Posts Tagged ‘direct mail offer’
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
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We all make mistakes, but years ago a teacher told me, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not doing enough.”
Mistakes can be learning experiences, but as valuable as it is to learn from our own mistakes, it can be more profitable to learn from the mistakes of others.
Throughout my 30-plus years of direct marketing, here are five of the most common mistakes I see mailers make. And regardless of our own experience, we can always profit from the lessons others had to learn the hard way.
1. Refusing to make a long-term commitment to direct mail
Successful direct mail is methodical. It requires a plan and the discipline to follow the plan. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Not everything will go right on every mailing. Whether you are a startup or a mature mailer, some tests (more…)
Tags: direct mail budget, direct mail copywriting, direct mail lists, direct mail offer, direct mail planning, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing
Posted in Campaign Planning, Copywriting, Strategy, Testing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
This is the second of a two-part series.
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Getting the basics right goes a long way toward achieving direct mail success. In my last post, we discussed 11 strategies that you’ll want to include when planning your next campaign.
You can see these here.
To complete 21 Steps to Direct Mail Success, here are ten more often overlooked strategies that you’ll want to include in your next (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail lists, direct mail offer, direct mail order form, direct mail planning, direct mail response, direct mail response rates, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response, test direct mail
Posted in Campaign Planning, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
This is the first of a two-part series.
Download as a pdf
The key to success is to avoid making mistakes. And with direct mail, getting the basics right accounts for 95% of all successes.
21 Steps to Direct Mail Success
You can find many articles about effective direct mail testing, copy and design in my other posts, but here I focus on key–but often overlooked–elements of a successful direct mail campaign.
Below are 11 essential elements of a successful direct response campaign. In my next post, I’ll follow up with an additional ten steps that you’ll want to (more…)
Tags: cost of direct mail, direct mail, direct mail lists, direct mail offer, direct mail planning, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing
Posted in Campaign Planning, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
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Some of the best training I’ve had for becoming a direct mail copywriter came when I sold magazines door to door as a teenager.
I quickly learned that not every homeowner welcomed me. Some would not even come to the door, some would close the door in my face and others would listen but not buy.
Soon, I learned to how to better my odds. Each time I approached a house, I gathered all the available information on the homeowner and developed a plan before knocking on the door.
My marketing “data” came from what I could see in the homeowner’s front yard. Were there toys in the yard, indicating children lived there? Was a newspaper (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail offer, direct mail response, direct mail strategy, direct sales, selling direct
Posted in Copywriting, Data, Strategy, Thought Provoking | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
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When it comes to decision making, I have a simple approach. If I believe the outcome might be something I wouldn’t want my mother to know about, I don’t do it.
And when creating a direct mail offer a similar rule applies. If you can’t provide a meaningful guarantee, don’t promote it.
You have two reasons to offer a guarantee:
First, it’s the right thing to do. A meaningful guarantee shows that you believe in your product. And, when you’re asking for someone else’s money, you should believe in what you’re selling—if not, don’t do it.
Second, you’ll want to offer a guarantee because it can build profits.
Buyers, whether online or traditional direct mail, have plenty of reasons—real or perceived—not to respond to your offer. After all, whether we’re fundraising or selling a product, we’re asking the prospect to trust us to do what we promised. (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail guarantee, direct mail offer, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, direct response guarantee, increase direct mail response, testing a guarantee
Posted in Copywriting, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
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Simply put, your direct mail offer is the “deal” you promise the recipient. It’s what you promise the reader and what you ask in return.
Your offer needs to be specific and to clearly state how it benefits the prospect. It includes the product—or for a fundraiser, the organization’s mission or project—the price or asking amount, terms, incentives, guarantee, etc.
And, of all the components of your mailing—other than the list—the offer is the most important element of your success. If you’re looking for breakthrough results, here are 17 quick ideas to consider: (more…)
Tags: direct mail, direct mail copywriting, direct mail offer, direct mail response, direct mail response rates, direct mail strategy, direct mail test, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response
Posted in Copywriting, Miscellaneous, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
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In my last post, I talked about when to test direct mail premiums. Now, let’s discuss 3 different types of premiums, why you’ll want to test each one and how to make them work for you.
First, let’s acknowledge that when we test a premium, we’re testing a change to our offer and nothing, other than list selection, will have as great an affect on our results.
We use premiums to motivate the reader into taking a specific and desired action. It isn’t to reward, inform or thank the reader but to promote response and increase the (more…)
Tags: direct mail offer, direct mail premiums, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response, test premiums
Posted in Premiums, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
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There are only two occasions when you should test direct mail premiums.
The first is when you’re not using premiums. If you’re not, you should test them now. The second occasion? When you are using premiums, you need to continue testing new ones.
Many organizations hate premiums. But most donors and customers love them and since this is a customer-driven business, I suggest you test them now.
Premiums don’t have to be expensive gifts. Often the best ones are unused merchandise sitting in a warehouse or the nearly forgotten informational pamphlet that’s begging to be used.
Countless organizations have enjoyed huge success by offering address stickers, note cards, decals, bumper stickers, iron-on patches, certificates of recognition, membership (more…)
Tags: direct mail offer, direct mail premiums, direct mail strategy, direct mail testing, increase direct mail response
Posted in Premiums, Strategy, Testing | No Comments »
