- March 3, 2015
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Top 20 Tips for Effective Direct Mail
We know. It’s not as hip as social media or as glamorous as television. But the important thing to remember is that direct mail works. That’s why it remains an integral part of any integrated marketing campaign. So the question is, how can you make your direct mail campaign more effective?
There are a number of simple things you can do to improve your direct mail success, depending on your goals, including this annotated set, distilled from a full list of 99 tips by Al Lautenslager in Entrepreneur, with links to our own Marketing Tango archive.
Top 20 Direct Mail Tips
- Read our previous post on how to Get the Best from Your Creative Team then hire a professional writer and designer to create your mailer.
- Help your mailer stand out by using an unusual shape or size.
- Use a teaser headline on the envelope to entice the reader to open it.
- Help your mailer stand out by making it lumpy or bulky.
- Keep copy and paragraphs brief.
- Highlight customer benefits more than product features.
- Include a sense of urgency or a deadline in your message.
- Use testimonials toward the beginning and again near the call to action in your copy.
- Use the word “Free” prominently or offer a generous discount.
- Offer a free gift to increase response.
- Use bold colors and images to reinforce your message.
- Offer a free no-risk trial period.
- Mention your service area, whether local, regional, national, or global.
- Use a postage-paid reply card or envelope.
- Include a call to action that tells your readers what you want them to do next.
- Test segments of your list using different copy, headlines, or offers.
- Use stamps instead of metered mail for a better open rate.
- Include pre-stamped reply envelopes to make it easier for respondents.
- Clean your list of bad addresses by using “Address Correction Requested.”
- Include your own address on all mailing lists!
