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Create the best direct mail piece your prospects will see all week
What goes into an effective direct mailing? Stick to these seven suggestions and your piece will stand out among the junk.
- Personalize. "Dear Neighbor" simply does not get the response "Dear Kathy" does. Use the word "you" liberally. Those are "musts"; if practical and you've drilled down this far on your contact information for the mailing, sprinkle in other personalized details, too. "Like most parents with a child in Elm Street Middle School, you probably..." "More Subdivision Pointe homeowners like you have refinanced through me than...". The more personal touches, the more attention your message will get.
- Tell them what to do. A sales piece without a "call to action" is doomed. Tell them to call your number or visit your website or apply today... or otherwise be explicit about what you want them to do.
- Use testimonials. Trust is an oh so important part of mortgage lending services. Include testimonials whenever possible. Just be sure they're real people who really said (or agreed to have their name associated with) what you say they said. Get a signed release from testimonials first -- it's important.
- Use a P.S. Depending on who you listen to, the P.S. in a direct mail piece is either the first or second thing most recipients read. And virtually all of them read it, which isn't necessarily true of the meaty, middle part of your pitch. Use a P.S. to restate your offer succinctly and repeat your call to action.
- Your opening is crucial. Besides the P.S., it's the one thing you can be most sure everyone will read. It can make them read on or it can turn them off right away. You need to keep the opening focused on the prospect, and you need to preview your offer.
Good opening: My notes show that your mortgage payments are scheduled to increase soon. You can get a stable, inexpensive fixed rate on a refinance right now, before your rate adjusts. Read on to find out how.
Bad opening: I wanted to write and touch base because we've done business before, and you know you can trust me to get you the mortgage that's right for you. I work hard to make sure your payment is low and fees and costs are kept to a minimum.
One focuses on the prospect, and shows a touch of personal service. You keep notes on when your customers' payments are going up? Wow! And it previews the offer. The other, though it does use the word "you" quite a bit, is all about you. You want, you're trustworthy, you're a hard worker. Gee, that's swell. I stopped reading, though, so I don't know what's in it for me. Also, even though you promise low payments and fees and costs, you shouldn't be talking in your opening about how they'll have to take their medicine, but you'll help make sure it's not quite as icky. If there are obvious objections to your offer, address them later on, don't bring them up in your opening or P.S.
- Write for "skimmers" as well as others. Bulleted lists, subheads, and call-outs are effective for reeling in people who don't sit down and read sales letter top to bottom, in order. Which describes a lot of people. Make sure though that these devices don't distract the top to bottom readers. Make the lists "fit," make the subheads make sense. Don't just decide to put a random bold phrase before every other paragraph, or your piece will start to seem incoherent to careful readers.
- Don't ignore the envelope. It's the part everyone on your mailing list will see, and if you can't convince them to open it, it doesn't matter what's inside. Studies, and maybe your own experience, have shown that for consumer mailings, hand addressed with a first class stamp is the kind of envelope most likely to get opened.
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