Direct Mail

How To Create Effective Direct Mail Messaging

Direct Mail

The message you convey with your direct mail pieces really matters. When you send the right message to the right people you get the best results. How were the results of your last campaign? Did you take enough time to construct good messaging? WHAT you say and HOW you say it, is essential.

In order to create the most effective direct mail messaging there are many things to consider.

  1. Not too wordy: The easiest way to get your mail piece thrown in the trash is to put too many words on it. Think of ways to convey your message using fewer words. Bullets, color text, bolding and italics can all help to highlight the most important words. The KISS (keep it simple stupid) method is best.
  2. Repeat message: The more times a person sees the same message the better it is remembered and responded to. Another benefit of repeating the message is that the more often they hear or see it, the more they trust the message.
  3. Focused theme: In direct mail it is very important to coordinate your message, your artwork, your design and your audience together to form your theme. When any of these is out of alignment it detracts from your message, confuses the recipient and your direct mail ends up in the trash.
  4. Too many choices: When you provide too many options on your mail piece you create uncertainty. This causes people to decide to do nothing rather than make a wrong choice. Instead, propose the best option for them and provide them with all the benefits they will experience.
  5. Rhyme: It’s easy to remember and fun to read. When your message rhymes it resonates more with people. Have some fun with your messaging. The best part about rhyme is that you can subliminally coax people with your message.
  6. Brand: Your brand is how people identify you. If your message conflicts with your brand people will not believe it. They will not trust your message and may even get angry about it. Take the time to craft your message to your brand.

Think about the last direct mail piece you received and really looked at. What about that messaging was intriguing for you? Usually you can pin point a few key words that stuck out to you. Using that information, how can you tailor your message to do the same thing? What words will grab attention and stand out?

All the words you place on the mail piece need to work together toward your goal. Is your goal for them to visit your website? Come to your store? Call you? Or something else? When you have a clearly defined goal it makes it easier to craft your message. Remember that recycling the message from previous campaigns is good for recognition, so you want to do it. Just make sure that when you do, you are integrating it into the new campaign effectively. Some wording will need to change and you may need to highlight different key words. Are you ready to get started?