Lucky 13
Direct mail is a copy-driven medium. Sure, lists and offers are paramount, but copy is the final part of the mailer’s holy trinity. Yet too many unseasoned practitioners skip the copy and go for prettier designs or new formats, and that can be a costly mistake.
Here are 13 tips to remember when crafting your next prose to beat the control:
- Sell your offer or message positioning, not your product or service
This is hard for many people to understand, but what sells your product/service is the compelling reason why I should try it. That reason typically boils down to your positioning. Test different offers. But be careful…an offer that’s too incredibly good to be true can be more detrimental to results than a weak offer.
- Establish credibility in your mail piece
Don’t assume I know you or your company. Court me as a prospect/customer and make sure you do so by establishing yourself, your company and your product as reputable. Testimonials can work wonders.
- Test headlines
Great headlines encourage additional reading. Scrutinize each and every head and ask if it’s compelling enough to hold the reader’s attention. If not, rework it.
- Always include a P.S.
The postscript is the second most read portion in direct mail (the address block and initial headline are first). Make your P.S. so powerful that the reader will want to go back to the beginning and read your entire correspondence.
- Start with a short, engaging sentence
Today, it’s all about time — or lack of it. A short, grabber sentence helps to engage the reader. Think of it like a chapter in a book. If the chapter is too long, you lose the reader and they won’t finish the book. Use the opening to hook the recipient.
- “You” up your copy
Your readers are asking, “What’s in it for me?” Answer that question by including more mentions of “you” as opposed to “me,” “I,” “we” or your company name. By including more “you” copy, you make the correspondence more personal and more relevant.
- Write from the prospect/customer vantage point
Imagine sitting at the reader’s kitchen table having a conversation with them. It will make your copy much more effective. Pass the cream, please.
- Keep things simple
Pare down your copy to make it concise. Don’t use jargon or make it hard for the reader to respond. Simplicity helps make the cash register ring.
- Tell stories
Stories are one of the most effective, under-used communication strategies available. We recall stories more effectively, so they help sell more.
- Specifics outsell generalities
“You can save $31.13” is much more powerful than “save over $30.” Being specific helps with credibility.
- Letter length can dramatically impact ROI
People don’t read long letters, nor do they read short letters. They read what is interesting to them. Test how much copy you need to convey the benefits and features of what you are selling.
- Include a brochure
Think of the letter as your salesperson. The letter sells and the brochure tells. A great direct mail letter will get the reader to search for additional details in the brochure and vice versa.
- Test, test, test!
Test copy, after your list and offers are established and before format and design tests.
