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HOW TO MOTIVATE AND SPUR THEM TO ACTION

Direct mail is unique. Unlike advertising, email marketing, or telemarketing, it’s a tactile medium. Take a look at our High Impact Mailers section and use your imagination to think how a mailing novelty can get attention for your product or service. Successful campaigns have included ‘pop-up’ lorries to sell delivery services; desk tidies to sell engineering components, banknotes to sell newspapers and miniature deck chairs to sell holidays.

Whatever you chose, however, you will almost certainly need to send with it a letter or some other kind of personalised communication. The words of the letter should continue the interest, coax and spur the prospect into action.

TOP TIPS ON LETTER WRITING

1. Use Attention, Interest, Desire and Action (AIDA) in the structure of your letter. It’s one of the oldest formulas in the book, but it works.
2. Write from the reader’s point of view – not yours. To do this you will need to know a lot about your customers and prospects.
3. For example, find out the kind of people who have bought in the past. Learn previous objections raised by your customers.
4. Make the letter as personal as you can. The more you identify with your reader, the more interest and desire you will create.
5. Use you, your and yours liberally. Moreover, sign off the letter with a legible signature, and to lift the attention of the reader, get the most important person you can to sign it.
6. Don’t try to be clever or funny – just relevant. If the offer is relevant there is no need to be clever. And remember, humour is invariably personal – be aware that your brand of written humour may leave the reader cold.
7. Crystallize and condense your thoughts. Take your product or service apart. What are the benefits most likely to appeal to your reader? All good copywriters have learnt their trade by transforming 500 words into 100 without loss of meaning. Be concise. Use short words and sentences. Use vivid Anglo Saxon words; for example use the word start rather than commence.
8. Define what you are selling and make it crystal clear. You may know your subject well but don’t assume your reader has the same knowledge. Find someone who knows nothing about the subject and ask him or her if the message is clear.
9. Talk benefits, not technicalities - ‘What’s in it for me?’ Define the most important benefit. What makes the product or service so special?
10. Use copy layout to keep the reader reading. People scan. Use headings, underlining, and highlighting to maintain interest. In direct mail letters consider using a PS for the final call to action.
11. Use testimonials, media comments, and scientific reports to back up your claims. Testimonials can increase response dramatically.
12. What offers and incentives can you use? For example would a free trial lift response?
13. Give the reader lots of options to respond. Feature email response addresses, freefone numbers and freepost addresses. Ask them to respond now.
14. Test different approaches (click here for case history)

EXTRA TIPS ON WRITING EMAILS
Many of the above rules apply to email writing although with email communications the words and pictures will be (usually) intertwined. There are however some important copywriting differences:

1. While you can use long letters in direct mail, they rarely work with email. That’s because attention span is less (the finger is hovering above the delete button). Your purpose will probably be to drive the reader as fast as possible to a website, hyperlink or email enquiry form. So greet your reader with your best offer. Keep it short and punchy, and use lots of links in the text.
Be careful of using words like FREE, ££s, AMAZING, NEW etc. especially in the subject line. They send readers heading for the delete button – that is if the message hasn’t been filtered as SPAM already. You can check your email through one of the commercially available Spam checkers.
2. Pay careful attention to the subject line – this is your headline. By including the recipient’s name you can lift email opening rates considerably.
3. Don’t just expect your reader to click – tell them to click.
4. Use plainly designed typefaces (serif) for better comprehension.
5. Avoid exclamation marks. They act as a flag for Spam content filters.
6. Try to keep your letter less than 80 characters wide – some email readers will create line breaks on anything longer.
7. Have a link to your Privacy Policy included in your emails – this engenders respect and confidence in your company.
8. Incorporate a clear unsubscribe message
9. Test your copy against content filters prior to sending.


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