Detlev Reimer
Detlev Loves To Play Hours & Hours of Chess
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Stewart's Action Point: Detlev comes from Germany and speaks great English but needs as much help as he can get when it comes to copy writing. I didn't have to think long about this one. I got on the phone and contacted my "Cleveland 2003 - System Seminar Buddy" Ken Stacey-Odiwe from Benicia, California. He's an expert on writing direct mail sales copy and has recently formed a joint venture with non other than Yanik Silver: See Ken's extensive answer below. AskZine Bi-Weekly
Answer Hello Detlev, That's a great question! I hear this quite often but rarely have the time to provide a detailed answer. This time I've made an exception, so enjoy and and if you need any help, don't hesitate to contact me. My contact details are in my short bio below. CREATING DIRECT MAIL LETTERS Of all the formats used in direct mail, none has more power to generate action than the letter. A basic rule followed by direct mail advertisers is that any package containing a letter will generally pull greater response than a package without a letter. Extensive testing has proved this to be true in most cases. Perhaps the most important advantage of using letters to communicate through the mail is that everyone knows how to read a letter. A letter is instantly understood as a message from one person to another. And since direct mail is the personal medium of advertising, a person-to-person form of communication is highly desirable. Other formats almost automatically wave a flag that says "this is a promotional message." And that flag has a tendency to put the reader on guard. But the "personal look" of a letter somehow reduces this guard. There's a friendly quality to a letter that is difficult to duplicate in other formats. Most everyone has grown up with a desire to receive more letters. They remember those days at summer camp, at college, in the service, or other times when they were separated from close friends and loved ones. The arrival of a letter from home was an event to be celebrated. A letter is easy to read. No question of where to start, where to go next, or where it will end. This is not to say that direct mail letters automatically get attention and readership. However, the odds of achieving those ends are greatly enhanced with letters — especially well written letters that have a genuine person-to-person feel. THE DIRECT MAIL PACKAGE The best way to visualize the role of each of the elements in a direct mail package is to compare the mailing with a salesperson making a sales call. THE ENVELOPE This is the clothing the salesperson wears. Since it is the first thing a prospect sees, a judgment will likely be made before a word is spoken. Is this someone I can trust? Should I be on my guard against being pushed into doing something I don't want to do? Am I going to have to listen to a high-pressure pitch? Does this look like "someone" who is worthy of my time? Very little selling is done by the envelope itself, but it can condition the audience to be in the right mood to receive your message. Too often, advertisers worry about getting their envelopes opened because they've often heard people claim, "I throw all of my junk mail away unopened." But research studies have clearly shown few mailings actually go into the wastebasket before the envelope is opened. As a general rule, nobody throws away an envelope until two questions are answered: Who is it from? Most people are too curious to throw anything away without first knowing its contents. But an envelope can serve as something other than a carrier of the contents: It can play the role of the warm-up person who introduces the main performer. It can set the mood. It can stimulate curiosity. THE LETTER The letter represents the words the salesperson speaks. This is the primary opportunity to deliver a message on a person-to-person basis. Just as a good salesperson doesn't deliver the same canned sales pitch to everyone, the ideal letter should be tailored to each audience it addresses. It should, in effect, say: "And this, Mrs. Jones, is why you should be interested in what my company has to offer." Because the letter is the person-to-person part of the direct mail package, it presents the optimum opportunity to address each segment of your audience on a person-to-person — rather than a company-to-audience — basis. Of course, if computer personalization is available for your letter, each letter can deal with individuals rather than segments of the mailing list. THE ENCLOSURES All the printed enclosures in the direct mail package represent the sales tools a good salesperson uses: catalog sheets, samples, demonstration devices, flip charts, and so on. Just as such sales tools are generally created on a company-to-audience basis, the folders, broadsides, brochures, and other enclosures in a direct mail package are most often in a company-to-audience mode. There are times, of course, when a major sale is imminent and the salesperson tailors his or her sales tools to the individual prospect for maximum impact. Likewise, mailing enclosures can be personalized for increased impact. THE ORDER FORM This is the salesperson's "close." Here the offer is summarized and the customer is asked to agree to the offer. It's where the name goes on the dotted line. Ideally, the order form will summarize the offer, clearly define the terms, and make clear the obligations of both the buyer and the seller. From this comparison, it should be easy to visualize why the letter carries so much weight in a direct mail package. It's the primary element that develops the person-to-person approach, which distinguishes direct mail as the personal medium. GUIDELINES FOR GOOD LETTERS While it's generally agreed that any mailing with a letter will do better than a mailing without a letter, this should be further qualified: Enclosing a letter that looks and reads like a person-to-person letter will increase response. Too often, direct mail letters only are company-to-audience messages in semi-letter format and lose their advantage of communicating on a person-to-person basis. One of the best guidelines for producing direct mail letters is to make them look and read like letters that would be dictated to a secretary and then transcribed in business letter format. For example, only a typewriter type should be used — not a printer's font that resembles typewriter type. Many of today's secretaries, of course, use word processors and may choose to create business letters using one of the proportionally spaced typefaces that resemble printer's type. But to give a direct mail letter a personal feeling, it is best to use a traditional typewriter mono spaced type, such as Courier. Ideally, the letter will have a salutation, or something that resembles a salutation. While business correspondence is normally dated, the absence of a date is only a minor step away from the appearance of a secretary-prepared letter and seldom seriously affects direct mail response. (The exception is when a "deadline date" is an important part of the offer. In such cases, it generally helps to include a date on the letter.) Margins and paragraphing should be much the same as would be used by a secretary. And, of course, the letter should be signed by an individual. Chances are, you'll also want to add a postscript. While few people will believe the letter has been prepared for their eyes only, there's something about a secretary-prepared look that creates a person-to-person feeling. TOP TEN MOTIVATIONS FOR PEOPLE TO BUY Detlev, while I've only stated 10 motivations for people to buy, there are tons more. In fact there are 90 more reasons inside "Greatest Direct Mail Sales Letters of All Time.” 1. To satisfy curiosity Answer
Provided By: Ken recently formed an amazingly successful joint venture with non other than Yanik Silver. See what Ken has been up to when you visit his site www.greatestsalesletters.com
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