We found a video that explains in easy to understand format, how, writing a word document and using a mail merge function to personalize each sales letter for a direct mail campaign. Watch and enjoy.
Filed under direct mail, printed mail, printing services by on Jan 25th, 2010. Comment. 
Direct mail letters are the most effective way to personalize your advertising. This method is very attractive to the person receiving the mail piece. Postcards get glances before they get tossed in the wastebasket, and catalogs usually just get set aside for a time to thumb through that may never come along. Advertising letters are the happy medium that may mean increased sales.
Hand-written touches are the most important thing that attracts attention. First, hand write the addressee’s name. That way the consumer knows you thought of her personally and thought she would enjoy hearing about the product/service or special deal you are offering.
The body of your letter will obviously need to be typed in order to mass produce and insure ease of reading. Take the time to chose a letterhead style that is appealing to the eyes. Use white for the color of the paper and plain text for content, either arial or times roman at 12 point. And of course, a great logo and your business’ contact information.
To close your letter with that personal touch, sign every letter individually. Now, of course if you have extremely large number of letters to go out, there is technology out there that can “recreate” real looking hand written signatures in mass production. You may want to price that out with your printer if they have that option available.
It would also enhance your response if you add a “PS” at the bottom of your letter. Here is where you could add a special offer or thank them for their business…a great business retention technique. It lets the customer know you value them.
In conclusion, always think how to personalize the letter enough to let the customer know you are giving them personal attention and appreciation. After all, isn’t that what we all want?
For your direct mail processing needs call Business Helpers at 480-483-7677. Serving all of Arizona, USA.
Filed under direct mail, direct mail tips by on Jan 15th, 2010. Comment.
Of course, with the holiday rush, the volume of mailings is going to tax the distribution system even more so this year. As we are still recovering from the recession, private mail distribution companies as well as the good old US Post Office have downsized their staff and equipment.
Warnings always go out to the consumer mail segment to mail early to get delivery in time for the Christmas holidays. This also goes for the businesses at this time of year to mail to their clients and vendors.
Also, be aware of the recipients “attention” span during the holidays. Are you business clients going to notice the business mail that they receive during the month of December? A lot of companies many be shut down for holiday breaks or the recipients are just not in the “mood” to open your mailing during this time. It is important that you know your customer’s mindset at this time of year.
The exception is the customers that depend on your service or product all year long. They are going to open your mail. If it is a product or service that they feel can wait, they will.
From all of us at Business Helpers, we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
For your direct mail processing needs call Business Helpers at 480-483-7677. Serving all of Arizona, USA.
Filed under direct mail, mail services by on Dec 23rd, 2009. Comment.
We found the best of the best of a video that truly describes what direct mail marketing is all about. Although this video covers direct mail marketing for printers, the same principles will apply for any type of business.
For those of you who thought you knew, watch this entertaining video and give us your thoughts. Comment back to us by pressing the comment button below.
Direct Mail Marketing in Plain English
Filed under direct mail, direct mail campaign, mail services, targeting your market by on Dec 15th, 2009. Comment.
Before you start your direct mail campaign, make sure you know your target audience thoroughly before spending any money on renting a list to mail to.
You have spent some good money on making a great product, and you know that it fits what your market needs, you composed attention grabbing copy on your sales piece and you have all your call center in place to take orders. But remember that the most important thing is the mailing list you are sending mail to. What good is your sales piece going to do if you send it to a poor performing list?
Here are some pointers on how to “shop” for a profitable mailing list.
One of the most important things you can do when selecting a mail list house is to look in the Standard Rate & Data Service Directory under mailing list brokers. This is a very reputable publication that only contains good to very good list brokers. These brokers explain within the directory the different lists that are available for rent, what kind of buyers the lists are made up of, and the date the list was last cleaned–that is, the last time all the names on the list were verified relative to the correctness of addresses.
Once you narrow down your list brokers to a select few companies, contact them and let them know about your current mailing campaign and ask them if they have good lists to attract their specific lists. Quite often, a good list broker will have much knowledge and start asking you pertinent questions to further help you. When you get the feeling that you are talking to a sincere list broker, ask them for their minimum list of names along with prices. Then call on the other companies you were also intersted in and see if you can spot a trend of pricing and kind of lists available.
Once you and the list broker and have decided upon the mailing list best suited to your offer, the broker will require you to rent a minimum of 5,000 names. The going price will range from $35 to $95 per thousand names. This may seem like a lot of money to you at first, but you have to look at the quality of the list that the broker will give you to translate those names into “paying customers.”
Remember too, that the list brokers have their own interests to get repeat busines from you and will do their darnest to give you a quality list.
For all your direct mailing service needs, call us at 480-483-7677.
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail by on Nov 9th, 2009. Comment.
This post is brought to you by: Business Helpers Mail Center in Scottsdale, Arizona
Here is a quick list of services we are able to assist you with.
- Mail List Preparation: Merge/Purge, clean, remove duplicates, CASS certification (ensure accuracy and deliverability), NCOA (updates change of address)
- Mail Processing: Address (directly onto mail piece), collate, stuff, fold, seal, affix wafer seal closures, sort, stamp/meter, bundle for postage discounts, and deliver to the post office. We can accommodate a wide variety of insert and envelope sizes
- Letter Shop Services: Print personalized, high quality laser letters, folding, tabbing, and inserting while accommodating a wide variety of insert and envelope sizes
- Custom Printing: We find the best price and quickest service available through our printing partners
- Hand Assembly: Quality hand assembly (collating, folding, inserting, labeling and addressing) for custom or unusual jobs
Let us make a no obligation quote for your next mailing job. You will notice the difference on the service and attention we provide! We love what we do and looking forward to helping you.
Call us now at 480-483-7677
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail, mail services by on Oct 30th, 2009. Comment.
We have complied a short list of 4 of the most helpful resources when planning and implementing a direct mail campaign.
3) USPS direct mail resource page
shows how to create your mail piece
direct mail defined
create mail list
sending procedures
mailing and shipping tools
direct mail research
We hope you find these resources helpful to your next direct mail campaign. Remember to always do your due diligence when hiring a direct mail house to process your mailing. Check on their references, their past history of clients and programs they worked on, check with the Better Business Bureau, and make sure they are proactive in following up with you.
Filed under US Postal Service, direct mail, direct mail campaign, direct mail tips by on Oct 12th, 2009. Comment.
The US Postal Service has recently reported that they may close up to 410 branches across the USA. It is caused by lower quantities of personal mailings in conjunction with the recession.
Although the comsumer market is practically in panic, professional mailers and direct mailing houses are not worrying. The closures will definitely have an impact on the upcoming holiday market, causing delays and such. But as far as the direct mail houses, USPS services will continue as normal as they put priority on these places since it is high volume and therefore higher revenue to the USPS.
The only worry direct mail houses may have is the mail processing centers. If any of those places gets shut down, there could be a fallout of productivity on behalf of direct mail houses.
There are direct mail houses that have declared that if a lot of branches are closed, there is still a lot of branches left to pick up the slack. Fortunately, there is great density of post office branch retail offices. So, no need to worry now!
Filed under US Postal Service, direct mail, mail services by on Oct 1st, 2009. Comment.
When you think of planning out your next direct mail campaign, think Business Helpers. No, think “award winning” direct mail house! As seen by the previous post here, we are very proud of our 2009 Best of Scottsdale Award from the U.S. Commerce Association.
For those of you in the Phoenix, Arizona area, please make sure you visit us at our location and say “hello.” For visitors here from out of town, contact us either through our contact form or just call us for a cheerful, no obligation quote on your next job. We will always go the “extra mile” for you.
Call us at (480) 483-7677
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail, mail services by on Sep 16th, 2009. Comment.
1) Using the wrong list. Perhaps the biggest mistake that you can make is to use a mailing list that does not represent your target audience. Too many people send out mailings, receive no response, and wonder why. Make sure that your list is current and targeted to meet your needs.
2) Poor copy. It may only be 100 or even 25 words, but they need to be the right words. Take the time to do several rewrites until the copy will grab the reader’s attention.
3) No call to action. If you don’t tell the reader what you want them to do, it defeats the point of sending the direct mail piece. Do you want them to call you? Email you? Send in the enclosed postcard? Buy something? Make it clear what they should do or they will not respond.
4) No testing. Too many people learn the hard way that their direct mail piece is not effective. It should be common practice to test out anything you plan to use to market or advertise your business in order to see if it makes an impact.
5) Using hype over meat. It is all too common to hype your product or service with superlatives instead of highlighting and explaining the actual benefits of your product or service.
6) Not proofing the copy. There are too many stories of great direct marketing pieces that were missing phone numbers, addresses, or other key information. Errors in the copy are also too prevalent. Proofreading is an important aspect of all of your marketing campaigns. If you feel that you are lacking in those skills, hire someone to proof your copy. Or ask a colleague who has a way with words to take a look at your text.
7) Not focusing on your headline. One of the reasons we all toss direct mail quickly is because it does not grab us. Somewhere between boring headlines and gimmicks is a smart use of a headline that catches someone’s eye without insulting their intelligence. You only have a few seconds to grab the reader, therefore you need to put great stock into your headline.
8) Highlighting form over function. One common mistake is placing too much focus on the design elements of the direct mailing piece, which results in marvelous four-color graphics, interesting shapes, and eye-catching color, but a discrediting loss of content.
9) No follow up. Many businesses send out brochures, fliers, and other materials with no follow-up plan. Follow-up refers to calling, mailing additional information, or at least being prepared to fulfill requests for the product or for additional information.
10) Not tapping into expert advice. Direct mailing has been around for many years because when it works it works very well. Many people have spent their careers mastering the art of direct mailing. They know the right words to use and the best ways to get results. However, far too few people tap into this bank of knowledge. Do your research and learn from experts in the field.
This information is taken from All Business (dot) com
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing/direct-marketing-direct-mail/3986-1.html
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail, direct mail campaign, direct mail tips by on Sep 1st, 2009. Comment.