YOUR ATTACHMENTS

Best actors in a supporting role

The first rule of direct mail is that the letter is the heart and soul of the enterprise. The only attachments you should include are ones that actively support your offer. And when you do opt for enclosures, be aware that your writing style there too has to be every bit as focused as your centerpiece.

Reply cards

Your goal is to make replying to your letter as inviting as it possibly can be. A reply card does that. Make sure your copy highlights ALL possible contact channels—from telephone and fax to website and email—so even if it finds itself orphaned on a fridge door, your card can still move the sale forward.

Brochures and booklets

No matter how confidently your brochure may stand alone, ALWAYS attach a letter to front the sale. Brochures carry credibility and authority but your letter is YOU. Make it as memorable as a personal meeting. Technical spec sheets or detailed data forms are generally too complex for a good sales letter. This is where support sheets shine.

Flyers and photographs

Use these to sell products with a distinctive visual character. They can also add a splash of color, if that's integral to your offer. And don't forget the power of before-and-after sequences, as well as step-by-step illustrations.

Samples

Clients have enclosed everything from scraps of carpet (a flooring manufacturer) to samples of worsted herringbone (a tailor). Recently I received an opaque square of plastic from a charity collecting donations for Third World vision correction. It was a way of demonstrating what the world looks like to someone suffering from operable cataracts. That plastic is gone but they planted an image I just can shake. Maybe they'll get in touch again-- they will if they're smart, because follow-up mailings sometimes pull response rates rivaling first-run campaigns.

Cross promotion

Don't let your letter ignore your enclosures. Urge readers to dig them out of the envelope.

Think this kind of promotion doesn't make a difference? As an experiment, one client distributed a letter mentioning an enclosed how-to booklet... which they then 'forgot' to include. However, the letter did list an 800 number for product info.

Soon after the mailing went out, their toll-free line was swamped with people wondering where their booklet was. The call center reps were coached to offer every such caller a make-up package including the booklet AND a trial pak.

Result: A valuable list of motivated, self-qualified prospects.

Regular post VS email

I write copy for both, and see huge benefits to the e-channels (email, websites, intranets, etc.)—the packages are tiny, pictures are easy to attach, your time-to-prospect is instant and the spend is modest. But these things can also work against you. Not every recipient will be able to open every type of file, the delete button is awfully handy, emailboxes fill up, your extremely modest investment isn't lost on your prospects. And of course, just try sending a packet of seeds or a pad of personalized note paper via the Internet.

So IMHO (In My Humble Opinion, in the parlance of the e-crowd) conventional direct mail sales letters have a healthy future even in the digital age.

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