Direct Mail Works Like Magic ...
If you have a quality mailing list and a proven
sales letter!
Peter Schruender Laurel, Maryland
INCREASE YOUR MAIL ORDER PROFIT If you are getting started in a new mail order
business or are a very successful mailer already, no matter what you're selling, you need
a quality mailing list to find new customers. Your offer may be just the thing people
want, but if you're mailing to a stale list, your mailing will not be successful. We can
help !
Introduction
We have written this report to assist you in making your next mailings more successful.
It is based on the most frequent questions we are asked by our customers and our many
years of experience in the mail order business.
On a daily basis we try to help our customers to select mailing lists that will make
their mailing a success. We hope you too will become a customer.
Factors that Determine the Success of a Mailing
Besides a quality mailing list there are several other important considerations which
influence the success of your mailing. Following are the most important factors:
There is no question that if you do everything else right but the potential customer is
not interested in y6your offer, your mailing will still not succeed. If your offer is of
no benefit to the recipient, is too expensive, is of no interest, etch., it cannot
succeed. The product, service or opportunity you are offering must represent an important
benefit to the reader.
Since the mail order buyer cannot see the product or service, cannot touch it, and
cannot smell it the presentation of your offer is of the utmost importance.
Your offer should be presented in a professional manner. The customer will form a quick
opinion of your mail order company by the material he receives. Your sales letter and
other promotional material should be clearly written so your reader will fully understand
the offer. Sloppy and unprofessional mailing pieces will be a definite turn off the
reader. Daily, millions of pieces of direct mail land in the nearest waste paper basket
for just that reason.
If you are writing your own promotional material or sales letter, the most important
rule to follow is:
- Place the emphasis on the reader and stress what your offer will do for him. All the
major benefits must be clearly stated in your offer. Selfish marketing, that is writing
about yourself or your company, is of no interest to the reader.
Everything about your presentation is important: The envelope, the sales letter, the
brochure or circular, etch.
There are experts and consultants in Direct Mail who will put Substantial emphasis on
the appearance and presentation of the envelope. It is suggested that the envelope will
decide whether the recipient will open it or not. In my opinion, as long as the envelope
looks professional the recipient will open it.
Remember, curiosity is a part of human nature. Envelopes which are most likely to get
tossed without being opened are those that have a non-mistakable identity of junk mail.
Like those window envelopes that declare in huge bold letters that you are about to win a
Million Dollars.
Should you use a label, handwrite the name and address, or type it? I do not think it
makes a lot of difference. No question a neatly handwritten, or typed address on an
envelope will look better than a label, but this may not make a great Impact on the
overall success of the mailing, Let's keep in mind it's what's inside that will determine
if the reader will reply to you, or make a purchase from you. If you are determined,
however, to improve the chances that the envelope will get opened use the following
technique:
- Do not show name, or return address. The disadvantage with this approach is that the
Post Office can not notify you regarding undeliverable mail.
- If you do decide to use a return address show only the address. It will create
curiosity.
- If the envelope is typed or written, so much the better The curiosity factor will
definitely be on your side.
Envelopes which weigh less than 1 oz (32cents postage) should generally be mailed First
Class. The comparable bulk mail rate is 22.6 cents, but bulk mail takes longer, and even
worse, some of it is not delivered at all. The Direct Marketing Association estimates that
from 5% to 15% of bulk mall does not get delivered.
First Class is fast, dependable and makes more of an impact. If the weight, however,
requires Postage of 55 cents, 78 cents, or even more the mailer generally has no choice
but to go with bulk mail.
Seasonal Factors
A great deal is written about "mailing at the right time". I do suggest you
ignore most of the information. The truth is almost all mail order companies will mail on
a year-round schedule, except if the offer is of a Seasonal nature. We recommend you mail
on a year around basis. I do suggest, however, that you do not mail between December 15
and December 31. Additionally, it is advisable to plan so that your mailings do not arrive
just prior to one of the National Holidays. Based on our business over a number of years
we have ranked the months of the year in the order of highest and lowest volume as
follows:
- February - January - March -April - October and September are generally the busiest
months.
- November - May - August - July - June and December will generally be slower than the
above.
- We have, however, experienced a number of "surprises" and exceptions to the
above.
The Mailing List
Choosing the right mailing list for your mailing is critical otherwise all your other
efforts and expenses will be wasted.
There are primarily 3 types of mailing lists:
1. Built Lists: (also called Response Lists) These lists are
built from advertising and direct marketing responses/replies.
Most likely these are the lists you will be using primarily. Most mailing list
companies will either build their own mailing lists, or will buy names from various mail
order companies. The names will generally have been obtained through responses to
advertisements. Other lists which have been generated through advertising are generally
newer names and will be more responsive.
There are many sub-listings under the above, for example, opportunity seekers are
individuals who are interested in all types of new business and extra income
opportunities. MLM names (multi-level marketing, also referred to as network marketers),
are individuals who have a keen interest in multi-level marketing opportunities, etch.
2. Compiled Lists: Names from these lists are taken from
various directories, such as a telephone directory, individuals on these lists have not
responded to an offer, but they fit a certain category, such as CPA's or Physicians.
3. Buyer Lists: These names are obtained from various mail
order companies who make their customer lists available for rental. Individuals on these
lists have made a purchase.
Obtaining Quality Names
Quality mailing lists are created and maintained at considerable expense to the owner
of the list. And when you buy a quality list the results will speak for themselves.
We strongly recommend that you do not seek out the least expensive list. Such a list
could become the most expensive list you ever rented. If you rent a "cheap list"
and out of a mailing of 1,000 pieces you receive 200 "bad address returns", your
cheap list has become very expensive. Or even worse, you may not get any orders.
Most mailing lists will deteriorate at about 1.5% to 3% per month. This is unavoidable
- people move, close P.O. Boxes, and the computer operator makes errors when the data is
entered. Therefore a list of 1,000 names which is approximately one month old will
subsequently have somewhere between 15 and 30 bad address returns.
If you can determine that a mailing list company generates its names
"in-house", (generally through advertising), you will most often have a
considerably higher quality list. Ask the mailing list company what the ad says and in
what magazines it appears so you can check it out yourself.
These names should be less than 30 days old. if you buy such a list determine how old
the names are. But don't get too hung up on the age of the names. Whether a name is 5,15,
or 45 days old does not make much difference.
Are They New Names
One of the most frequent questions we are asked by a prospective buyer Is: "Have
these names been used before and will they be used again." I must be honest with you,
this is one of the least intelligent question that could be asked.
What is even worse, there are mailing list companies who claim that the names have
never been used before and will not be used again. This is a blatant lie and it assumes
that the prospective customer is a fool. Like rental car companies who rent cars more than
once so do mailing list companies rent names more than once.
There are not enough names around to do otherwise. A responsible mailing list company
will, however, constantly rotate names as to prevent over use. and (this is important)
find out what program you are using and make sure the names are not used again for the
same program.
Testing A List
I Suggest before you rent a few thousand names from company X, why not try a few
hundred; or, if at all possible 1,000. A test of about 1,000 names should give you a good
idea as to the effectiveness of the list. Tests of less than 500 names are quite
unreliable.
If mailing First Class, responses/orders will start coming in approximately 10 to 20
days. As a general rule, about 70% of your orders will come In the first 30 days and the
remainder will come in during the next several months, If mailing bulk rate, results will
start coming in after about 3 weeks and about 70% of the orders will be received within
approximately 60 days. The remainder will come in over many months.
List Performance
: The most popular question by a long shot is: "What kind of a response can I
expect?" Unfortunately, there is no way to tell. There are so many factors that will
influence the Success of a mailing. Some have been discussed here.
Other factors that may have an effect include some of the following: weather patterns,
national and local news which may Influence peoples thinking at any given time, the price
of the offer (generally, the higher the price the lower the response), etch.
Some offers allow the seller to make a profit at a response rate of 1.5%. Some
multilevel marketers report initial response rates of 3% to 10% and even higher. I
suggest that before you mail, determine all your costs and based on that you come up with
a break even figure.
The number of orders you must receive to recover all your costs. Then carefully monitor
the results. Before you roll out the big guns, be sure the figures work out okay. This may
take some patience on your part and changes in the offer. Maybe the price Is too high or
too low.
Be Positive
A positive mind set is an absolute must for any entrepreneur, but positive thinking
should not be confused with unrealistic dreams, The primary purpose of any mailing Is to
find new customers, not to get rich in a few months.
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