Direct Mail Strategy: Give ’em a Sneak Peek

Lure prospects inside your envelope

July 2007 By Pat Friesen

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In a recent survey entitled “Because It’s Personal: A Study of Consumer Use and Preference for Envelopes,” conducted by the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation, two-thirds of the survey participants indicated they open envelopes received by mail “if they think the contents might be interesting.” That’s a potential for a 66 percent open rate.

The average person invests less than three seconds deciding whether to keep or toss your mail. One way to increase the odds in your favor is to give recipients an immediate sneak peek of the package’s contents. With this in mind, here are a few types of envelopes you can use to provide this potentially profitable preview.

Clear Carrier

Prepared to bare your soul … and the contents of your mail piece? Use a clear carrier envelope. Even if it costs more, it’s an investment that’s worth a test, especially when your envelope contains an intriguing product sample, free gift or unique action/retention device.

Think about it. Which is more compelling and more powerful? Using the teaser copy, “Free CD Inside,” on a traditional envelope or showing the actual free CD inside your envelope along with other contents?

The Teaching Company repeatedly has mailed its Great Courses sample lecture CD inside a clear polybag carrier. If the company’s a true direct marketer that tracks, measures and analyzes its results, these repeat mailings must mean polybag carriers work and are cost-effective.

If you’re not a fan of the plastic bag appearance of The Teaching Company’s poly carrier, you have plenty of other choices. Univenture’s EnvyPak envelope is a heavy weight, clear carrier that looks and functions like a traditional envelope and also can sport four-color printing. The company’s Web site says it’s available in various sizes, including two that can be run through automated inserting machines.

Another example of a mailer effectively using clear envelopes is The Heritage Foundation. For years, the fundraiser has mailed a 12¼˝ x 9¼˝ clear, plastic outer that seals with an official-looking, day-glow sticker imprinted with copy that reads:
WARNING: Contents of this package are monitored. Any tampering will result in prosecution under Federal Postal regulations. $2,000.00 fine or 5 years of imprisonment or both for any person who tampers or obstructs delivery; U.S. Code Title 18, Sec. 1701.

While most of the envelope’s contents are hidden, the warning sticker and a First Class postage stamp paper-clipped to the contents provide an intriguing preview.

Tip: When designing mailings with clear outers, check with the U.S. Postal Service to see what can and cannot show through. For example, if you include a business reply card or envelope, the business reply permit and mailing address should not be visible or your mailings may be delivered back to you instead of to your targeted recipients.



Translucent Vellum

Vellum envelopes are another see-through option with a classier look and feel than a clear carrier. Perhaps that’s why they frequently are used by marketers of high-end consumer goods and by nonprofit organizations mailing invitations for upscale fundraising events.

While translucent vellum envelopes cost more than plain paper, they let you showcase the four-color printing, foil stamping and embossing featured on the piece inside. It’s a simple and effective way to more than double the impact of your printing investment.

Tip: Again, make sure the contents are designed specifically to show through the vellum envelope. Don’t simply stick in an existing brochure or invitation. As with every direct mail piece, it’s not the vellum envelope that drives the success or failure of your mailing—it’s having a sound creative strategy and applying it appropriately.



Picture Window

Hershey’s Collectibles devotes one side of an envelope to framing a brochure inserted inside the mailing in a large window (see below). This is another way to capitalize on the four-color printing or special offer tucked inside to attract your reader’s attention—and do it without paying for four-color printing on the outside.

Tip: Make sure the piece showing through the window is designed to maximize the opportunity provided by the picture window. Too often, the idea for a picture-window test comes after the piece showing through already has been designed and printed. The results are less effective. And don’t get stuck on showcasing the front cover of your four-color brochure. Depending on how your letter is written and designed, this may be an opportunity to spotlight your Johnson box benefit message or a series of powerful testimonials on the back of your brochure.



Double Window

This envelope format frequently is used for mailings that include membership, gift, discount or other special identification cards, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the same concept to meet your own objectives.

Tip: Check out what’s in your own mailbox. Ask your print production manager or buyer for new ideas. Request samples of double window envelopes from your vendors. Look for unique ways to double the impact of what’s inside your carrier envelope by using a double window.

Remember, assuming your mailing and offer are properly targeted, as much as 66 percent of your audience says it’s likely to open your envelope if it thinks the contents might be interesting. It’s your job to provide the preview that gets them inside.

Got an interesting envelope story to share? E-mail me; I may use it in a future column.

Pat Friesen is president of Pat Friesen & Co. She can be reached at (913) 341-1211, via e-mail at pat@patfriesen.com, or by visiting www.patfriesen.com.

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