The Top 10 Guidelines to Making Direct Mail Work for Your Business

Originally Submitted on 1/8/99.

Every week, most of us receive many direct mail pieces in our personal mail. But many small business owners who try direct mail report that it's expensive and doesn't work for them. Why does it seem to work for large businesses, but not for small? Direct mail can work for small businesses as long as some simple guidelines are followed:

1. Direct mail is only one part of your marketing program.

For small businesses, direct mail is most effective to generate leads; it is less effective in generating a final sale. Direct mail can be used effectively to attract prospective clients to attend free seminars, order a free report, or try a discounted offer. You should also operate at least two other marketing programs appropriate to your industry (coupon mailers, yellow pages, internet site, etc.).

2. Start with a small mailing list.

Many businesses start by mailing to a list of 1,000 - 5,000 purchased names. It is not uncommon to get very few responses in the first two or three mailings. At a cost of $0.50 - $0.67 per piece, they give up after spending several thousand dollars with no results. It is better to start with a smaller more targeted list of 200 - 300 names and keep mailing.

3. Plan to mail to that list at least five times within six months.

Tests show that the response rate starts to increase after the second mailing. A well crafted offer mailed to a good list can get response rates over 5% after three mailings.

4. Design the mail program as an integrated campaign.

The campaign will be most successful when there is a match between the offers and the interests of the recipients, and successive mailers build credibility and interest. Design the five mail pieces as an integrated series. Who is going to receive the letter? What do you want them to do?

5. Each mail piece should be designed to request a specific response.

Each mail piece should contain a headline, a focused message, an offer related to the message, and then call for a specific response by a specific deadline. The headline is a brief statement of the message to catch the reader's attention, and may be the most important part of the mail piece.

6. A small additional investment in the mail piece could pay off big.

Graphics and colors raise response rates. I had one mailer for a software seminar that got 0% response. We added a picture of the software box and got 7% response on the next mailing. It may be that a color piece for the third mailer will generate a significant increase in response rate. With a small mailing list, you can print out 200 - 300 color first pages from a color printer in about a day (or you can pay your kid do it).

7. Longer is better.

Many beginners feel like they need to put everything on one page. Actually two to three page mailers frequently have better results, and some campaigns send even longer packages costing several dollars each. Longer pieces need to be designed to keep the reader reading and also provide an alternate readership path that presents the summary message in highlighted topic sentences through the letter.

8. Telephone follow-up can raise response rates dramatically.

The reader may be interested and plan to respond, but their phone rings and they put your letter down and never get back to it. Telephone follow-up can revive lagging interest and rekindle interest.

9. Have a direct mail program to your customer list, too.

Many companies only mail to prospective customers. A direct mail program to your existing customers can be more effective than one to a cold list.

10. Don't give up too soon.

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