Your mailers cost you more than stamps
The price to mail one mailer is the same as to mail another of equal weight and size. But, one may cost you many times more. Lost opportunities, lengthened sales cycles, and lowered credibility all grind away at your profits and pile onto your costs.
Many businesses use office assistants to write sales letters to customers and prospects. This is like sending these people on sales calls, and as grave a mistake. It is also a mistake to assume that your sales people have the time to carefully create mailings that reflect well on your company.
To be effective, a direct-response mailer must be carefully crafted and expertly written. For a mailer that sells, now.
Direct mail copywriting tips
- Get into your customer’s head
- Identify the customer’s pain points, and call attention to them in your letter. Then, offer a solution, and prove that your solution will relieve those pains.
- Accentuate the negative, in a positive way
- Contrary to popular belief, research has repeatedly shown that people are more averse to pain than attracted to reward.
- Personalize your business
- Much has been said about making copy “you”-oriented, to make sure it speaks to your prospect’s needs and wants. However, one key thing your prospect needs and wants, is to feel good about you. By personalizing your business, you also prevent turning your product or service into a commodity, where competition is based entirely on price and you have to work harder and harder for ever-decreasing margins.
- Keep it moving
- Whether you’re writing a one-page cover letter, a six-page sales letter, or a multi-part direct-response mailer, there’s no such thing as too long or too short. There’s only too boring.
Direct mail samples
- First, an explanation
- These are JPGs and PDFs. If you don’t have the free Adobe PDF reader, you can download it here. The letterheads are not reproduced; what you’ll see here is just the text of the letter, as I wrote it.
- Single letters
- This letter to grant funding agencies introduced the idea that the process of evaluating grant proposals could be improved through a software system. (PDF)
- This letter from an immigration consultancy firm was aimed at corporate executives and business owners, many of whom rely on their HR departments or legal counsel to perform work better outsourced to a specialist. (PDF)
- Single email
- This email was sent to a list of registered mortgage professionals, to promote an educational seminar and certification course offered by a private company. It burst through the clutter and improved open rates 900% over the emails previously used to promote the course. (PDF)
- Mailer campaign
- This was a three-part campaign for a discount insurance brokerage, aimed at business owners and executives. The top half of each mailer flipped open, revealing the copy inside and a perf-off request for information. (JPGs)
Clams: front, inside, and back.
Bread: front, inside, and back.
Pie: front, inside, and back.
Testimonials
“Nice work ... not only brilliant, but effective too!” Kathy S., Chicago, IL
“There is no way I could have written this letter. Yet, it sounds like I wrote it - only better! Thanks!” Chris S., Salem, OR
“Wow! We love it. I am so happy to have met you. You can be sure that I will refer business your way. I love the letter and I am now embarrassed at what we had produced. It shows that we really have to go to the experts in their field. We know immigration but not what it takes to sell our services in writing.” Elda P., Ottawa, ON, Canada