But the fact is, they work well together. And when you need to drive online traffic, an integrated approach can often work wonders.
According to the 2009 Channel Preference Study by ExactTarget, direct mail influences 76% of Internet users to buy a product or service online. Better still, direct mail remains the one medium that gives you direct and reliable access to nearly everyone in your target market.
How do you drive web traffic with direct mail? Here are some pointers:
Using a coin trick to get your mail opened
Remember when people used to send direct mail packages with lots of stuff packed inside?
That was back in the good old days, before the economy went bust and everyone panicked and started mailing little postcards, invoice mailers, and fliers that all look alike.
One of my favorite old-fashioned direct mail package techniques was the “coin trick.” You attach a penny or nickel to an insert and use a window envelope to let recipients see the coin inside.
It’s irresistible. Very few people can bring themselves to throw away a real coin.
I guess no one told The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society about the “new” economy because they just sent me a package with a coin trick. Specifically, they use a 3-window envelope, showing the mailing address, return address, and a shiny nickel.
Write the perfect sales letter in 14 proven steps
Fairfax Cone once said, “Advertising is what you do when you can’t go see somebody. That’s all it is.”
He was so right.
There is no better way to sell something than in-person. Talking to someone face-to-face lets you have a personal conversation and get a feel for what someone wants and what it will take to make a deal.
However, since it’s not possible to have a personal chat with the billions of potential consumers out there, we use advertising media as a stand-in. And of all the traditional formats, sales letters come closest to the personal conversation you want to have.
A well-written sales letter remains one of the most effective means of speaking to people, sparking an emotional response, and motivating them to buy. It’s simple, personal, easy-to-read, and effective.
It’s hard to explain what makes a good sales letter. It’s sort of like good art: you just know it when you see it.
However, there are some basic steps for writing a sales letter. Here are 14 of them.
Are there simple ways to reduce your direct mail costs?
Smart direct mailers should always look for ways to cut costs. But in today’s economic climate, cutting costs is a must.
Paper, postage, and printing are all on the rise. Prospects have become more choosy about responding to offers. And marketing departments are being asked to tighten their belts and stretch their dollars.
Here are three simple tips for trimming costs.
Talk to your printer. You may have a well-designed direct mail piece, but is it efficiently produced? Can you make small changes in the layout that will allow you to use more of the paper stock and create less waste? Are you using an odd shape that is making production or postage more expensive? Is the piece printed on unnecessarily expensive stock or stock that requires a special order and extra freight charges?
Consider the following video from my friends at Ballantine Corporation.
Simple direct mail offers can work like crazy
What do you do when you have a good product and a loyal audience? You give them a simple, straightforward offer. That’s what Spring Hill Nurseries did with this big 6” x 11.5” envelope package.
Ferns are popular because they grow in moist or shady areas of the garden where few other plants will grow. They blend with any kind of plant and provide beautiful color and texture where it’s needed most.
I’m a customer of Spring Hill, and I’ve purchased ferns from them before, so I’m on their list and they know I like ferns. Do they need to clobber me over the head with fern details. No. They just need to catch me at the right time with the right offer.
They start on the outer envelope with a big photo of their ferns. The teaser copy is dead simple: “Ferns. Over 50% OFF!” Not clever, but it doesn’t need to be. The back of the envelope shows the six types of ferns offered with the headline “Beautify any shady spot instantly and save over 50%!”
99 old-fangled tips to goose your direct mail
When I talk to clients about direct mail, I sometimes feel like an old fart. And a bit of a nerd.
I think it’s because if you list the top 10 hottest topics in direct marketing, none of them have anything to do with direct mail. All the cool people are talking about online and social media these days. Or texting about it.
And yeah, online stuff is cool. I’m on Twitter. I Digg and Stumble and bookmark sites that are Delicious. I run a Facebook page for a nonprofit and write web copy.
I’ve been a computer geek since before most of today’s marketing geniuses were born, gol’ darnit. I go way back to the VIC-20 when computing meant writing basic code line-by-line.
And there I go feeling old again.
But even if direct mail might seem old-fashioned to some people, the truth is, it still works. In fact, even though it’s not the hot topic, direct mail continues to generate sales and leads and donations day-after-day for those smart enough to use it.
Quick tips for writing variable direct mail copy
Variable copy is a response-boosting direct mail technique that has been around for a long time.
In the old days, you would print your piece (letter, reply, brochure, whatever) with blank spaces. Then you would run the piece through another machine to fill in the spaces with “variable” copy.
The variable copy could be a person’s name, a deadline date, a special price, etc. It looked a little ridiculous, since the variable copy never matched the rest of the printed piece and you had to leave a big space to allow for the copy dropped in.
But it worked.
Today, digital printing technology has made variable copy both easier and more believable. In many cases, you can personalize deep into the copy, inserting nearly any variable available. I use this technique whenever I can because it nearly always gives response a lift.
7 stupid ways to screw up your direct mail
A famous chess player once revealed to me how he wins so many games, often against far more experienced players. I had expected some arcane theory or secret formula. However, what he said was this: “I try to avoid making mistakes.”
I’ve never forgotten that bit of wisdom. In fact, I routinely give similar advice to my direct mail clients. Yes, I have all kinds of deep and well-thought-out ideas about creating effective direct mail, but the first thing I tell them is this: “Avoid mistakes before seeking brilliance.”
What sort of mistakes? After working with over 250 clients in the U.S. and abroad, I’ve seen lots of smart people making lots of stupid mistakes. But there are a few particularly stupid things I see again and again, each guaranteed to screw up your direct mail big time.
Snap Pack Facts: part deux
Back in March, I posted an interesting interview with Ted Grigg about snap packs, the red-headed step child of direct mail.
Like so many things in direct mail, snap packs work far better than they look, in part because they look personal and important rather than flashy.
If you haven’t read that interview, read it now. Then watch this video from Ballantine Blog showing two types of modern snap packs.
I love the Ballantine Blog videos. Yes, they’re meant to promote printing services, but they’re highly educational for anyone interested in direct mail.
And you should be interested in direct mail. For those of you who think direct mail is going away and everything will be online in about 5 minutes, heed my warning: Direct mail will be with us for many, many years. It works like gangbusters and you ignore it at your peril.
You can see what I have to say about the death of direct mail at DM News.
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