Direct Marketing For You: 2016

Tuesday 26 July 2016

The 7 Best Direct Mail Teasers of 2015

How do you engage direct mail prospects in your message? It’s a question that’s always in the back of my mind when I analyze mail for Who’s Mailing What! The easiest and hardest place to start with, if you’re mailing with envelopes, is the teaser.

Let’s put aside for the moment the never-ending debate of whether envelopes should even have a teaser. To quote copywriter Lea Pierce, “You have three seconds to live or die” as your mail is being opened.

So what makes a good one? I know, it’s a loaded question.

I compiled a list of about four dozen new teasers that engaged me right off the bat in 2015, especially once I saw that the message inside fulfilled my expectations.

In no specific order, here are seven of the top ten.

1.GEICO
Sure, many insurance companies vow to save you money. GEICO is particularly good at this with much of its mail.

But what got me here was mixing type sizes so that the promise really stands out, and pairing it with a QR code that can be scanned to completely bypass the message inside. Or … you know … open the envelope anyway.

2. California College San Diego
This mailer also mentions money (“the income you deserve”) in the teaser as it flatters the recipient.

That tactic – tapping into the yearning for a better life – is pretty uncommon for college mail, even when the target audience is working adults. The letter and other components inside reassure the student that they can balance their responsibilities while achieving their goals.

3. Lifelock
It seems like every week brings news stories about financial, employment, or customer records being hacked from a variety of places around the world.

Lifelock leverages fear of identity theft in this membership effort by using the teaser to noting a healthcare records attack, and then go into more detail about the crimes (and their solution) on a buck slip inside the envelope.

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Saving Bees With the Ultimate Direct Mail Freemium

Direct mail freemiums can seem pretty dull after a while when you’ve seen as many as I have over the years at Who’s Mailing What! Address labels, notepads, calendars, stickers … you can argue about how much real value they provide to donors these days. And, even knowing that they still lift response for many nonprofits, I might agree with you.

But sometimes a tactic — a simple packet of seeds — makes me sit up and take notice … and it all started with dying bees.

The collapse in honeybee populations in recent years is a big story because it has implications beyond the intrinsic worth of an animal species. Besides providing honey, bees pollinate the crops that provide a third of American food. Yes, a third. That’s a lot of nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

Originally I wanted to write about how environmental groups are fundraising around this crisis. I had gathered mail from Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Earthjustice, and intended to compare outers, letters, incentives, etc.

Then, a #10 envelope from the Sierra Club was dropped on my desk.

There’s nothing like a short teaser in a distressed typeface (“BUZZ KILL”) and a large image of a dead bee to immediately grab your attention.

This member acquisition effort centers on how the usage of certain pesticides is threatening farms and businesses because it is also killing bees. The letter and inserts name the culprits, and there’s a brief petition to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on the reply form to push for a legislative remedy.

So in most respects, Sierra Club isn’t doing anything different from its colleagues named earlier, with one exception: this envelope includes a “BEE FEED Flower Mix.”

As the packet says, these seeds are for flowers that “provide nectar and pollen to wild bees, honey bees, and other pollinators.” Besides growing instructions, the back of the pack lists the ingredients: seeds for California Poppy, Blue Flax, New England Aster, etc.

Seeds have long been included in direct mail packages, but purely as an incentive to donate. Any connection to a group’s specific message or appeal has been tangential at best.

Here, the seed packet is a powerful involvement device, not a reward. It gives the recipient something literally hands-on to do: plant seeds for flowers that will save bees. It doesn’t get any more practical or relevant to the mission than that.

Also, like other elements mailed by advocacy groups, it makes the contributor a partner in the mission. Instead of a “street team,” you’re part of the garden team.

As the letter puts it: “Before long, we’ll provide plenty of clean, healthy, unpoisoned food for bees. We’ll regenerate the bees and the planet.”

The front and back of the packet also contain reassurances that the seeds are untreated and non-GMO, important considerations for much of the target audience for this mailer.

One slight criticism: the call to action (to use the seeds) appears three times in the letter, but nowhere on the reply form. Even with a lot going on there, it’s another opportunity to connect the dots for the donor.

You know that old parable about the kid throwing beached starfish back into the water?

A packet of seeds may not seem like that much either, but it will still make a difference.

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Direct Mail: Reach Out and Touch

Direct mail can take advantage of one aspect that no digital channel can ever use — touch. As human beings, our brains are hard-wired with the need for touch. It plays a huge role in our everyday lives. When we are able to harness the power of touch with direct mail, we are able to create an experience that recipients will not forget and may even share with others.

Our hands are very sensitive and designed to touch. They have the greatest density of tactile receptors on our bodies. Let’s take advantage of that with our direct mail pieces. Touching the mail piece is required as one gets the mail from the mail box and sorts through the mail. Grab attention immediately with a unique feel.

Consider using these five elements in your direct mail to enhance touch.

1. Paper Stock
Instead of choosing your paper stock by what is on sale or the cheapest one, consider choosing a heavier nicer feeling stock. The lasting impression you give to recipients will help them not only to remember you better, but trust you as well.

2. Coatings
Now, there are many coating choices. Consider how each one could work with your design and pick the best fit. One that is really popular right now is a soft touch coating. When you are able to match the feel of the piece with the message, you have a greater impact on the recipient.

3. Emboss/Deboss
Consider how you can incorporate an emboss or a deboss into your design to add a more 3D look and feel. What could you emboss or deboss that would draw attention?

4. Engraving
This not only adds beauty — it really enhances the feel. Think of all the ways a design can include engraving. You could outline key points or draw attention to parts of images that help to showcase your product or service.

5. Raised Ink
This can be a fun way to add a dimension and appeal to the touch need. You can do it for lettering and images. Get creative!

Adding touchable elements to your direct mail not only enhances the recipient’s experience, but it can drive their decision to buy from you. People make subconscious reactions and decisions all of the time based on what they touch. We can therefore influence people in our direct mail through touch. For instance, when you use a thicker paper stock and a soft touch coating, your product or service is viewed as trustworthy and your company as knowledgeable. Think of how you can influence with touch knowing that what we touch shapes what we feel and perceive.

The crucial point is to add touch elements so they enhance your direct mail, not draw attention away from your message. The elements should work with your message to give it more power. If you just add elements without planning on how they work together with your design and messaging, you are wasting your money and confusing recipients. This will have the exact opposite effect on your ROI than what you are aiming for.

When you have put together your plan, meet with a couple of your top customers to show them your idea. See what they think and if they understand it the way you intended them to. Make sure to get their opinions before you explain what you were trying to do. You want to see if your recipients will get the right message because you won’t be there to explain it to them.

Try to exploit the sense of touch in your next direct mail campaign.

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It's Our Mail Moment

“What are we going to do with this moment?” That’s the big challenge from a presentation I attended by Harris Diamond, the chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup, at this week’s National Postal Forum in Nashville, Tenn.

He was part of a discussion, “Welcome to the Experience Economy,” led by U.S. Postal Service Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Jim Cochrane. The all-star industry panelists shared their perspectives on how technological and cultural changes are affecting how consumers experience brands, and the implications this has for direct mail.

In one sense, Diamond was talking about the “mail moment,” the reaction of consumers to the direct mail that they receive. The lives of most people are increasingly cluttered with digital messaging, so this is the time when the tactile, physical nature of mail arriving at a consumer’s home can make a different impression. It’s a concept that the USPS has been talking about for a few years.

But he was also talking about the new possibilities facing marketers.

Thanks to advancements in technology, as well as an ability to align with developing social trends, “mail is on the edge of a new frontier,” he said, far beyond catchy art and copy. It has “the potential to be more powerful than ever before.”

A lot of this we already know. Maybe it’s using special textures, scents, or sizes in a mailing. Or maybe it’s digital technologies, like augmented reality, QR Codes, or NFC.

It’s why the USPS has the “Irresistible Mail” campaign: to incentivize marketers to use new techniques that make mail more personal and relevant to the consumer. To make the “mail moment” more powerful.

To provide food for thought, Diamond offered five interesting creative rules. As you would expect, they focus on using electronic media in direct mail to engage with audiences in the most effective way possible.

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Why Your Postage Rates Could Go Down in April

Since postage is the most expensive part of direct mail marketing, any postal rates changes are big news. Usually, the USPS announces a pending rate increase. On Feb. 25 the USPS filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission that would reduce postage rates. Within the filing, the USPS stated:

“… It intends to remove the exigent surcharge on Sunday, April 10, absent action by Congress or the courts to make the existing exigent surcharge for Market Dominant Products and Services part of the rate base or to otherwise extend it.”

In this filing, the USPS also noted that while it “… recognizes that daily revenue fluctuations could result in a one or two day variation on when the revenue limitation is reached, our current estimate is that the revenue limitation will be reached some time on Saturday, April 9, 2016.”

The end of the 4.3 percent increase surcharge has been anticipated for some time, though the rate of collection left the actual date hard to determine. The reason there was a 4.3 percent increase was because the post office was granted an exigency rate case that allowed it to try to recoup some of the funds lost during the great recession. The court ruled that the rates could not be permanent and must be rolled back after the allotted amount was reached. That means that on April 10 we will see an overall decrease in postage by 4.3 percent.

The post office has been hoping for either legislation or court action to allow the higher rates in order to help offset the losses the post office has suffered for the past several years. The Postal Service worries how it will replace the 4.3 percent of revenue that’s been essential to keeping it in the black for the past two years. These rates have been in place since January 26, 2014, so it will be good for marketing budgets to have more money for the rest of 2016.

So let’s take a look at what some of the most common new postage rates will be:

First class single piece letter = $0.47
First class single piece postcard = $0.34
First class single piece flat = $0.94
Presorted automation first class letter mixed rate = $0.419
Presorted automation first class postcard mixed rate = $0.272
Presorted automation first class flat mixed rate = $0.75
Presorted automation standard letter mixed rate = $0.291
Presorted automation standard flat mixed rate = $0.539
Presorted automation nonprofit letter mixed rate = $0.176
Presorted automation nonprofit flat mixed rate = $0.40

As you can see, these amounts will add up over time to marketer’s postage savings. This means you may be able to mail more pieces or add additional design elements that would not have been affordable under the current postage rates. There is still a chance that action could be taken by either the courts or Congress to change the rates, but as of now, it does appear that we will have a postage reduction starting on April 10. What will you do with your postage savings?

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4 Delicious Ways to Leverage Recipes in Direct Mail

Direct mail can affect you in a lot of ways. It can make you happy, angry, inspired or sad … but can it make you hungry? It can when it includes food recipes, even when one of them turns out to be for borscht.

A few weeks ago, Ashley Roberts of Printing Impressions (a sister brand of Target Marketing) asked me to appear in a video with her to profile a mailing that Agfa Graphics sent to its VIP file. The beautiful food photography of the calendar and its accompanying cookbook was enhanced by augmented reality.

It got me thinking about other companies that have used recipes as an important ingredient in their marketing mix. Here are some ideas, based on mail found in Who’s Mailing What!, on how to entice customers with food content.

1. Demonstrate Your Product
This is almost too obvious: if food is your product, it certainly can’t hurt to help to offer a demonstration of how it can be prepared or used in a meal. For instance, supermarkets or packaged goods marketers can tie a recipe to a food that’s part of a sales promotion, special offer, or coupon.

Penzeys Spices sells high-quality spices for the home chef, from cinnamon and lemon peel to extracts and chili peppers. It has a chain of brick-and-mortar stores, an e-commerce website, and a direct mail catalog, all of which rely on recipes.

Here’s an example. This partial page from a Penzeys catalog describes saffron’s properties, the varieties that are available, and their pricing. The recipe that’s shown is so simple to follow that even I can master it.

When combined with numerous sidebar pieces and long-form articles in each issue of the catalog, this tactic bolsters the authenticity of Penzeys’ brand.

2. Reinforce Your Mission
Clever organizations have leveraged recipes for the right types of foods that are in keeping with their goals. Lots of health systems and hospitals mail newsletters and magazines that are chock-full of juicy content, like tips on exercise and disease prevention, as part of creating a more healthy lifestyle. To encourage healthier eating of one kind or another — low salt, low sugar, etc. — recipes are provided.

National Osteoporosis Foundation focuses on bone health and improving screening and other preventative measures in its fundraising campaigns. To supplement those efforts, and to support the group’s expertise, a recent appeal included two recipe cards and highlighted the calcium amount for each food.

3. Support Your Product
Recipes have long been used to tease printed products — like magazines, cookbooks, diet plans, and recipe cards — that focus on food. But what if the product isn’t print?

Comcast, for example, partnered with the Food Network on a direct mail promotion for all of its entertainment and communications packages.

Images throughout the brochure show food in different holiday settings, as well as the channel’s programs and personalities.

And the next-to-last page? Two “tasty holiday recipes,” with pictures, for “Really Onion Dip” and “Butter-and-Jam Thumbprints.” Yum.

4. Reward Your Customers
As the forward to the cookbook shown below notes, “food and travel are inextricably connected.” It was mailed to past customers who had traveled with Grand Circle, a tour operator. There’s no promotion for any upcoming trips, just a request for feedback on the cookbook itself.

The book’s 48 pages are designed to “inspire a culinary journey at your table,” with recipes covering dishes from a variety of Mediterranean destinations. With its high-gloss coated stock and spiral binding, it’s the perfect thing to sit on a kitchen counter as the traveler cooks and dreams of their next trip with the company, and the food they’ll eat along the way.

The one big takeaway to using recipes in mail is that it’s really not all that different than cooking itself. It’s a tactic that should be carefully measured out in just the right amounts to achieve the desired outcome, and not overwhelm the senses, or the tastes, of the customer.

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Do the Unexpected in Direct Mail: The Opposite

Marketers often ask me if there any new tactics or creative approaches in their specific industry’s direct mail or email. That’s a tough one to answer, even with what I know about each sector. So, I sometimes recommend that they carefully evaluate what their competition does, and then do the opposite.

Let me explain.

If you were a fan of the classic TV series “Seinfeld,” you’ll remember that advice was the premise for an episode called “The Opposite.”

Perennial loser George Costanza turns his life around and finds success — at least for a while — by “doing the opposite” of every instinct in his body.

The whole premise of Who’s Mailing What! is to see what others are doing in direct mail and email, then “steal smart.” But you can be just as smart by not following the crowd.

Here’s a great “opposite” design tactic that I’ve seen:

Usually, most conference and seminar marketers promote a show or workshop using self-mailers with lots of grids, blocks upon blocks of copy, pages of bullet-pointed benefits … and that’s pretty much it.

But conventions by definition are where people get together.

A mailing like this from the Printing Association of Florida – for the Graphics of the Americas show — is the opposite of what most other marketers do in that vertical.

This spread has lots of photos that show people learning, buying and selling, and engaging. You know — all of the things you do at an actual trade show or conference. The photos can be a bit unpolished, unposed … because they’re real and authentic.

And here’s a control from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine with a great teaser on the front above an image of a beautiful Dalmatian mix:

She is suffering … And mailing you a nickel won’t help.”

The letter inside picks up the theme. “Some groups will mail a nickel to their letters to get your attention … we’d rather use that nickel to save a dog like Queenie.”

It makes a case for support without offering premiums, either on the front end or back end. In other words, it’s the opposite of what many other nonprofits rely on in their direct mail to build membership and drive donor acquisition.

This isn’t all that radical a concept for this vertical. Oxfam America has had an appeal in the mail for over 10 years — one of our Grand Controls — that says the same thing once you get to the letter.

Think through your marketing. Do you really want to your direct mail to be thrown immediately into recycling because it looks and reads just like your competitors? Or can you stand out by being really different?

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Direct Mail Marketing to Millennials - 5 Tips

Marketers are really starting to look at how millennials respond to marketing. In a recent study conducted by DigitasLBi, Razorfish, Tumblr and Yahoo, millennials will have a cumulative $1.4 trillion in spending power by 2020. Therefore, marketers need to pay attention to this group of people.

Because millennials are known as digital natives, many people thought direct mail was a bad way to reach them. However, this has shown itself to be untrue: Millennials like getting mail!

How can direct mail appeal to millennials?

Authenticity: All the messaging and imagery on your direct mail pieces need to be authentic and in sync with your brand. Show that you are consistent, responsible and transparent. Provide links to access more information about your company. Show your passion not only for what you do but the people in your organization that do it.
Accessibility: How easy is it for someone to reach you? How many ways to respond to your direct mail are there? If they call you will they reach a human or an auto attendant? The easier it is to respond the more responses you are going to get.
Human Appeal: Create a sense of connection with each individual, not only with personalization but through emotion. Highlight real people in your organization who are doing good things and remember to use a picture. When you humanize your brand you have a greater appeal.
Social Awareness: Showcase all the good things your company is doing for social causes. This goes beyond just donating money, which is seen as a token gesture. How are your employees giving back? Pick Charites that are in sync with your brand or that you and your employees feel very deeply about. Then tell everyone about the great things you are doing!
Technology: Since this group is very digital savvy, make sure that you are including technology in your direct mail. Not just QR codes, but more powerful NFC, augmented reality and more. Direct mail is a great gateway to online content and mobile devices. Millennials like interactive experiences, so give them that experience generated from your direct mail. Remember, they love to share good experiences with friends!

Millennials are great people! Targeting them with direct mail is not as big of a challenge as some people try to make it. Using the five techniques above will help you effectively communicate with and sell to millennials. Your direct mail should be inclusive and informative, not pushy. Keep you calls to action very specific with easy-to-understand benefits. Millennials view direct mail as more trustworthy than electronic communication, so make sure to capitalize on that!

Providing an excellent user experience across multiple channels is required with this target group. Embrace that and create fun, engaging direct mail that moves recipients online to landing pages, social media or whatever content you want. As always, make sure to track your responses so that you know what is working and what is not. Lastly, keep in mind that all millennials are not the same, they are individuals just like the rest of us and have varying wants and needs. Capturing their response information and adding that to your database is valuable. It will allow you to provide better offers to them in the future.

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4 Effective Hooks for New Mover Direct Mail

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics, about 40 million Americans move every year. New movers are people who represent one of the most potentially valuable segments in life event marketing. They’re ideal customers, blank slates if you will, who are in the market for a dizzying variety of goods and services that can help them feel comfortable in their new house and neighborhood.

So, as a direct mailer, once you have up-to-date and multi-sourced mailing lists ready to go, how do you target this audience? How do you establish a relationship and begin building customer loyalty?

What prompted these questions is that quite a few of my relatives and friends have been on the move lately. I’ve been following how marketers have reached out to them as they settle in to their new homes. Based on some of those samples they shared, and some from Who’s Mailing What!, here are a few ideas on how to engage the attention of these prospects when they’re most ready to buy.

1. Offer A Discount
Many marketers entice movers with savings offers, from Bed Bath & Beyond, DIRECTV and IKEA, to Burlington Coat Factory, Budget Blinds and Crate & Barrel.

Pottery Barn is another one that’s great at this. This three-panel 5-3/4″x10-3/4″ self-mailer promoted the retailer’s free design services, for lighting, bedding, rugs, etc.

Three 15 percent off coupons were spot-glued to an inside fold, one for each of the company’s three brands (Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen). They can be redeemed at their brick-and-mortar retail locations, online and over the phone.

Along with sister brand West Elm, Pottery Barn also mails out the most recent version of its catalog to movers in a big envelope. Along with a personalized welcome letter, a discount coupon is included.

2. Tap Into EmotionThe big seven emotional copy drivers in marketing — guilt, flattery, anger, greed, exclusivity, fear, salvation — make people act. Greed’s an easy one to pick up on, as in this example from GEICO.

“[M]oving even a few blocks could affect your car insurance rate”, the letter warns. And what new mover, who has already spent a lot of money, can resist an opportunity to save $500?

Envy is not one of the big seven motivators. Nevertheless, it’s a good one in this context.

Think about it. An attractive lawn and yard are often considered an important part of one’s status and comfort in a new home. People want to keep up with the Joneses.

TruGreen mailed a variation on one of its typical mailings promoting its lawn treatment services. The front panel of the self-mailer shows a woman peering over a brick wall with the caption “I wish my new lawn could look like my new neighbor’s lawn. I better call TruGreen.”

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7 Simple Direct Mail Ideas to Drive Local Business

To find and keep customers, local businesses have a lot of options available, with direct mail still at the top of the list. According to BIA/Kelsey, a research and advisory firm, in 2016 direct mail will constitute 25.6 percent of local market ad spending (out of $146.6 billion).

For some marketers, shared or co-op direct mail programs are a good way to go, and the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail program has lowered costs for others.

That said, as the director of Who’s Mailing What!, I’m bothered that I see a quite a lot of solo direct mail that misses opportunities to really stand out well in the customer’s mailbox against efforts from national and big regional brands.

Based on some of the best local mail from my files, here are some good design and copy practices local companies can use to drive traffic to their doors.

1. Sell Benefits, Not Features
This is basic marketing, and it can’t be said often enough: you need to explain to customers not just what you do or what product you have, but why it should be important to them.

In this example, a postcard mailed by Shreiner Tree Care describes one of its pruning services: “Proper thinning and pruning improves the safety, health and beauty of your valuable trees.”

Bonus: The mailer puts a personal face on the company by showing the names, photos and emails of two of its arborists.

2. Tell Them What You Do
Let’s face it: There are just some tasks we can’t, or won’t, do ourselves. Whether it’s housecleaning, painting or plumbing, we rely on local businesses to provide these services.

To build confidence in the customer’s ability to choose from a variety of service professionals, HVAC contractor A.J. Perri mailed a postcard listing “21 Individual Operations we Perform on Your Furnace.”

3. Deliver Essential Information
Another contractor, Affordable Water Heaters & Plumbing, mailed this giant (6”x11”) yellow sticker. When applied to the front of one’s water heater, it starts doing its job.

On the left side is a list of things to look for to avoid trouble. Most of the remaining surface area tells the prospect what to do when an emergency arises, and in California, that means earthquakes. Helpful arrows point to vital parts of the water heater and its connections. This allows the homeowner to assess any problem as well as describe it to the company, whose many local phone numbers are listed across the bottom of the sticker.

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Talking Baseball … and Direct Mail?

They’re not exactly two things that you would think go together, but when I got a postcard from my hometown Philadelphia Phillies in the mail, I knew it would make for a good story. Or maybe two.

So here’s the deal.

For a couple of months, I’ve been providing direct mail pieces from Who’s Mailing What! to my colleague, Ashley Roberts of Printing Impressions (a sister brand of Target Marketing) for use in her video series on PI XChange. The only requirement is that they demonstrate an interesting printing technique.

This postcard jumped out at me for several reasons.

First, it came from the Phillies, my favorite team. I’ve always been a fan, even if it sometimes has meant a lot of time waiting for them to jell into a pennant contender again.

Second, the printing. I love the spot gloss that was applied in spots on the front.

Third, the clever messaging. It’s promoting game tickets to a business audience. Yes, business and pleasure are two things that definitely go together.

Anyway, long story short: I showed this mailer to Ashley, and we agreed that both the printing and marketing audiences of our brands might be interested in learning more. She did all of the legwork, getting all of the important information on who designed it, who printed it, and how.

Last week, we and our great video production crew were privileged to be guests of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia. We talked with Tina Urban, the team’s Director, Graphic Production, and got more insight, as well as the nitty-gritty details about both aspects of this mail piece. And we got to wear our Phillies gear!

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Top 5 Reasons People Don't Trust Your Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail marketing is considered the most trustworthy marketing by recipients, so why wouldn’t they trust your direct mail? There are actually many of reasons for this. We will focus on the top five reasons, as they are the most common.

1. Superficial/Unbelievable Content

People don’t want to be misled. It makes them very angry. Your message is your brand promise — it cannot be vague or open to interpretation. This also includes over promising — bait and switch tactics are very bad.

How To Fix It: People buy from companies they believe. Be direct and specific with your headlines, calls to action and copy. Be realistic with your statements and promises. Authentic and direct messaging is the best way to build trust. Do what you say and say what you do. Under promise and over deliver is your best bet.

2. Too Busy

You have included too much information for them to process. It’s too hard to figure out what they need to do. It gives them a headache just to look at it. It appears that you are trying to throw information at them and may be hiding something in all that copy they don’t want to read, so they throw it away.

How To Fix it: Use less copy with bullet points for a quick scan. Be specific in your call to action on what you want them to do and why they should do it. Use fewer images and make sure that they work with not only your branding, but also with the copy and tone of your message. Clear and compelling messaging is necessary to make the right impression. You only have a few seconds before you end up in the trash.

3. Dated

When was the last time you updated your design? If you have been sending direct mail for years, many times the control piece ends up being the same as it was in 1995. That’s not good. The impression you give with an outdated look isn’t nostalgic — it’s suspicious. This can be especially true of letters. Don’t be an old school form letter. You will end up in the trash.

How To Fit It: Check your copy for out of date wording. Does it flow like 2016 language or do you need to change it? Look at your competition. How does your direct mail compare to theirs? Make sure you have relevant information — these days information gets old quickly.

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3 Great Ways to Pose a Question in Direct Mail

Sometimes, even when you think you’re a very detail-oriented person, you realize that there’s something else that’s escaped your attention. Take the direct mail that I read every day. I’ve made lists of all kinds of features that our Who’s Mailing What! database doesn’t capture, but I never started one for direct mail that asks questions effectively.

I could think of a few examples off the top of my head, almost all of them in teasers. But I had to do some serious digging through my file folders to begin to get a handle on what works well in creating reader involvement, and eventually, inspiring action. And although I’m not close to being done, here are some early observations on what I’ve found.

1. Appeal To Emotion

This is a no-brainer. It’s pretty common across all verticals to leverage one of the seven main copy drivers (guilt, flattery, anger, exclusivity, fear, greed and salvation).

Here’s a postcard from Volvo that taps into fear of hitting a runner moving across the front of your vehicle. “Are your brakes ready?” it asks. The promotion is for a multi-point brake inspection, so that your car is “ready for whatever comes your way.”

I have to mention this. A membership renewal effort from the Republican National Committee begins with a question that’s good at inspiring some guilt: “I don’t want to believe you’ve abandoned the Republican Party, but I have to ask … Have you given up?” This letter is a long-lived Grand Control, in the mail for over 15 years.

2. Make the Reader Curious

You have some information to provide about your product, your service, or your nonprofit. To attract the attention of the prospect, you can make them want to know more.

This teaser question from Consumer Reports on Health, “Do you make these 10 common mistakes about your health?”, is a variation on one originally written by Max Sackheim for a mail order course more than 80 years ago: “Do You Make These Mistakes In English?” It’s been copied by lots of others, mostly unsuccessfully, over the decades.

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