Over the years...
I have heard dozens of clients and direct marketing friends share with me some of their most painful learning experiences in Direct Mail Marketing. Some were obvious...some were not. They've made these mistakes so you don't have to! Learn from the following missteps and increase your chances for success using direct mailing lists. Or, you could pick and choose as many as you like and try then out to prove to yourself that they deserve to be on this list. The first two Don'ts are cardinal rules, and the remaining five are more subtle ways to sabotage your direct mailing efforts. Ignore these at your own risk.
1. Not knowing your target audience.
If you don't KNOW who your target audience is, you better find out before you start marketing. All marketing whether it be direct mail, email, broadcast TV or radio is aimed at a target audience. The delivery vehicles may be broad, but who you are trying to connect with is not! All content should be focused to speak to a specificly targeted group. Know your audience's hot spots and cater to them.
2. Mailing to the wrong mailing list.
I've heard industry Guru's bandy about the number 60% with regard to how important selecting the right mailing list is to the overall success of a campaign. 60%! Apply the knowledge you have acquired from your research to identify prospects that most nearly resemble the key attributes of your customers as possible. If buying response mailing lists (lists of actual buyers of a product or service or subscribers, etc...) does not fit your marketing budget, then work with a Compiled list professional to mirror the demographics and/or psychographics of your customer profile if you are purchasing a consumer mailing list or the SIC's and sales volume and/or company size if purchasing a business mailing list.
3. Not writing to a clear objective.
Before you begin to write your mailing piece, know what the objective is you want your prospect to take. Are you looking to get the prospect to contact you by phone, email, reply card etc...? What do you want them to call for? Are you looking to get them to take a purchasing action? Are you trying to motivate or compel them to visit your location? Make sure your writing speaks to a specific goal. Make sure you know where you're going with each piece you write, then stay focused. Don't meander. Keep it simple.
4. Price before offer.
I don't know anyone who buys an unknown entity because it is cheap, do you? Price may be your chief selling point, but until your prospect knows what they are buying, price is irrelevant. Make sure you tell them about your product first. Then you can talk price.
5. Price before benefits.
Benefits sell. Price sinks the hook. Not the other way around. People buy benefits. You need to tell your readers what makes your price so great - in terms of benefits to the reader.
5. Wrong objective.
Asking for the sale instead of selling the call can be a fatal mistake. Unless you're sending a long, hard-sell direct mail piece your objective should be to engage the reader and compel them to contact you for additional information. Rule of thumb--do not ask for the sale in a postcard or short letter, you ask for a call. Offer the product, show the benefits, and sell the call hard. Cultivate your prospects and then close them. Don't bang them over the head with an anvil and expect them to buy.
6. Wrong headline.
The headline is the single most important element of your direct mailing piece. Solely on the basis of this one line, your reader makes the decision to continue, or not continue to read.
7. Not telling your readers exactly what you want them to do.
You should tell your readers several times (3 seems to be the magic number. In the beginning middle and at the close) exactly what you want them to do. Be specific. Let readers know exactly what action you want them to take; tell them, and tell them again.