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Copywriting Services: Direct Mail

Direct Mail That Works
By Paula Zargaj-Reynolds

How do you know if you should be using direct mail? Direct mail is the ideal advertising medium when you want to reach a highly targeted, finite audience. That's why direct mail is so often used in B2B marketing.

Direct mail is too expensive to use for brand advertising alone. Rather, direct mail should be used when you want to elicit a specific response from your target audience members (e.g. ask for a sales call, make a purchase, redeem a coupon).

The single most important element of direct mail success is a good list. Because no matter what you say, if you're not talking to the right people, you’re wasting your time. And a lot of money.

The second most important element is the offer. Your offer is the inducement you're using to get your target audience to respond to your direct mail. It could be anything from a lowly offer of 'more information' to a lofty 'free plasma TV.' The largest direct marketers are constantly testing and refining their offers to maximize their response rates. Other companies rely on smart offer development, such as the 'Elite Player' merchandise described in my Customer Loyalty/Retention case study.

I can't think of a single instance where a direct mail effort would not be improved by the inclusion of a letter. Direct mail is a personal medium; to most people, an envelope or box that arrives in the mail without an accompanying letter seems rude and impersonal. Which is great news for marketers because the letter provides you with one more way to get your message across.

Don't be afraid of long letter copy. I’m about to share with you the most difficult-to-believe, counter-intuitive fact about direct mail: in test after test (direct marketers love to test stuff), long letters beat short ones. That is, multi-page letters consistently generate more responses than one-sided letters. You don't believe it, do you? Few people outside of direct marketing do. But it's true. It makes sense if you think about it. If you're talking to people about something that is important to them, they keep listening. Or reading.

When comparing direct mail results, remember that response rates are only part of the story. The cost per response is a better indicator of success when you're comparing two or more mailings.

Some other proven direct mail truths...

• Closed-face envelopes get opened more often than window envelopes.
• Personalized direct mail generates better results than that which is addressed to, say, 'Resident' or 'Office Manager.'
• A first class postage stamp (a 'life stamp' in direct mail lingo) results in more responses than a bulk rate indicia. Interestingly, there's little difference in response rates between a first class postage stamp and a bulk rate postage stamp.
• Adding a post script (P.S.) to your direct mail letter will typically lift response.
• Most direct mail should be timed so that it does not arrive during the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.
• Because so many people go away for summer vacations, summertime direct mail campaigns generate lower response rates than those that mail during most other times of the year. This deters many marketers from mailing during the summer months - which means less competition for you if you chose to mail during the summer. Whether or not you should mail during the summer is more of a judgment call than some would think.
• If your objective is to generate sales, don't include a "Send me more information" option in your direct mail solicitation. It will suppress your sales.

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Paula Zargaj-Reynolds is an award-winning, Boston-area copywriter who creates business communications materials that work. With more than 20 years of experience, as both a senior creative professional in the advertising agency world and as a freelancer, Paula has worked with a diverse list of clients in an equally diverse number of media, including print, collateral, direct mail and web. Visit PZRservices.com for more information.