Archive for category: Direct Mail Letter

Direct Mail Premiums As Response Devices

Everyone loves a freebie, even the most simple and basic items that aren’t worth a great deal are well received when they’re free. From a consumer’s point of view, premiums build trust, create excitement and make the receiver feel valued as a potential customer. From a business point of view, they act as a great way to start a positive relationship and build brand awareness.

Lumpy Mail

When businesses send ‘lumpy mail’ with premiums like free samples or free merchandise, research shows that open rates are much higher. Even though direct mail is, of course, tangible, ‘lumpy mail’ makes it even more so. However, the cost and time involved in sending a campaign with premiums included are much higher. With this in mind, rather than focus on sending premiums as a tool to increase open rates, why not use them as a response device?

Opens vs Responses

Open rates are, of course, the first goal when it comes to any direct mail campaign. From here though, any open would be less valuable if it didn’t result in a response. Responses are your next goal, and of course more important than opens. 10,000 opens and 100 responses are far poorer than 5000 opens and 500 responses. You can see where we’re going with this…

Enough responses = a return on your investment. So focusing all of your attention on using premiums as a way to boost open rates could add a lot to the time and expense involved in sending a campaign without the desired result. Of course, you know this. But what if there was a better way, a way to almost guarantee that every receiver of a premium is a ‘warm lead’?

Here’s an Idea….

What if you made receivers call or visit your website to claim their premium? Short snappy messages such as ‘Call to Get Your X Today’ should push responses rather than opens. Open rates might well be lower because you’re losing that ‘lumpy mail’ advantage, but expenses should be less and responses higher. With this approach, you’re only incurring extra costs for those clients who are truly interested in your offer. Overall ROI could well be higher as a result of higher quality leads.

We couldn’t say without a doubt that this approach would work better than sending a premium in the initial campaign, but it makes sense to give this a try. The only real way to know what will work better for you is to test both methods in an A/B split test style approach, keeping everything else the same throughout the campaign. We recommend you start testing small quantities to find something that works for you and then turn up the dial once you have a winning formula.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.

June 3, 2019 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Tips, Direct Mail Tools, Interesting Mailings

Basic Principles for Reaching the Right People

Put simply, marketing is the process of effectively communicating your product or service to a customer. This could be through branding, advertising or product position. Marketing is not just the advertising and promotions that take place. How your business is perceived all comes down to marketing and positioning your service or product as you want it to be viewed. Conducting market research also forms a part of marketing; it’s very much a collective term.

Understanding the problems of your customers

Have you heard the saying ‘sell the problem you solve, not the product’? One of the major principles of marketing is understanding the problems your target market faces and using that to create something (be that a product or service) which solves that particular problem better than a competitor.

Every business solves a problem of some sort, even if it’s not immediately obvious at the surface. However, there is a difference between knowing the problem and really understanding it. How does the problem make your customers feel? How does it impact other areas in their lives? Conducting market research is one of the best ways to gain a full and true understanding.

If you offer a quicker service for something that’s usually drawn-out and stressful, don’t focus your messaging on the ‘quick service’ part. Again, focus on the problem you solve; ‘less stress, less worry’.

Demonstrating Value

Showing the value of your business is key to acquiring new customers. This can be challenging because there are limited ways to do this successfully. Offering trial periods or free samples is one way to hook in would-be buyers, but this can be costly. If you go down this route you would need to monitor the ROI closely. If this approach doesn’t work for your business model, you could showcase customer reviews and case studies as a way to create ‘social proof’ of your value.

For example, if you have a 5-star rating on a well-known platform, you could include this in all marketing material, both online and offline.

Building Positive Relationships

When you generate a lead you are forming a relationship with a customer. When you send out promotional content you are starting that relationship. Before a buyer commits to any kind of purchase they already have some form of a positive relationship with that brand. At the point of transaction, you have built trust between you and the customer. You have created an understanding that you’re aware of and care about the problems that the individual faces.

Many brands continue to build on that relationship with follow-up content that does not directly sell. Tips, tricks, and support in the form of newsletters, direct mail, and social media content. This is possible when you know exactly who your buyers are and you really understand the other challenges they face that surround your industry.

Here’s a very specific example that covers the 3 principles discussed above:

A local acupuncture business wants to reach more pregnant women who are suffering from morning sickness or lower back pain. They understand that for women struggling with these problems it has a huge impact on their ability to continue work leading up to their maternity leave. It can leave them feeling very low and take the enjoyment out of their pregnancy due to constant suffering. To demonstrate value, the practice offers 70% off the first session and promises to help women enjoy their pregnancy to the fullest, taking away the symptoms that are causing stress and discomfort.

After a customer has completed a course of acupuncture, a monthly newsletter offers them advice on staying healthy as a new Mom and looking after their mind and body as they face new challenges.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.

May 23, 2019 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Tips, Mailing Lists, Newsletter

How to Create Direct Mail That Stands Out

How can you send mail that builds trust, delivers your intended message and grabs attention? Is there a formula for success when it comes to winning with direct mail marketing? We think so! Of course, there are other factors involved in a successful campaign, like mailing to the right target audience and having a product or service that is worth investing in. Assuming you’ve got those things covered, how can you create mail that stands out?

Postcards That Punch

You can be as creative as you like with a postcard design, but generally, you can pack a lot of punch into a postcard campaign. They are low-cost but can generate a high ROI due to their attention-grabbing capabilities. You can use these in between bigger sends; for example, if you post catalogs then postcards in-between catalog sends could keep customers interested.

Personalization applies to postcards as well. This can include the text, like the name of the recipient, and in some cases the image or offer used. If you’re sending offers to previous customers this might include something different to what you would send to new potential customers. You can personalize many aspects of postcards.

Be Bold

We have already learned the formula for success is 70% list, 20% offer, and 10% creative. So, if we have the right list and the right offer, how do we use a creative to grab attention and close the deal?

Bold colors, bold images, bold words. Think bold if you want to be heard. It’s no good sending out a piece of mail that looks like every other piece. So, forget what you already know about direct mail and re-define the space for yourself. The first rule to standing out is not to be afraid to stand out in the first place! This means no holding back during the creative process.

To use a postcard as an example, think of it as a little (or little giant) billboard in the mail. The advantage to a postcard is that you don’t need an open to get an impression. The person receiving your postcard will see your message – we already know that. So, make it stand out from the crowd. Use personalization, use color in unique ways, use an image that grabs attention and begs for a spot on the fridge. Now that is the gift that keeps on giving.

Snap them Back

Snap-packs stand out for a different reason to postcards. They look like official letters from places of authority. With a snap-pack, you have limited space to work with. You need to be direct and to the point. Chatty just will not work with this format. It will look like an official document (PIN number, rebate, contest notification, …) on the outside. You will probably want to continue with that theme on the inside – official: direct and to the point.

You’re almost guaranteed opens so you’ve covered that first difficult step. Once opened, you need to generate a response through wording and content that still engages. Don’t just connect, make the recipient take action. We need an offer so compelling people have to respond. Make the offer so good that they will have regrets for weeks if they don’t respond.

Crystal Clear

A message that is simple but absolutely crystal clear will win. Use headlines and subtitles when necessary. Bullet point to reduce wording (for example on postcards). Don’t confuse the receiver in any way, use a strong call-to-action that is EASY to action. (take action on).

Extreme Messages

So even though your message needs to be crystal clear, that doesn’t mean it can’t be EXTREME! Extreme messages get attention. However, you must deliver on that message otherwise you lose trust and value. In the online world, it’s known as ‘click bait’ and often extreme headlines or video titles do not deliver on their promises. This only annoys the receiver and as we said, breaks trust. An example of an extreme message could be the following: ‘Change Your Life Today’. If your product or service is genuinely life-changing, then this could work really well. If it would be underwhelming in reality, then you wouldn’t go for this technique.

Headings should be concrete, and benefit-oriented.

Be Debt Free in 30 Days
Cut Your Mortgage Payments in Half
Experience the Best Vacation of Your Life – For Free

Sometimes the use of numbers, and concrete concepts help with visualization and credibility.

If you have tried sending mail in the past that seems to follow the rules above but hasn’t resulted in any success get in touch. We have mailing lists that might suit your product/service better and can offer expert advice when it comes to design, mail type, and deliverability. Creative design is easier said than done, so let our experts guide you if this isn’t your forte.

Right now, we’re offering YOU a FREE, no obligation, direct mail assessment. Our DM experts will spend up to 2 hours consulting with you, critiquing your current DM piece (message, offer, response device), your target audience, and suggest ideas for even more powerful future campaigns. ($280 value) Contact us today on our toll-free number.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.

May 1, 2019 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Postcard, Direct Mail Tips, Direct Mail Tools, Mailing Lists

The Call-to-Action in Direct Mail Marketing – Are you Winning?

The call-to-action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of any promotion. It doesn’t matter if it’s an online or offline promotion, without a call-to-action your audience is left with no direction on what do to next. With offline direct mail marketing, CTA’s aren’t about just ‘clicking here’ and taking action in this way, but they are still about direct actions and direct results.

The Rules of a CTA

To start, ask yourself, what do you need customers to do first? If you’re in real estate and your end goal is to close that sale, how does that process start? Possibly it’s with a phone call. Your CTA would, therefore, need to be something like ‘Call Us Now’ followed by a phone number. In this example, the CTA could be even more enticing, so read on to find out how to take this further. Remember this key rule for a CTA: a CTA should be big, bold and explicitly clear!

Eye-catching creative isn’t enough if it fails to deliver responses via a strong call-to-action. It might stand out amongst other mail and it might well be read, but you must make it clear what the receiver should do next. They won’t take the time, or expend the energy, to discover this on their own, it needs to be explicitly clear.

So, step one is to ask what you want customers to do first. What action do you desire from them? The second part is to ask yourself, what benefit am I offering them? Finally, are you driving an incentive to make them take that action? Why should they take that action?

The incentive is called the “offer”. The offer is the second most important piece of direct response (mail, tv, …other) campaign. The CTA is an explicit request to take advantage of the offer.

The formula for successful direct response is 70/20/10 – 70% list, 20% offer, 10% creative.

We know that when we get the right offer, in front of the right audience, good things happen.

Creative helps us break through the clutter (get noticed or interrupt). The offer is what compels people to respond. The offer needs to be compelling enough that no one in their right mind would ever be able to say no – though we still need to make money. We can look at the first promotion as acquisition cost if it leads to regular ongoing orders (lifetime customer value).

The offer should be non-threatening or low perceived risk. We also need to reduce/remove any barriers. You see how people say free, no obligation, complete money-back guarantee, free signup, not credit card required…? These are all designed to reduce barriers for responders.

Enticing CTA’s

You could really make your CTA’s enticing, rather than the standard ‘Call us Now’ or ‘Visit our Website’. Add to this with powerful phrases such as ‘40% off when you call us today’. [This is the offer + CTA] You can add time-sensitive incentives or just give them a direct message such as ‘Call now for an exclusive quote’. If you don’t have the capacity to take calls, or this isn’t your desired action, then you might want to focus on driving website visits. This might seem like a difficult task without ‘click here’ buttons that you would find on a digital promotion. However, you can strategically position your web address with a CTA such as, ‘Visit our website for 20% off new sales!’.

Design is Key

The design of the CTA is also incredibly important and should be taken into consideration along with the overall design of the promotion (whether that’s a postcard, flyer or snap pack). Think about the different elements of the design, from the color of the CTA; does it pop against the rest of the design? The position of the CTA; could you place it higher on the design rather than at the end? Finally, think about the size of the CTA. You want it large enough to be seen, but not too dominating that the key message/benefits you’re trying to convey from the promotion get lost.

If you’re new to direct mail you could benefit from a FREE direct mail design session with one of our design team members here at Zairmail. We have everything you need to get your campaign off the ground, including targeted direct mail lists and free direct mail sample kits.

We have already helped 100’s of customers enhance their direct response programs and supercharge returns. Can you afford not to produce the same results for your business? Click here to schedule a free consultation and start driving greater business growth now!

<< Click Here – Grow Your Sales >>

March 21, 2019 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Postcard, Direct Mail Tips, Direct Mail Tools, Mailing Lists

Top Marketing Trends to Strike in 2019

What does 2019 have in store for us and how can we align our marketing strategies in preparation? When we hit the new year it’s almost like a reset button has been pressed and we’re ready to embrace change, dive into new projects or re-focus on areas of the business we’ve previously neglected. We hope this list gets those ideas flowing and helps combine your marketing efforts into something successful.

Direct Mail Will Build Trust

Building and maintaining trust with a customer is crucial. Without trust and belief in your business, a sale will not happen. Direct mail is a valued method of communication because typically, customers view it as more authentic than other forms of communication.

In fact, many businesses that turned their back on ‘old school’ methods of marketing are finding it’s crucial to return to more traditional methods in a very digital world.

To increase credibility when sending mail, consider adding information about your team; a friendly face of the CEO or team photo where possible. This is particularly important if you are introducing your services/products to a customer for the first time. Genuine testimonials can also help to add credibility.

Video Marketing

Video just cannot be ignored. It is one of the most powerful forms of online marketing. It boosts interaction, maintains engagement for longer and in most cases, increases conversions. By 2020 it’s predicted that video will be 85% of all consumer traffic within the US. So, how can you utilize video effectively?

Explainer Videos: Use these on-site to explain your service or product in a short video clip. An explainer video works well for more complex offerings.

Customer Testimonial Videos: If you’ve got the time and the resources, creating a case study video, or just compiling lots of testimonials into a video is one way to add credibility.

Micro-Video: Short clips that are usually around 15 seconds long. Instagram story videos are the perfect example of this. You can use these micro-videos to grab attention very quickly and pull social media users into your offer. You can also use micro-videos effectively within paid social media advertising to do the same thing.

If you have some powerful video content to share with customers, you can use other forms of marketing just as direct mail to drive traffic to that video. Utilise an omnichannel direct response strategy, making the most of different traffic driving methods such as email, direct mail and social media.

The Rise of Smart Speakers

We’re talking smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa home speaker or Apple Homepod. These voice-assisted devices are set to completely change the future of marketing as consumers say they will never go back! We predict large companies like Amazon will start selling ad space connected to their smart speaker devices. We should also start to see a shift whereby more audio content is published online, in a bid to be accessed by smart home devices.

Integrated Marketing

We’ve mentioned that direct mail is a great source of trust, but we’ve also explained just how valuable video marketing is and other forms of online marketing. So what’s the best approach overall? The truth is you need to take an integrated marketing approach in 2019 and utilize both online and offline methods to get the most out of your campaigns.

The other thing to point out is that direct mail gets attention. Prospective customers may get 100’s of email messages a day so SPAM is a persistent problem. People hit delete without even reading the message. You have a lot less competition for attention in a mailbox. It requires a physical action to get the mail and it’s much easier to break through the clutter.

You have a lot less competition for the customer’s attention in the mailbox. It requires a physical action to get the mail. It is much easier to break through the clutter.

Align your campaigns so that they support each other. Include social media icons or hashtag references on offline material where relevant. Collect online data from customers who entered your funnel at an offline point. The more you can integrate all areas of your marketing, the more you will get out of it. Finally, don’t forget to maintain the same branding throughout to ensure smoother integration.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.

December 21, 2018 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Tips, Direct Mail Tools, Interesting Mailings

5 Simple Ways to Bring in More Revenue

Whether you own a B2B or B2C business, there are often similar small things that you can do to have a significant impact on sales. Sometimes these are less than obvious. When you’re focusing on a wider marketing strategy it’s easy to forget the simple things. Here are four easy ways to rack in more revenue.

First Impressions Count

Usually, you only have one chance to make an impact and leave a good impression. The thing is, some customer’s first experience of your business will be when they pick up the phone and call you, for others, it will be when they land on your website. One of the first things to do is make sure that all your channels of communication are aligned. If your website boasts a great offer across the homepage, this needs to be the same when someone phones in. To flip this on its head, will someone who calls up and speaks with your support team receive the same information and offers as someone who’s on your website?

Complementary Services

A good motto to live by is to ‘always go the extra mile’. Going above and beyond gets you noticed and keeps you highly sought after as a business. One way to do this is by adding complementary services or products to an order. Choose something that isn’t time-consuming or complex to deliver. The freebie should add enough value for your customer that they are impressed by the additional service/product. It shouldn’t, however, put a strain on your own business or lose you any money in the process. It’s worth checking your competitors and seeing which extras they might be already be offering to customers. If something is working well you could match or (ideally), beat that offer.

Extend Your Market Area

Limiting yourself to certain geographical areas, when there is no real need to, can be just that – limiting! Spread your business wings and try running similar campaigns slightly further afield. Just a small radius increase on the areas you target could make all the difference. As well as this, if you’ve been hitting a dead-end with your immediate local area, it’s always worth looking at places where your market is less saturated.

Check-in & Say Hello

Sometimes just checking in with a customer will remind them of something that you can help with or that they have been putting off. That could spur them into action, especially if your message has a compelling offer. You could send an email and get lost in the digital clutter, or instead, send a card or letter to stand-out and be different. The fact that you made the extra effort to send a personal letter can win extra points with your customer. It is quite common for our customers to see a surge in calls/contacts when they send out a monthly newsletter in print.

Offer Bundle Deals

Some products and services just go together like peanut butter and jelly. It’s a fact! That’s why many mortgage brokers might also offer home insurance deals. That’s why websites that sell shoes might also sell handbags. Companies that sell phones usually sells phone cases too. You get the picture! So, when offering deals and pushing out that initial promotion, it can really pay to bundle items together and offer a discount. This way you are increasing the overall value of each transaction. It’s similar to upselling, but instead, you offer that bundle from the very start. Don’t force people to buy bundle deals, offer them as an alternative that’s better value for money.

Even before you begin working on marketing campaigns, do the legwork so that your price point, target market and products/deals are always at top of their game. Don’t get left behind as things change. There has never been a more dynamic time for businesses than the present day. Change is constant and as a business, you constantly need to innovate, reassess and check that everything still fits with your overall vision and goal.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.

September 27, 2018 / Direct Mail Letter, Direct Mail Postcard, Direct Mail Tips, Mailing Lists, Newsletter

Stop Wasting Money & Grow Your Business

When you send out a direct mail campaign you’re typically looking at two things to determine the results. The cost per lead and the cost per sale. ROI (return on investment) is your number one priority. Typically, when a campaign proves profitable, those initial leads that did not convert are lost or forgotten. Sure you might follow up once, or post out another campaign later down the line, but is that enough?

If you receive 100 calls from a postcard mailing, you will work out the cost for each of those by dividing responses by the total you paid for the mailing. This gives you a ‘cost per lead’ figure. If 20 of those leads converted into sales, you would divide 20 by the total cost to be left with the CPS (cost per sale). Let’s assume in this case you’ve made a healthy profit from the 20 sales. What happens with the remaining 80 leads? You have paid for these leads, so letting them disappear into the background is simply a waste of money.

It is much easier to close a lead who has already reached out to your business. It actually involves less effort and lowers costs to remarket to this group of people. Consider this before sending out a completely new campaign and starting from scratch again. You need to create a funnel so you have a step-by-step approach to following up each lead.

Remarketing Funnels

A good funnel will optimize a range of different communication methods, so let’s explore an example below.

After your business receives that initial call you will have collected some vital further information such as an email address and contact phone number. This enables you to follow-up initially via email before reaching out and calling them directly.

Lead calls in > Follow up via Email > Call them directly > Follow up via Email > Second Phone Call > Send them a follow up direct mail

Regular phone calls can be the quickest and most effective way to close a lead because you can contact them directly, at any time and find out what might be holding them back. Sending out further emails or a second form of direct mail can work too, but this is a one-way form of communication.

Email autoresponders are a series of emails that are delivered at certain points following a lead. You might create a schedule so that each follow-up email is delivered automatically 2 days later, a week later, 10 days and so on. Each one should be designed to build on the previous message and generate action at that point of contact.

Just as you can drip-feed email campaigns, you can do the same with postcards. If you do a follow-up with postcards, (or another form of direct mail) be sure to recognize that the lead has already contacted you. Don’t send out the same campaign that you would mail to new prospects.

Categorizing Leads

A good approach, if possible, is to categorize your leads into A, B & C categories to make follow-up simpler. This is common in B2B marketing, but something similar can be applied to B2C.

A leads have the need and have the budget so will most likely make a decision within the next 30-60 days. This timeframe will, of course, depend on the product.
B leads have the need but do not yet have the budget so that decision will take longer.
C leads have the need but no budget and therefore they have no plans on making a decision anytime soon.

Based on this, you should follow-up with A leads immediately and focus the majority of your attention here. B leads should also receive a follow-up, but you can take a little more time with these. B leads are ideal for a drip campaign that is spread over several weeks/months. Finally, C leads might not require a call or follow-up at all but can join the list for regular communications like your newsletter. One day C leads might become A leads! Of course, these parameters will change depending on your business model.

The content of your follow-up funnel is crucial. Special discounts and limited time offers can entice leads to take further action more quickly. However, not all leads will become sales quickly, some might not take action for weeks, months or even years. Never give up on your leads unless they have asked to be removed from your database. You never know how close someone is to making a purchase.

Zairmail (www.zairmail.com) is the fastest and easiest way to send (real) postal mail. Give us a call anytime at 888.898.0066, we would be happy to help with your direct mail needs.