Direct Mail

Direct mail is one of the most profitable marketing channels open to any business owner, especially in an economic downturn because so many business owners stop doing it because they think it’s “expensive”.

The reality is it seems expensive to them only because they don’t fully understand the importance of tracking responses as well as the Return On Investment.

In other words, they’ll spend money on a mailing and have no way of measuring the results, even if they’re aware that they should be doing this.

Another reason so many business owners fail to use direct mail profitably is they instead take the quick, easy and cheap route of Internet marketing.

While Internet marketing is extremely profitable and effective, it’s a big mistake to confine your marketing efforts to just one or two channels – it not only means you are leaving a lot of money on the table, but it’s also extremely dangerous. If that channel is cut off for some reason (and it does happen), then your business is left high and dry with no customers or clients coming in. It doesn’t take long to go out of business in that situation.

So here are three simple ways to make your direct mail a success:

First, mail more regularly. Most business owners send a card or a letter maybe once or twice a year. This is a big mistake. Your existing customers and clients should get something from you at least once a week and you’ll often find mailing your prospects with the same kind of frequency can be very effective.

And it’s nowhere near as difficult as you might think. For example, one of those mailings can be a simple 1 or 2 page newsletter. It doesn’t have to be fancy – simple black and white on 80gsm paper is fine – and it’s a great way to keep your name in front of your list with information and useful tips.

For the other three weeks of the month, a couple of postcards and a letter will almost certainly give you a dramatic boost, so long as you follow other guidelines below.

Second, make sure everything follows the AIDA formula (Attention, Interest, Desire Action).

What this means is every piece you send must have a purpose, an action you want the reader to take, and so the copy must always steer them towards that action.

It’s easier than you think to make sure this happens – simply ensure all your direct mail has a headline summing up the main promise you are making with your product or service (i.e. the problem you are going to solve), conversational and personable body copy telling them what you’re going to do for them, and then a simple instruction telling them how they can obtain what you’re offering.

It’s that simple – and this is really all effective sales copywriting boils down to.

Third, make sure your direct mail gets delivered and opened. If you’re sending a direct mail letter, make sure you use a plain envelope with a real stamp on it, and, if possible, a handwritten address (or use a handwriting font available on your computer).

If you’re sending a postcard, make sure your entire offer is summed up on both sides. Don’t assume the recipient is going to read both sides automatically. The chances are they’ll read the side their name and address is on and often ignore the other side completely. So both sides need to sum up the entire offer AND hang together in a way that makes sense.

And as a general point, DON’T make your mail look like marketing! The more like marketing it looks, the less the response is going to be. Make it look like a personal communication from one friend to another

Written by Chris Cardell of Cardell Media