People underestimate the power one great letter can have for their business. I’ve had several people call me or email me, to ask for my opinion on a direct mail campaign. Most of the time, they’re so worried about how it looks, that they don’t bother to really worry about the offer.
I recently spoke at the Coral Ridge Country Club in Ft. Lauderdale for a group of entrepreneurs, at an event called BIG Breakfast. When I explained to them, that 40% of the success of a direct mail campaign is the offer, they looked at me as if I had two heads. I continued on to tell them that another 40% is the list they’re mailing to, and the final 20% is the creative. What do most people spend their time on? Of course, the fun stuff… the creative.
A common problem we encounter is that most businesses don’t understand the science behind direct mail.
To a critical and untutored eye a great direct mail letter doesn’t look like much. It looks simple, which is much more difficult to achieve than something sophisticated – a word that in this context usually means corporate gobbledygook. The critic reading the direct mail letter is rarely a member of the target audience so, naturally, the letter doesn’t resonate.
If you’d like to read some great examples of how simple letters work very well, visit my recent Forbes article:
Hope you’ll pick up an idea or two for your own business. Let me know how it works out.
About Lois GellerLois Geller is President and Owner of Lois Geller Marketing Group and headed agencies in New York and Toronto. Lois taught Direct Marketing at NYU. She’s the author of five marketing books, including Response: The Complete Guide to Profitable Direct Marketing. Follow @loisgeller on Twitter.
The outlook of any direct mails matters. It gives a tendency for the target audience to open and read. As you said, the offer it matters then. It should be attractive and make the target audience go for it.
You know so well that a well written letter always wins!
You are right. The purpose of sending a direct mail should be achieved. The target audience should read the mails we sent them. For that we must do all the possible ways that will help to intrude into a customer’s heart.!
Yes, Absolutely right as we want more traffic by mail marketing., we should take help of great letters.
People prefer fun filled letter to read more. They often prefer new business offers. That kind of a letter can be used for marketing.