Choosing Direct Mail Designs
According to the United States Postal Service, an estimated 100 billion pieces of direct mails are sent out in 2005. This figure reflects a 16% increase from the 86 million pieces that were posted the previous year. From this numbers, we can get a fairly good idea about how many direct mails that customers, on average, receive every year. This is why it is a challenge for many companies to come up and use direct mail designs that will attract customers and motivate them to open and read the direct mail contents. Direct mail designs should be compatible with the logo of the company. It must also complement the marketing approach that a company intends to do. These designs should be consistent in the outer envelope, reply envelope, brochures, sales letter and other marketing items. In order to identify the best and effective direct mail designs, all parts of the direct mail should be tested and tried on a test audience before large-scale campaigns should be conducted. The designs or versions with high response rates should be considered.
According to studies, recipients take about six seconds to decide whether or not to open a direct mail envelope or dismiss it immediately as junk mail. Use envelope direct mail designs that can incite curiosity and excitement. Envelopes with windows other than the address window could be chosen to allow recipients a glimpse of what is inside it. It may also be a good idea to use transparent envelopes so that the front and back view of the content can be viewed at one glance. The message or statement that is printed on the envelope should not be complicated so that customers will be compelled to open it. Effective direct mail designs should also be used in brochures, sales letters and response device. For those who are new to direct mail marketing, they can hire a professional graphic designer and copywriter to help achieve exactly the kind of marketing communication that the company wants. To increase the efficacy of direct mail letters, overlines and Johnson boxes can be placed on top of the direct mail advertising letter. Overline is a brief sentence that summarizes what a company can offer to the recipient of the direct mail. A Johnson box, on the other hand, is a box that encloses a text. Both should function as a sort of headline for the advertising letter. In addition, it is a good idea to provide incentives for customers to make a response to a direct mail offer. These can be time limit discounts or special membership benefits. Moreover, give customers the chance to make a choice regarding product color, model, accessories or variations. Customers have different preferences and being able to choose an item that suits their tastes will compel them to make a response to a direct mail offer. Involvement or response devices should also be included in a direct mail package to enable companies to measure how effective a direct mail campaign is. Direct mail designs for these devices should be consistent with the other components of the mail package so as not to confuse the recipient. Some of the most common involvement devices are fold outs, brochures, fill-out cards, surveys and peel-off stickers. |