Once you’ve come up with your offer, you need to produce your ‘creative’ – the letter, brochure or physical matter/media that is sent to your prospects.
So, what is the best type of media to send? Think about the types of mail that you like to receive. The odds say that you prefer to receive personally addressed letters in envelopes, rather than unaddressed brochures or loose leaf flyers. And so, too, do the majority of your prospects.
In general, letters are much better than brochures for direct marketing purposes, but make sure that you follow these rules:
- Try to make your letter appear like a normal letter – normal letters are well received, whereas letters that are blatantly for marketing purposes are often discarded.
- Choose envelopes over no envelopes – enveloped letters have a better read rate
- The envelope is the first impression – make it look good
- Make sure that the envelope is addressed correctly. Errors in the address detail will likely see it discarded before being opened.
- Personally address your envelopes and letters – a salutation like ‘Dear Valued Customer’ is an immediate turn off.
- Handwritten envelopes, salutations and signatures will be well received and improve the chances of your communication being read and acted upon (even more so if the CEO or boss signs the letter). Obviously this strategy might not be appropriate for large campaigns where handwriting will be too time consuming.
- If printing your envelopes, make sure the the address is printed parallel and perpendicular to the edges of the envelope – it will look tacky if the address appears crooked.
- Include a return address on the envelope so that undelivered letters are returned to you – use the returned envelopes to update your database.
- Consider the tactile experience of your creative – try to think of ways to engage the senses of your reader.
- Keep the textual content to a minimum – we don’t read, we scan. Short and snappy is best. Paragraphs should be no more than 4 lines.
- Use amplifiers and fixing points, such as underlining, bolding, headings and sub-headings to draw attention.
- There is a natural ‘reading curve’ that most readers follow when scanning a letter. The ‘reading curve’ starts at the top right then top left of the letter (who is this from? Is it for me?), then progresses to the title beneath the salutation (what is this about?), down the right hand side of the letter, to the signature block (Who signed it? What is in the PS area of the letter?) and then back to the top. The eye typically lingers over the address area, the title area, the first few words of the first paragraph, key words on the right hand side of the letter body (particularly the last paragraph), the sender’s signature, and the PS area. It is proven that a PS message is often the first thing read and this is where the question ‘What’s in it for me?’ is commonly answered!
- Include a response device (eg. response slip with a postage paid return envelope) in your letters so that recipients can act upon your letter easily and quickly. Most people are time strapped and disinclined to act if too much time and effort is required – make it easy for them. Including the word ‘YES!’ in bold caps draws attention and acts as an amplifier.
- Pictures in letters and brochures are good, but they should have captions and the benefits of the offer must be contained with the picture. Use pictures sparingly for best effect. Steer clear of incongruous stock images that add nothing to your overall message.
