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Using internet direct mail to increase your company's profits
“I want to sell my company’s products on the Web, but how do I get potential clients to visit my site,” a client asked recently. The answer is a strategy that has proven extremely effective for many different businesses…
Internet Direct Mail.
One of the most common mistakes many businesses make is putting up a web site and then sitting around biting their nails waiting for people to come. This approach isn’t going to work. If you want people to visit your site, you’ve got to make it happen. And sending an e-mail invitation is the best way to build web site traffic and boost your company’s profits.
Of course, sending an e-mail to a random group of people asking them to “please come and visit our site,” isn’t going to work very well either. You need to get your e-mail to the right people and then give those people a reason to visit, or they won’t bother. The most effective way to achieve a high response to an e-mail marketing campaign is to follow these guidelines:
Identify Your Customers.
Many companies spend a lot of time creating an impressive e-mail marketing campaign and only think about exactly to whom they’re going to send it to at the last minute. Yet, choosing the right customers accounts for approximately 40 percent of the success of any marketing strategy.
Get your message into the right hands by using a mailing list. You can begin with your own in-house list – made up of people who have bought or shown an interest in buying from you in the past, or by asking a list broker to provide you with a compiled list – made up of people who have one basic interest or characteristic. Another option is to use a direct response list – made up of people who have previously bought items through the Direct Marketing industry. Once you’ve compiled your list the success of your campaign will then depend on how you format your email.
The From Line
Think carefully about how people will react to the e-mail address that will appear in the from line. This address acts as a filtering devise for recipients and many will instantly delete your email if they don’t recognize the person who sent it, or feel that it isn’t legitimate.
The Subject Line
Avoid using the word free or save in the subject line. Many Internet users have spam filter software, which they set to instantly delete any message with these words in the subject line. Use short statements that tease the reader similar to those used in traditional printed direct mail.
The Headline
Begin your message with a powerful headline or lead sentence and identify the benefit to recipients right up front. Offer Incentives.
To boost your e-mail’s response rate present a free offer that can only be accepted if the prospect visits your site. Other options include offering the recipient $10 off or a 20% discount, free information such as newsletters and articles, or free shipping. If you can’t think of a free offer (you can) still stress the benefits of your site: money saving ideas, tips or news, links to useful resources etc.
The Hook
State your offer in the first paragraph and provide an immediate response mechanism. Clicking on a link connected to a web page appeals to Internet users with short attention spans. Another option that works well is to encourage the recipient to pick up the phone and dial a toll-free number. Some companies are now building an online response form into their e-mail messages. These encourage the recipient to fill in their name, address, company, e-mail, phone number and any other information in the blank field and then hit a send button.
The Body
Keep the body text short and conversational. Short paragraphs and wide margins make your email easier to read. At the close of the e-mail provide another link and repeat your offer again.
Opt in, Opt Out
The two rules of email marketing are to always mail only to opt-in lists. And to make sure you provide a mechanism for recipients to opt-out. The former is easy – only e-mail to genuine opt-in lists. For the latter include a paragraph at the end of your email that tells the recipient how to opt-out. Never send an e-mail without including an opt-out option.
Graphics Versus Plain Text
Deciding whether to use plain text or graphics primarily depends on what you’re selling. For example, if you’re selling clothing or CDs, a graphic format allows recipients to see pictures of the product. But, if everyone else in your field is using graphics, you may want to consider using plain text.
What Response Can You Expect
A recent survey of advertisers conducted by the Direct Marketing Association found that e-mail marketing generated the most online traffic. In addition, research suggests that email marketing typically delivers twice the response rate of paper direct mail at about half the cost.
How to write direct mail that really, really works
So, you have something you want to sell. It may be a product, a service, or a cause. It could be a membership, a subscription, or a motor car. It might be paper, health products or the idea that the humane society or the Alzheimer’s association is worth giving money to. It could be computer equipment, hand-sewn dolls clothes or garden gnomes.
Whatever it is you are selling, you need to let the right people know you’re selling it. And one of the most effective ways of doing that is through direct mail.
Direct mail works best if you know the type of person who buys your product or service. For instance, if you sell to building contractors or pet owners you can get a targeted, personal message to them quickly and easily.
What’s more, computers make it possible for small businesses to produce professional looking mailings at a very attractive price. They make it possible to select names from mailing lists by demographic classification, frequency of purchase or by amount of purchase. Computers allow every letter in a mailing to include the name of the addressee, not just the salutation but several times throughout the body of the letter.
Here’s some tips that will help you make your campaign more effective…
Always include a letter in your mailing
This may sound obvious but many mailings only contain a brochure. This is a mistake. There’s a saying “Brochures are sent by companies, letters are sent by people.” You need a letter because a letter is personal. And because letters persuade people to buy.
Get your letterhead right
What paper, layout and design you use are very important. I recommend you steer clear of official company letterhead and design something more in keeping with your message.
If you want people to telephone, make your phone number stand out. If you want them to visit your web site, do the same. Your address is less important because even if you want people to reply by mail they’ll expect a reply paid envelope. Don’t put fax and telephone together – it’s confusing for people. Avoid using telephone numbers using letters such as, 1-800-OUR SHOP. If you absolutely must use this type of number make sure you place the numeric number close by.
Write long letters
Most people don’t want to write long letters, they worry they’ll sound rambling, or they think long letters don’t sell. But a long letter serves a purpose. If your prospect is going to buy your product, or contribute to your cause, he needs a lot of information. A short letter can’t hope to give him enough information to consider making a purchase.
A good rule to follow is: Keep selling until you run out of selling points. By the end of your letter your prospect should have more than enough information to make a decision.
Write a friendly greeting
When possible address your prospect by his name, as this will increase your response rate. If you don’t have an individual name, you’ll have to use a title such as Dear Business Manager, or Dear Creative Director. Don’t address a householder as, “Dear Householder,” Instead use, “Dear Animal Lover,” or “Dear Mercedes Owner.”
Use an attention-grabbing headline
Make sure your headline is at the top of the letter. Use it to highlight the main benefit. Make sure it’s easy to understand and tells your reader why he should read your letter. Avoid headlines that try to be clever, or funny. They rarely work.
Ask for what you want
Don’t be slow in asking for the sale. If you want the reader to buy your garden gnomes, tell him so, near the beginning. If you let him get half way down the page before telling him what you want, your letter will end up in the trash.
Write from me to you
Make your letter personal. Have one customer in mind while your writing it and address him as if he were sitting right beside you. Use the word “you” frequently. Instead of saying, “Our lingerie is sexy” say, “You’ll look sexy in our lingerie.” Change, “Our blankets are warm and comfortable,” to: “You’ll be warm and comfortable in one of our blankets.”
Get your reader to act NOW
By the end of your letter, the reader should have all the benefits of your product or service, and have become more and more interested. Now you need to get him to act. Tell him clearly and simply what you want him to do: telephone, fill in the reply card, send money, visit your web site or get a representative to call.
Finish with a PS
Make sure your PS sounds like something you “just remembered” to say. But, try not to start your PS with the word “Remember” as it shows what you’re about to say contains nothing new. Instead, use the PS to highlight a benefit not already included in your letter.
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