Direct mail - the big brother of direct marketing (page 5 of 5)

And that means using a personalised letter. Remember, in direct mail, 'the letter sells, the brochure tells' That's the way it is. That's the way it will always be.

Don't mess with this, by trying to cut corners and mailing a brochure only. You will be wasting your time and your money. If your target is important to you, that target deserves to be spoken to personally.

And remember, the brochure only tells. It won't sell on its own.

In direct mail, the targeting and the letter vastly outweigh creative in importance terms. It has been proven thousands of times over the years.

So, throw all your self - adhesive labels in the bin now! Labels on outer envelopes, went out with the Zeppelin. Either use window envelopes, or print your address directly on the front of the envelope and hand match the personalised letter at mailing stage.

One other thing. Unless you are an experienced direct marketer, don't write the letter yourself. Don't even try. You won't have the skill. Neither, incidentally, will your above the line agency.

Direct response copywriting is a specialist art. There is a massive difference between traditional ad agency and direct response copywriters.

They are storytellers. We are salesmen.

So, in summary, don't take direct mail for granted. Don't play with it, like so many still do. Treat it with respect and abide by its proven rules. And, seek specialist advice, if at all possible.

If you do all those things, you will enjoy a return on marketing investment that you will find hard to beat.

Best of luck.


Andy Owen is Managing Director of Andy Owen & Associates, a Strategic Marketing Consultancy, with offices in Birmingham, Dubai, Paris, New York & Los Angeles. He can be contacted on 0044 121 778 6640, or by email at andyowen@aol.com