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Direct Mail Deadlines: How To Use Them Effectively
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By Alan Sharpe
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Giving your prospect a deadline for ordering, particularly whenthat deadline is a date and not simply a period of days ("Orderwithin the next 30 days"), will outpull mailings with nodeadline almost every time.
But you need to be cautious about deadlines.
If you are making a time-limited offer, give a reason. And makeit a good reason. Otherwise your readers may be skeptical. Yourtime-limited offer needs to be plausible. And it shouldn't makeyou look greedy. A good example would be a line like this:
"We need to receive your order before 15 April because ourprices are going up by 20 percent after that."
Also be prepared to see inquiries die on your deadline. If yourprospects and customers take your offer seriously, as theyshould, do not plan on receiving any more sales after yourdeadline arrives. If you extend your deadline once, and thenextend it again, you'll create the very inertia that yourdeadline is trying to overcome.
Plan your time-limited offers carefully. If your cut-off date istoo soon, your offer may arrive on or after the deadline. Irecommend that you mail first class for this reason.
And if your deadline is too far off, you'll encourageprocrastination.
??2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online andin print provided the links remain live and the content remainsunaltered (including the "About the author" message).
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