GlobalBX

We have all been here.  We spend hours and hours and put our blood sweat and tears into a new product or service (our baby) and then realise it wont sell itself.  You might have already thought of advertising and created an excellent advertising campaign but have you given any thought to direct mail?

Direct mail can be creative and eye catching.  A direct mail campaign provides additional details and information on your new product or service.  However it is good to point out here that response rates for a direct mail campaign can be as low as 1 or 2 percent.  The purpose of this post is to show you some tips used by the professionals to help improve that response rate as much as possible.

Making Direct Mail Personal
How often do you get a letter sent to you and it is entitled “to the owner of the property”.  How more impersonal can you get?  What do you do with this type of letter?  Most likely straight into the bin unopened.  I mean if they cant be bothered to find out who you are or what you do then how is their direct mail campaign even targeted?

You need to make your campaign personal.  Do your research and first figure out who you are going to target.  If you run a beauty salon you wont be sending your direct mail to dog groomers.  Or would you?  Research is key here.

When you think on making something personal, I don’t just mean get a name and make sure it is addressed to the person.  Take it a step further.  Here are some pointers to making your direct mail personal:

• You can write a letter to each individual prospect (one-to-one marketing)
• Hand writing the address on the envelope (If your writing is neat and clearly readable)
• include enclosures (leaflet or brochure that satisfies the individuals need.  More on this below)
• include something the individual would be interested in.  Such as a newspaper clipping for free dog shampoo to the dog groomers.

I like the last point the most because it shows you have taken the time to not only know their name, where they work, what business they are in but you have also sent them something they can use which is not even affiliated with you.  Newspaper clippings for money off dog food or even money off fuel are excellent things to send alongside your direct mail campaign.  Most of the time the recipient is most greatful and will not only use the voucher but will remember your direct mail over the rest.

Enclosures
An enclosure is just something extra included with your letter.  Some enclosures are listed below:

• leaflet or brochure
• catalogue
• price list
• special offers
• free gifts
• samples
• surveys

You get the idea and it is an excellent tool to use.  If you have leaflets or brochures then include them!  They key here is to remember that whatever enclosure you use that it is specific to the individual or the market sector.

Don’t Forget The Purpose Of Your Direct Mail Campaign
The purpose of your campaign is to get your target market to respond.  So with that in mind you need to keep three things in your mind.

• Grab their attention
• Offer something they need or want
• Make them take action

To grab the attention your headline should be eye catching.  Maybe contain the words ‘free’ or ‘improved’.  These words stand out.  Other words are ‘sale’ or ‘reduced’.  The copy of your direct mail needs to address the prospects most important concerns and requirements.  If you are offering a product do not describe the product in detail, instead tell the prospect how this product will benefit them.  Such as ‘finishes a job faster’ etc.

You should describe your biggest benefit first and remember anything after that should be designed to make the recipient move on to the next stage such as calling you.  You need the recipient to take action.  They need to get in contact with you.  You can add a special discount if they call you before a certain date etc.  You can add your website address, telephone number, email address, Skype username etc and also add this to your envelope if you wish.

Remember, get creative, get personal and send your direct mail campaign to your target market.  I would love to read your comments.  Tell me have you ever used direct mail campaigns?