The Mailing Challenge

Recently someone in one of my marketing programs asked for feedback on a postcard mailing he had done to drive people to his web site. He got virtually no results.

Without even seeing the postcard, it's easy to understand why it didn't work. Postcards and other mailings are amongst the trickier marketing tactics. You can lose a lot of money fast, if you don't know what you're doing.

Too many times I've see people mail thousands of letters or postcards hoping for a deluge of responses, only to receive *not one single* response. It can be enough to put you off of marketing forever.

Mailings of all kinds can work. I've used them to get great results and make lot of money. But there are certain things you need to understand before you jump in. First, a few don'ts:

Don't Mail to Strangers

If you're going to mail, the best people are the ones on your prospect list. Which is why it's so important to build a list in the first place. These people know you and are much more likely to read and respond to what you've sent.

Don't Try to Close

A mailing is, for the most part, a marketing vehicle, not a selling tool. That is, it's designed to stimulate qualified responses from prospects. Those who respond are the ones you set up sales appointments with (by phone or in person).

Don't Mail Too Much

Mass mailings can be dangerous. First, if the mailing is ineffective, you've thrown a lot of money down the drain. Second, if you get a lot of responses, it may be too hard to follow up with them all, and your leads will be lost. Start small.

Don't Always Expect a Response

Some of the best mailings are personalized letters, sent to qualified prospects, and then followed up by telephone to make an appointment. They may never call you from the letter, but they will often take a call from you.

And a few dos:

Do Follow Marketing Syntax

Be clear about exactly who this letter is for. Start your letter or postcard with a problem your prospects are experiencing. Follow that with a desired outcome. Then use a brief story for proof and credibility. Follow this with several benefits of learning more. Then end with a call to action.

Do Personalize Your Letter

What mail do you open up and read first? A personalized letter. Hand write the address on the envelope. Use the return address in the heading and their name in the salutation. Make it look like it was sent from one person to another and you'll get a better response.

Do Use Postcards for Events

The best results I ever got from postcard mailings was inviting people on my list to introductory events. Both sides contained detailed information on what the event was about, the benefits of attending, plus date, time, price and how to respond.

Do the Math

Mailings of any kind are expensive. It's not unusual that, hoping for a great response, people will send out hundreds or thousands of pieces, and never really think through how the finances of the marketing and sales process is going to work.

Let me give you more details on this one:

Let's say you decide to mail 1000 postcards to a list you've purchased or compiled. The purpose is to get them to visit your web site.

Postcards plus postage will cost you at least $.50 each. So your total investment is $500.

If you get a great response, just 5% will visit your site. Yes, 95% will go in the trash in about 3 seconds. So that's 50 visitors at a visitor cost of $10 each.

Next, they land on your web page. What exactly do you want them to do there? You'd better make sure they see an in-depth sales letter that motivates them to take some action. You should have a simple response form to fill out.

Of those 50 visitors, how many will read the online letter and fill out the form? You'll be doing exceedingly well if you get 20%. So now you have 10 people who have responded at a cost of $50 each.

Now you need to follow up with these people by email and phone to set up an appointment and convert them into clients. Your appointment rate will usually be less than 30%, so that's three appointments.

And your close rate? Perhaps only one out of three. So there you have it. One thousand postcards that cost you $500 netted you one client. If this client is worth a few thousand dollars to you, it just might be a good campaign.

But the figures I gave are actually very good. Yours are likely to be much lower. In my experience, campaigns like this fizzle out fast. The response is poor, the prospects are marginal, and the close rate is abysmal.

It usually takes just one mailing of this kind to put you off mailings forever.

The More Clients Bottom Line - If you're considering a mailing campaign, be careful. You could not only get poor results and lose your money, but you'll become cynical about the effectiveness of any kind of marketing.

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