KARON: So, let me make an assumption here… "response rate" is much greater for telemessages than for standard direct mail, right?

PAUL: Significantly! Response rates of over 50% are regularly achieved. Telemessages have huge doorstep impact.

KARON: Yeah… I rather thought so. But, Paul, there are all sorts of specialized envelopes out there. What makes difference?

PAUL: Well, it’s a perception that comes with a “telegram.” People perceive telegrams as important legal documents and respond accordingly. Many companies also use telegram as a stage in their debt recovery process. They regularly record response rates in excess of 60%. Lloyds Bank recently told us they got 78% response from one mailing! KARON: Wow! That is huge! You also had a great response with a fundraising company you recently worked with (who has chosen to remain nameless). They didn’t get 50% but did do quite well for someone soliciting donations.

PAUL: Oh, yes! The charity was responding to a crisis. They needed resources and action fast. They chose Telemessage because of our quick turnaround times. (I like to think that our friendly and flexible approach also helped!)

KARON: Oh, I’m sure it did ! How many messages did they send?

PAUL: Over 50,000 requests for donations.

KARON: And what response rate did they get?

PAUL: 20% - MUCH greater than direct mail.

KARON: So what did this type of campaign cost them?

PAUL: £0.59p (US 83 cents) per item including Value Added Tax (17.5%) which they, as a charity will be able to reclaim. Ordinarily, unit costs range between 46p (64 cents) and 86p ($1.21) depending on volumes.

KARON: And that includes stationery, setup and postage, right?

PAUL: Yes.

KARON: That is very cost effective! So then, let me ask you this… what are contributing factors for a great campaign?

PAUL: It really depends on message. We can be sure that envelope gets opened, and even provide advice as to style of verbiage (simple, clear messages, headlines, bullet points, post-scripts, and anonymous messages ending with a call to action), etc. Bread, butter and jam for copywriters, ehhh Karon? But ultimately strength of response will depend on USP. Telemessage is ideal for urgent and important messages. To quote just one of our customers, ITV Digital, who used telegram to confirm appointments for new connections ... 'This has proven to be a very useful method in contacting our customers.' They achieved over 50% response, which they judged to be excellent. KARON: Great info, Paul! I really appreciate your insights into this powerful “revived” medium.

PAUL: It's a pleasure Karon, pop by for a cup of tea next time you're in England!

KARON: Will do!

You might want to create a "starter" issue of your zine that people get via autoresponder as soon as they subscribe. You could create a "best of" or resource issue for this purpose. Doing this will give your subscribers immediate value while it reminds them of what to expect in future. If you don't send something quickly, people may forget they signed up and not recognize your zine later on.

Depending on nature of your site and your business, you might offer people a free classified ad, a free consultation, a free sample, or a free link to their site. If you do this, be sure to assign a realistic value to your offer. Let people know what they're getting for free.

Whatever you do, make sure your offer is prominently displayed near top of your home page. You might want to create a small banner for this purpose.

Make sure you get as much appropriate information as you can about your visitors when they sign up for your offer. For an e-zine, that may be just a name and email address. But for offers that have a higher perceived value, you can ask a lot more questions, which most people will answer.

If you don't have a compelling, irresistible offer on your home page, I urge you to create one immediately. The sooner you do, sooner you'll start generating a roster of qualified prospects you can cultivate into a garden of profits.

Nick Nichols helps you spend less on your advertising and promotion and get more cash out of your business. Get his new free book, "10 Secret Tricks Every Online Marketer MUST Know to Stay Competitive" here: