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Direct Mail Response Rate Boosters (10 of them)
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By Alan Sharpe
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1. Mail to a different list
Your list is the most important part of your direct mailcampaign. Who you mail to is more important than what you mail.So if you are persuaded that your offer is attractive, yourcreative is compelling and your timing is spot on, mail to adifferent group of people and see what happens
2. Change your offer
The offer is the most important part of your direct mail packageafter your list. So if your response rates are lacklustre,change your offer (my thanks to fellow direct mail copywriterBob Hacker for this counsel).
3. Improve your creative
Maybe your response rates are depressed because your package isdepressing. Why not mail something else, something radicallydifferent? Instead of a letter, mail a postcard. Instead of aself-mailer, mail a dimensional mailer. Even hire a brand newdirect mail copywriter, someone who will add a fresh set of eyesto your challenge. Just make sure that your new creative isdifferent enough from your existing package that you¡¯ll knowthat it made the difference when your response rates change.
4. Mail at a different time
Timing is vital in direct mail. So check yours. Are you mailingto the right people at the right time of the year and the righttime of the week? Check and make sure. test your hunches bymailing during a different time slot and see what happens.
5. Offer better payment options
Offering payment by credit card boosts response. Offering acredit or ¡°bill-me¡± plan will improve results by 50% or more(says Richard Benson).
6. Offer a premium
Instead of a cash discount, offer a premium (such as an AppleiPod).
7. Give something away
Free is still a powerful word in direct mail.
8. Offer a guarantee
Remove the hesitation that some prospects have by offering ano-questions-asked money-back guarantee.
9. Improve your credibility on paper
Read your package cover to cover, including the cover, and askyourself (or better yet, ask someone else), why a strangershould trust you. Then overcome that distrust with testimonials,your credentials, third-party endorsements, accreditations andother facts that build trust.
10. Make ordering easier
Is your order form too busy? Have you frustrated prospectivecustomers by giving too few ways to order (only mail, forexample, instead of mail and fax and phone). A change here canmake a dramatic difference.
11. Ask for the order sooner
Read through your sales message and see how long you are ingetting to the point. Experiment with putting your offer andcall to action further up in the message.
12. Add to your package
The temptation when response rates are lower than expected is toreduce the size of the package. Instead, add something to themailer, such as a brochure, buckslip or liftnote (if you don¡¯tknow what these things are, visit the Direct Mail Glossary atwww.sharpecopy.com/glossary.html). You are more likely to boostresponse by adding to your package than you are by making itcheaper.
? 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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