Computer-Assisted Marketing

Mailer Design

We supply his name, you design the mailer to attract the newcomer to your business, clinic or church. Those are the two key elements of any direct mail: the list and the mailer.

Our list is the best available. So the success of your newcomer project depends on how well you can suit your mailer to the task of getting him to your establishment.

Every situation is unique, which is why we don't offer to design it for you. Nobody knows your business better than you, its owner. Nor does anyone know the type and style of the town where it's established, nor the character of the newcomers who arrive to live there; and all those factors are vitally important. Use that knowledge!

Your task in mailer design is to...

express the virtues of your establishment in terms to which your reader will relate; and so to provide him with reasons to stop by.

Those reasons must always be benefits, to him. your store has been in business 75 years; why should he care? (say something like "We've had 75 years to learn how to meet the needs you have in this Town...")

See the difference, between a "feature" and a "benefit"?

A feature of a new Jaguar model I noticed recently is that its V8 engine has some 290 horsepower. The associated benefit is that "you'll always have ample power to pass safely" or something like that. Features, the seller may be proud of: benefits are all the buyer will care about. So your mailer has to stress benefits. Basic, vital, immutable rule!

Some call this the "WIIFM" Rule: your mailer must address the question " What's In It For Me?"

You'll draft your mailer, and then re-draft it. If you spend less than 10 hours on its design, that's probably too little. And whenever you come back to review a phrase or paragraph ask yourself mercilessly: "so what?" You just told the newcomer something, but So What, to him? - what benefit can he draw from what you just wrote?

If none, start over!

All that's pretty basic salesmanship, even though an awful lot of people in business have never thought about it that clearly. But there's more: you have to choose the right words, and that means you have a matching job to do, a style of expression to choose.

Example: We would not use street slang when offering a new stock pick to a busy senior exec or a rich heiress. Equally, we'd not present our case with flowery, Ivy League vocab to a blue-collar guy in Peoria, IL. Of course not; in each case, we pay the prospect the courtesy of using words and phrases that he will readily understand and relate to.

(Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which we might not normally put... but there are exceptions. Making the reader admire your correct English may be right for a teacher. But it can be terrible for a salesman!)

Therefore, you have not only to know well what benefits you can offer the newcomer to town, you have to know what kind of person you're writing to, and so, what style you need to use. Are they Hispanic? Black? Educated? White collar or blue? Wealthy? Scraping by? Old? Young? Familied or single? These are all major elements of the task; if you don't know these dominant features of the incoming population, you can not intelligently begin. So, find out! They affect not only your language, but even the particular benefits you emphasize.

Those are all very important rules, and we ignore them at our peril. Beyond them, however, there are some specific ideas and suggestions I can offer:

1. Condense. When the newcomer opens his mail, you'll have his attention for just a few seconds. If you don't capture it then, you'll lose him; he'll never finish what you wrote. So make it short, sweet, polite, attention-grabbing. And place the key benefit right up front.

You might use a postcard. Then you must condense! It saves the reader having to open an envelope, it grabs the eye without delay, and it's cheaper to boot. But, be classy.

2. Choose the right stationery. Embossed letterhead on crinkly parchment may be de rigeur in Beverly Hills, but in a low-income area it not only buys you zippo, it can actually put people off. Hey, these guys are too pricey for my pocket! And the converse is true, of course. Again, fit the reader - it's a matter of courtesy and common sense.

3. Make it clear what ACTION you want the reader to take, and why he should take it (again, WIIFM.) There are exceptions perhaps, but I don't think highly of image advertising. For this purpose anyway, you need impact, decision. Time's short.

4. Be careful about PRIVACY. Some newcomer mailers flaunt the knowledge we give you: "HI, NEW NEIGHBOR!!!" Well, it's okay, but suppose the newcomer is keen on privacy, and a lot are: Will that help your sale or hinder it?

Say, instead, "If you're new to town, you'll especially want to stop by our deli counter..." The "if" word zaps the sting.

5. Pick out your TOP 3 BENEFITS, and stress those. You may have 30, but he'll not read that far. And picking them out may not be that easy, so be honest and get a second opinion.

6. Also deal with any WEAKNESS your establishment may have, in case you need to de-fuse it before he arrives. If you have no customer car park, say "We're located conveniently right on Main Street and the Town Car Park is 2 blocks to our North."

7. Allow the reader to see you're PASSIONATE about what you are telling him. Allow your enthusiasm for your business to show. If you're not excited, why should he be?

8. Provide a RESPONSE MECHANISM. This is often best done with a "Free Offer" or welcome coupon... some worthwhile special goodie for those who come to redeem it. That will enable you to measure the response.

Lastly (did I mention this?) make sure to WELCOME the respondent. When all your design work has paid off and your new customer crosses your threshold, make certain he's pleased with what he finds and so that he'll come again. And again. And again. That's how your business grows.