THE LONG AND SHORT OF WHAT REALLY WORKS CREATIVELY IN DIRECT MARKETING
THE LONG AND SHORT OF WHAT REALLY WORKS CREATIVELY IN DIRECT MARKETING
This has turned many of the pieces I receive into dull, dry or boring factual material.
Remember, you cannot win hearts and minds without engaging your audience.
The last thing you want your package to do is to provide information and not get a response. If that's what you want, you might as well do advertising.
So here are a few creative hints on how to add some punch to your direct mail pieces.
1. THE OUTER ENVELOPE:Your message should start to make that all-important one-to-one connection right away with your target group.
Here's an example of a teaser I used on the envelope for the Osteoporosis Society of Canada:
Your copy of a special report
on osteoporosis studies
conducted recently in Ontario.
Most writers would have written: 'A special report on osteoporosis studies conducted in Ontario'. By adding the words 'Your copy', I made sure that I brought the recipients close, instead of pushing them away.
The response to this package was: 8.21% in the first three weeks. (My client's response: Doing very well. Thank you.)
Next, we all turn the envelope around to the back to open it, so why not use this space more effectively.
If you have an intriguing message, split it so that it continues at the back.
Here's an example from Special Olympics, Ontario.
Front of envelope:
On July 18th, 2006
284 Special Olympics Ontario athletes will
compete in the National Summer Games
in Brandon, Manitoba…
Back of Envelope:
…your support now
is as precious as the gold they have been training so hard for.
The result: 17.65%
2. THE LETTER: Adjusting the width of the letter for optimum legibility
Use wide margins so readers narrow their focus on the copy. Short columns are easier to scan. Keep your copy width down to sixty characters or less – that's about six inches, maximum. Think paperback novels.
Beyond that width the reader has to move his head back and forth horizontally, making reading more difficult. It can also literally be a pain in the neck.
What to do with the additional space, since the page is 8.5 inches long?
• Consider photos to tell a story
• Move the letter to one side and add a side bar with a testimonial from someone who benefited from your organization's good work
• Add a tear-off column with helpful tips or a schedule of upcoming events.
3. THE BRE
Use the back of the envelope more effectively instead of leaving it blank. Hints on what you could include:
• Your mission statement
• A backend premium offer
• Your tagline
• Photos
• A 'Thank you'
• A checklist of the things you're asking the recipient to do, like sign a petition
• Tell them who to make the cheque payable to.
Besides making the message emotionally appealing to your target audience, there is another level that motivates people to respond. That is the very personal level.
Just knowing who our target audience is e.g. plumbers, IT professionals or ' Baby Boomers' may give you a framework of what appeals to them generally but not what touches them personally.
Having demographic data with personal characteristics such as age, gender, income, occupation, education, socioeconomic status, religion, nationality, etc. will help, but you need to dig deep and understand attitudinal characteristics such as personality, life-style, values, attitudes, etc. That is the 'hot button' that touches them personally.
As a writer I always try to seek and touch this 'hot button' in my audience. For example when I did a job for the heartburn relief product 'Gaviscon', I knew my prospective audience was comprised of chronic heartburn sufferers. This gave me the first clue that they were largely older folk.
Next, I probed for unfulfilled desires. I knew that many had dreamed of or had hoped to visit certain exotic places when they were young, but for many people that never materializes. So I proposed a holiday prize to one of four such destinations. Participants had a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a formidable barrier like the Great Wall of China, the Iron Curtain, the Himalayas and the Great Barrier Reef.
This not only fit with the strategy and positioning of the product as a great barrier, but it also addressed the target audience's personal desires.
The result was a stunning 29.2% response (with 13,776 responses). That’s almost one third of all the people we targeted, including 52 unsolicited letters of praise for the product or the prize.
I knew that exotic places not only appeal to the young but also to older people. Often for older people this remains an unfulfilled dream.
However, the additional kicker was that we also gave our target audience $2 and $4 coupons to redeem the product. A large portion of them did with the result that the competition had to delay the launch of their new product since we had saturated the market.
Samples of these pieces can viewed by emailing the author at: designersinc@sympatico.ca
THE LONG AND SHORT OF WHAT REALLY WORKS CREATIVELY IN DIRECT MARKETING - To learn more about this author, visit Billy Sharma's Website.
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The thinking today is that people are too busy to read, so we need to adjust our direct marketing letters to keep them short and to the point.
This has turned many of the pieces I receive into dull, dry or boring factual material.
Remember, you cannot win hearts and minds without engaging your audience.
The last thing you want your package to do is to provide information and not get a response. If that's what you want, you might as well do advertising.
So here are a few creative hints on how to add some punch to your direct mail pieces.
1. THE OUTER ENVELOPE:Your message should start to make that all-important one-to-one connection right away with your target group.
Here's an example of a teaser I used on the envelope for the Osteoporosis Society of Canada:
Your copy of a special report
on osteoporosis studies
conducted recently in Ontario.
Most writers would have written: 'A special report on osteoporosis studies conducted in Ontario'. By adding the words 'Your copy', I made sure that I brought the recipients close, instead of pushing them away.
The response to this package was: 8.21% in the first three weeks. (My client's response: Doing very well. Thank you.)
Next, we all turn the envelope around to the back to open it, so why not use this space more effectively.
If you have an intriguing message, split it so that it continues at the back.
Here's an example from Special Olympics, Ontario.
Front of envelope:
On July 18th, 2006
284 Special Olympics Ontario athletes will
compete in the National Summer Games
in Brandon, Manitoba…
Back of Envelope:
…your support now
is as precious as the gold they have been training so hard for.
The result: 17.65%
2. THE LETTER: Adjusting the width of the letter for optimum legibility
Use wide margins so readers narrow their focus on the copy. Short columns are easier to scan. Keep your copy width down to sixty characters or less – that's about six inches, maximum. Think paperback novels.
Beyond that width the reader has to move his head back and forth horizontally, making reading more difficult. It can also literally be a pain in the neck.
What to do with the additional space, since the page is 8.5 inches long?
• Consider photos to tell a story
• Move the letter to one side and add a side bar with a testimonial from someone who benefited from your organization's good work
• Add a tear-off column with helpful tips or a schedule of upcoming events.
3. THE BRE
Use the back of the envelope more effectively instead of leaving it blank. Hints on what you could include:
• Your mission statement
• A backend premium offer
• Your tagline
• Photos
• A 'Thank you'
• A checklist of the things you're asking the recipient to do, like sign a petition
• Tell them who to make the cheque payable to.
Besides making the message emotionally appealing to your target audience, there is another level that motivates people to respond. That is the very personal level.
Just knowing who our target audience is e.g. plumbers, IT professionals or ' Baby Boomers' may give you a framework of what appeals to them generally but not what touches them personally.
Having demographic data with personal characteristics such as age, gender, income, occupation, education, socioeconomic status, religion, nationality, etc. will help, but you need to dig deep and understand attitudinal characteristics such as personality, life-style, values, attitudes, etc. That is the 'hot button' that touches them personally.
As a writer I always try to seek and touch this 'hot button' in my audience. For example when I did a job for the heartburn relief product 'Gaviscon', I knew my prospective audience was comprised of chronic heartburn sufferers. This gave me the first clue that they were largely older folk.
Next, I probed for unfulfilled desires. I knew that many had dreamed of or had hoped to visit certain exotic places when they were young, but for many people that never materializes. So I proposed a holiday prize to one of four such destinations. Participants had a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a formidable barrier like the Great Wall of China, the Iron Curtain, the Himalayas and the Great Barrier Reef.
This not only fit with the strategy and positioning of the product as a great barrier, but it also addressed the target audience's personal desires.
The result was a stunning 29.2% response (with 13,776 responses). That’s almost one third of all the people we targeted, including 52 unsolicited letters of praise for the product or the prize.
I knew that exotic places not only appeal to the young but also to older people. Often for older people this remains an unfulfilled dream.
However, the additional kicker was that we also gave our target audience $2 and $4 coupons to redeem the product. A large portion of them did with the result that the competition had to delay the launch of their new product since we had saturated the market.
Samples of these pieces can viewed by emailing the author at: designersinc@sympatico.ca
THE LONG AND SHORT OF WHAT REALLY WORKS CREATIVELY IN DIRECT MARKETING - To learn more about this author, visit Billy Sharma's Website.
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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