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Informative Articles

10 Elements Every Direct Mail Piece Should Have
Don’t want your direct mail to end up in the trash with the rest of the unread mail? Studies show an effective direct mail campaign should draw a .5 to 1 percent response. These 10 tips will help you get the results you want: 1. A clear, bold...

3 Inside Secrets To Making You Richer Using Direct Mail
Making money using direct mail isn't easy. And anyone who tells you it is, is lying. To run a successful direct mail campaign, you must have a compelling offer... amazing copy... and most important... the right list to mail to. And even if you...

B2B Direct Mail Lead Generation Success Needs Planning, Testing, Measuring.
Is Direct Mail Useless for DMers? Is direct mail useless at helping direct mail businesses generate leads? That's the question I was asked last week by a reader of Alan Sharpe's B2B Direct Mail Tactics newsletter. Here is her...

Direct Mail and The Real Estate Agent
For many agents, the most utilized forms of advertising and lead generation are former client contact, which may or may not lead to referrals for new business, and the old standby, the local real estate magazine. All are great ways to generate...

Direct Mail Sales Letters Flow Better With Subheads
A subscriber to my newsletter asks: "Got any good pointers on writing great sub-heads?" Yes, I do. Here they are. Use subheads to draw attention to your copy Why do we use subheads anyway? Because you can’t just cover the important points in...

Eleven Ideas to Generate More Direct Mail Responses
Eleven Ideas to Generate More Direct Mail Responses 1. When writing copy for your direct mail marketing pieces, make sure to indent the first line of each paragraph. It, literally, pulls your potential customers into the copy you've written. 2....

Read This, Sell More: Direct Mail Marketing Is About Benefits, Not Features
Your customer wants a cleaner kitchen, not a kitchen cleaner. Your customers are interested in benefits, not features. So sell benefits in your sales letters. The difference between a feature and a benefit comes down to this: A feature is what...

Redirecting Your Mail When You Move
Have you recently moved into a new apartment? Wonder why your mailbox is empty? Did you remember to redirect your mail? It's difficult to remember all of the things you need to take care of before leaving your apartment. You've got hours of...

Your Direct Mail Donors Should Be Arrested (By Your Letter Opening).
The first time I was shelled by enemy artillery, I learned a vital lesson that applies to the success of your fundraising letters. I was lying in a slit trench on Mount Wall, about 35 kilometres west of the town of Stanley, in the Falkland...

Your Direct Mail Sales Letters Must Differentiate You
For two winters I heated my house with an old fashioned woodstove. I learned the art of reviving a bed of dying coals each chilly winter morning, adjusting the kindling, firewood and dampers just right so that the stove would heat my turn-of-the-...

 
 
 
Direct Mail - For Small Businesses

We hear a lot of talk about junk mail nowadays. Many people
will tell you that they dump it straight in the trash. But
why do you think so many organisations send out so called
junk mail - because it works!

I dump most of my junk mail just like everyone else, but
every so often I'm attracted and respond to something that
comes through the mail.
Whatever it is, grabs my interest just at the right time.
Sometimes it's a mailing I've seen several times and I've
been slightly interested; however, there comes a time when I
decide to do something about it.

Research has shown that, on average, people need to see an
advertisement seven times before they respond - it's the
same with direct mail.

I'm not looking for a new credit card at present; however
there are thousands of people who are. These people will
respond to a credit card company mailing because they want a
new card with a better interest rate or because their other
card is at its limit or they want to transfer a balance.

It has to be said that the average response rate for direct
mailing is less than 1% and as you'll appreciate, the large
organisations send out millions of direct mailers.
Small to medium sized businesses can have success with
direct mailing by keeping it small, focussed and personal.

Target the right people - You need to have a good mailing
list. The best one you can have is the one you've built
yourself. You build it with all the contacts you make from
your networking and all the enquiry phone calls you receive.
(If anyone contacts your business you need to capture all
their relevant information. Tell them you'll

 


add them to
your mailing list so that they'll receive all the up to date
information)

Buy or rent a mailing list - There are many reputable
suppliers (and some not so reputable) who'll supply you with
a closely targeted list. If you wanted the names of
Transport Managers in the food industry in your city - then
they can provide it. For consumers, they can supply details
of people by zip or postal code, age group, gender, special
interests etc.
You could probably get the details of female accountants
under thirty, interested in fishing and living in a specific
area of your city or country. (Not sure why you'd want that,
but I'm sure you get the point)

The product or service has to be appealing - It has to have
benefits or problem solving abilities for the person you're
targeting

It must be clear - easy to understand and be believable

There must be a call to action - There are three things that
someone will do with a piece of direct mail - 1. Scan it and
throw it in the trash 2. Put it aside to make a decision
later. (However later never comes or when it does, most mail
will hit the trash) 3. Take action - Phone the free number
or tear off the pre-paid reply coupon or complete the order
form

It's vitally important that your mailing prompts action
immediately.

About the Author

Discover how you can generate more business without having
to cold call!
Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales
without Selling" This book is packed with practical things
that you can do to – get customers to come to you .
Click here now
http://www.howtogetmoresales.com