Direct mail promotions have a
dependable history of generating high-quality leads
for entrepreneur-based businesses. But it doesn’t
take much to turn a potentially productive direct
mail promotion into a total disaster. By following a
few, simple guidelines, you can keep your direct
mail promotion on the right track.
First, understand that direct mail
marketing is all about the “hook”. It is a
one-shot opportunity to pitch your product to a
potential customer in a very short period of time.
While advertisers are often more concerned about
graphics than copy (text), direct mail marketers
recognize that in their business, copy is king.
The trick is to design your direct mail piece in
such a way that the person receiving it will
actually want to read it.
How do you do that? Lots of ways.
For example, have you ever gotten a letter in the
mail with the words; CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE OUR
MILLION DOLLAR PRIZE WINNER…. printed on the
outside of the envelope? Did you open it? Chances
are you did. You opened it in the off chance that
you actually did win a million dollars. Your heart
probably also sank a little when you opened the
envelope and read the rest of the sentence: ……
IF YOUR NAME IS CHOSEN AS THE WINNING NAME OF OUR
SWEEPSTAKES.
But, by then it was too late. The
person who designed the direct mail campaign for
the sweepstakes company had already accomplished
his goal by getting you to open the envelope and
see the insert advertisements for magazine
subscriptions. That’s how direct mail works.
In designing your direct mail
promotion, you need to come up with a similar
“hook”, a reason for your potential customers
to want to stay with you for the rest of your
pitch. Sometimes that means leading with a
question such as, WANT TO MAKE $100,000 A YEAR
WORKING FROM HOME? or something similar that will
draw the reader’s attention. The possibilities
are virtually limitless.
After you make your pitch, don’t
forget to ask the reader for a response. Do want
them to mail in a return postcard for information?
Then ask them. Do you want them to buy your
product from an 800 number? Ask them – and give
them the number to call. You may have the best
direct mail promotion the world has ever seen, but
if you don’t ask for a response you won’t get
one.
Finally, make sure you are mailing
your promotion to the right people. Direct mailers
talk about two different kinds of mailing
lists: Cold lists are lists that contain
the names of random people who may or may not have
an interest in the types of products you are
selling. Hot lists, on the other hand, are
comprised of people who have demonstrated an
interest in similar products.
Both kinds of lists can be
purchased from companies that supply mailing lists
specifically for direct mail marketers. No
surprise – the hot lists are more expensive. But
even so, a hot list is just what you need to give
your promotion a fighting chance to succeed.
For other marketing tips or for a
Free consultation call us today at: 800-467-7208.