Once during my younger years, I was presenting test results to a client along with recommendations on what we should mail next.

The client acknowledged that the test results supported my recommendation but said, “Our president doesn’t like that particular copy.”

My immediate response was “So?”

Admittedly, it wasn’t my most tactful hour. But when it comes to successful direct mail, it really doesn’t matter what we think is the best offer, copy or package design.

What matters is what our customers and/or donors respond to.

Fortunately, direct mail gives us a reliable method for measuring what motivates our customers to respond. And when we know how new elements of a mailing—lists, offer, copy, format and timing—affect response, we can drive our direct mail campaign toward greater profitability.

What we can’t do is ignore valid test results because they weren’t what we expected. Test results are the voice of our customers and they will lead us to success if we listen.

When to test

 A bad economy isn’t a good reason not to test. In many ways, it makes testing more imperative than ever. Not only will testing make your future mailings more cost effective, it will position you to capitalize on an improving economy.

The best time to test is when you have a successful control.

Too often, clients don’t want to invest in new tests because “our control is still working.” But waiting for the control to fatigue before you begin testing can mean disaster for your cash flow. Test from strength. However successful your control is, and however long it’s been the control, it can be improved.

What to test

Typically, the more dramatic a change you make in a package, the more dramatic the difference in results.

For example, when you need a breakthrough, test the components that have the greatest influence on the mailing’s success—lists, offer, format and copy. Forget about testing minor changes on page 3 or the color of the return envelope. Test big things for big results.

However, for clients mailing larger volumes, “tweaking” the control for incremental gains often makes sense.

For example, Client A and Client B both have an average response rate of 1%, with a $25 average transaction. Both test a new package that lifts results by 10%. The only difference is that Client A has an annual mailing volume of 1 million pieces while Client B mails 10 million pieces every year.

For Client A, with its smaller mailing volume, this 10% lift means an annual difference of $25,000 in income—hardly enough to cover the cost of the test. But for client B, the same 10% lift means $250,000 in additional income and that’s enough to have an impact on the organization.

But whatever you decide to test, do the math first. Testing a package that can’t recover its test cost in a reasonable time, or that requires an unrealistic rate of response to beat the control, doesn’t make sense. (See How to Use a Pre-Event Routine for More Profitable Direct Mail Testing.)

How much to test

When deciding how many pieces to test, the important thing isn’t how many test packages you mail but how many responses you get back.

Your test volume should be no fewer than the number you need to produce statistically reliable results. Personally, I like to see 100 responses. But mathematicians, using formulas I won’t even pretend to understand, say as few as 39 responses can be statistically valid with a 90% to 95% probability of accuracy.

You can use an online calculator to tell you how much to mail, but the concept is easy. Just take the control’s response rate and see how many pieces you need to mail in order to produce 100 responses. For example, with a 1% response rate, you would need to mail 10,000 pieces to produce 100 responses.

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to limit your total test volume to no more than 20% to 25% of the total mailing. This way, if the tests fail, the returns from your control will help absorb the loss and preserve the operating budget.

How to Test smart

You will always have someone saying, “We’ve never done this before.” Or “I wouldn’t respond to this.” Or “This isn’t creative enough.”

But you can remind the naysayers that the purpose of testing isn’t to be creative. It’s to make money. And of course we haven’t done this before. That’s why we’re testing it now. And whether the office skeptics would respond to the mailing really doesn’t matter. You’re not mailing to them.

Testing is essential to profitable direct mail, but test smart.

• Don’t take shortcuts. Do the math first.
• Test things that matter most—lists, offer, copy and format.
• Don’t be afraid to test things that increase your package cost. Typically, you’ll increase profits more by adding features and benefits than by eliminating components and benefits.
• Don’t get “test happy” and schedule tests just to satisfy someone’s curiosity.
• Before you mail, have procedures in place to credit the mailing with responses to the 800 number or website.
• Evaluate test results using rollout costs. Test costs do not accurately reflect how future mailings will perform.

Taking time to understand and practice the fundamentals of direct mail testing goes a long way toward ensuring your campaign’s success. And whether you’re a startup or a “mature” mailer, the three most important rules of direct mail are the same: Test. Test. And Test.

Test smart and have the discipline to act on the results.

Download as pdf

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 campaign.

12. Test, test and test are the three most important rules of direct mail; yet mailers regularly claim they can’t afford to test. In truth, you can’t afford not to test. Even the best mailing packages fatigue. There are a finite number of prospects who will respond to any mailing, and each time you mail your control, fewer and fewer people remain in this pool of names. To remain competitive, you must continue to test new lists, offers, formats and copy. Even the few direct mail letters that remain the control year after year are “tweaked” with subtle changes to maintain response. A successful direct marketer is always pushing for better results, and this can be achieved only with a disciplined testing program.
13. Test the big things. When you’re looking for breakthrough results, test the lists, offer, format and copy. Testing minor copy revisions on page 3 or changing the paper stock of the reply form or the color of the return envelope will make a difference only to large-volume mailers. To everyone else, it’s a waste of money.
14. Maintain control of the package design. Don’t surrender control of the package’s design to the graphic designer. Direct response isn’t about looking good or winning awards. It’s about getting results. Understand how people read direct mail and design your layouts accordingly. It may not look “award winning” and the designer may not agree with your choice of type, but readability is more important than pretty. (See How to Use Graphic Devices to Boost Direct Mail Response Rates.)
15. Focus on the letter. Brochures explain while letters sell. There are exceptions, but more often than not, including a brochure will depress results. And, if you don’t make the outer envelope interesting, no one will see your great letter copy. Focus on the letter, the response form and the outer envelope.
16. Ask for the sale. In direct response, your purpose is to convince the recipients to take a specific action. Whether it’s to buy a product, make a contribution or generate a lead, you need to tell the recipients exactly what you want them to do. Then remind them. And tell them once again. To make the sale, you have to ask for the order.
17. Test before you adapt. We can learn from the mistakes of others and we can learn from their success, but every organization is unique, so don’t assume that what works for your competitor will work for you. Test it first.
18. Put the needs of your donors or customers first. You’re not the only one writing to your customers, and more often than not, even your multiple buyers/donors won’t remember your name. In every communication, remind even your most frequent donors/buyers what your organization is, why it’s important to them and how they benefit.
19. Give the copywriter all the information he or she needs. Several clients have told me that they don’t want to prejudice my thinking by sharing package samples or past results. But are you paying the copywriter to be creative or to beat your control? We live in an “age of skepticism,” and the more information the copywriter has, the better the job he or she will do. Besides, an experienced copywriter can often discover new concepts buried in old package samples and research material.
20. Respect your test results. In direct response, we don’t need to decide what lists, offer or copy works best. With proper testing, the customer will tell us what works. Before adopting any major change to your mailing package, double-check the list work for the test, review package samples and confirm your postal receipts. But once everything checks out, don’t second-guess the test results.
21. Deal with the back end before you mail. When accepting orders via phone, everything comes down to one telephone call. And if the person answering the phone isn’t trained, professional and polite, you’ll not only lose the order, you’ll lose the customer. And if you’re directing respondents to a landing page, make certain that its contents and look match that of the mailing piece. Confirm your inventory and work through the entire ordering process to ensure that it gives the customer a good experience. And be certain that procedures are in place to credit telephone and online respondents to the mailing’s results.

Including these essential steps in your direct mail campaign doesn’t guarantee success, but these steps will greatly increase your probability of achieving a successful mailing.

You can download the complete list of “21 Steps to Direct Mail Success” as one document in my Direct Mail Resource Center.

Too often, people and organizations put all their attention into getting the big things right, but ignore the details.

There’s a word to describe this. It’s “mediocrity.”

Giving attention to the details can’t ensure your success, but ignoring the small stuff can quickly bring about your downfall.

Every detail has bottom-line repercussions and it’s irresponsible to think of any aspect of direct mail as trivial, unimportant or inconsequential.

Here are a few fine points often overlooked in a mailing. None will ensure your success, but collectively, they can make a huge difference in your mailing’s success.

• Double-check the planning schedule. Don’t assume that someone has selected and ordered the mailing lists. Has the copywriter submitted his or her work in time to get it approved and into production in time to meet your mail date? Have the envelopes been delivered to the mail house? Too many projects never get off the ground—or mail at an unfavorable time—because no one monitors the planning schedule.
• Make certain all the mailing’s components—the outer envelope, the letter, the response form and other components—synergize into one mailing package. It’s one direct mail package, not a collection of individual components.
• Understand that giving attention to detail is not the same as cluttering the package’s design with details. Including too many graphic elements in the design can confuse the eye and keep the reader’s attention away from where you want it to flow.
• Check the art and make certain the letter uses a serif font. If anyone questions the value of using a serif font in the letter, have them pick any book from the library or look at any magazine or newspaper, and they will see that they all use serif fonts. Why? Because a serif font is more readable. And having more people read more of your letter can only increase response. When you want something read, use a serif font.
• You wouldn’t start a conversation without greeting the recipient, so make certain the letter includes a salutation. And give attention to title codes—Mr., Mrs. and Ms., for example. For me, there’s nothing more impersonal as “Dear Hugh Chewning.” It makes everything sound like a sweepstakes letter. Open the letter with “Dear Mr. Chewning” or, when appropriate, “Dear Hugh.” And provide a “default” for names that you can’t match to a title code. For example, “Dear Member,” “Dear Customer,” “Dear Neighbor” or even “Dear Friend.”
• Keep the letter’s paragraphs short and provide plenty of white space for the margins. Wide margins and short paragraphs invite the reader’s eye to the page. Fat paragraphs and long sentences are intimidating and unwelcoming to the reader. You want to get the letter read, so make it warm and comfortable to the recipient. (Compare the pages of a novel written in the 1930s or earlier with those of a contemporary book and see which you find more inviting.)
• Make sure the letter’s paragraphs are indented. Eye-camera studies show that indented paragraphs “catch” the eye moving down the page and make the letter more readable.
• Check for asterisks and, whenever possible, eliminate them. Asterisks are for the lazy and they announce that you’re hiding something. If there’s something you must say, just say it. It’s far better to announce a limitation or condition than for it to appear that you’re hiding the full truth. In a four-page letter, put required legal information on page two or three—very few people read those pages anyway.
• Format the letter as a “friendly” letter rather than a business letter—even for business-to-business mailings. Think of the letter as a one-on-one conversation between the recipient and you—the salesperson. To whom would you be more likely to respond—a salesperson who comes across as warm and friendly, or someone who is formal and distant?
• Read the letter aloud. Its copy is a conversation you’re having with the reader and that’s how you want it to sound.
• Don’t let a page—other than the last—end with a complete sentence. Any newspaper—with the possible exception of USA Today—will force you to turn a page to finish the front-page article. Why? They want you to see the advertisements. In direct mail, we also need the reader to turn the page to discover the benefits of our offer and reach the letter’s call to action.
• Give attention to the letter signer’s signature and any margin notes. The signature needs to be realistic but readable. You don’t want it to look like an artist signed the letter, but the signature needs to be legible or it’s going to hurt the letter’s credibility. And make certain any “handwritten” note in the margin is in the same handwriting and ink color as the signature.
• Has the letter used any in-house words or abbreviations without providing an explanation? Don’t assume the reader—even customers—will understand the terms that are unique to your business. If your spouse, best friend or neighbor aren’t familiar with the term, you need to explain it or omit it from the copy. When you do use abbreviations, always spell the word out when first used. For example, rather than beginning a letter with “ACLU,” you would write, “American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).” You’ll lose all momentum if the reader must turn back to the start of the letter to understand what you’re talking about.
• On the response form, tell the reader to whom their check is to be made payable. Don’t make them guess or give them any reason to hesitate. And it’s not “Make your checks payable to…” You’re only asking for one check, so use, “Make your check payable to…”
• Check the response form and make sure it fits into the return envelope. And, if appropriate, have you included a toll-free telephone number or a website the recipient can use to respond?
• When you do offer a toll-free number or webpage as a method of response, make certain that you have procedures in place to include these responses in the mailing’s results report.
• Finally, have the letter proofread. Don’t expect the copywriter to be the final proofreader of his or her own work.

Managing any one of these details isn’t going to produce a huge lift in your direct mail results. But collectively, getting the details right can be the difference between success and failure. Plus, it’s the professional thing to do.

You’ll often find the greatest success within the smallest details. And when it comes to making a difference in your mailing results, a penny is a penny. And pennies make dimes and dimes make dollars.

Sweat the small stuff. Strive for perfection and you’ll achieve excellence.

If you watch sports, you’ve seen a “pre-event routine” in action.

In baseball, major-league batters will go through their pre-event routines before every pitch. Watch them and you’ll see some batters come to the plate, take two swings and then tap the edge of the plate with their bat before each pitch. The routines vary with each batter, but practically every major leaguer has an established routine.

You’ll see the same thing in basketball. The next time you see a player taking a foul shot, watch what they do. The player may bounce the ball twice, hold the ball and then bounce it again before taking the shot. Whatever their routine, they will go through the same sequence of events each time they take a foul shot.

Athletes use pre-event routines to prepare for success. It gives them focus and purpose, and helps them achieve a higher level of performance. Now we need to develop our own pre-event routine to make our direct mail more profitable.

How direct marketers can use a pre-event routine

As direct marketers, we know the importance of testing. But what do we test? Dick Benson, in his book Secrets of Successful Direct Mail said, “Any idea you honestly believe can economically increase response is worth testing.”

But how do we know whether a test idea has a reasonable chance of economically increasing results?

First, let’s acknowledge that to increase our mailing’s profitability, we need to do more than increase the response rate or generate a higher average order. For our test to succeed, we must generate more net income than the control. And while we can’t always predict which test will succeed, we can insure that we don’t waste money by testing things that have little hope of increasing profitability.

Here’s a real-life example that proves the point.

Several years ago, I worked with a client whose previous agency produced a test package that everyone predicted would increase response. And it did.

The test package was creative, the graphics were incredible and the format was certain to stand out in a crowded mailbox. In fact, it was so impressive that the agency predicted that people who received the package would display the mailing on their office bookshelf. And perhaps they did.

But unfortunately, the client lost a bundle of money—and the agency lost the account—because no one bothered to price the test package’s rollout costs and determine out how much additional response would be needed to justify its higher cost.

If they had, they would have realized that this elaborate package needed—this is a true story—a 476% increase in response to break even with the control.

Now, I’m not saying that you can’t outperform the control by nearly five to one. But is it a reasonable expectation? Even if the test package doubles or triples the response rate, it’s a big loser. And this is where a pre-event routine helps.

Doing the math first

Before we invest our own money—or the client’s money—we need to do a little math and determine what results a test package must generate to justify its cost. And with this information, we can make an informed decision on whether the test can give us a reasonable expectation of economically increasing response.

My routine is simple and works like this: If the test cost $100/M more than the control and you currently average $25 per order, then the test will need to generate four additional responses per thousand pieces mailed. Therefore, if your control is pulling a 1% response rate, your test needs a 1.4% response to break even.

Here’s a simple worksheet I use before committing to a test.

You may find this approach to be too simplistic for your needs but, regardless of our methods, we all need a pre-event routine that causes us to ask, “Is it realistic to expect this test to increase results by 40%? Is this test a good investment?”

With a pre-event routine, these questions are answered before we spend a dime on the mailing. And whatever approach your pre-event routine takes, the process is essential to getting the greatest return from your direct mail test dollars. Like professional athletes, we’ll achieve a higher level of performance with good preparation.

When times get tough, everyone wants to cut direct mail costs. After all, if we can bring in the same amount of money and spend less, our profits increase.

And there are ways to cut costs without necessarily hurting the effectiveness of your mailing.

Cut Costs or Make Money?

You can, for example, trim your package format by ¼ inch or so to make it run better on your printer’s press, use a cheaper paper, test smaller formats, omit package inserts or eliminate the premium.

But don’t act too quickly.

Before getting caught up in the rush to cut expenses, we need to remember the objective of our direct mail campaign.

Because few, if any, of us mail to save money.

For most of us, the mailing’s objective is to make money.

This is a huge distinction. Saving money and making money isn’t the same thing. And, more often than not, we can increase the mailing’s profitability by adding to the package rather than by subtracting from it.

To increase your mailing’s profit, even as you increase its cost, you can:

• Add an involvement technique—a survey, membership card, petition, name stickers, a certificate—anything that gets the reader involved with the package. But it’s not enough just to toss the piece into the package. You must weave it into the copy and give it a reason for being there.
• Offer a premium and promote it with a separate insert—I’m a strong believer in premiums and need a reason not to offer them. The premium doesn’t need to be expensive and can be as simple as a white paper, a decal or a bookmark. But it does need to have a perceptible value.Many groups hate premiums believing that they cheapen the organization. But most donors and customers respond to them and, in my experience, when used properly, a premium will increase the mailing’s net profit.
• Test a larger format. A larger format is going to increase your production cost and perhaps even your postage cost. Yet they grab attention and generate response. Today, fewer oversize formats are being mailed so they command even more attention in the mailbox and can be especially useful for acquisition campaigns. In tests, when nothing other than the format size was changed; I’ve seen response increase by 100% when using a large format.
• Add an insert that emphasizes your guarantee. (If you’re not using a guarantee, you need one.) The mailing’s recipient has plenty of reasons—real or perceived—not to respond to your offer and the guarantee helps remove any hesitation that might otherwise jeopardize the sale. And by featuring your guarantee with a separate insert, you’re calling attention to your promise of a good customer experience.
• Include a lift note. The lift note, signed by someone other than the letter signer and printed on a different paper stock—the perception is that it’s coming from source other than the main letter—has many uses. You can use it to add credibility, present a testimonial or endorsement, emphasize your risk-free offer, expand upon the offer, tell a story, customize the offer to particular list segments and provide an added “push” to get the reader to respond.
• Spend money on list segmentation. Every good list includes bad names and every bad list includes good names. And since the mailing list is the most important component of your mailing, there’s no better place to spend money than to refine your list segmentation. List modeling/profiling isn’t cheap but with better segmentation you can increase your response and even reduce your total costs by mailing fewer, but better targeted, mailing pieces.

All this isn’t to suggest that you should drop your efforts to reduce costs. But cost cutting alone will not produce sustainable success. And I’m not suggesting that you change your control mailing without testing.

I am, however, suggesting that before investing in a new test mailing, you do the math to determine how much of an increase in response or average order is needed to justify the mailing’s added expenseand decide whether, with the changes being tested, this is a reasonable expectation.

It’s certain that we will continue to come under increased pressure to reduce costs but as direct marketers, we must change the conversation from how to cut costs to how we can make our mailings more profitable.

I still remember my first direct mail letter. I reworked it to perfection. Every word was just as I wanted it to be. The benefits to the reader were clear, the offer was strong and the call to action was unmistakable.

Then we mailed the letter, and I waited. And I waited some more. But nothing happened. Not even a single response. No one even bothered to complain about the letter.

Finding the right person to mail

Finally, after waiting a few more days, I went to see the agency’s owner and confessed my failure. I explained the letter’s objectives, my approach, the offer…how I had checked and rechecked every word but failed to get even one response.

Without even looking up, my boss said, “Check the lists.”

And I was ready for this. I’d already prepared a report on the mailing lists we were testing and started to go through the long list. But he said, “No, that’s not what I mean. Go see what actually mailed.”

After a short visit to our IT and production groups, I learned that the wrong lists were mailed for the job. In fact, we couldn’t have mailed names more unsuitable for this appeal if we had tried.

This taught me a couple of things.

First, don’t expect things to go right just because you issue the right instructions. Mistakes happen.

Second, it made me think that all those people who argue whether or not
the mailing list is twice as important or 300% more important or even 600% more important than the offer, copy or format are just wasting good air.

In truth, the mailing list is infinitely more important than any other component of the mailing.

It’s really simple. If you mail the world’s all-time greatest package to the wrong people, you’re going to fail. You’re not going to sell lawnmowers to Eskimos regardless of how good your copy or offer is.

For a direct mail copywriter, good list selection—and knowing the thinking behind the list selection—is essential to success.

Writing copy to mail to people who we know nothing about is like being at a party where everyone is a stranger and trying to convince the first person you meet there to buy your product. You may be able to close the sale but, more often than not, the conversation will be clumsy, wordy and far less effective than if you knew the person’s background and interests.

This leaves us two options. We can either let the list broker do his or her thing and hope for the best, or we can get involved in the process.

The most successful copywriters know which mailing lists have worked and which haven’t. They’ll also take the time to learn all available demographic and behavioral data, ask to be included in the broker’s new list announcements and read the appropriate trade journals to discover new mailing lists.

But unfortunately—especially when we’re writing as a freelancer—we don’t get the opportunity to offer our input. We’re hired to write copy and nothing else.

Yet we can ask questions. And with the answers, we can gain a better understanding of the people to whom we’re writing. For example, a few of the questions I ask new clients are:

• What can you tell me about your average customer? What is their age, sex, and income. What do you know about their interests and behavior?
• What are your top five mailing lists?
• Historically, which types of lists have not worked well?
• Have the names we’ll be mailing received your offer before? If so, when was the last time you mailed them?
• What information on our readers do you have on file—age, sex, income, past purchases/contributions, items purchased and dates of purchase or contribution?

In addition, I’ll ask for samples of the three most recent acquisition controls—and the packages that tested against them—to see how successful appeals have spoken to the targeted audience, and how the tone might have changed over the progression of winning packages.

Asking these questions is like talking to a stranger at that party where we don’t know anyone. When we take time to ask the person a few questions, we can do a much better job of explaining why he or she needs our product.

Much has changed since I wrote my first direct mail package but one thing is as true now as it was then. Of all the components of a direct mail package, nothing is more important than good list selection.

Just about every direct mail copywriter can benefit from a good editor. Yet many decision makers who approve copy—clients, compliance officers, board members and managers—aren’t trained to edit the copywriter’s work.

Here’s a simple 3-step method and checklist that might help.

Step 1

When reviewing a direct mail letter for the first time, sit on your hands.

One of the biggest mistakes is to pick up your red pen before you’ve reviewed the complete mailing package. Checking for errors in grammar, spelling and sentence structure is essential. But when you proofread the letter before reading the entire package, you’re likely to miss the big picture. It’s like letting a tree block your view of the forest.

Before you pick up your pen, read the complete mailing package and then ask yourself, does this letter:

• Speak directly to the recipient?
• Convincingly show how the offer fulfills the needs of the reader?
• Clearly communicate the mailing’s objective?
• Establish the creditability of the organization and/or product?
• Issue a clear call to action?

Once you’re satisfied that the copy meets these initial requirements, it’s time to move on to a more detailed review.

Step 2

A good editor knows to look for more than the writer’s use of words and will ensure that the copy quickly captures the reader’s attention.

[ ]  Is the letter starting with its best lead? Often, you’ll find the strongest lead buried in the third or fourth paragraph.

[ ]  After reading the first few paragraphs, will the recipient know why he or she are receiving the letter?

[ ]  Within the first few paragraphs, can you recognize the audience targeted by the letter? If, for example, the letter is targeting previous donors or customers, the copy should recognize the recipient’s status early in the letter. If you’re writing investors, collectors or sports fans, the first few paragraphs should acknowledge the recipient’s interest.

And to increase readership, the editor will check:

[ ]   Is the letter inviting to read? Does it use short sentences, wide margins and a double space between paragraphs? Are the paragraphs indented?

[ ]   Do pages break in mid-sentence so the reader must turn the page to complete the thought?

[ ]  Is the letter using a serif type style?

[ ]  Is the text at least 12-point type, especially for older audiences?

[ ]  Does the letter have a logical flow from paragraph to paragraph?

[ ]  Does the message unfold in a logical manner?

[ ]  Are there any “in-house words” that the average reader won’t understand?

[ ]  Is the letter written as if it’s from one person to one other person? Check the copy for “us” and “we” and, whenever possible, replace them with “me” and “I.”

[ ]  Is the copywriter taking full advantage of the printer’s capability to personalize the package? For example, if the inside address and/or salutation are personalized, why not extend the personalization to other parts of the page?

[ ]  Can you rework any passive sentences?

And to add creditability to the package:

[ ]  Review the letter as part of the complete direct mail package. All components—the outer envelope, letter, response form, reply envelope and any inserts—need to work in harmony.

Although we’re now focusing on the letter, remember that you’re editing one component of a package and not a stand-alone element. For example, if the outer envelope has an official look, the letter copy needs a more formal approach. But if you’re using a hand-addressed envelope, the letter’s copy will be more informal. Everything needs to work together.

[ ]  Does the letter use testimonials or other documentation to support its claims?

[ ]  If the letter includes “handwritten” notes or underlines, are the same color ink and “handwriting” used for the letter-signer’s signature? Remember, the person signing the letter is the person writing the notes.

[ ]  Is the letter’s signature legible? (Signatures that are difficult to read promote a negative response.)

And to make the sale:

[ ]  Can you quickly identify the offer?

[ ]  Does the letter close the sale by specifically telling the reader what action to take?

[ ]  Does your P.S. restate the benefits and the call to action?

Step 3

Now, read your letter aloud. Remember, the best direct mail is written in conversational English, and this is where you’ll spot clumsy phrasing, overuse of particular words, and paragraphs that don’t connect smoothly with the previous thought. Hear the written words as a conversation with the recipient.

Finally, review the letter for typos, misspellings and improper word use.

With the letter’s copy on your computer screen, increase the font size to 16 or 18 points and you’ll find that it’s easier to spot typos, misused words or unnecessary words. You may even want to read the copy backward, as this forces you to see each word one at a time.

Regardless of how experienced the copywriter is, a good editor is worth his or her weight in gold. Rather than confrontational, the relationship between copywriter and editor is a partnership. Each respects the expertise of the other and recognizes that they share a common goal—making—the mailing more responsive and profitable.

We all know the importance of direct mail testing, but too often money is wasted on unproductive and unwise tests. Here are 21 basic rules worth reviewing to get the most from your marketing dollars:

1. Before you start production on any test, do the math first. How long will it take to recover your test costs, and what increase in results will you need to beat the control? Proceed with the test only after showing that there’s a reasonable chance that it can economically increase response.

2. Don’t test just because you’re curious to know “what if.” Have a solid plan of how you’ll turn the test results into a profit before you invest in the test.

3. Be sure you test a sufficient quantity to obtain reliable test results.

4. “Replicate” each test when possible—rather than mail one test cell of 10,000 names, split the names into two equal groups and mail the same test to two groups of 5,000.

5. When possible, mail the same number of pieces for each test.

6. Create two test-size cells from the names that will receive your control mailing and use them as the baseline for measuring your tests’ success. These “control cells” will eliminate any bias that mailing to a larger body of names might cause, and, if there’s a production glitch, they can protect your cash flow. Now, rather than hold the entire mailing until the production problem is corrected, you can mail most of your control and hold these test-size cells until your tests are ready to mail.

7. Constantly test for new lists. Nothing will make a greater difference in results. And when you get a new package breakthrough, review the lists you tested earlier and see if your new, better-performing control makes them worth retesting.

8. Rely on the experts for list selections and data work, but make certain you understand what they’re doing. You don’t necessarily need to understand the math behind modeling, but you do need to be certain that the experts understand your objectives.

9. Test new offers. Second only to lists, you’ll get the biggest return from your test dollars by testing new offers.

10. Test new graphics for the outer envelope. These are among your most cost-efficient tests, and they can help keep a control “fresh.”

11. Mail your tests and the control at the same time and, as much as is feasible, from the same postal outlet.

12. You can’t argue with the test results, but don’t follow them blindly. Pyramid—roll out with ten times the number of pieces tested—and reevaluate and/or back test.

13. Don’t get test-happy. Test only those things that can make a meaningful difference to your mailing’s success. It may make sense to tweak the control for incremental gains if you’re mailing in large volume, but if not, limit your tests to the big things—lists, offer, format and copy.

14. Follow up quickly. And minimize your risks and improve the reliability of your results by using proven lists for your tests.

15. More often than not, you’ll increase profitability by increasing the package’s cost—not by taking away from it.

16. If you’re not using a premium, test one. If your control uses a premium, test a new one.

17. If your control includes a brochure, test without one. A brochure often distracts readers and delays their move to the response form. (This is one exception to rule 15.)

18. Make sure your tests receive full credit. Are replies to the 800 number and the website being counted?

19. When calculating how well your test will perform against the control, use rollout costs.

20. Measure your results by net dollars—not response rate or cost per order. If you can’t spend it, it doesn’t count.

21. And, as elementary as this may seem, be certain that you have a competent system in place to receive, count and report results.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to succeed in direct mail. But you do need to know what, when and how to test. And you must have the discipline to follow the results.

Let these 21 rules guide you and you’ll have a great start toward a more profitable direct mail campaign.

What to test

In his book, Secrets of Successful Direct Mail, Dick Benson states, “Any idea you honestly believe can economically increase response is worth testing.”

The key words are “economically increase response.” But what is economical? Typically, the more dramatic a change you make in a package, the more dramatic the difference in results.

For example, when you need a breakthrough, test the components that have the greatest influence on the mailing’s success—lists, offer, format and copy. Forget about testing minor changes on page three or the color of the return envelope. Test big things for big results.

However, for clients mailing larger volumes, “tweaking” the control for incremental gains often makes sense.

For example, Client A and Client B both have an average response rate of 1%, with a $25 average transaction. Both test a new package that lifts results by 10%. The only difference is that Client A has an annual mailing volume of 1 million pieces. Client B mails 10 million pieces every year.

For Client A, with its smaller mailing volume, this 10% lift means an annual difference of $25,000 in income. But for client B, the same 10% lift means $250,000 in additional income.

While the smaller client might appreciate an extra $25,000 to spend, it is probably not going to have a major impact on the organization—especially after accounting for test costs. On the other hand, a quarter of a million dollars is “adult money.”

But whatever you decide to test, do the math first. Even if the test beats your control, it won’t make sense if it takes too long to recover your test costs or requires an unobtainable rate of response.

When to test

The best time to test is when you have a successful control. A too-common mistake is to delay testing new concepts because “our control is still working.” By this reasoning, you wouldn’t test new concepts until the control takes a dive, and this is a disaster for cash flow. You may even find that it’s time to update your résumé, because there’s not going to be enough cash flow to make payroll.

Instead, test from strength, not weakness. Virtually every mailing is an opportunity to test. However successful your control is, and however long it’s been the control, it can be improved.

How much to test

When deciding how many pieces to test, the important thing isn’t how many pieces you mail with your test package. What’s important is how many responses you get back.

Your test volume should be no fewer than the number you need in order to produce statistically reliable results. Mathematicians using formulas I won’t even pretend to understand tell me that as few as 39 responses can be statistically valid with a 90%–95% probability of accuracy. Personally, I’m more comfortable with closer to 100 responses.

You can use an online calculator to tell you how much to mail, but the concept is easy. Just take the control’s response rate and see how much you need to mail in order to produce 100 responses. For example, with a 1% response rate, you would need to mail 10,000 pieces to produce 100 responses.

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to limit your total test volume to no more than 20%–25% of the total mailing. This way, if the test fails, the returns from your control will help absorb the loss and preserve the operating budget.

Smart testing

Testing is essential to profitable direct mail, but we need to test smart. Evaluate the success of the test based on its rollout cost, but always do the math first and make sure you can pay back your full test costs in a reasonable time.

And remember Dick Benson’s advice and test only what you honestly believe can economically increase response.

J. Paul Getty once said the three keys to wealth and success are, “Rise early. Work hard. And strike oil.”

That may be good advice. But for those of us who must depend upon something other than striking oil, I say the three keys to success for a direct marketer are to TEST, TEST, and TEST!

But before we test, we must recognize that not all tests are productive or cost-effective. My next post will be “What, How and When to Test” but in the meantime, here are 7 costly mistakes that you’ll want to avoid when testing:

• When you’re looking for breakthrough results, it makes no sense to test small things—the color of the return envelope, minor copy changes buried in the letter or a different paper stock, for example. When you need a breakthrough, test the big things—list, offer, format and copy—to get big results.
• Do the math first. Before you make the test mailing, you need to know how much of a “lift” you need to break even. Make sure you have a reasonable chance of winning. On the other hand, don’t conclude that the test “costs too much” without doing the math. Increasing your package cost by 50% doesn’t necessarily mean you have to increase response by 50%. Much will depend upon the size of your average order, so do the math first.
• Don’t ignore past test results. At times, we get valid test results, but they weren’t what we expected so we’re tempted to ignore them. Your test results are the voice of your customers, so listen to what they’re saying—even if it’s not what you expected to hear.
• Don’t test more than one thing at a time—or test everything. You can’t test a new format to a new list and conclude that the format made the difference. However, you can test new copy and a new format—to the same list—as long as you recognize that you’re testing the package, not the format or the copy.
• Don’t think that just because something worked for another mailer, it will work for you.
• Rather than become stuck in a “make it cheaper” mode, test adding features and benefits to your package. More often than not, you’ll increase profits by adding to the package rather than by taking away features and benefits.
• How many times have you heard, “I don’t need to test; my control is still working”? The best time to test is when your control is working. Don’t fall into the trap of complacency. Otherwise, you’re going to put a serious hurt on your cash flow.

To succeed in direct mail, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist, but you do need to understand the fundamentals of testing and have the discipline to follow the results.

Test results are like a road map, and when you follow them, they’ll lead you to success.