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Getting your direct mail letters opened and read can be a challenging thing to do. If you’ve never really put much thought into getting your letters opened, then maybe you should. In this article, we will take a look at some tips that you can use to get your direct mail letters opened so that you can have a good conversion rate for your campaign.

I know I said that getting your letters opened was hard but another thing that you have to keep in mind is getting them delivered. Believe it or not, the mail man throws out alot of the mail that they perceive as being junk mail. So you should do whatever it takes to make your mail seem like relevant mail.

One easy way to do this is to use a real live stamp on your envelope. A live stamp shows that you took the time to put it on there personally and it conveys a message that it is personal. When you put a label on your envelopes, it screams bulk to both the mailman and the intended recipient. And when the mailman’s sack gets heavy, what mail do you think he will throw out first? That’s right, the bulk mail.

You should never mail your letters out via bulk rate. Bulk rate will end up getting your letters sent into the dumpster. And this can be from the mailman or even your prospect.

To get the best kind of return from your direct mail, use a live stamp as I mentioned above. A live stamp will cost a little bit more but it is virtually guaranteed to get your message to your intended recipient. When you intended prospects get your piece of mail, he is sorting it out over a dumpster. This is how you have to portray your reader with your envelope.

He is sorting out his mail and is looking for only the ones that he seems relevant. If he receives an envelope with a live stamp on it, then more than likely he will open it and read it. This is profound implications because this one factor alone can increase your response rates of your direct mail campaign.

Another thing that you can do to improve your chances of success is to use a plain envelope. Don’t use an envelope that has a window on it. This kind of confuses your prospect because he has no idea what the message inside is all about. So he will more than likely open your mail out of curiosity. And isn’t that what you want – to have your letters opened?

Another thing that you can do is hand address your prospects name in blue ink. This takes the personalization effort to another level. It conveys the message that it is personal and relevant, and that they should open it now. A prospect will stop what they’re doing just to open an envelope like this – this is why it’s so effective.

If you want to have the most success with your direct mail campaigns, then you will follow the tips listed in this article.

By Adrian Hargray

To make your direct mail offer work, you have to have a good sales letter. A strong sales letter is the cornerstone of a rock solid plan and you should invest time to develop a good one for the product that you are selling. Even though there are 2 other factors that play a role in your direct mail success, it’s the actual words on the paper that will get you the sales you need to stay in business.

The other 2 factors that I’m talking about is your mailing list and the actual offer itself. It’s pivotal that these 2 factors are on target so that you don’t waste money sending your message to a group that won’t hear you. This is called “marketing on deaf ears” – if your list is bad, how do you expect to make any money?

Similarly, if your list is good, but your sales letter can’t convey your prospect to buy, then what is the purpose of it? One of the best things that you can do for yourself is to gain an understanding of who it is that you’re selling to. You want to know their wants, needs, and problems so that you can address them in your sales letter.

A good strategy for getting your readers interested in your sales letter is to inform them more about the problem that they are having. When you educate your reader, you remind of their problem and allow them to get roused up for your message. This is a great way to turn your prospects on to your letter and to get them interested into what you have to say.

When educating your readers, you will want to mention to them the options that they have available to solve their problem. All winning direct mail sales letters does this, and you should position your product as the best solution for the problem. You can do this in a variety of ways. You can offer comparisons, you can give them testimonials of previous customers, you can show them the value in terms of cost, and a whole lot more.

You will stand out in your prospect mind because very few business owners go out of their way to help their prospects. You will be perceived as someone who is helpful and who is really looking out for their best interest. This educating of your reader is a great way to separate yourself from your other competitors, and to gain a receptive ear from your prospects.

Another thing that your direct mail sales letter has to do is to eliminate all barriers that stand in between you and your prospect. Your prospects will have some doubt in their mind especially if this is the first time that you’ve sent your letter out to them. You have to do whatever it takes to remove this doubt, and one of the best ways to do it is with customer testimonials.

With testimonials, you allow your customers to do the selling for you. Testimonials show that you stand behind your word 100% and that you deliver on what you promise. This is a good way to scare competitors off also and to gain a receptive ear with your prospect.

Another thing that you can do to remove doubt is to offer a guarantee. Letting your prospects know that they take no risk is a huge move in removing all doubt from their mind. All prospects want to know that if they wanted to, they can get their money back from you. So give them what they want and they will give you what you want – sales.

All of these tips for making your direct mail sales letter a success is pivotal to your business operations.

By Adrian Hargray

Using good envelope design can have a major impact on the success of your direct mail campaign. Good envelope design means that your letters will get opened, and more opened letters can mean a higher conversion rate and more sales for your business. So in this article, we will take a look at some tips that you can use to improve the overall effectiveness of your envelopes.

All of these techniques have been tested and proven, so you can lay rest assured that they will work for you too. Here’s the first tip for direct mail envelope design success.

1) Use a real stamp

Never use labels on your envelopes. A real live stamp means that you took the time to put a stamp on it, and because of that, your prospect will deem it as relevant. You have to imagine your prospect sorting his mail over a garbage can, and throwing out the ones that look like bulk mail. Ask yourself this question: Does your mail look like bulk mail?

If it does, then you should consider changing it right now. Another reason that you should use a live stamp is so that you can get your envelopes delivered. If this sounds weird, then believe me – it’s not. The mailman will actually throw out mail that they don’t think is first class mail. When the mailman’s sack gets full and he can’t carry anymore, which mail do you think he throws out first? That’s right, the bulk mail. If your letter has a stamp on it, then you can avoid this situation all together.

Even though a live stamp costs more than bulk rate, it’s very much effective for getting the results that you’re looking for. You should always use a live stamp over a label on your envelope. It also just looks better. Let’s take a look at another technique that you should use when designing your direct mail envelopes.

2) Teaser copy

Teaser copy is merely words on the envelope that entice your reader to open it up. Your teaser copy can say alot of things. It can be as simple as “first class mail”, or as sophisticated as “your free gift is inside”. Proper teaser copy on the envelope is known to improve conversion rates, so you should consider putting it to use on your envelopes today.

3) Use blank envelopes

Blank envelopes with no windows give the impression that it is personal. You can even take this personalization effect to the next level by handwriting your return address and the prospect’s address in blue ink. This strategy is sure to get your envelopes opened immediately.

It will also give you the best result for getting your mail delivered also. Blue ink for some reason is better than black ink, and it is just better for your overall direct mail success.

All 3 of these tips for good envelope design can help you to get the response rates that you are looking for when doing direct mail.

By Adrian Hargray