In Marketing there are many ways for us to communicate with prospects or customers. From TV adverts to Press Ads, Web Banners and Websites to Direct Mail packs and emails… we have a rich tapestry of communication tools at our disposal.

Only one of these ways, however, allows us as Marketers to address the recipient with the word ‘Dear’. Only one is a personal one-to-one communication that is signed by a spokesperson or company owner.

It is of course… the letter.

Don’t be fooled, though. Creating a Direct Marketing letter is not as easy as writing a letter to a friend or colleague. There is an art to it. There are tips and tricks that once mastered, can generate you significant response rates that will have your competitors turning green with envy.

What are these tips and tricks? I’d be shooting myself in the foot if I told you everything. But just to whet your appetite, here are just three techniques we use at Red C to turn a Direct Marketing letter into a Direct Marketing letter that can generate over a 40% response from a cold list.

1. Understand the Direct Marketing letter at a glance

People are busy. And let’s face it… they have better things to do than read your piece of Direct Marketing. Therefore it’s your duty as a Marketer to allow them to make an informed decision in a matter of seconds as to whether they make more time for your Direct Communication now, or at some other point in the day.

The first key to doing this is by adding a ‘Johnson Box’. Named after the Direct Marketer, Frank Johnson, the ‘Johnson Box’ is basically a message placed at the very top of your Direct Marketing letter. The ‘box’ contains the key message of the letter. The purpose of it is to draw the reader’s attention to this key message first, and hopefully grab their attention, enticing them to read the rest of the letter.

The second thing you can do is add a header to the beginning of each paragraph. By reading these headings you should be able to get a full picture of what the letter is about, what the offer is and a little bit of history about the company writing to you. This again is all about helping the reader make an informed decision to spend more time with your Direct Marketing letter.

Another trick is to add a box to the right hand side of the text that also highlights key reasons to respond or believe. This box, if needs be, can be more designed than the rest of the letter to ensure it stands out. A good trick is to add ‘ticks’ before each point you make… this focuses the writing on positive statements and offers that you need to make.

Finally, add a P.S. For some reason the P.S. is still one of the first things people read in a Direct Marketing letter. So don’t be afraid to repeat what you have told them in the ‘Johnson Box’. Remember the golden rule of Direct Marketing… ‘Tell them, tell them again and then tell them why you told them.’ You should also use the P.S. as a way to highlight ways in which the recipient can respond.

2. Include the word ‘you’ as often as possible

Have you ever been at a party and met someone who constantly talks about themselves? For some reason they are so self-centred that they don’t ever think about asking about you… meaning you very quickly begin coming up with an exit strategy to go speak to someone who is actually interested in you and not just themselves.

You need to think about this when writing your Direct Marketing letter. By using the word ‘you’ as often as possible it will keep you focused on the recipient and stop you waffling on about how great you are. Instead it will keep you disciplined so you can tell people what your company and your offer can do for the recipient and their life.

3. No more ‘Dear Valued Customer’

The first paragraph of the letter is absolutely crucial. This is where you demonstrate that you and your company understand the challenges faced by the people or businesses you are writing to. Remember, the easiest way to make friends with someone is to share something in common with them or demonstrate you have a common belief.

Have a read of these two letter introductions for a Business insurance client of ours, and see how they demonstrate this understanding both in what they say and in the tone.

Example 1 – Car Dealerships

As a well-respected member of the motor-trade, you already know a thing or two about getting a good deal, so I won’t beat around the bush. I want your business. My team is building a reputation for getting motor traders like you a good deal on their trade risk policies and, right now, to persuade you to give us a try, I’ll add a sweetener – £100 cashback on your policy.

Example 2 – Home Furnishing Specialists

People are becoming more and more house proud, which can only be good news for your business. We know how hard you work making sure your stock is up-to-date and inline with current trends. Stock is your most valuable commodity, so it’s important to have the right insurance in place. We know how busy you are, that’s why we make it easy to arrange your policy, and we give you £50 cashback, to say thank you.

There are plenty more techniques we use to make an effective Direct Marketing letter. If you’d like us to share some more tips and tricks with you… why not give Red C a call on 0161 236 1045 or click here

Tags: Direct Marketing, Direct Marketing Letter, Increasing Response Rates, Marketing Effectiveness

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Blog, Inside Information, Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.