The Art of Getting Opened and Being Read
You can write the most brilliant letter, have the most generous and enticing offer and add the most wonderful extras. But if your letter doesn’t get opened, all your work is wasted.
When you send out a mailing, even if you have a good list and your copy is perfect, a high percentage of your mail pieces will be tossed without much more than a moment’s glance at the envelope. That’s life, and no amount of creativity or brilliant copy will change that. Unsolicited mail is all about struggling to capture the attention of the glance-and-toss crowd. Even solicited mail can end up in the recycling bin if they don’t recognize what they’ve received.
What do you do?
No one technique is applicable to all situations. What makes a difference? Knowing your prospect. Say or do the right thing and your letter gets opened.
A good list is vital. Your mailing list must contain real, living and breathing prospects. Only a real prospect will make it all the way to the sale. If you are writing about a revolutionary type of embalming fluid, for example, you will only interest someone in the embalming business. You might have a curious reader who will read all of your copy if it is well written, but you won’t get a sale.
So you have a strong list and you’re ready to tackle the packaging. There is no proven way to get it opened short of showing some money through the envelope, and that’s just inviting postal theft. Even if it arrived safely, the effort to open the envelope to get the reward could easily eliminate any possibility of the recipient bothering to read and respond to your message.
Begin with form. There’s the thickness of the envelope, the shape of it, the type on the outside, a window showing what is inside, the promise of something new, entertaining, or interesting inside. What about no type at all? A plain envelope is a mystery. Who is the letter from? Why did they send it? Is your prospect the curious type? This could pique their interest.
You have to get them to open your envelope. And keep their interest. And then keep them reading. With a blank envelope, you’ve delayed the need for enticing copy to the interior, but you can’t escape it. It’s always a challenge.
If your prospects wouldn’t go for the mysterious approach, you need a teaser on the outside of the envelope, one that lures the prospect to open it and keep reading. It requires clever writing. The copy needs to capture your prospect’s interest and get them to continue reading. Speak directly to them and ensure you’re making an offer they can’t or won’t want to refuse.
Remember that your entire envelope must be designed to be read. It must not confuse or detract from the message. Flashy graphics and wild colors will not necessarily get your envelope opened. If your prospect cannot easily read what you have written because of poor design, it won’t matter what you say.
Albert Saxon is president of Saxon Marketing, Springfield, MA.
