Crystal Balls make life easy, especially for the marketers amongst us.

But as they are total figment of our childhood imaginations, we’ll just have to make do with research and copywriting cunning.

Direct mail isn’t easy to write.

Oh yes it is!

No, it isn’t. Because if you think all  you need is a bit of blurb about your product, a price and a way for your customer to order, you’re not going to be very successful.

Basically speaking, for your direct mail campaign to work you must have a brilliant:

• List
• Offer
• Copy
• Format

There are a few ‘magic’ ingredients that are required to make your direct mail letter rock. And as I’m feeling rather generous today, I’ll tell you what they are…

Get your offer out – fast

This is so often overlooked.

Get your offer into your heading and mention it again and again and again. A copywriter is a bit like a storyteller – they’ll create drama by showing the reader what their life would be like with your product and how it would benefit them.

To achieve this you can use two different approaches:

1. A desirable product

If you are selling something people want (e.g. jewellery, holidays, cars etc.) give your reader a vision of owning your product in the header and opening paragraph. Tell them you are offering  them something that will fulfil all their dreams and desires.

2. Overcoming pain

This is great when your product overcomes a problem faced by your reader (e.g. ill health, higher taxes etc.) Begin by describing their pain, then introduce your offer which is the cure and follow up with evidence of how your product will cure their pain.

Carrot and stick

Copywriters love this one. It is a way of telling your reader that great things will happen if they respond to your letter. Of course, bad things might happen if they don’t.

For example, if you’re selling a new brand of washing powder. your offer is that it’s been scientifically proven to get laundry clean first time:

Carrot – buy the washing powder and enjoy amazingly clean clothes every time and you’ll be successful in everything that you do.

Stick – stick to your normal powder, wear dull clothes, amount to nothing while everyone else looks amazing and is incredibly successful.

As you can see, direct mail is far more than just writing a letter. Your words have to convince your reader instantly.

Although there are many different uses for the direct mail letter, they all have common characteristics that make them successful.

Of course, your list and your offer will also have a big impact on your success rate but the characteristics I will be talking about are those that make the letter powerful, engaging – a sales force to be reckoned with.

So, that must mean the copy. How you write your letter will determine whether you successfully engage with your reader. A lot depends on the words you use…

Be personal

When you are in a face to face selling situation, the first thing the sales person will try to do is build rapport. That is exactly what your letter has to do. Use language that will engage your reader and address them directly.

Remember this letter isn’t about your company, it’s about what you can do for your reader. You’re intruding on their privacy so ensure you show them that you understand their problem and will help them solve it. After all, if you want them to spend time reading your letter you have to make it worth their while.

You can do this by:

• Using ‘you’ and ‘your’ to build rapport.
• Highlight the benefits to show them what’s in it for them
• Use simple language – if you try to be clever you’ll simply turn them off
• Make sure you reflect their needs and hopes within the letter

Tell them a story

Use the good old fashioned story template to sell your product. Tell them how their lives are at the moment and then tell them about your product and how it will make things better. Make them the hero in your story and by taking action they will make everything better.

Don’t be woolly

If you’re vague in your claims no one is going to believe them. Use facts and figures to back things up; use testimonials and case studies to show what effect your product could have.

And now?

Once you’ve grabbed their attention, built rapport and convinced them your product is for them, make sure you tell them what to do next. If you won’t all your hard work would have been wasted.

Make sure your call to action is commanding – call now, email now, book now etc. Also tell them what will happen next – delivery in 7 days, we’ll call you within 24 hours…

As you can see creating a strong direct mail letter is not as straight forward as it would seem. But if you constantly keep your reader in your mind, you will be able to create something centred on their needs that will get them to take action.

Sally Ormond is a freelance copywriter who works with companies all over the world. Her copywriting services have helped numerous companies increase their sales and enjoy greater visibility within their market place.

Direct mail has always been a very effective marketing tool – but only if you get it right.

It won’t have a place in every business, especially with the advances in online marketing. But it is still very much alive and well.

If you dabble in direct mail and want your campaigns to be successful, there are three elements you should use to maximise your chances of success:

1. Make sure the content of your letter appeals to your target market
2. Make sure it is written to inspire your audience to take an action
3. Make sure you can monitor its effectiveness

Let’s take a look at each one of  these areas in more details to see how you can give your direct marketing campaign the edge.

Your target audience

Do you know who you are trying to reach?

A blanket mailing may well reach thousands of households but it’s unlikely to be the most effective way to run your campaign.

Your campaign should be targeted at a specific market segment and it should address the issues that they face. Make sure your content is benefits orientated explaining how your product will have a direct positive influence on your reader.

As an aside, the four most important aspects of your direct mail campaign are:

• Your list
• Your offer
• The format
• The copy

As you can see your list (i.e. the people you are sending it to – your target audience) is right at the top. This is because no matter how great your copy is or your offer, if you send it to the wrong people you won’t be successful. Knowing your audience is key to the success of your campaign.

Take action

If you don’t tell your reader to take an action, your direct  mail campaign won’t be worth the paper it’s written on. Just as with your website copy, once you have your readers’ attention and made them want your product, you then have to tell them what to do.

Plus make it easy for them, enclose an SAE, give them a free phone number etc. If they can respond easily they will. Make it difficult for them and they won’t bother.

And the results are…

If you don’t measure your results, how can you improve?

Monitor it by adding a code to your order form, giving a code to enter into your website when ordering, a specific 0800 number or mark your SAEs with a code that’s easily recognisable.

However you do it, monitoring your results will help you shape future campaigns to ensure you get the most out of your investment.

So next time you embark on a direct mail campaign, make sure you cover all three of these elements. Over time your campaigns will be honed to perfection but remember anything can be improved.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

OK you men out there – we know what’s on your mind. Don’t try to deny it, I read somewhere that you think about sex every six seconds so it must be true.

The problem with that is, as a copywriter, it causes a bit of a problem. No matter what I write, there’s a fair chance your mind is going to be elsewhere.

For example, if I write a sales letter  that takes about five minutes to read, my beautifully crafted sales pitch will be interrupted by your carnal thoughts fifty times!

The point I’m trying to make is that when anyone picks up your sales letter, there’s a good chance they’ll be focusing on something other than your sales message.

Getting your reader to focus

You have to get to know your reader. That’s not easy when you’re letter is likely to have an audience of hundreds or even thousands.The only way to do that is to work out the psychological profile of your target audience.

Think about:

• What sex they are
• Their age
• What are their values?
• What are their aspirations?
• How do others see them?
• Do they buy with their heads or their hearts?

By understanding what makes them tick you’ll be able to create copy that will resonate with them. Of course, that doesn’t mean to say every person who gets your letter will feel the same way about your product, but by taking the time to get to know them you stand more chance of creating something that they’ll read.

As a copywriter I am frequently asked by my clients to write direct mail sales letters.

These are quite an art form in themselves and can be quite complex to write.

But the work begins long before you actually put pen to paper or finger to keyboard.

In fact this is true for just about any form of copywriting. If you launch in without a lot of thought, you are very unlikely to produce something that will be strong enough to sell. There’s a lot of ground work to get through before you should even consider writing.

The first stage is to know your market. How can you convince someone to buy something if you don’t know what they want? But not only do you need to understand who you are writing to, you also need to identity why you are writing to them in the first place.

Yes, I know you are writing to them because you want them to buy from you, but unless you are 100% clear about the reaction you want to evoke, you may not get the response you are looking for.

Basically you are looking to identify:

What you want your reader to know

The key here is to ensure your writing is benefit-led and not feature-led. Obviously you’ll need to tell your reader some facts about what you are selling so that they can then justify their buying decision, but the benefits must come first. Also resist the temptation to tell them all about your company, they are really not interested. All they want to know is what you are going to do for them.

How you want them to feel

Getting an emotional response is the best way to get them to buy. Make sure your sales letter makes them feel they’ll be missing out if they don’t buy. You are offering them a fantastic opportunity and they must act NOW!

What you want them to commit to

Even if you write a really strong sales letter, omitting your call to action will make the whole exercise a complete waste of time. It can be as simple as ‘buy now’, ‘recommend a friend’ or perhaps ‘book an appointment with an advisor’. Just make sure it is specific and direct. You must leave them in no doubt whatsoever about what they should do, how they should do it and when.

These three simple rules will help you write stronger, sales orientated copy that will get your readers taking notice.

Being a copywriter my work has to inspire, entertain and inform my readers. It has to help them make the right buying decision, which, of course, means coming to the conclusion that that product or service I happen to be writing aboutis the one they want.

But there is a saying coined by yours truly that shows this isn’t quite as easy as it sounds:

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a reader in possession of a sales letter, will be in close proximity of a rubbish bin’

OK, so I may not have come up with that one totally on my own - I had a bit of help from Jane Austin. But it is very true - people don’t like sales letters. They turn up on your door step unannounced trying to sell you something you don’t want (I like to think that you may not think you need it…yet). It is an invasion of their privacy so there is only place for them to got - in the rubbish to be recycled into something more useful.

How to make your sales letter un-recyclable

I agree that, technically, a sales letter is going to be recyclable however well it’s written. But hopefully this post will delay the inevitable until your letter has been read and, preferably, been acted upon.

If your letter is unsolicited it is unlikely to be read.

The potential success of your letter is determined before it has been written - it’s all in the planning. You do plan, don’t you?

Don’t panic! I have a plan

The planning of your letter is vital. You’d be amazed at how many people think it’s OK to skip this step.

Cast your mind back to your school days if you can - remember that teacher (you know the one, brown suit and socks with sandals) who always told you to plan your essays, well he was right. Remember how, when you took his advice, you grades began to rise? Well, if you plan out your sales letters your sales results will also start to rise. There’s nothing worse than receiving a letter that’s all over the place - no planning means no focus. And no focus means wishy-washy nothingness.

This list of pointers will help you plan your letters.

• Who am I writing to? – your target market/ideal reader this will determin the voice you use
• What do I want to say? – focus on your reader’s needs not yours so clearly state the benefits as they will see them
• How much space do I have? – if there is a set word limit make sure you know what it is
• How do I want to come across? – what’s your tone to be? Friendly, approachable, authoritative…
• What’s my deadline? – this is vital!
• What do I want to achieve? - what is the objective of your sales letter?
  

There is a good reason why the last point is in bold - because it’s flaming important!!!!

You must know what is to be achieved by your letter if you are going to make it happen. Do you want it to change your readers’ minds about something? Do you want them to buy something, book an appointment, sign up for a newsletter…

Why am I telling you this?

For the simple reason if I don’t you could end up spending a small fortune on your sales letter campaigns in return for absolutlet nothing.

These simple tips will help you get your plan in place. Make sure you:

• Find our who your audience is
• Tell them the benefits of your product
• Tell them what you want them to do next

Before you whinge that you haven’t got time to plan - just think about what diving in unprepared might do. It could turn your unopened letter into a paper cup!

Of course there is one way that you can save yourself the time it takes to plan and execute a brilliant sales letter – hire a copywriter!