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It’s tough for any business to do without direct mailing these days. You might mail prospective customers using the Internet or maybe you prefer to rely on the postal system. Maybe you use a combination of both. Whatever your preference, the writing on the wall for any business is clear: you need direct mail. Used effectively, this is your trigger to sales.

How do you go about it? You need lists. Maybe you already have one. Use it as a first phase to tell your customers about what you have for them that’s new. If you don’t have anything new, set about correcting that. Whatever it is - a promotion, free offer, discount, - use direct mail to make sure your customer knows about it. Your product, your company name, must be top of mind for him. This will only happen with reminders.

Are emails effective for direct mail? Not always. Thanks to the huge amount of spam mail pouring into people’s email boxes every day, chances are your promotion email might also get relegated into the junk folder. Yes, it’s a cheap method of mailing but is it effective? The problem is, you never know for sure. It could get deleted without reading or it could get read right through.

Mailing works better. Once you have a customer’s postal address, you can cross-check to see if there is a spurt in sales soon after you mailed to that particular area. Or you could work the other way around. If you find that one area has more people buying, send more mail there with offers and special schemes. You cannot do this with just an email address.

If you do have a response form that has to be sent or given back, don’t tire the customer out, or worse still bore him with long forms to fill out. Just his name, address, phone number and email address should do. Information gathering should be quick, easy and pleasant, not seen as a chore. You can always fill in another form if you need more information. Here, too, do it bit by bit so it does not seem like some kind of cross-questioning which puts most people off. It sometimes even intimidates them. Don’t ever ask for anything too personal.

Like we said, inform your customers about new promotions or offers or products through direct mail. Don’t waste his time if there is nothing to say. It might just rebound on you if you waste his time on what he considers unimportant and uninteresting.

If you are doing a cold mailing exercise to companies, do remember to put a name on it - not something impersonal as ‘Supervisor’ or ‘Manager’. Find out from the web or from a directory what the relevant person’s name is and address the mail accordingly. If you have huge mailings, a business directory could be just the thing you need. Get one that has all the companies you deal with listed. Having it all in one place is time-saving even though business directories can cost a bit. This would probably take you ages if you were to compile it from the Internet. Unless of course you get lucky and an online directory that suits your line of business happens to be listed!

For more informatin about direct mail, visit:
http://www.directmailmarketingus.com

One of the first things I do with clients is determine their relationship with the post office. Why? Because in order to be an effective marketing organization, they will need to get pretty cozy with them. I admonish you to shake off the image of our mail system as being anything other than a highly reliable and valuable strategic business partner. After all, they help to deliver your message to a targeted group of prospects in an inexpensive way. And these prospects will buy depending upon the right message. Think of your mail carrier as a kind of sales director and the letters as sales sentinels without the downside of having to pay benefits.

Direct mail has been and remains the marketing champ for efficiency. It is still the most cost-effective tool for creating and maintaining interest as well as gaining valuable information to re-use in other marketing media. In terms of return, you need to determine how much a sale is worth to you over the lifetime of the client. Let’s say for widgets, that it’s $3000 over 5 years. In one year, by writing say, six letters to them to create the dialogue, you’ve spent 75 cents times 6 which is about $5. $5 in acquisition costs compared to $3000 in value of the client. can you beat that? Even if you factor in all the mailers in that campaign with no one else buying, you’re still probably ahead.

Whether you’ve never used mail to market your business or you’ve tried and done poorly, I encourage you to pick it up again, plan, modify and learn until it works for you. Direct mail is a tactic that you need to be patient with. It might not bring results in the first couple of tries, but as long as you’ve identified a good list and your message is sound, it will pay off. And after you’ve seen good results from it, you’ll work this method into your marketing efforts permanently.

Get to know the costs: the supplies, the printing, the postage, the delivery times, and the specific results. Try different copy to different groups on your list. Tinker with it, try different things. Call a few prospects on the list for feedback. This is how you remove the guesswork out of your marketing efforts!

Once you get calls or inquiries from the mailers, you can use that message in your advertising and the results should be similar.

Again, be patient with direct mail. Expect to send out six different pieces to someone before you get a response. And send out different types of copy to them each time, such as newsletters, postcards, or press releases. Include yourself in some of the mailings to get an idea of what and how they’re receiving. The bottom line is that you act similarly to them…that is, you’re probably not going to call until you see the name and the offer several times. Be steadfast, and after some time, you’ll be sold on the mail as well.

Scott Campbell owns Impact Marketing, Inc out of Atlanta, GA. He installs a marketing system, called the “Ultimate Marketing System”, into small businesses and practices in the Atlanta, GA area.

Learn more about Impact Marketing and its solutions here at http://www.impactyourcompany.com.

Direct mail marketing has become more and more popular over the past couple of years. Companies have been searching for direct marketing solutions that help to grow their business for the cheapest amount of money possible. Direct mail marketing has stepped to the forefront in this arena, which is obvious by all of the direct marketing solutions firms that are being formed every year.

A simple internet search will give you results for thousands of direct mail marketing firms. After checking out some of the sites you will realize that while most of them are generally the same, their prices and quality of information can vary greatly.

By this point you are probably wondering what some of the benefits and features of direct mail marketing are. Some people may even be wondering what direct mail marketing consists of. Direct mail marketing means basically what it says. It is a way for companies to market their products and services to potential clients through mail sent directly to them.

You may be wondering where the company secures the names of potential clients. Most companies that are advertising themselves as direct marketing solutions firms have mailing lists that they will sell to you. Depending on the quality of the list, and the number of names the price will vary. You can buy a list for your direct mail marketing efforts that target only people in your field of interest. In other words if you own or work for an accounting firm, you can buy a list that is specialized to get you in touch with accounting professionals, or someone who may need accounting assistance.

Some other lists that direct mail marketing companies can provide include: lists broken down by profession (doctors, etc.), zip code, state, new homeowners in an area, library, and even lists for particular ethnic groups. In other words, if you are looking for a particular list for your direct mail marketing efforts you will more than likely be able to find it in one place or the next.

But mailing lists are not the only direct marketing solutions available. Another direct marketing technique that is used on a consistent basis is telemarketing. Telemarketing has lost some of its steam over the past few years because of all the fuss over the “do-not-call” lists that are available. This has forced many companies to go the direct mail marketing route because they do not want to deal with possible lawsuits brought forth by calling the wrong people, etc. Though telemarketing is not as popular as it once was, it can still be very effective. It costs less than direct mail marketing, and you can reach thousands of people in a very short amount of time.

If you are looking for a direct marketing solutions firm be sure to check out all of their services and prices before signing on. Remember, all of them offer the same services but you will be most interested in obtaining quality work for your money.

Kevin Dark is an online marketer. His upcoming project is available at http://www.geoz.info

In my last article I gave you a template for hooking the reader

Brochures are among the most utilized marketing vehicles in use today. From very small businesses to the largest publicly-traded companies, all use brochures to communicate with their customers and prospects about the products and services they offer. But despite how common the brochure is, not many employ the proper brochure copywriting strategy to take best advantage of the medium. Here are some of the things you can do to ensure that doesn’t happen to you:

1. Lead with a cover headline that directly empathizes with your customer’s needs
This can be done a variety of ways. You could ask a question. You can make a promise. You can literally identify the problem. Whatever you choose to do, the right brochure copywriting strategy is one that steers clear of the “marketing speak” trap and speaks to your market directly in a language that it easily understands and appreciates. Secondly, the headline should create curiosity to continue reading the brochure, but this should be a natural effect of a truly empathetic headline.

2. Introduce your company and offerings with an emphasis on customer benefits
A brochure usually includes some kind of introduction, but contrary to popular practice, this isn’t the place to wax about how long the company has been in business, how many employees you employ or how great they are. No, this is the place where your brochure copywriting should position your company and its offerings as the answer to a problem your market has. It should directly correlate to the headline you led with, and should be written in plainspoken language, not flowery or laced with innuendo.

3. Include customer testimonials
Sometimes, the best brochure copywriting isn’t written by you or your copywriter. It’s done by your customers in their own words. Assuming your company has satisfied customers, what they have to say about their experience with you is often more credible than anything you can say about yourself.

4. Close the brochure with a compelling call-to-action with an offer to “share the risk”
Once you connect with your readers in a way that resonates with who they are and their needs, perhaps the only thing standing between you and the new business is a natural apprehension to “taking the risk.” However, if your brochure copywriting includes a call-to-action (or asks for the order) in a way that you offer to share the risk, you have a very good chance at getting over this hurdle. Just remember, try to make the offer as relevant to the needs of your customer as possible. If the value of your company’s offerings aren’t price-related, don’t make a price-related offer. Offer something related to the key reasons someone would want to do business with you-just make the deal a little sweeter.

Adam Barone is a freelance copywriter from the Boston area. Visit him at http://www.adambarone.com. (c)Adam Barone 2006. All rights reserved. Reprint rights granted as long as the article is published in its entirety, including links.

Direct mail is a lot like blackjack. To win a blackjack you need to be aware of the odds at all times and play so that you are maximizing your chances to win while minimizing your risks. The same is true with direct mail. Direct mail is “played” so that you maximize your chances of winning and reducing your chances of throwing money out the window.

Each right move helps you increase your response rates and your return on investment. Mistakes, on the other hand will cost you responses and cost you money. Here’s a few common mistakes and some proven direct mail and marketing tips that will help you maximize your success.

1. Marketing to too many low probability prospects. The list that you mail to is the number one factor that will determine how successful you are at direct mail. You should spend more time trying to select the right list than any other component of your direct mail campaign. This one component can mean more to your success than any other.

Look for lists that have a logical connection to your product or service. If you are raising funds for a charity you would want to select a list of people who have donated to a similar cause in the past.

2. Failure to differentiate. Have you ever noticed how many companies say the same thing in their marketing and advertisements. Open up a phone book and look at how many companies sound alike. They use phrases like “Quality Work, Affordable Rates, and Prompt Service.”

It’s all meaningless dribble to the people who are reading it. We’ve heard it all before from similar companies. If you say the same thing that everyone else does you say nothing. No one pays attention to the same white noise.

3. Your message is not credible. People make claims but fail to show the reader how they can deliver on those claims. They do not offer supporting evidence that tells the reader why they can do what they say can do.

For example, if I said I can service any retail location in the US in under 24 hours I would need to support that claim. In this case, I would say we can support this claim because we have over 2,400 offices through out the US. This connects the claim to some sort of reason why.

4. Failure to link your product to a benefit. People will only buy your product or service for what it can do for them. You need to provide them with both emotional and logical benefits that build their interest. Make sure that you connect the features of your product to something that provides a benefit to your prospect.

An example of this is, if I was selling a cell phone I would indicate that it has a vibrate function. That way, you can avoid the embarrassing feeling of having your cell phone go off in the middle of church while you are waiting for an important phone call. In this case, and the case of all good marketing, the feature ties to a benefit.

5. Over reliance on graphics. Graphics can be a wonderful way to support your direct mail message but, they need to be used correctly. Ultimately, no matter how well done a picture is, it will not sell for you. Your copy is what will do the selling.

Use graphics to support your copy. For example, if you have a chiropractic clinic your headline might read “Plagued By Back Problems?” and your picture might support this headline by showing someone wincing in pain as they hold their back.

6. Envelopes that won’t get opened. If your envelope broadcasts the fact that what is inside is advertising then you have reduced your chances of that mail being opened. The more you can make your mail look like a personal letter the better your success will be in getting the envelope opened.

One thing you might want to consider is handwriting the address. This can be time consuming but, if the number of pieces you are sending is small this can be a great idea. The other thing you should consider is using a normal white woven envelope as opposed to a high quality paper one with your logo on it. A normal looking white woven envelope will look more personal and have a greater chance of getting opened.

I hope you find these tips useful in putting together a direct mail campaign that produces results. Stick to the basics and remember that your direct mail is a salesperson in print.

Wayne Landt is a marketing consultant and copywriter. He has over 14 years experience improving marketing and sales results in a variety of industries. He is available for a free marketing or advertising assessment. Visit http://www.optimizedmarketingsystems.com or call 773) 588-1381.

Real Estate Post Card Marketing is an underutilized real estate marketing strategy known by many, but used by few. The test? How many agents do you know market real estate with postcards. Not many - that’s what I thought!

Yet, those that do maintain high visibility with their prospects. From useful tips to delicious recipes, customized real estate marketing post cards can leave positive and lasting impressions about you and your services at affordable prices.

I like marketing real estate with post cards for several reasons:

1. They’re inexpensive - you can cast a wide net and reach a lot of people for a little of nothing. And as you know, or will soon learn, repeat contact with prospects is key to identity branding. You want buyers and sellers to think of you when they’re ready to make a real estate transaction; which you can accomplish easier when you have repeated contacts with them. A series of real estate marketing post cards will do that for you.

2. They’re easy to set into motion - it takes little time to reach hundreds to thousands of prospects via real estate post card marketing.

Here’s a great way to use them. Chose a neighborhood to farm; condos, high end homes, country estates, move up homes, or whatever.

Then, mail post cards to the homeowners on a routinely scheduled basis. Perhaps it’s once a month, with special emphasis on holidays. Or maybe it’s every other month.

However frequent it is it your post cards should be interesting enough that your prospects look forward to receiving them, but not so often that they are annoying.

Fortunately, you don’t have to spend time or energy designing and printing your own post cards. There are several companies that produce impressive Real Estate Postcards; ready for addressing and mailing. They’re cute, charming and near deadly effective.

Even if you’re a do it yourself type and like the idea of owning a software program to design your own you can’t go wrong with ready made ones.

As a real estate agent you need to generate leads; buyers for listings and sellers wanting to list their properties. You should also be taking advantage of every opportunity to brand yourself. With real estate post card marketing you can:

use your real estate marketing post cards like an extension of your Business Cards. You could include your real-world address, phone number, and website address if you’re comfortable with that. The key is to include information that makes it easy for someone to get in touch with you.

use your real estate marketing post cards to Announce New Listings. For example, announce your $2 million dollar listing to a $750,000.00 neighborhood. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be your listing, and you can still implement this idea.

Here’s what I mean! Select 4-5 one million dollar homes you’d like to sell, which can be any body’s listings in any agency. Get to know them like they’re your own listings.

Then, select a neighborhood, or neighborhoods, of 200-500 homes where the values are $500,000.00, or so. More or less is okay, but the idea is to seleect homes that are several hundred thousand dollars or more less in value. The idea won’t work if there’s only a $20,000.00 difference.

Select a a series of real estate post cards to send to the owners in the targeted neighborhood(s). A series of letters will work, but you can make a bigger and more lasting impression with postcards. Check out some Real Estate Postcards and you’ll see what I mean. The post cards should appeal to their desire to “move up” into larger and/or more expensive homes.

Send a post card once a month.

Then, get ready for some business. You’ll get potential buyers interested in what you’ve got to sell that will also be prospects for new listings. Can you see getting sales this way? How about listings?

When you use this strategy you’ll begin to create relationships with people that’ll translate to sales and listing, and reap the benefits of your efforts over and over.

A real estate post card marketing campaign will enable you to frequently and inexpensively market Real Estate Postcards to the masses, and as you know the more frequent your contacts with prospects the better your results will be.

Lanard Perry is the author of “Farming Expired Listings…;” a real estate listing system that shows Realtors how to average 1 or more listings a week. Visit his websites at www.farmingexpiredlistings.com and www.real-estate-marketing-talk.com for more business building ideas.