Just to say thank you to the 16 business owners who travelled to Milton Keynes to the CIM Regional event that I was speaking at last night. The topic was on low cost marketing ideas to avoid the ecconomic downturn.  I think the marketing seminar went down well and gave people some new ideas to take away.

The copy

Which do you find easier to read – Chaucer or The Sun editorial?  My guess is that whilst we hate to admit it, The Sun will win out every time.  I’m not suggesting that you copy their writing style, but elements of it are admirable. It’s clear what they are about.  They use short, punchy sentences.  There is little ambiguity over what is meant and you don’t need to re-read any of it because it was clear the first time.  At school we are taught to expand our vocabulary and write to impress.  With direct mail copy almost the opposite is true. You want to use words that everybody will understand and that people won’t stumble over.

One good way to discover any pitfalls is to read out loud what you have written and see if any bit makes you stumble.  If they do, re-write it until the whole letter flows smoothly.  Another important aspect is to use sub-headings to break up the text and use a PS at the end of your letter.  When it’s all written, look at it without reading the words.  Does it look like hard work to read? If it does, see if you can break it up with spaces and breaks.  

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

The headline

You cannot sell to people if you haven’t got their attention. The headline is there solely to catch people’s attention.  Newspapers use headlines to communicate what they stand for and the type of stories that you will find inside.  The headlines actually sell the papers: once you have bought the paper, each story headline sells each individual story.

If you don’t have a clear benefit driven headline at the start of your letter you can wave goodbye to about half of your readers, so spend time getting it right. It has to appeal to your perfect customer so think up a series of headlines that sum up what the letter is about.  Create at least 10, but you may write as many as 100 before you find one that perfectly sums up what you want to say.

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

The offer

What do you want to say? Why are you contacting these people in the first place?  You should always have a reason for writing to people.  Is it something new that they can have?  Is it a special offer or a reduced price, a new item in stock for a limited time?  Whatever it is, the offer is probably the most important area.  If you get the offer right then you are off to the best start.

Make your offer as eye catching and imaginative possible.  Make it time sensitive and difficult to say no to. Make it believable and above all make it easy to understand. To assess this, show your letter to a stranger: they should be able to say what you are telling them about in about 5 records if you are to have a chance of winning over people with your direct mail letter. 

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

The offer

What do you want to say? Why are you contacting these people in the first place?  You should always have a reason for writing to people.  Is it something new that they can have?  Is it a special offer or a reduced price, a new item in stock for a limited time?  Whatever it is, the offer is probably the most important area.  If you get the offer right then you are off to the best start.

Make your offer as eye catching and imaginative possible.  Make it time sensitive and difficult to say no to. Make it believable and above all make it easy to understand. To assess this, show your letter to a stranger: they should be able to say what you are telling them about in about 5 records if you are to have a chance of winning over people with your direct mail letter. 

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

What to say in direct mail?

There are various things that you can write in your letter that will make it more widely read, but bear in mind that about 50% of people will never even open your letter – it will go straight in the bin or will be partially looked at and then thrown away. The more you can make your letter look like a personal communication from one person to another, the better.

Having said that, there are certain ideas, tips and techniques that you can use to improve readership and response rates.

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

Direct mail vs. e-mail

Traditional direct mail letters are quick compared to other marketing media but slow against e-mail. With direct mail, you can include more material and more details.  You have a physical presence in their home /office.  You can send your message out to named people or a job title. It is more expensive to send out than e-mail, but can be used to start the marketing process.

With e-mail, a cold list tends to elicit a poor response so it is more worthwhile sent to opt in people. It is very fast to send out and free or very low cost but response rates are generally far lower as people get inundated with e-mails every day.  For every letter you receive, you are likely to get around 20 e-mails. In order to make an impact with e-mail, it’s best to make it look as much like a ‘normal’ e-mail as you can.

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

Some areas of direct mail that are worth testing:

The list of names it is sent to

The headline

The time of year / month / week
The offer

The copy inside the letter

The supporting material

References quoted

The envelope

The follow up method

Timing of the offer

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

Keeping focus in your letter

Whichever approach you use, it is important to remember that the communication is not about you or your company.  It is about how you can help the person receiving the letter.  How you can save them time or money or assist them in some way.  Explain to them how you can help them in their specific situation and you will have a letter that is read.  Tell them all about how wonderful your company is and you are quickly heading for the bin.

In addition, it is very important to focus on one central message.  You can add in other advantages later in the letter or in the sales pitch, but initially your letter should be focused on one specific area.  

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.

Why direct mail works

Direct mail or e-mail communications work best when you are able to identify a specific, real and current problem – and then suggest a solution to it. By communicating with somebody directly – from you to them – you are able to write to them as an individual and make a compelling case for an answer to a problem they face. If your argument grabs their attention and then talks to them in their language about their problem, you have a much higher chance of getting a response from the prospect. 

When it doesn’t work is when it becomes junk mail: a bland letter sent to anybody who will read it and that talks only about what you do, paying no heed to the problems of the person you are contacting.

This material comes from one one of the Marketing Mentor Marketing Seminars.