Direct Mail Strategy: Boost Readership, Jump-start Response

Best practices for copy in all media, especially direct mail and e-mail

July 2008 By Pat Friesen

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• “Free” is the most influential word in the English language, not the word “complimentary.”

• Create sidebars and links that support your business objective; don’t lead your reader away from your call to action.

• Tell your reader what you want him or her to do and how to do it. Repeat the call to action on each component of your mailing and on each e-mail or Web page.

• Sell your offer, not your product or service. Your offer is a package of elements, not just free shipping, a discount or free gift.

• Start key sentences, headlines and bullet points with a strong verb.

• Be specific; give examples.

• Avoid being clever for the sake of being clever. Fifty percent of your readers won’t get it.

• Include a guarantee. Prospects require it. Established customers appreciate being reminded that you have one.

• Use testimonials to add credibility, answer tough questions and anticipate objections.

• Read copy out loud to ensure it’s appropriately conversational.

• If it’s important, say it more than once, but state it differently.

• Add benefit captions under photos. Readers are drawn to images, then look below to learn more.

• Create a writer’s rough layout for general copy positioning.

• Write copy that’s long enough to tell your story effectively. Studies show interested readers trust longer copy, even if they don’t read every word.

• Make it simple to respond whether in person, by phone, mail, e-mail or on a landing page.

• Test the most important copy elements first (headline, teaser, Johnson box, etc.).

• Remember the job of the direct response copywriter is to generate either immediate or delayed response—not win awards.

One more thing: Some of what you just read probably doesn’t fit with what you learned about writing in your college English composition class. That’s OK. You’re not writing a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.

Direct response copy uses words to influence the reader to take action—whether that’s pick up the phone, visit a store, click on a link, mail in an order or visit a Web site.

Full disclosure: I taught compulsory English composition to college freshmen at 7:30 a.m. for two years.

Figuring Out the Difference
Did you know there’s a difference between direct mail and direct marketing? While the terms are often used interchangeably, they shouldn’t be. They’re not synonymous.

Direct marketing is an interactive marketing system or process that uses one or more types of media to generate a measurable transaction at any location, with this activity stored on a database. This definition isn’t mine; it was developed by direct marketing legends Bob Stone, Martin Baier and Pete Hoke Jr. It’s interesting that direct marketing was defined as being interactive even before Internet-related media. Direct marketers have always asked customers to interact with them.

Direct mail lists are one type of media used by direct marketers. Other direct media includes e-mail lists; social media; radio; TV; newspapers; magazines; even billboards and inserts in statements, newspapers and packages.

Even at professional conferences, you’ll hear people refer to “direct” as though it were only direct mail and that anything that requires Internet access is in a world of its own. Au contraire! Applied appropriately, many of the same basic principles and best practices apply both on- and offline.

Pat Friesen is a direct response copywriter and creative strategist. She can be reached at (913) 341-1211, via e-mail at pat@patfriesen.com or by visiting www.PatFriesen.com.