Fast Forward Marketing and public relations specializing in website design, marketing and promotion, surveys and market research, public relations, website design, search engine optimization, and internet marketing.  

Direct Mail

Does direct mail still work today?  Yes, definitely, it does.  Providing you know what you're doing.  There's almost no faster way to waste money in marketing than direct mail campaigns that don't pull.  The cost of the printing and postage can really add up, and hurt, if the mailings don't generate the returns you need. Again, DM can be very effective - if your know what you're doing.

The 40/40/20 Rule of Thumb. Years ago, one of the top men involved in direct marketing came up with this very workable rule-of-thumb for direct marketing: If all the things that made for a successful direct-mail project added up to 100%, here’s how that 100% would break down:

40% of your success depends on your mailing list. If it's no good, or is comprised of the wrong public for what you are offering, you've had it. 40% consists of who you are, what your offer is (the deal or price or special incentive to buy now, etc.) and what your products or services consist of.  The other 20% consists of the creativity, format & postal rate. In other words, what’s actually mailed -- how it looks, feels, it’s shape and so on, and how much it costs to mail it.

So you can see how important it is to have a good mailing list, and products, merchandise or services that are needed or wanted, and the right offering.

We Love Postcards!
Well-designed postcards can be a very effective way of getting your message out to your prospects and customers.  By "well-designed" we are referring to the graphics, the message and the offer. 

What are you trying to tell your customer or prospects?  What's your message? And, important, what is your OFFER.  The offer is the enticement to act NOW now six months from now. Some time-limited offer - either a price reductions, introductory offer, two-for-one, and so on.

The graphics and the copywriting should forward your message and offer and make them impinge!  Everything should work together to generate responses.  We know what it takes to create hard-hitting, effective postcards that bring about responses.

“TYPICAL” DIRECT-MAIL COMPONENTS
The individual components contained in a “classic” direct mailing package are the outer envelope, sales letter, small brochure or flier, lift letter, response mechanism and business reply envelope (BRE).

The most important of all these components, by far, is the sales letter. In many cases, you could omit everything else but the sales letter and still have a good direct-mail piece.

The lift letter is typically a small, folded-over note from the president of the company that sent the mailing, or perhaps from one of their customers. The lift letter gets it name from the fact that it gives a “lift” to the number of responses. In other words, it increases the response rate. What’s said in lift letters varies, but they usually mention a key benefit or provide some incentive for going ahead with the purchase right now.

It can cause someone who’s sitting on the fence to make a decision and go for it.

The response mechanism is usually an oblong card or slip of paper that states something like, “YES! I want to save money on my fuel bill. Please send me my Acme Widget right away! I realize that by taking advantage of your special time-limited, reduced Widget price I will also receive a free copy of your booklet: 10 Ways To Reduce Your Energy Bill.”

Then there are places for the responders to enter their name, address, credit card info, etc. The response mechanism is a key element of the package. In my opinion, it’s second in importance only to the sales letter. You should use one if you do DM. It can increase your response rate significantly.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT SALES LETTER
Before you sit down to write your sales letter, you need to know what your “offer” is. You may be selling widgets or dresses or consulting services, but that’s your product or service, not your offer.

Your offer is that special incentive you use to make people act now. This could be a two-for-one deal, a special information booklet you’re including if they buy now, or a chance to win a vacation, etc. In short, it could be almost anything. Needless to say, you have to know something about the people (target market, mailing list) you’re marketing to so you’ll know if what you’re offering will have value in their eyes.

So the first step in writing your sales letter is to answer this question: WHAT’S YOUR OFFER?

Often, but not always, that offer can be used as the headline for your sales letter. You don’t even need a headline in a sales letter, but we firmly believe it’s much more effective when you do. And the headline should follow the same “rules” for headlines that are used in advertising: present a benefit, give news, etc.

So the next step after figuring out your offer, is to write a good hard-hitting headline. One that offers a benefit, give news, or presents your offer.

As you can see, there is a lot of know-how connected with DM.  This just touches on it. We haven't even gotten into what the copy says, the layout and so on.

But this may give you an overview you didn't have before.

Need help with DM?  Contact Us.   727.442.9137
Fast Forward Marketing and public relations specializing in website design, marketing and promotion, surveys and market research, public relations, website design, search engine optimization, and internet marketing.