Direct Mail Marketing

[Nick_Johnson]

Good afternoon all I’m looking for some advice with regards to a direct mail marketing campaign our company is looking to run in the next few weeks. The flyer is about to go to print but the question I wanted to ask is. How Should the Leaflet Arrive?
The printers are asking me would you like space on the back of the flyer for an address and franking stamp or are you going to send them in an envelope? Do any of you guys have any preference to how this should be done and which would provide the best results.
Thanks again
Nick

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

To be honest you would be better off having them distributed door-to-door. If you're sending out leaflets via postage then it's going to cost much more than it needs to.

If you have a sales letter in a hand-written envelope, then you should post it out as a well-written letter will tend to convert better, so it's worth the additional cost.

In your scenario, the space on a leaflet is very valuable so I would not waste some of it for the sake of a franking stamp. If you pop it in an envelope then you will probably maintain a high read-rate and potentially draw more attention to your leaflet.

If you are using an envelope however, you would be better off slotting in a sales letter as I mentioned before. The leaflet can draw some rough attention to your services, then the sales letter can really draw them in and get them interested.

 

[Nick_Johnson]

Thanks you for your advice, it is valued a lot. A sales letter sounds good, but I would imagine you would have to think outside of the box when writing it as your Flyer will already be proving a lot of infomation about your companys products and services.

What would you look to include on this letter, special offers etc?

Nick

 

[Joe E]

Depends on your target market if its B2B then mailers are the best option also dropping into businesses and leaving them with the owner/manager after a chat.
If its B2C then Door Drops is a good option! along with targetted locations depending on the nature of your business e.g. leaving a pile at the front desk for your target market to pick up.

Whats the nature of the business and where is the target market?

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

Thanks you for your advice, it is valued a lot. A sales letter sounds good, but I would imagine you would have to think outside of the box when writing it as your Flyer will already be proving a lot of infomation about your companys products and services.

What would you look to include on this letter, special offers etc?

Nick

It doesn't really have to be anything magical or kooky; just something which influences them into making the sale when they read it. A leaflet lets them know the features and major benefits of your services, but a sales letter elaborates on this and really fortifies these benefits.

Think of it like buying a car. You wouldn't buy it based on a leaflet; you would go through brochures, pamphlets, test drives, etc. When someone is going to fork over large sums of money they require information of this magnitude. If you're selling a £40 printer then a leaflet might do, but you're selling hundreds/thousands of pounds worth of services, you need a bit more.

Leaflets usually don't have enough space to accomplish this. If anything, they should be used to generate some luke warm leads who will visit your website or give you a call. A good sales letter will convince them further and make them think "I really want to buy this, where do I sign?".

Don't forget, if your leaflet only has features about your services and nothing else, then it will not sell a thing. It must have a headline which grabs them and benefit-driven copy which appeals to them on an emotional level.

 

[Nick_Johnson]

Well to give you a little bit of back ground information we are an I.T Support Company who specialise in supplying IT Network Support to companies who don't have such a service in - house.

I have gone for the setup you have just mentioned with regards to the large headline grabbing title, this is been shouted out of a mega phone. I have decided to dedicate the whole front page to the headline meanwhile having a typical scenario where we could benefit their business on the rear.
Within the sales letter I could include some more in-depth information along with some prices indication, but I can play around with this until I'm happy.

I think I prefer the envelope method after discussing it, it should allow me the opportunity to capture the readers interest initially with the flyer and hopefully they shall read the letter afterwards. I will also be able to follow everybody up in a week's time to find out if we can be of any assistance.

Nick

 

[Joe E]

Thanks Nick for the insight, yes given your target market sounds like a better way to go, incidentally scott who has contributed on this thread as well knows his stuff! you got some great advice there.

Kind Regards

Joe E

 

[Call Tracker]

I would construct a well written sales letter introducing the company with the flyer attached. Ensure you have a killer offer and send to a pre-qualified list for a better hit rate. Follow-up with a friendly call and you will increase your conversions. Marketing anything at the moment is hard work and needs to give the recipient a really good reason to pick up the phone. Use the 'so what' mentality when writing the letter with regards to your offering.

Good luck!

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Good afternoon all I’m looking for some advice with regards to a direct mail marketing campaign our company is looking to run in the next few weeks. The flyer is about to go to print but the question I wanted to ask is. How Should the Leaflet Arrive?
The printers are asking me would you like space on the back of the flyer for an address and franking stamp or are you going to send them in an envelope? Do any of you guys have any preference to how this should be done and which would provide the best results.
Thanks again
Nick

I really don't like flyers for this market (and for B2B in general).

A postcard would probably be a far better format to use.

I wrote one for someone in your industry. It was followed up by a phonecall and got ~6% conversion rate (for an IT audit) to a pretty untargeted list.

Steve

 

[Nick_Johnson]

Use the 'so what' mentality when writing the letter with regards to your offering.

Good luck!

Please could you possibility elaborate on this a little more?

Thanks
Nick

 

[Nick_Johnson]

I really don't like flyers for this market (and for B2B in general).

A postcard would probably be a far better format to use.

I wrote one for someone in your industry. It was followed up by a phonecall and got ~6% conversion rate (for an IT audit) to a pretty untargeted list.

Steve

Steve how were your postcards sent may I ask? Did they arrive in a envelope or were they sent like a holiday postcard.

I cant help thinking that if they are sent as a holiday postcard would then a vast amount wont even get read and get filed straight under (B) for Bin. I am trying to imagine what I would do if I received the very same infomation through our office door tomorrow and I am sure I would be more inclined to read the one which arrived in a envelope with a sales letter.

Do you disagree with my thoughts if the same happened to you tomorrow?

Nick

 

[Call Tracker]

it's a technical term! What I mean is when you read back the letter make sure you are offering something that the recipient will respond to rather than think 'so what'. Make sure the letter and flyer conveys the benefits to the potential buyer not just telling them what the product/service is.

For example: Ask us to do your in-house BECAUSE:

1. it will save you money on employing staff to do it
2. we are available 24/7
3. we can protect your network against viruses saving your business time and money

Obviously I don't know much about your services but the point i am trying to make is that you must shout the benefits to the end user.

Sorry if I am telling you what you already know - just trying get the point across!

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Steve how were your postcards sent may I ask? Did they arrive in a envelope or were they sent like a holiday postcard.

I remember we discussed both options and I remember seeing a couple of different envelope designs during the planning stage, but I can't remember whether we used either of them.

I cant help thinking that if they are sent as a holiday postcard would then a vast amount wont even get read and get filed straight under (B) for Bin.

Why?

What's the difference between someone throwing a it in the bin and someone opening your envelope and then throwing it in the bin?

I am trying to imagine what I would do if I received the very same infomation through our office door tomorrow and I am sure I would be more inclined to read the one which arrived in a envelope with a sales letter.

I didn't realise that "flyer + salesletter" was one of the options. If you're sending a salesletter, what's the job of the flyer?

Ultimately, I think it's down to your offer (what you want the prospect to do), why they should care about the offer (the "so, what" response) and the steps your sales process.

Do you disagree with my thoughts if the same happened to you tomorrow?

If a salesletter or postcard is targeted to me and has my attention, I'll read it.

I've no prejudice against postcard mailings and lots of people use them. (with differing levels of ability)

Steve

 

[SOC-Jim]

Hi there,

I have a mortgage business and I use Send Out cards to market to existing clients and prospects.

I can direct market to 200 contacts (say real estate agents and accountants etc) using mail merged and personalised postcards for USD 0.31 plus postage.

I am in Australia and our cards are printed here so a postcard costs me about AUD 0.95. (including postage)

For you postage would come from the USA so cost would be as little as USD 0.31 for postcard and around USD 0.95 for postage.

You could use greeting cards for just USD 0.31 extra which are addressed to the recipient and enveloped. They will open it as people like to receive cards.

In summary I will do a postcard mail out to 200 individuals for about AUD 200. I can do this automatically at intervals so lets say my marketing to my potential referrers will cost under AUD 1000 for a whole year if I contact them 4 times.


Food for thought.


Cheers
Jim

 

[iArtist]

Nick

It's fairly hard to advise 'specifics' without knowing what you sell and to whom

I recently gave some advice to a chap who previously sent out 80,000 leaflets with NO response.

He had no response for a number of reasons

1. Maybe 79,000 were NOT his target audience

We spoke about this and I suggested a sales letter accompanied by his leaflet (few changes to that) backed up by a website for them to refer to for yet more info.

I also suggested

Sales letter MUST contain a time dependant offer, so that the client must act NOW.

It is also essential to include a business card which contains details of this offer and services (in brief as space limited) as letters and leaflets go in the bin sooner or later but a business card just might end up on the fridge or in a wallet.

2. His leaflet highlighted his company name more so than his service.
He didn't have a brand so his service should take priority for the skim reader!

3. No special offer on his leaflet

etc.


I suggest you

Locate your market, tailor your sales message towards them specifically


Include in envelope -

• sales letter - with offer
• leaflet - with offer
• business card - with offer

DON'T be afraid of repetition, chances are only one piece of content will be read so don't risk that offer being missed!

Good luck

Leah