| A mailing list of valued customers is | | | | |
| probably one of the most valuable assets your | | | | - An attention-grabbing headline. |
| business could own. The fact of the matter is | | | | |
| that a loyal customer will typically spend 5 | | | | - A sub-headline stating your unique selling |
| times more in your business than a new | | | | proposition. |
| customer. So how do you start to build a list | | | | |
| of loyal customers for your business? | | | | - Text that invokes desire in the reader and |
| | | | paints a picture in words of them using your |
| One of the most effective ways of building | | | | product or service and enjoying its benefits. |
| your customer list is to use direct mail. It | | | | |
| is the ideal tool for testing a new market; | | | | - Testimonials of customers that have already |
| announcing a new product or changes to an | | | | benefited from using your product or service. |
| existing one because of the huge numbers of | | | | |
| people you can reach with one mailing | | | | - Have a compelling offer. |
| campaign. | | | | |
| | | | - Provide a clear call to action that tells |
| But running a successful direct mail campaign | | | | the reader exactly what you want them to do |
| is not as simple as purchasing any mailing | | | | next. |
| list, writing a mail shot, and sending it. To | | | | |
| be successful, your mailing campaign needs | | | | Tip 4:Grab attention with design |
| careful planning. | | | | |
| | | | With any direct mail campaign, the design of |
| These are our six tips to planning a | | | | the message is also important. It needs to |
| successful direct mail marketing campaign. | | | | grab a reader’s attention while |
| | | | visually clarifying the written message that |
| Tip 1: Identify your “perfect” | | | | you are trying to put across. |
| customer | | | | |
| | | | 1. Use one visual detail like a photo, |
| The first step in any direct mail campaign is | | | | cartoon, or graphic to dominate the page. |
| to look at your existing customer base and | | | | |
| identify a profile for your “perfect | | | | 2. Never use more than two typefaces, one for |
| customer”. You have already been | | | | headings, and another for text. |
| successful in selling your product or service | | | | |
| to this type of person or business. If you | | | | 3. Include lots of white space to make a |
| can identify other customers or businesses | | | | lasting impact. |
| with a similar profile then it stands to | | | | |
| reason that many of them will have a similar | | | | 4. Ensure that your text is easy to read. |
| need that you can for fill. | | | | |
| | | | 5. Use bullets, bold type, and underlines. |
| If selling to consumers you need to consider | | | | Keep paragraphs short. |
| characteristics like their age, income, and | | | | |
| geography. When selling business to business, | | | | 6. Display your logo prominently and do not |
| also take into consideration features like | | | | forget your contact details like phone |
| the type of business and number of employees. | | | | number, mail address, web site and email. |
| | | | |
| Once you have established what your perfect | | | | 7. Make responding to your mailing campaign |
| customer looks like, you can then purchase a | | | | easy by including a stamped addressed |
| mailing list to match. The closer match your | | | | postcard or fax back form. |
| mailing list is to your profile, the better | | | | |
| response rate you are likely to obtain from | | | | Tip 5: Test your market |
| your direct mail campaign. | | | | |
| | | | Always test your direct mail marketing on |
| Tip 2: Know who you are sending to | | | | small groups changing one thing each time and |
| | | | measuring the response you get back. The |
| The difference between junk mail and direct | | | | three basic elements of any mailing campaign |
| mail is that junk mail is not wanted and goes | | | | that you should test are: |
| directly into the bin but direct mail is | | | | |
| wanted and is read. Avoid your direct mail | | | | 1. Your List: Keep your offer the same and |
| marketing being seen by your recipients as | | | | compare to a different mailing list. |
| junk mail. | | | | |
| | | | 2. Your Copy: Keep your mailing list the same |
| Always make sure that you know the name of | | | | and change your copy. Try different headings, |
| the right person to send your direct mail to | | | | discounts, gifts, samples etc. |
| and address them in person. Never address | | | | |
| your mailing campaign to a job title, as it | | | | 3. Your Style: Try a humorous approach or a |
| will be instantly discarded. And do not rely | | | | serious one. Change the photos, ink or paper |
| on others to pass your message on to the | | | | colours, envelope design etc. |
| right person – they won’t! | | | | |
| | | | Tip 6: Always follow-up |
| Tip 3: Write copy with impact | | | | |
| | | | Always follow up on your direct mail with a |
| Copy is the argument you write to sell your | | | | phone call a few days later. A single |
| product or service. To be noticed, your copy | | | | conversation can improve returns |
| needs to be made up of all the following | | | | dramatically. |
| parts: | | | | |