THE 12 MOST COMMON DIRECT MAIL MISTAKES...AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
Successful direct mail doesn't depend on fancy, four-colordesign or "creative" copy. By Robert W. Bly Mistake No. 1: Ignoring the most important factor in direct-mail success. Do you know what the most
important part of your direct-mail cam-paign is? It's not the copy. It's not the art work. It's not even the format or when you mail. It is the mailing list.A great mailing package, with superior copy and scintillating
de-sign, might pull double the response of a poorly conceived mailing.But the best list can pull a response 10 times more than the worstlist for the identical mailing piece.The most common direct-mail mistake is not
spending enough time andeffort up-front, when you select--and then test--the right lists.Remember: In direct marketing, a mailing list is not just a way ofreaching your market. It is the market.The best list available
to you is your "house" list--a list of cus-tomers and prospects who previously bought from you or responded toyour ads, public relations campaign, or other mailings. Typically,your house list will pull double
the response of an outside list.Yet, only 50% of business marketers I've surveyed capture and usecustomer and prospect names for mailing purposes.When renting outside lists, get your ad agency or list broker in-volved
in the early stages. The mailing piece should not be writtenand designed until after the right lists have been identified andselected. Mistake No. 2: Not testing. Big consumer mailers test all the
time. Publishers Clearinghouse tests just about everything...even (I hear) the slant of the in-dicia on the outer envelope.Business-to-business marketers, on theother hand, seldom track response or test one mailing
piece or list against another.As a result, they repeat their failures and have no idea of what works in direct mail--and what doesn't.A mistake. In direct mail, you should not assume you know what will work. You should
test to find out. For example, copywriter Milt Pierce wrote a subscription packagefor a very well-known magazine. His mailing became the "control"package for 25 years. That is, no package tested against it
brought back as many subscriptions.The envelope teaser and theme of that successful mailing was "32 Ways to Save Time and Money." Yet, Mr. Pierce says that when he applied the same theme to subscription
mailings for other maga-zines--it failed miserably."There are no answers in direct mail except test answers," saysEugene Schwartz, author of the book, Breakthrough Advertising.""You don't know
whether something will work until you test it. And you cannot predict test results based on past experience." Mistake No. 3: Not using a letter in your mailing package. The sales letter--not the outer
envelope, the brochure, or even the reply form--is the most important part of your direct-mail package.A package with a letter will nearly always outpull a post-card, a self-mailer, or a brochure or ad reprint mailed
without a letter.Recently, a company tested two packages offering, for $1, a copy of its mail-order tool catalog. Package "A" consisted of a salesletter and reply form. Package "B" was a double
post-card. The result? "A" outpulled "B" by a 3-to-1 ratio.Why do letters pull so well? Because a letter creates the illusionof personal communication. We are trained to view letters as
"real"mail, brochures as "advertising." Which is more important to you?One recommendation I often give clients is to try an old-fashioned sales letter first. Go to a fancier package once you start
makingsome money. Mistake No. 4: Features vs. benefits. Perhaps the oldest and most widely embraced rule for writing direct-mail copy is, "Stress benefits, not features." But in business-to-business
marketing, this doesn't always hold true. In certain situ-ations, features must be given equal (if not top) billing over benefits.For example, if you've ever advertised semiconductors, you knowthat design engineers are
hungry for specs. They want hard dataon drain-source voltage, power dissipation, input capacitance, and rise- and fall-time...not broad advertising claims about howthe product helps save time and money or improves
performance."I've tested many mailings selling engineering components and products ot OEMs (original equipment manufacturers)," says DonJay Smith, president of the Chatham, N.J.-based ad agency, TheWordsmith.
"I've found that features and specs outpull benefitsalmost every time." Vivian Sudhalter, "the engineering and scientific marketplacedoes not respond to promise- or benefit-oriented copy. They
respond to features. Your copy must tell them exactly what theyare getting and what your product can do. Scientists and engineersare put off by copy that sounds like advertising jargon."In the same way, I suspect
that doctors are swayed more by hardmedical data than by advertising claims, and that industrial chem-ists are eager to learn about complex formulations that the averageadvertising writer might reject as "too
technical."In short, the copywriter's real challenge is to find out what thecustomer wants to know about your product--and then tell him in your mailing. Mistake No. 5: Not having an offer. An offer is
what the reader gets when he responds to your mailing.To be successful, a direct-mail package should sell the offer, notthe product itself.For example, if I mail a letter describing a new mainframe computer,my letter is
not going to do the whole job of convincing people tobuy my computer. But the letter is capable of swaying some people to at least show interest by requesting a free brochure about the computer.Make sure you have a
well-thought-out offer in every mailing. If you think the offer and the way you describe it are unimportant,you are wrong.A freelance copywriter friend of mine ran an ad that offered a free portfolio of article reprints
aboutdirect mail. He received dozens of replies. Then he ran an identical ad, but charged $3 for the portfolio instead of giving it away. Number of responses that time? Only three.Here are some effective offers for
industrial direct mail: Freebrochure, free technical information, free analysis, free consul-tation, free demonstration, free trial use, free product sample,free catalog.Your copy should state the offer in such a way as
to increase the reader's desire to send for whatever it is you offer. For example,a catalog becomes a product guide. A collection of brochures be-comes a free information kit. A checklist becomes a conventionplanner's
guide. An article reprinted in pamphlet form becomes "our new, informative booklet--'How to Prevent Computer Failures.'"Fromnow on, design your fulfillment literature with titles and information that will make
them work well as offers in direct mail. When one of my clients decided to publish a catalog listing U.S. software programs available for export overseas, I persuaded herto call the book "The International
Directory of U.S. Software,"because I thought people would think such a directory was morevaluable than a mere product catalog. Mistake No. 6: Superficial copy. Nothing kills the selling power of a
business-to-business mailingfaster than lack of content. The equivalent in industrial litera-ture is what I call the "artdirector's brochure." You've seen them: Showcase pieces destined to win awards for
graphic excellence.Brochures so gorgeous that everybody falls in love with them--until they wake up and realizethat people send for information, not pretty pictures. Which is why typewritten, unillustrated sales
bro-chures can often pull double the response of expensive, four-color work.In the same way, direct mail is not meant to be pretty. Its goalis not to be remembered or create an image or make an impact, but to generate a
response now.One of the quickest ways to kill that response is to be super-ficial. To talk in vague generalities, rather than specifics. To ramble without authority on a subject, rather than show customersthat you
understand their problems, their industries and theirneeds.What causes superficial copy? The fault is with lazy copywriterswho don't bother to do their homework (or ignorant copywriters whodon't know any better).To
write strong copy--specific, factual copy--you must dig for facts. You must study the product, the prospect and the marketingproblem. There is no way around this. Without facts, you cannotwrite good copy. But with the
facts at their fingertips, even med-iocre copywriters can do a decent job.Don Hauptman, author of the famous mail-order ad, "Speak SpanishLike a Diplomat!," says that when he writes a direct-mail package,more
than 50% of the work involved is in the reading, research andpreparation. Less than half his time is spent writing, rewriting,editing and revising.Recently a client hired me to write an ad on a software package. After
reading the background material and typing it into my wordprocessor, I had 19 single-spaced pages of notes.How much research is enough? Follow Bly's Rule, which says you should collect at least twice as much information
as you need--preferably three times as much. Then you have the luxury of sel-ecting only the best facts, instead of trying desperately to findenough information to fill up the page. Mistake No. 7:
Saving the best for last. Some copywriters save their strongest sales pitch for last, start-ing slow in their sales letters and hoping to build to a climaticconclusion. A mistake. Leo Bott Jr., a Chicago-based
mail-order writer, says that the typical prospect reads for five seconds before he decides whether to continue reading or throw your mailingin the trash. The letter must grab his attention immediately. So start your
letter with your strongest sales point.Some examples of powerful openings:* "Which produces the best ad results--an 800 phone number? Companyphone? Coupon? No coupon?"--from a letter selling ad space in
aspecific magazine.* "14 things that can go wrong in your company--and one sure way to prevent them"--an envelope teaser for a mailing that sold a manual on internal auditing procedures.* "A special
invitation to the hero of American business"--from a magazine's subscription letter.* "Can 193,750 millionaires be wrong?--an envelope teaser for asubscription mailing.* "Dear Friend: I'm fed up with the
legal system. I want to changeit, and I think you do, too."--the lead paragraph of a fund-raisingletter.Some time- testing opening gambits for sales letters include:* asking a provocative question;* going straight
to the heart of the reader's most pressing problemor concern;* arousing curiosity;* leading off with a fascinating fact or incredible statistic; and* starting the offer up-front, especially if it involves money:saving
it, getting something for an incredibly low price, or makinga free offer.Know the "hot spots" of your direct-mail package--the places that get the most readership. Those include: the first paragraphs of the
letter, its subheads, its last paragraph and the post-script (80%of readers look at the P.S.); the brochure cover, its subheads andthe headline of its inside spread; picture captions; and the head-line and copy on the
order form or reply card. Put your strongest selling copy in those spots. Mistake No. 8: Poor follow-up. Recently, a company phoned to ask whether I was interested in buying its product, which was promoted in
a mailing I'd answered. The caller became indignant when I confessed that I didn't remember the company's copy, its product, its mailing, or whether it sent me a brochure."When did I request the brochure?" I
asked. The caller checked her records. "About 14 weeks ago," she replied.Hot leads rapidly turn ice cold when not followed up quickly. Slow fulfillment, poor marketing literature and inept telemarketing
candestroy the initial interest that you worked so hard to build.Here are some questions you should ask yourself about your currentinquiry fulfillment procedures:* Am I filling orders or requests for information within
48 hours?* Am I using telephone follow-up or mail questionnaires to qualifyprospects? By my definition, an inquiry is a response to your mail-ing. A lead is a qualified inquirer--someone who fits the descript-ive
profile of a potential customer for your product. You are afterleads, not just inquiries.* Am I sending additional mailings to people who did not respondto my first mailing? Test that. Many people who did not respondto
mailing No. 1 may send back the reply card from mailing No. 2,or even No. 3.* Am I using telemarketing to turn non-responders into responders?Direct mail followed by telemarketing generates two to 10 timesmore response
than direct mail with no telephone follow-up, accord-ing to Dwight Reichard, a telemarketing director.* Does my inquiry fulfillment package include a strong sales letter telling the prospect what to do next? Every
package should.* Does my inquiry fulfillment package include a reply element, such as an order form or spec sheet?* Does my sales brochure give the reader the information he needsto make an intelligent decision about
taking the next step in thebuying process? The most common complaint I hear from prospects isthat the brochures they receive do not contain enough technical andprice information.Don't put 100% of your time and effort
into the lead-generating mailing and 0% into the follow-up, as so many mailers do. You haveto keep selling, every step of the way. Mistake No. 9: The magic words. This mistake is not using the magic words
that can dramatically in-crease the response to your mailing.General advertisers, operating under the mistaken notion that the mission of the copywriter is to be creative, avoid the magic words of direct mail, because
they think those magic phrases are cliches.But just because a word or phrase is used frequently doesn't mean that it has lost its power to achieve your communications objective.In conversation, for example,
"please" and "thank you" never go outof style.What are the magic words of direct mail? Free. Say free brochure, not brochure. Say free consultation, not initial consultation. Say free gift, not
gift.If the English teacher in you objects that "free gift" is redundant,let me tell you a story. A mail-order firm tested two packages. The only difference was that package "A" offered a gift while
package"B" offered a free gift.The result? You guessed it. The free gift offer in package "B" significantly outpulled package "A." What's more, many people whoreceived package "A"
wrote in and asked whether the gift was free!No Obligation. Important when you are offering anything free. Ifprospects aren't obligated to use your firm's wastewater treatmentservices after you analyze their water
sample for free, say so. People want to be reassured that there are no strings attached.No salesperson will call. If true, a fantastic phrase that can increase response by 10% or more. Most people, including
genuineprospects, hate being called by salespeople over the phone. Warn-ing: Don't say "no salesperson will call" if you do plan to followup by phone. People won't buy from liars.Details inside/See inside. One
of those should follow any teasercopy on the outer envelope. You need a phrase that directs the reader to the inside.Limited time only. People who put your mailing aside for laterreading or file it will probably never
respond. The trick is togenerate a response now. One way to do it is with a time-limited offer, either generic ("This offer is for a limited time only."),or specific ("This offer expires 9/20/87.").
Try it!Announcing/At last. People like to think they are getting in on theground floor of a new thing. Making your mailing an announcement increases its attention-getting powers.New. "New" is sheer magic in
consumer mailings. But it's a double-edged sword in industrial mailings. On the one hand, they demandproducts with proven performance.The solution? Explain that your product is new or available to them for the first
time, but proven elsewhere--either in anothercountry, another application, or another industry. For example, when we introduced a diagnostic display system, we advertised itas "new" to U.S. hospitals but
explained it had been used success-ful for five years in leading hospitals throughout Europe. Mistake No. 10: Starting with the product--not the prospect. In my New York University copywriting workshop, I
teach students toavoid "manufacturer's copy"--copy that is vendor-oriented, that stresses who we are, what we do, our corporate philosophy and his-tory, and the objectives of our firm.You and your products are
not important to the prospect. The readeropening your sales letter only wants to know, "What's in it for me?How will I come out ahead by doing business with you vs. someone else?"Successful direct mail focuses
on the prospect, not the product.The most useful background research you can do is to ask your typical prospect, "What's the biggest problem you have right now?"The sales letter should talk about that problem,
then promise asolution.Do not guess what is going on in industries about which you havelimited knowledge. Instead, talk to customers and prospects to findout their needs. Read the same publications and attend the same
seminars they do. Try to learn their problems and concerns. Too many companies and ad agencies don't do this. Too many copywriters operate in a black box, and doom themselves merely to recycling data already found
in existing brochures.For example, let's say you have the assignment of writing a direct-mail package selling weed-control chemicals to farmers. Do you knowwhat farmers look for in weed control, or why they choose one
sup-plier over another? Unless you are a farmer, you probable don't. Wouldn't it help to speak to some farmers and learn more about theirsituation?Read, talk and listen to find out what's going on with your
custom-ers.In his book" Or Your Money Back," Alvin Eicoff, one of the deans oflate-night television commercials, tells the story of a radio com-mercial he wrote selling rat poison. It worked well in the
consumermarket. But when it was aimed at the farm market, sales turned upzero.Mr. Eicoff drove out to the country to talk with farmers. His find-ing? Farmers didn't order because they were embarrassed about hav-ing a
rat problem, and feared their neighbors would learn about itwhen the poison was delivered by mail.He added a single sentence to the radio script, which said that therat poison was mailed in a plain brown wrapper. After
that, sales soared. Talk to your customers. Good direct mail--or any ad copy--should tell them what they want to hear. Not what you think is important.Mistake No. 11: Failing to appeal to all five senses.Unlike an ad,
which is two-dimensional, direct mail is three-dimen-sional and can appeal to all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. Yet most users of direct mail fail to take advantageof the medium's added
dimension.Don't plan a mailing without at least thinking about whether you can make it more powerful by adding a solid object, fragrance oreven a sound. You ultimately may reject such enhancements becauseof time and
budget constraints. But here are some ideas you mightconsider:Audio cassettes. In selling summaries of business books recorded on cassette, Macmillan Software Co. sent an audio cassette in a coldmailing to prospects.
The cassette allows the prospect to sample the books-on-tape program. I would have said, "Too expensive." Butinside information, and the fact that I got the package twice, tellme it's working for them.Do you
have a powerful message that a company spokesperson can de-liver in dynamic fashion to your audience? Consider adding a cass-ette to your package.Videocassettes. Some companies are taking the idea one step furtherand
mailing videocassettes cold to prospects. Again, that's expen-sive--but successful in many instances. One company I spoke to gota 30% response to such a program. And in telephone follow-up, they learned that 95% watched
the tape.Pop-ups. Chris Crowell, president of Essex, Conn.-based StructuralGraphics Inc., says pop-ups can increase response up to 40% when compared with a conventional flat mailing. You can have a pop-upcustom designed
for your mailing or choose from one of many "stock"designs available.Money. Market research firms have discovered that enclosing a dollarbill with a market research survey can increase response by a factorof
five or more, even though $1 is surely of no consequence to bus-iness executives or most consumers. Has anyone tried using money toget attention in a lead-getting industrial mailing?Sound. Have you seen the greeting
cards that play a song when youopen them because of an implanted chip or some similar device? Ithink that certainly would get attention. But as far as I know, noone has used it yet in direct mail.Product samples. Don't
neglect this old standard. Enclose a product or material sample in your next mailing. We once did a mailing inwhich we enclosed a small sample of knitted wire mesh used in pol-lution control and product recovery.
Engineers who received themailing kept that bit of wire on their desks for months.Premiums. An inexpensive gift--such as a slide guide, measuring tape, ruler or thermometer--can still work well.One recommendation and
warning: A lot of us, including me, need tobe a little more imaginative if we want our mailing package tostand out in the prospect's crowded mailbox. At the same time, wemust remember that creativity can enhance a
strong selling messageor idea but cannot substitute for it. As copywriter Herschell Gordon Lewis, president of communicomp in Plantation, FL, warns, "Cleverness for the sake of cleverness may well be a liability,
not an asset."Mistake No. 12: Creating and reviewing direct mail by committee.Do you know what a moose is? It's a cow designed by a committee.Perhaps the biggest problem I see today is direct mail being re-viewed
by committees made up of people who have no idea (a) what direct mail is; (b) how it works; or (c) what it can and cannot do.For example, an ad agency creative director told me how his clientcut a three-page sales
letter to a single page because, as the client insisted, "Business people don't read long letters."Unfortunately, that's an assumption based on the client's own personal prejudices and reading habits. It is
not a fact. In manybusiness-to-business direct-mail tests, I have seen long lettersoutpull short ones--sometimes dramatically.Why pay experts to create mailings based on long years of trial-and-error experience, then
deprive yourself of that knowledge baseby letting personal opinions get in the way.Here are some things you can do to become a better direct-mail client:* Reduce the review process. The fewer people who are involved,
the better. At most, the mailing should be checked by the commun-ications manager, the product manager and a technical expert (for accuracy).* Resist the temptation to meddle. Point out technical inaccuraciesand other
mistakes. But don't dictate the piece's content, tone orstyle.* Make a commitment to judge direct mail not by what you like or byaesthetics, but by results--which can be measured accurately and scientifically.* Become
more educated in direct mail by reading books. I recommend"Successful Direct Marketing" by Bob Stone (NTC Business Books, Chicago (800) 323-4900; 496 pp.; $29.95) as a good place to start.* Know what's going
on in the industry. Subscribe to at least one of the top direct marketing magazines. Also, keep in touch with industry developments by reading the more broadly based marketing publications.* If you challenge your
direct-mail pros, be willing to spend fora test. In direct mail, the answer to "Which concept is best?" is the same as the answer to the question, "Which mailing piecepulled best?"Because nobody can
argue with results.
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