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Most business beginners think Direct Mail
means purchasing a mailing list and mailing an advertising flyer
to a bunch of folks they know absolutely nothing about. This IS
NOT what Direct Mail marketing is. Instead, marketing by Direct
Mail means placing a classified ad and sending your mailing ONLY
to those who answer your ad.
Anyone who uses the mailing list method
will never prosper. Oh, I suppose if you had $200,000 or $300,000
dollars to waste, you may make a profit eventually. But there is
no need for you to waste money like that. If you'll only slow down
and administer a little bit of patience, you'll find your company
growing financially much more quickly.
The first step in marketing by Direct Mail
is to run a few classified ads in publications. Now, I don't mean
your ad should sell your product. Instead, it should ask the potential
customer to send in their name and address for free information.
A classified ad is only designed to cause interested customers to
write to you requesting additional information. This is called a
qualified lead.
In return, you send follow-up advertising
to those who answer your ad, which is geared to making that potential
customer buy your product or service. If you find most people are
not ordering your product after they write in for more information,
that's an indication that your follow-up advertising needs work.
Constantly be fine-tuning your sales literature and adjust it so
that most people requesting information from your ads responds with
an order.
Now think about how much money you are
saving by using this method. (1) The money you spent purchasing
a mailing list could be enough to run 3 or 4 classified ads. (2)
You get 10X the circulation from a classified ad as you do from
mailing envelopes to a mailing list. (3) You eliminate all the labor
and time required to prepare a 1,000+ piece mailing. (4) The people
responding to your ad can be placed on a mailing list and re-sold
as buyers names rather than opportunity seekers, thereby generating
more income for you.
The follow-up advertisement (or Direct
Mail Package) you send to people who respond to your classified
advertising should look legitimate and professional. Your mailing
pieces can be cards, coupons, leaflets, folders, broadsides, envelopes,
order blanks, pamphlets, brochures or samples. Whatever it takes
to get your message across and obtain an order from the customer.
You also have a choice of white or colored
paper of different thicknesses and textures. You have a choice of
typefaces, ink colors and papers which your printer has available.
You can decide design and layout of each mailing pieces. In short,
you have a wide variety of sales advantages available. Not every
style of mailing piece is needed for each specific product or service
so you must select and test the choices best suited for you and
your business's product.
Now you may be saying to yourself: Why
should I give away free samples and spend money on marketing materials
when the customer has only contacted me for more information? Think
about the money you spend sending out 1,000's of Direct Mails now
without any luck. At least using my suggested method, you won't
have the mail as many envelopes and you are mailing to people who
actually took the time to write in and request the free sample or
free information. Therefore, you can use the money you save and
invest in follow-up advertising that looks more professional.
