The Keys to Successful Direct Mail

The Keys to Successful Direct Mail

Violate these RULES and fail! Use these RULES and you have opened the door to profits!

RULE #1

Mail to the right people. Direct mail is expensive so you better put your message in the hands of the right people. What do your best customers look like? Age? Income? Home value? Where do they come from? Our mailing program is based on mailing to Neighborhoods-- and you can pick and choose neighborhoods down to the Postal Carrier's Route based on median age, median income, home values, and more. We can give you a report on the routes in your Neighborhood-- no charge.

RULE #2

Hit them with impact. You can mail a little postcard, or a flyer on color paper but there is not much impact there. You have a second of time to get their attention-- do it with Color and with Size. Remember-- people look at the side of the mail with the address first so that is the most important side for selling.

RULE #3

Timing is crucial. When do people buy what you are selling? You must reach the prospect when they are msot likely to be in the market for what you are selling. It's okay to sell snow skis in June, but unless you are giving the stuff away, don't expect to be overwhelmed with sales.

RULE #4

Give your direct mail a goal. What do you want people to do when they get your mailing? Call? Visit? Look you up on the web? Two possible goals for Direct Mail:

a. Build traffic with a powerful call to action. A 10% off sale is boring. Give them a decent sale! Give them something for free. (Bring in this card and get a free flower for Mother's Day. Bring in this card to be entered to win a free trip to Cancun.) Get them excited enough to do something. Give them $10 off  any item in the store with a value of over $10. Make sure it appeals to most of your people. Put a time limit on it.

b. Build your image. Sometimes it's not the Call to Action., but the quality and image that is important. Frequency of amiling is much more important for image advertising.

RULE #5

Turn up the volume! Test small. If it works, do it again. If it works do it again and again and again to more and more people. You don't see Bowflex or Budweiser running ads once in a while. How about those endless credit card offers-- they mail those to milliopns of people because they work. Find something that works and do it loud!

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