Essential Wording for Successful Direct Marketing Campaigns
Written by NetWriter on July 14th, 2007 in Copywriting Basics, Marketing, Sales Letters, Direct Mail.
If you want to increase your direct mail responses, you’ll need to know how to write (or edit) effective sales copy that gets the job done. Without question, what you say will determine a lot of how many responses you receive (other than how targeted the list is that you are sending the piece to, but we won’t cover that in this article). So let’s jump right into what’s important to catch your potential customers’ eye.
Start with a Strong Lead
Rambling hellos and this-is-who-I-am, thanks-for-reading statements don’t work with direct mail. Savvy copywriters know that you have only five seconds to get the attention of your intended audience before they move onto the next thing. If you haven’t hooked them in five seconds, you’ve lost. Start off your letter with an immediate, eye-catching benefit to the reader, such as, “Now with Company ABC, you can save over 40% on your long distance costs.”
Don’t Make Me Wait
Many sales offers ask customers to call for more information, or send away for a free guide about their company’s products and services. This frustrates consumers, especially in a direct mail piece. Instead, tell them the offer, after you’ve sold some of the benefits of the product or service, first.
Get Personal
If you want to connect instantly with your potential customer, you need to get person as soon as possible. If you have access to their name, use it. If not, come up with a catchy title that isn’t normally used, such as “Homeowner Extraordinaire”. Also, make sure that your copy is conversational, like two friends talking over coffee, so that the personal touch is carried through the entire message.
Create a Need
If your customers don’t instantly think they need your product or service, you have to create a need for them. Tell them what problem they may have, and then how your product or service provides them with a solution.
Using these four tips will not only make your copy sing, it’ll make it sing to the people who make the financial decisions. Try them out in your next direct mail marketing campaign for some interesting results.
