Direct Mail Insights - Getting the Envelope Opened

If the truth were told, literally millions of dollars a years is being thrown down the drain on direct mail campaigns that fall flat on their face, all because the envelope containing the offer never gets opened.

Think of it - you can work with the zeal of ten thousand men and develop an offer that is so brilliant, so good that all your family, friends (and even the family dog) are calling it 'the best thing since sliced bread' and hailing YOU as the 'copywriter of the millennium.

But...

Unless your prospects get to read your direct mail offer, you are dead in the water.

And your marketing efforts will be as effective as a screen door on a submarine.

Professional copywriters know this and that is why we use the following simple techniques to make sure people open the envelopes we send them.

1. Hand Address The Envelope. My friend Drew Whitman calls this 'The Granny Factor' You see, when Granny send you a letter, odds are that she doesn't use a computer-generated label. No. She hand addresses the envelope.

I strongly suggest that you use a 'Reflex' Blu' pen and always use a real stamp. Make your letter look like it came from a real person.

NOTE: You can easily find an older person or a young teen who will gladly write on the envelopes for a few bucks an hour.

2. The 'Private and Confidential' Method. Just visit your local stationery store and get one of those stamps with

'Private and Confidential' on it. Use Red Ink. Stamp that in the top left hand side of the envelope. It works like a dream.

3. Lumpy Mail. Pop something in your mail to make it lumpy. People can't resist opening the envelope to find out what it is.

4. Send it in a Box. Why? Because boxes almost always get opened. I have seen better results using this method than just about any other. Yes it is a bit more expensive, but nowhere near as costly as having your mail thrown in the trash.

5. The Johnson Box. Use 'Teaser Copy' to 'Open a Loop' in your prospects minds. "Inside - - 5 Shocking Truths About..." or "Is This a Picture of You...?"


There are many more ways to 'Get the Envelope Opened' but these five should give you something to start with.

Remember - Direct Mail is all about getting the right message to the right people whilst a selling story is told and a buying decision encouraged.

But you can't do any of these if you don't get people to open your letter to begin with...

About the author:
Chris Bloor aka The 'Walking Idea Machine' is a
sought-after copywriter from Australia. To get his
'ZERO Theory' newsletter and learn more direct
mail tips, send a blank email to:
mailto:zero-theory@aweber.com
And Visit... http://www.CircleOfLifeMarketing.com

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