By: Alan Sharpe
Which pulls the best response, a postcard, a self-mailer or a
letter? The answer, you’ll be irritated to know, is clear. It depends.
The success of your mailing depends on who you mail to (your
list), what you promise (your offer), when you mail (your timing), and what you mail (your format
and creative). Here are a few questions to ask yourself to decide which format is likely the best
one to use for your next mailing.
Letter
Does your sales message need to come from one person by name? Does it need to be addressed
to a person by name? Is privacy or confidentiality a concern? Then a sales letter inside an
envelope is the way to go.
Postcard
Is your sales message short and simple, and designed to motivate your prospect to visit your
website to hear your full pitch (and place an order)? A postcard is a good option.
Self-mailer
Do you need to illustrate your sales message while keeping printing and mailing costs down?
Then try a self-mailer (a document that mails without an envelope, such as an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of
card stock, folded once on itself and sealed with a tab).
Classic direct mail package
Do you have things to say that do not really fit in a letter (technical specifications, for
example)? Is your sales message longer than 600 words? Does your prospect need to mail back a check
or order form? Then a classic direct mail package is your best choice, consisting of a mailing
envelope, letter, brochure, business reply card or order form, and business reply envelope.
Dimensional mailer
Do you need to reach C-level executives in Fortune 500 companies? Executives who have
mailroom staff and executive secretaries who screen their mail? Then a dimensional mailer may be
the most effective way to reach their desk with your sales message. One firm recently mailed a
portable DVD player in a high-end box, and enclosed a sales letter explaining that the executive
could get the remote control unit (without which the player did not work) by meeting with a sales
rep from the company who mailed the package. The response rate was high.
Catalog
Do you have a lot to sell? Do you need to show the color, shape or quality of your product?
Mail a catalog.
Unaddressed flyer
Do you have a message that needs to reach everyone in a given geographic area, such as a
business park, for the least amount of money? Consider mailing a simple 8 ½ x 11 sheet with copy
and design on one or both sides.
Email
Do you have a short sales message for your existing customers? Send them an email
(with their permission, of course).
Buck slip
Do you have a short announcement for your existing customers? Do you need to remind them
about something? Include a buckslip in your next mailing. A buckslip is a slip of paper the size of
a dollar bill, with copy and graphics on one or both sides, that is enclosed in a mailing envelope
with other materials).
Article source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Sharpe
