Ask the ListGuy
“What are the most common Direct Mail Mistakes and how can I try to Avoid them?”
Successful direct mail doesn’t depend on fancy, four-color design or “creative” copy.
Mistake No. 1: Not renting the right mail/email list for you.
Do you know what the most important part of your direct mail campaign is? It is the mailing list. No matter how beautiful your graphic design is, no matter how slick your ad copy is, if you mail to the wrong mailing list, your mailing is doomed to failure. Remember, a mailing list is not just a means to reach your prospects, it IS your prospects!
The best list available to you is your “house” list—your list of customers and prospects who previously bought from you or responded to your marketing efforts.
Typically, your house list can pull double the response of an outside list. When renting outside lists, make sure to consult with the list provider to make sure you are getting the most up-to-date names available and are renting the best possible list segment or segments of the targeted list.
Mistake No. 2: Not having an offer.
An offer is what the reader gets when he responds to your mailing.
To be successful, a direct-mail package should sell the offer, not the product itself. For example, if you have a Kick boxing Gym, don’t sell that you are a kick boxing Gym, sell your offer—Free Introductory class. The offer is the free class the benefit to the Gym is the opportunity to convert satisfied class participants into members.
Make sure you have a well-thought-out offer in every mailing. If you think the offer and the way you describe it are unimportant, you are wrong.
Here are some effective teasers: free brochure, free analysis, free consultation, free demonstration, free trial, free sample, free catalog…it doesn’t always have to be free.
Your copy should state the offer in such a way as to increase the object reader’s interest to respond to whatever it is you offer.
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