DIRECT MARKETING Creative

2007 Q4 Direct Marketing Strategies. All rights reserved.

Q4 Direct Marketing Strategies

44 Exchange Street, Suite 302
Portland, Maine 04101
207-253-5241

www.Q4DM.com
 DIRECT MARKETING CREATIVE

Design brings concepts to life.

Effective Design
leads a person though the ad,
mail p
piece,
, website,
, or commercial
so that the words of the copywriter have
maximum impact, thereby

Generating the Most Sales.

DIRECT MARKETING = SALES

also known as

The Basic Formula AIDA

Get attention Attention

Present your credentials
Identify the problem Interest
Provide the solution
Show the benefits
Desire
Overcome objections Action
Give a guarantee
Create urgency
Close the sale
Cross-sell, up-sell

All strategists, copywriters and designers need to

operate using these basic sales principles
NICE AIDA
CREATIVE TIPS FOR DRIVING RESPONSE

EMAIL MAIL WEB/PRINT RADIO/TV

Subject Line Envelope Headline Intro

Splash Page Cover Letter Body Copy 15 sec Copy
Landing Page Brochure Detailed Copy 30 sec Copy
Order Page Order Form Call to Action Call to Action
Pop-up Buck Slip Special Offer Special Offer
Follow-up Page Call Ctr. Up-sell Call Ctr. Up-sell Call Ctr. Up-sell

Remember, theyre related

THE ENVELOPE If this fails, you fail

YOUVE GOT 3 SECONDS to convince them to open now.

Give enough to get them interested

interested but not enough to evaluate
Ask a provocative question
Try stealth
Ahhot zone iis b
by their
h i name/address
/ dd
Highlight the offer or the main benefit
Lumpy envelopes work
Unusual personalization
THE LETTER

Johnson Box
Personalization
P li ti
Offer
Benefits
Call to Action
Contact
P.S.
PS

Axiom: 4-pages out-pulls 1 or 2 pages

LETTER TIPS

Persuasion hit emotion,

emotion hot buttons
buttons, benefits for self image
Tell a Story, dont just list the product features
Write and Layout for both Skimmers and Readers
Average a Call to Action on every page
Look like a Letter signed by a real person
Use a Johnson Box Whats in it for me?
V i your lletter
Version tt tot your audiences
di
Use the word YOU where ever you can
BROCHURE WIIFM?

Shows What it is? What it does? What it costs?

Gives visual proof, detailed information, testimonials
Design/layout should lead the readers eyes across the biggies
and then deliver them to the Call to Action
Squint-factor
Images
g
Photos
Logos
Headlines & subhead

Everyone wants to k
E know:
WHATS IN IT FOR ME?
8 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR BROCHURE

1
1. P your strongest benefit
Put b fi on the
h cover
2. Put numbers in your headlines
3. Use yyour graphics
g p to force people
p p to read not to distract
4. Purposely hide part of the headline
5. Use as many separate pieces as you can Jolt your reader
6. Use serif typefaces for body copy; theyre easier to read
7. Include a guarantee
8
8. Have a STRONG call to action w/ prominent web and phone
number
ORDER FORM

Should stand alone and tell the WHOLE story

Repeat Main benefits
Add Urgency with Expiration Date or Order by savings
Make the name and tracking number clear and faxable
Personalize it so they dont have to
BUCK SLIPS AND LIFT LETTER

They are often

Th f read d fi
first
Stress a point
Offer a special premium
Contain news notice of award/survey
results
Ask for referrals Give us names of 3
friends and
WHAT IS BAD CREATIVE?

EXPENSIVE!
Anything that hinders, derails, or blocks the
viewer from taking the desired action.

Direct creative doesnt have to be fine art Ugly may be better! it has to SELL!
TELTALE SIGNS OF BAD LAYOUT

1 Everything is important and so Nothing is important

1.
2. Readers dont know where to look first
3. The ad is hard to read. Type is too small, crowded or reversed
4. Its static. One phrase or illustration dominates without easy transition

Its too busy. Readers jump from point to point, not following the
desired flow of the message
Th message doesnt
The d t stand
t d outt from
f surrounding
di ads
d
The image is contradictory to the theme of the copy
The ad blends in perfectly with the publication
IDEAS FOR IMPROVING LAYOUT

Prioritize 123 key design elements

Exaggerate or emphasize an element

Show it to a sales or customer service person ask what they
see or what part troubles them
Add people images or show the product in use
Break the ad up using white space to separate steps through
the ad -- lead the eye through the sales steps
Simplify both design elements and copy show the challenge
to the copywriter and ask them to simplify
Design and write for readability
THE GOOD
GOOD
BAD - OUTSIDE
BAD - INSIDE
THE UGLY
TEAM UP FOR SUCCESS

Successful DM creative hinges

g on the synergy
y gy
of the designer and the copywriter.

Its the
It th copy that
th t sells,
ll nott design.
d i
BUT its the designs job to sell the copy!

Its the designers job to present the copy in a way that

will overcome skepticism, busy schedules, and peoples
dislike of what they perceive to be junk ~ Ed Elliott

The L O N G E R you can keep a person reading,

the
h HIGHER your response rate willll bbe!!