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Direct Mail Envelope Tips For Successful B2B Lead Generation
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By Alan Sharpe
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In business-to-business direct mail lead generation, moreprospects see your mailing envelope than will ever see what isinside. That's because prospects spend only a few secondsexamining your envelope before deciding whether to peruse it orpitch it.
Naturally, this tempts some copywriters to start selling on theenvelope, stressing features and benefits, even describing theoffer. Which is a mistake, most of the time.
As Herschell Gordon Lewis so well observed, "The only purpose ofthe carrier envelope, other than keeping its contents fromspilling out onto the street, is to get itself opened."
This means that, in most cases, you should not spell out youroffer when mailing to a cold list (people who do not know you).Instead, you should tease them inside, using envelope teasercopy that is so intriguing and compelling that prospects simplyhave to open your envelope to satisfy their curiosity.
Here are some tips for creating envelopes that prospects open:
1. USE VARIETY. People tire of seeing the same envelopemonth after month. If they have pitched it once, they will pitchit again. So put your sales message inside a different envelope(larger size, different color, for example).
2.BE PERSONAL. Nothing says bulk mail more than anenvelope addressed to "The Office Manager" instead of to aperson by name. Whenever possible, address your B2B direct mailto a person with a first and last name, and job title.
3. AIM FOR ACCURACY. How do you feel when sales people ortelemarketers mispronounce your name? Your prospects feel thesame way when your letter arrives with their name or initialsmisspelled. This tip was brought to you by Alan with one L,Sharpe with an E.
4. TEST YOUR TONE. Financial services companies thatgenerate leads using direct mail have found (through testing)that envelopes that look official are more likely to be opened.If you are selling insurance, mortgages, loans or credit repairservices through the mail, experiment with some envelopes thatlook formal, authoritative and official.
??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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