There are other steps you can take, however, to increase the rate at which your envelopes are opened and read therefore increasing the number of people who will respond. With direct mail, your first impression is the appearance of the envelope. When an envelope looks unusual and is personalized, the recipient is more likely to take a second look. If you think you're going to take shortcuts and save money, all I can say is good luck. It ain't going to happen. Also, you want to make sure that your envelope stands out – consumers have seen it all before from the pre-approved credit card applications to bland postcards, so you might as well be prepared to spend the bucks and do it right.
There are five tried and true rules that I follow with each campaign.
1) Use a Live Stamp
Postage meters may be the easiest way to prepare your mail for delivery, but it is not going to get you the best response. Spending a little extra time to actually stamp each and every envelope will make it look like you aren’t mass-producing direct mailers or ‘junk mail’. It will seem as though you drove all the way to the post office to pick up the stamps and then spent a while focusing on each envelope and the impression you were making. You have to do this and if you need someone to do this personalization for you, contact me at drroddc@yahoo.com and I'll send you there name and phone number. They are so specialized, they are take you by referral only, so make sure you contact me FIRST.
2) Never use an inkjet printer
This is a big no-no! Many high volume mailers use high-speed inkjet printers to spit out their direct mail quickly and reliably. But the key problem here is that many high volume mailers use it! People have seen it before and can tell the difference when you use a nice quality printer that may take a little more time. Again don't try and take any short cuts. It's going to cost you more in the long run. I guarantee it. Just stop and spend the money in the right places the first time. You'll SAVE that when the money starts rolling in because people are opening your mail.
3) Personalized Return Address Labels
Again, it may take time or a few extra cents to stick these on each envelope, but the recipient will appreciate it. Taking time for each customer makes it appear as though you are thankful for their business. Also – think about it – how many direct mail pieces you have received lately that had a personalized return address label? Not many. I like my envelopes personalized and handwritten. Doing this gets your envelope noticed --- and opened! Most address labels have their name printed in the upper left hand corner, a Pitney Bowes stamp in the upper right hand corner, and a little clear hole in the middle where your address is. They couldn’t even take the time to print your address on the envelope! If you are using your business return address, try putting an individual name instead of the business name. This really makes the piece look more personal. I like to send my direct mail pieces with just a return address. No name. This helps build curiosity and that will get your letter OPENED!!
4) Use an outrageous, individualized design on the envelope
The days of the plain white envelopes are over as are the days of a little logo in the corner. You have got to go crazy, be outrageously creative, get someone to notice your envelope. Make your envelope the first thing the recipient notices when they open the mailbox. How do you do it? Use a wild color like PINK or LIME GREEN, draw some ‘unplanned’ doodles on the outside, and make it known that you’re not the average company and this is not the average piece of direct mail.
5) Use a handwriting font to write the recipient’s address
How many times do I have to say it? Personalize the envelope! Make it look like you spent a lot of time! Find a believable (not fake-looking) hand-written font so it appears as though you handwrote their address on the front of the envelope. Like I said there are places that sell different fonts so you can do this with a computer, but again, that's taking the time to personalize your envelope and letter. When you do this you lose business. Your direct mail piece will look like it came from a friend if you take the time and personalize your envelope. If you’ve followed the rest of my tips noted above, the recipient will be so curious as to which company spent so much time personalizing the letter for them that they’ll be excited to open it. And if they don’t need the service right now, you’ll have made such an impact that they may just save your direct mail piece on their refrigerator for next time.
I have some personalized postcards, and some really cool stuff if you're interested in doing some serious marketing. Contact me at drroddc@yahoo.com or call me at 951-760-0798 and leave a message.
