Writing Copy for Direct Mail Marketing

There are a handful of Must Dos when it comes to writing copy and designing products that go in the mail. There are hundreds of different packages that you can mail…postcards, letters, foldover cards, booklets and self mailers to name a few. Here are few tips for designing and writing copy for postcards. 

1. Write a compelling headline on the mail panel side. Think of it as a billboard you see driving down the highway at 65 mph. You have about 3 seconds to grab someone’s attention with a great headline. According to studies, people almost always read the side of the postcard that has the mail panel on it. Don’t count on them reading the other side.
2. Use bullet points. People don’t expect (or want) to read long blocks of copy on a postcard. If your headline draws them in to read more, use bullet points to get the rest of the message across.
3. Write about benefits, not features. Here’s the difference:
• Feature:     Our product comes with a user’s guide.
• Benefit:      Our Free User’s Guide takes you step by step through set up and guarantees your safety when using our product.
4. Break up copy with meaningful visuals. Pictures, drawings, graphs and charts can tell a story and compliment copy.  Visuals along with copy should motivate the reader to read on and, most importantly, make an inquiry.
5. Call to action. You have to tell the recipient what you want them to do and the more ways they have, the more likely they'll actually do it. If you want them to make an inquiry, give them phone numbers, web addresses, email addresses, personalized web sites, store locations and anything else available to make that inquiry.
6. And finally . . . A professional copywriter and designer can get you better results so consider letting a professional design and write copy so you get the most out of your Direct Marketing dollars.

Mike Baber

"I know we need to do something different."

This is one of the most common responses we get from customers and prospects when we're talking to them about how their marketing is working for them. Some companies that have traditionally used direct mail as the sole marketing tool have found that it is harder and harder to get the kind of response they're used to. Marketing is different these days and for the people that have always received a good response from direct mail, that's hard to swallow.

At Baber Direct, we know that having more ways to connect with a target audience means a better chance of actually connecting with them. And that means improving the response you're getting now. Having a good, solid, professional Direct Marketing Plan is the right way to start doing something different and start getting better results with your direct marketing dollars.

Doing something different can mean a lot of different things.

• Using more than one medium to connect with your audience. This is Cross Media marketing. Here are six different ways to deliver your messages:

1. Direct mail
2. Email
3. Personal web sites
4. Telemarketing
5. Texting
6. Social Media

• List segmentation. Deliver different messages to different people on your list. Don't send the exact same postcard to everyone. Segment the list into categories of people that have certain things in common like age, family status (married, married with children, single, empty nesters etc.), income and buying habits like how much they spend with you and how often.

• Survey your customers and prospects. There are a lot of ways to do this. In-store, email, personal web sites or mail. The point is, get to know your customers.

• Use Variable Data Printing so the message you send is different for each recipient. Your messages will get read and when your customers notice that you're doing something different, you'll notice something different. You'll get better results.

• Build your database with more information about your customers and prospects. Get relevant information so you can deliver a more personal message that will get read. Build a culture at your company around making your database accurate and complete.

• Get back to the basics that have made Direct Marketing effective for decades.Select the right list, make a compelling offer, determine how often to deliver the message and measure the results.

To see real life examples of "doing something different", read some of the Case Studies on our web site at www.baberweb.com/casestudies.htm.

Whether it's using Cross Media, improving your web site, creating a strong Social Media plan or using technology in creative ways, when companies learn what to do and they see improved results, they know that doing something different was the smart thing to do.

Mike Baber