January to March is the most profitable time of the year to launch a direct mail marketing campaign, according to Jay Conrad Levinson, best-selling author of Guerilla Marketing. So what are you waiting for?
Here's why direct mail is one of the most valuable tools at your disposal:
1. It's easy to track, meaning that you can see very clearly the response rate to a particular campaign.
2. You can target any specific market and personalize your message like crazy.
3. It's cheap as borscht, costing as little as 13 cents per prospect.
4. Done properly, you can achieve some of the highest response rates of any form of marketing.
To help you get started, I've compiled five tips to creating a successful direct mail campaign and 3 valuable tools to get you started.
5 tips for making the most of your direct mail campaign:
1. Ensure that you’re targeting the right audience. If you don’t know your target market, it’s time to give it some serious thought. Remember, if you try to speak to everyone you usually end up speaking to no one.
2. Send a letter along with your rack card or promo piece. Mailings with letters are more personal, and they almost always outpull mailings without letters.
3. Make your envelope (or subject line on an email) interesting. Zero per cent of mailings that don’t get opened result in sales.
4. Success in direct mail comes with the cumulative effect of repeat mailings. Make each mailing distinct, but always drive home your key message or branding.
5. Always, always ALWAYS tell the recipient what to do next. “Call now,” “Visit our Web Site” or “Download our free guide” are examples of what’s known as the “call to action.” It seems obvious, but too many advertisers forget this crucial ingredient.
And now a few tools to get you started:
1. CanadaPost.com – Your friends at Canada Post will help you hone in on your target market, make your mailing stand out from the rest, and give you detailed pricing information.
2. Me! I’m a professional marketing copywriter, and I can help you craft your marketing letter or direct mail pieces so that they speak directly to your target market in language that will compel them to buy, Buy, BUY! Call me at 250.702.1103 for a free 30-minute consultation.
3. If you decide to do it yourself, check out "4 Tips for Writing Money-Making Direct Mail."
To learn more about my professional copywriting services, visit my web site at www.ryanparton.ca.
Another good way to give your response rates a boost is to use personal urls. An example of a Personal URL would be: yoursite.com/Jim.Smith and when "Jim" visits his personal url, the website will usually be customized to him. It also allows the marketer to track who is responding. Learn more at: http://purlem.com.
ReplyDelete