SMART BLAST

One of the oldest methods of communication, the letter, remains one of the most popular -- and effective -- tools in direct marketing.

But, when you handwrite a letter to someone, you know it’s going to be opened when it reaches the recipient. That success isn’t as assured in direct marketing, but by keeping in mind a few guidelines, you can improve your chances.

Elaine Appleton Grant spoke with both Ernan Roman and Herschell Gordon Lewis for "Open Secrets" in the September issue of Deliver. They offered six general tips for capturing your recipient’s attention:

1. Understand what mail is good for. Make it valuable to your recipient. Build that trust and they’ll continue to open the mail they get from you.

2. Fulfill personal requests. Personalization can be used to your advantage in more than the body of a letter or the offer on a postcard. Try it on the outside envelope.

3. Keep the envelope clean. Tailor your envelope to the message inside. Is it personal or high-level business information? Keep the envelope simple to enforce the importance.

4. Help recipients make quick decisions. Clue them in to the product or offer that they’ll find inside.

5. Use the right words. Break out of the overused-words box. Try some new ones. And make sure they have meaning for the recipient.

6. Avoid the "bulk-mail" effect. Make your envelope appear unique, not as though it’s one of millions mailed at one time.

Ready to go? Call us and we'll help make sure your open rate climbs even higher.

p.s. If you’d like to read the entire article, check it out on the Deliver website at www.delivermagazine.com.