Direct mail must use new technologies and still build trust or forget it!!

Direct Mail...
"Direct mail must use new technologies and still build trust or forget it!!"
"by Thomas Prendergast"
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You'll get more from your direct mail if...

You go after sales leads with simple, low cost direct mail packages. The old adage "less is more" applies here. A typical package should have an outside envelope, a short one or two page letter and a reply device. You may want to throw in a simple product flyer if seeing the product or service is important. But do not include an expensive brochure! If you tell the prospect too much, he or she will simply decide that they know enough ... and they probably won't respond.

You go after sales dollars or orders with complete, instructions and incentives to go to your website. Make sure that this website is a fully illustrated and packaged website. More is more, in this case. Give complete details about your product or service ... including pictures, charts and diagrams, etc.. Tell the prospect what to do, in copious detail. It will be harder for him or her to find an excuse not to respond, that way. A typical website might include up to 12 full paragraphs, diagrams, illustrations, and a secure order form.

Always keep it as personal as possible. In today's computer driven world, there really is no excuse for sending out form letters. Personalize each letter and reply form (for tracking purposes) as long as the budget allows. Either personalize the outside envelope or use one with a window so the name and address on the letter or reply form can show through. Heck, if the mailing is small enough, you can even have messages "handwritten" on envelopes and letters! What could be more personal than that!

You sell benefits, not features. Think of it this way. If you walked into a Sears store to buy a new washing machine and two salesmen descended upon you with two completely different sales pitches for the same machine, from which would you buy? The one who says, "This chrome plated knob turns left or right, engaging the state-of-the-art microprocessor specifically programmed to turn the tub at varying speeds." Or the one who says, "Clean clothes at the touch of a button!" Enough said.

You realize that cost is relative. In other words, even if you are on a tight budget, it could easily be to your advantage to invest in a more aggressive, albeit more expensive, direct mail package if the more expensive effort is likely to produce increased results that outweigh the increased cost.

You follow the rules! Direct response advertising, unlike other forms, is not so much traditional as it is riddled with rules. Rules based on measured response and recorded history. Follow them and you are almost guaranteed success. Break them and you will no doubt fail ... or at least suffer a loss ... unless ...

You know when it's O.K. to break the rules! Obviously, without innovation, there is no progress. And, direct mail progresses as fast or faster than any other form of selling. So, you have to try new things every once in a while. Knowing when to do this is another thing. For me, it's usually intuitive. I just know when one idea is better than another. Therefore, if your direct mail portfolio is thick and your intuition is finely honed, go ahead! Break the rules!

Your words make all the difference...

There are millions of "rules" for writing effective direct mail copy. And, unlike other forms of advertising, these rules are proven to be effective through measured response. There's nothing new here. These rules have been around since Mr. Sears first gave a postal carrier a hernia by sending nine pound catalogs through the mail. Here are ten of the basics...
• Sell benefits not features. Your reader doesn't care how many teeth are on your machine's gears. He only cares that your machine will grind his rocks into cement cost effectively. Tell him how your machine can do that.
• Sell him, don't tell him. Your reader doesn't have the time to peruse the family history of your company's founding fathers. Sure, you can tell the company story. But you should try to phrase it in the form of a reader benefit. Example: Don't say "we've been in business for fifty years." Say, "our customers have been profiting from our grommet's superior performance since World War II."
• Be conversational. One of my early mentors said it this way. "Write it like you'd say it, then go back and take out all of the cuss words." Damned good advice, if you ask me.
• Get to the point. If you dilly-dally around about telling your reader what you have to offer, you'll lose him for sure. It's best to get to the point at the very beginning of the letter. Preferably in the first five lines. This works in real life relationships too.
• Always include a postscript. Research shows that the letter is the first thing the reader looks at in the package, after the outside envelope. And, a majority of people will read the PS before they read anything else. So, always include a PS. In addition, it's best to restate your proposition in the PS, just as you do at the beginning of the letter (see above).
• Write long copy. Long copy sells better than short copy. I'm not talking about lead generation here. I'm talking about selling. I'm talking about picking your prospect up by the ankles and shaking him until all of the money falls out of his pockets. That takes a few words. And testing has shown that a four page letter ... or even longer ... will almost always outpull a two page letter when going for the sale. This is a fact. It's not just my opinion.
• Forget grammar. Please don't interpret this to mean that it's all right to sound stupid. It's not. But, it is better to write like the reader reads than to write like Mrs. Clark taught you to in her eighth grade English class. Research shows that most people read at about the eighth grade level, anyway. That includes college graduates. So, if you're thinking you should try to correct the way people read, forget it. This is advertising, and moving product or selling service. We're not pursuing a social agenda.
• Use words that are "active" rather than "passive." You can increase response simply by using action oriented copy. It's better to say "get your new whatchamacallit!" than it is to say "send for your new whatchamacallit." Say "dial this toll-free number" instead of "call this toll-free number." Get it?
• Always follow AIDA. She'll never lead you astray. A) attract Attention. I) stimulate Interest. D) create Desire. A) incite Action. Do this every time on every direct mail component and you will surely succeed. This works in email too.
• Assume your copy is never finished. I think it was Stephen King who said, "There is no such thing as writing. There is only rewriting." Type your project into the word processor. Edit it at least once on screen. Then, print it out. Edit it at least once on paper. Then, set it aside for a day or two and go through the whole process all over again. I've been writing for direct mail for a quarter of a century and this is the only way I know of to turn words into power communication that sells. Sure, you eventually have to turn the project in. But, never give them the first draft. Or the second. Why? Because if your direct mail project doesn't work, your the first one to hear about it.
You ought to include...
A guarantee. Of course, not every product and offer lends itself to the inclusion of a guarantee. If this is the case, make one up! Guarantee fast delivery. Guarantee low prices. Guarantee personal service. Just guarantee something.
A letter. Believe it or not, I've seen hundreds of direct mail packages that have big fancy brochures and order forms ... but no letter. This is a big mistake. Really big. If you are one of those people who believes that prospects are too dumb to read a letter ... or one who believes the inclusion of a letter "just gets in the way of the brochure" ... you ought to be shot. The letter is the most important part of the mailing, after the outside envelope. Period. End of story.
Postage paid reply. Always include a business reply card or a business reply envelope into which your reply device may be placed. Don't assume that including a toll-free number is enough. It isn't. Research shows that a substantial percentage of your responses will come in the mail ... even in this day and age.
A reply deadline. If you don't have a real deadline, use a "soft deadline." Like this: Please reply by May 1, 2003.
A toll-free telephone number. If you don't have an inbound WATS line, you should consider getting one. They've come way down in price in recent years, and including a toll-free number will increase your response.
A "free gift" offer. Give the reader a freebie for responding promptly. When choosing a gift, it is better to try to find something that relates directly to your product, service or offer. Be careful not to go overboard with this concept ... you could generate a lot of bogus orders or leads.
Testimonials. You'll get a lot of mileage out of those old "valentines" sent to you by satisfied customers. Don't forget to get signed releases before using names and addresses, though. The lawyers are rich enough already!
Most of this is written for direct mail in the real world of postage stamps and Post Offices. However, a great deal of it also applies to email. In the world of email, personalizing is the key. But first, you must develop a verified list of optin email addresses. Then, it is best to build that list into having more data, like the names and postal addresses of the customers and prospects (demographics) so your influence gains credibility and influence. Basically, trust with technology.