Direct mail marketing is an effective and time-tested marketing tool that has worked for many companies and individuals for many years. The efficacy or potency of this marketing strategy, however, lies on the ability of the company or business to write an effective and attractive sales letter. Unfortunately, many people who have tried sending direct mail sales letters were not able to see positive results from this marketing tool. The main reason for such failure probably lies on the fact that companies and business entities do not pay attention on the content and form of the sales letters that they send out to customers. Many fail to accomplish their sales target from direct mail marketing because they have committed the six mistakes listed below. The first mistake that a lot of people commit in making a sales letter is not giving enough attention to the presentation and layout of the letter. They probably think that the aesthetic appearance of a letter contribute little to its affectivity. However, it is important that your sales letter is visually appealing and not too cramped and crowded with words and highlights. An ideal direct mail sales letter should be written in a clean, white paper, preferably the standard letter size. A serif font, preferably Times New Roman, is ideal; just make sure that the size you choose is not too small or too overwhelmingly large you can visit www.killer-sales-letters.com. The body of the letter should be in black, while the headline or some of the highlights of the letter can be bolder or in larger fonts. You can also use a different color, such as red, to emphasize some points. Use short sentences, but ensure that it does not appear choppy. Paragraphs should also not exceed six to seven sentences so that the letter will have enough white spaces to let the reader’s eyes rest. People do not have time to look at the dictionary just to understand what you are saying in your letter. If they do not understand the technical jargons and the archaic words that you use, chances are your letter will go straight to the trash bin. Make it easy for clients to understand what you are saying by using a friendly tone and simple language. You don’t need to make a very long sales letter. In fact, the longer your letter is, the bigger the chance that your reader would not read it. So keep the body of your letter short but ascertain that the content you want to impart is clear, cohesive and flows smoothly. Do not sugarcoat your messages or use run down sentences. Although you need to introduce yourself, the company and the product you are trying to sell, the body of the letter should not be focused on you or your business. You should ensure that the focus of your letter is your client how will they benefit from the product and what will they get if they acquire the product or contract the service from your company? Remember focus on you and not we or mea sales letter should compel a customer to take positive action immediately. Thus, you should give deadlines for a promo, for example you can visit www.sale-trigger-generator.com Motivate your potential clients to Act Now! Call Immediately! Subscribe Today! Another motivation is by giving a special offer, a discount or a free gift. People will be compelled to buy your product within seven days, two weeks or whatever time frame you set because they know they would get something out of it. Do not expect that your first letter would immediately work with most of the people in your mailing list. If you want results, you must be patient in following up your potential client. Sending four sales letters in a span of one year is a good start. Even if you were not able to get the client the first time, he or she will remember your company the third time or fourth time that he or she receives your mail. By that time, who knows, the client might already be motivated to buy because of your persistence. If you want to see actual sales from direct mail marketing, make sure that you don’t commit the six mistakes mentioned above.

With direct mail often delivering a 1-3% response rate or even less, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that youâ??re using a targeted mailing list and have a well-written, attractive letter. Without these things, youâ??re in for a disappointing campaign and maybe even losses rather than profits.

 

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. Also, you want to make sure that it stands out â?? consumers have seen it all before from the pre-approved credit card applications to bland postcards.

 

From my experience, working with clients from many different industries, 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 arenâ??t mass-producing direct mailers or â??junk mailâ??. 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.

 

2)    Never use an inkjet printer

 

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.

 

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 â?? think about it â?? how many direct mail pieces you have received lately that had a personalized return address label? Not many. Most 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 couldnâ??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.

 

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, draw some â??unplannedâ?? doodles on the outside, and make it known that youâ??re not the average company and this is not the average piece of direct mail. Check out the product Doodleopes® for some examples of what Iâ??m talking about.

 

5)    Use a handwriting font to write the recipientâ??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. This way, your direct mail piece will look like it came from a friend. If youâ??ve followed the rest of my tips, the recipient will be so curious as to which company spent so much time personalizing the letter for them that theyâ??ll be excited to open it. And if they donâ??t need the service right now, youâ??ll have made such an impact that they may just save your direct mail piece on their refrigerator for next time.