CHECKLIST DIRECT

MAIL CAMPAIGN
A direct mail campaign is a marketing strategy that is utilized by a variety of businesses and
nonprofit organizations. What makes this strategy great is that businessmen can directly
communicate with their prospective clients by sending them, via mail, various
advertisements that showcase the products and/or services that they can offer them.

You, as a businessman, must be able to exercise efficiency and creativity and should be able
to pick out important details in the advertising mail you will be distributing to the market. It
doesn’t matter if you keep sending tons of direct mail pieces via post mail about your
merchandise if the campaign that showcases the said merchandise is not appealing or worth
giving a second look. Since the customers will be receiving these advertisements directly
from you through their mailboxes, creating a great first impression can really make a
difference between helping your business to gain a customer or lose a customer.

Here are some steps that will help you get started with your direct mail campaign:

❏ Figure out who or what your target market is going to be. Think of the individuals that
will make up your direct mailing list. You can conduct a survey to help you find out
various information about your clients, such as age, gender, area of labor, and even
what a majority of them would like to see in a particular product or service, which is why
gathering this information is convenient and that it will help give you a clearer picture of
what it is your customers want and need.

❏ Decide on the target number of customers you wish to serve. When starting out a
direct mail campaign, it would be best to keep your clients to a realistic or minimal
number at first. Having too many customers or clients will consume your time and other
resources. Start off with a small group, and then work your way to a larger number if the
advertisements you have sent out prove to be effective and can be handled within a
reasonable time frame.

❏ Planning and creating an effective direct mailing piece. The main portion of your
mailing piece should be attractive in a way that it will entice customers to a “call for
action.” Make sure it will spur their interest and get them to contact you right away so
that they can avail of the products and services. Standard direct mailing pieces are
composed of 4 elements: the envelope, the sales letter, the flier, and the reply card.

❏ Pushing the envelope. While the envelope is often just seen as a carrier for the sales
letter, the flier, and the reply card, it can often be just as important and crucial as the
rest of them. You can make use of the envelope by stamping on it an enticing message,
such as “Having money spending problems? We can help you.” or “The secret to a fitter
and healthier you is inside.”
❏ Developing the sales letter. Write to your client in a personal but professional manner.
Be sure the letter is clear and concise. Make the customer aware of the offers and
discounts he or she can avail from you. Be sure to make use of subheads, boxes, bullets
and bold letters in order to strategize where you would like your client to put the most
focus and attention on. .

❏ Choose how you would like to address your clients. Try to play with different ways on
how to communicate to your client. Would you like to personally address the customer
by his or her full name? Will you stick with general forms of addressing such as Ma’am or
Sir? Observe if this makes a difference in the number of responses you get from those
on your direct mailing list.

❏ Create interest by giving your customers an advantage. Attract your customers to your
business by engaging them in advantageous offers. Clearly inform them of the benefits
and great deals they can gain with your product or service. Take for example a direct
mail piece for an apartment unit that simply states that the facilities and the location are
great. It can be made more interesting by adding in more specific definitions and
phrases, such as “Offers a spectacular view of the city.”; “Within a 10 minute walking
distance from the hospital, mall and university.”; or “Apartment residents can enjoy
using the swimming pool, game room, and lounge area any time they want.” The
aforementioned phrases will help make for a more enticing advertisement.

❏ Focus. Do your best to create a clear and concise message. Be direct to the point with
what you can offer them. Point out a product’s key features and don’t stray away.
Expound on these more throughout the advertisement. For example: “The new
UltraMop 2000, a revolutionary mop with advanced antibacterial microfiber technology
that will help to efficiently kill any sickness causing germs and effectively keep your
floors squeaky clean.” Cut out any superfluous information or portions of your
advertisement.

❏ Place your offer alongside the headline. As stated earlier on, first impression is key. By
placing your offer within or near the headline, you have a better chance of grabbing the
attention of your customers with discounts and sales being included in the mail piece.

❏ Inform your customers. Here, you get the chance to talk about the product or service.
Remember to describe it in a way that balances personal with professionalism. This will
help build the proper foundation for good communication. Help your customers learn
more about the product or service by writing them informational letters and including
good customer reviews. Adding a “P.S.” at the end of the letter can be beneficial, as this
is usually read first, so try to place valuable information here as well .
❏ Tempt your customers with a great offer. Everyone loves a good sale or discount
because it will help them to spend less while gaining more. It’s how you can enforce the
customers to a “call to action.”This method has been proven and tested to get more
customers to show more interest in your product. For example: “Get up to 80% off on
your first purchase by using the discount code provided at the bottom of this
advertisement.” or “Order 2 sets of our Clarity Skin Care set right now and get 1 full set
absolutely free of charge!” To garner a better response, provide a time-sensitive offer
that will immediately get the customer to act. Phrases such as “Avail of our 50%
discount before June 14, 2017.” or “Contact us within the next 3 days and you’ll get the
chance to win a solar powered flashlight worth $700!” might just do the trick.

❏ Developing the flier. What makes the flier different from the sales letter is that it is a
tiny brochure which summarize to the customer all of the offers you are providing. Fliers
should be made to be attractive and concise. Don’t put too much information on it, as
this may discourage the customer from reading any further after the sales letter. They
must be able to stand on their own, be unique from the accompanying sales letter.

❏ Developing the reply card. Asking for feedback. At the end of the advertisement, inform
the customer of the reply card which they can fill out and send to you. You may choose
to leave a space where clients can write down their opinions regarding it and what
changes could be made to help further improve it. Be sure to provide a contact number
or email address to which they can send their replies so that they could easily keep in
contact with you. Aside from customers, you may also show this to your co-workers,
family and friends and ask them for their advice. Test your advertisement by asking
them if they would accept the offer within five seconds of looking at it.

❏ Determine the payment method. If a customer ends up accepting your offer, you will
need to clearly state it in the advertisement, as well how they can best pay for the
product or service. You could arrange a face-to-face meet up, send the money through a
courier, or deposit the money in a bank account to name a few ways. It has been proven
however, that using credit cards along with an invoice after delivery are two of the most
effective methods.

❏ Explore the possibilities this method has to offer. Don't be afraid to dive in and explore
what this method has to offer. You can ask your mailing consultant or list broker to
suggest to you different mailing lists so that you can expand your target market in the
future. Try various direct mailing methods until you arrive at the most efficient method
that provides the best response rate.
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