Direct Mail Marketing ?Can it Really Pay Off? Step 2: How to design a direct mail piece that pulls. Marketing Articles | July 17 12th Fan Shirt , 2007 By now you have done your homework from the last article (Direct Mail Marketing ? Can It Really Pay Off? Part 1) and know what product to market first.? Through your research, you have figured out eve...
By now you have done your homework from the last article (Direct Mail Marketing ? Can It Really Pay Off? Part 1) and know what product to market first.? Through your research, you have figured out everything you could about the clientele that buy that particular product so you can now learn what to say to them.
There are a few keys things to learn when designing postcards for marketing.? Aesthetics is not the #1 aspect of a card.? The absolute #1 aspect is whether or not it ?pulls?.? Does it elicit response?? Does it make the prospect want to call you?? You can have all the aesthetics in the world ? beautiful colors, beautiful font Michael Dickson Shirt , pretty pictures and it could pull nothing.
To give you an example: there was this commercial that used to play over and over in Houston, Texas.? This was many years ago.? It was corny.? It was a furniture guy that sold furniture at cut rate prices.? His commercials were actually obnoxious.? He jumped up and down and said how he could save you money!? But they (the commercials) pulled.? That ?guy? ran those commercials until the cows came home and people flocked to him like he was the pied piper or something.? He became larger than life.? And even when he expanded and moved into bigger quarters, etc. ? he kept the same commercial.? Only sometimes to mix it up a bit, he would have others jump up and down and profess he?d save you money.
Case in point ? what he did worked.? He got an emotional response from the viewers that watched his commercials.? ?Save You Money!?? That was the thing that made people want to check him out.? When he said that phrase and jumped up and down with a wad of dollar bills Shaquem Griffin Shirt , people would think ?How can I afford NOT to check it out when it?s on SALE!?
So, back to your postcard ? I?m going to show you how to get your market responding to your promotion.? It?s really not that mysterious.
10 Key Elements to Help You Get the Results You Want
1. A clear, bold headline. On front of the postcard or mailer there should be one central message. The best way to achieve that is with a headline that?s not cluttered up with other text. ?It should be large enough that it?s the first thing that?s noticed.
2. A graphic that supports the message. The graphic should be very easy to understand.? It should also add to the message the headline is trying to convey. ?For instance, if you are trying to get people to understand that they can get money out of their home Russell Wilson Shirt , you could show a house bricked of dollar bills. That graphic reinforces the message more than a simple picture of a home.
You can use fear or humor to get attention.?
3. Color that pops. You need to make the headline and other text stand out by using a color that stands out from the background color. ?Look at the card and ask yourself, "What do I see first?" If your answer is not the headline, you might want to tweak the colors.
4. Subheads that lead into text. If you have a couple of paragraphs of text with no lead in, there?s nothing to entice people to actually read the copy. ?In other words Ugo Amadi Shirt , a subhead will give people a place to start reading. ?If you have a small amount of words, you may be able to get away with it.? But if the text gets any longer, the average reader?s attention span is not that long ? especially with direct mail ? so that reader will want to have some guideposts along the way.? There is something called ?eye trail?.? Your eyes need to comfortably and easily trail the postcard while reading.? Too much text all the same size looks too busy and right off the bat you?ve lost them.?
5. Benefits, benefits Phil Haynes Shirt , benefits. One of the biggest errors people make in advertising is stating features, rather than benefits. For example, never assume recipients automatically know what benefit can be derived from a lower interest rate on their mortgage. It may seem like a no-brainer.? But people have to be told.? Let them know that their monthly payments will go down; that they can save $300 per month or they can pay off their credit cards.
6. The offer. An offer is always a good idea and should represent a specific reason to call now, such as ?Limited supply?; ?Interest rates are climbing?; a ?percentage off? or an ?added gift incentive?.
7. Your company name and logo. Although this needs to be on the mailer Gary Jennings Jr. Shirt , it shouldn?t overshadow the offer. ?Customers care most about what you can do for them.?
8. Call to action. Tell prospects exactly what you want them to do. ?Call today for more information? or ?See us online? are two of the most common desired actions.? This again may sound too simple to point out, but believe me ? I have seen postcards with no call to action.? Then the customer wonders why their card didn?t ?pull?.?
9. Contact information. Provide your name, phone number, and Web address directly following the call to action. Whatever you ask prospects to do Cody Barton Shirt , give them the means to do it easily.?
10. Return address. A return address ensures you?ll get returned mail from the post office and sends a message that you?re an established professional. People feel better knowing the company they?re dealing with has an actual location rather than a P.O. Box.
How to Figure Out What to Say
How do you figure out what headline, graphic or color to use?? Well, you have to BE that client.? You have to pretend you ARE them.?