Canada Post gives you a powerful and effective sales force at a bargain price. Using the postman as your salesman via direct mail advertising is a great bargain. And one of the most effective marketing strategies available to most businesses, direct mail gives the marketer tremendous control over the sales process...
Properly used, direct mail and following direct mail principles can be one of the most effective and cost efficient marketing strategies you'll ever find for your business.
Here are the 3 basics of any direct mail marketing process you may choose to create:
- Audiences to mail (beyond just demographics)
- How to draft your offer
- Designing for revenue
People should also compile their own mailing list beyond just demographical outreach.
For one thing, you should maintain an up to date mailing list of all your customers and clients. Direct mail can stimulate additional business, introduce new products and services or promote sales or special offers.
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For one thing, you should maintain an up to date mailing list of all your customers and clients. Direct mail can stimulate additional business, introduce new products and services or promote sales or special offers.
You can also build prospect lists of your own in many different ways. If people call your business for information, your staff should be trained to get the caller’s name, address, and email. If you exhibit at trade or consumer shows, you might use a free prize drawing or some similar method to obtain all the show attendees’ names and addresses.
You can also compile your own list from business directories, chamber of commerce directories, association directories, and other similar sources.
Success is found in repetition. You should think in terms of mailing offers and information to the same list 3-5 times during a 12 month period, not just once.
The list or list selection is the starting point of the direct mail marketing process. Then second comes the development of a matching offer.
The offer you make in a direct mail package needs to be carefully thought out and matched as closely as possible to the interests, needs and motivations of the list. And as a general rule of thumb, the more specifically matched the offer and list are the higher the response rate.
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I want you to understand that it is not necessary or even advisable for you to engage the expensive services of graphic designers or ad agencies to create your direct mail pieces.
If you will make the format decision yourself, write the copy yourself and provide some graphic components yourself, then you have your piece prepared by printer that provide direct mail handling services.
An ad agency or graphic designer may charge you several hundred to a thousand dollars just to design a simple direct mail piece. Most small and medium sized businesses do not need to incur such costs.
You then have to write the copy that will present your offer and tell your story.
I've written all of my own advertising copies since the 1970s and have never had any formal education in advertising. I'm self-taught through studying the many excellent how-to books readily available, and through practice.
This is a very valuable skill and I urge most business people and entrepreneurs to develop the ability to write good advertising copy. There are two main reasons for this first. It's very costly to have your advertising materials written by a good professional copywriter or consultant. I charge between $3000 and $5,000, and my fees are typically lower than most other well qualified consultants in this field. Second, no matter how much you pay to get the very best outside help, no one can ever have the same feel for your business and your clientele that you do.
P.S. Don’t forget, whoever can spend the most money to acquire a customer wins.
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Written By: Dan Kennedy / Souce: Magnetic Marketing