Personalized promotional communications such as email, newsletters, telephone prospecting, catalogues, brochures, and yes—the advertising items you find in your mailbox, commonly called junk mail—are all components of direct marketing.
The key objective of direct marketing is to get customer prospects to take some course of immediate or specific action. This could be an instant purchase or a request for further information. What’s so ideal about direct marketing is that it enables you to reach a narrowly targeted audience and that each direct marketing piece is designed to do a unique thing. The advantage of this is twofold:
1) You save money because you have better control over your spending.
2) You have the ability to test your promotions’ effectiveness and measure results with high accuracy.
If you’re experiencing sluggish sales, then consider combining direct marketing with your current promotion. You’ll double the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. Maybe even triple it!
Give your envelope a sales role.
Don’t dismiss your envelope as purely a container. The envelope is an integral part of your promotion because it influences your recipient’s next step. Use the outside space to entice your reader to explore what’s inside by promising a benefit. Phrases like “Try this new…Free inside… and Save money on” have a proven history of effectiveness and work even better when paired with a deeper benefit. For example: “Free Inside! Say good-bye to wet-dog odor forever”. Or “Save money on groceries. Get a free meal tonight.”
Tip: When you add a deadline you impose a sense of urgency so readers are more inclined to act quickly. Here’s how a little extra adds more impact: “Better hurry! Dinner offer good only thru March 1st.”
Make your mail lumpy and noisy.
An envelope that contains moving items arouses curiosity. If you can include a sample of what you’re selling or something that closely represents your product you can significantly increase store traffic. For example, a package containing seeds has both lumps and noise and sends the message about growth. This makes sense for a business dealing with gardening or related products but it would also convey the appropriate message for a financial consultant selling investment products.
Sell with a letter.
An effective sales letter is both persuasive and informative. It should start with a title that gives a compelling benefit or addresses some gut-wrenching problem your customer faces. Then in a few short paragraphs you prove why your product or service provides the best solution on the market—again by talking in terms of benefits. Tip: Words such as “own”, “easy”, “money”, “health”, “discover,” and “proven” help you establish reader rapport quickly so when possible pair them with benefits.
Bonus Tip: if you’re sending an e-letter begin messages with a subject header that grabs attention while informing your reader at the same time. Also, putting brackets around your subject header creates a visual that makes your email stand out. < It’s a BIG Deal! Get your car winterized-Plus complimentary oil change! >.
Build rapport with a brochure.
The purpose of a brochure is to support the claims you made in your sales letter. Leave out the sales pitch and focus on educating and informing customers about the particulars of your product. Testimonies help convince potential customers that your product or service actually delivers its promise so be sure to include them. Your brochure will also be more effective if you remind readers about your products benefits and boldly state your guarantee, followed by a clear call to action. The final thing to include is your company contact information.
Distribute high-performance post cards.
For about $100 postcards can be designed, printed, and mailed to your best client prospects. Pretty cheap considering it generally takes one sale to cover the initial investment. Make your postcard a must-read by writing a strong headline. Don’t make the mistake of trying to turn your postcard into a brochure. Focus only on one offer. And keep the offer simple. For example, “Discover the easy way to better health”. Then close with a specific call to action. “Contact Sue for your customized program”. Tip: Boost your post card’s performance by including the phrase “Get more details online at www.trainwithsue.com.”
Sonya Carmichael Jones, freelance direct response copywriter and direct marketing consultant helps you rev up your response rates and sales orders with compelling copy and direct marketing strategies. For effective online and offline copywriting and marketing solutions contact Sonya at marketingbuddha.com.
You have my permission to publish this article as long as it is published in its entirety and the author’s resource box is included.
| 
