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7. Give something away
Free is still a powerful word in direct mail.
8. Offer a guarantee
Remove
hesitation that some prospects have by offering a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.
9. Improve your credibility on paper
Read your package cover to cover, including cover, and ask yourself (or better yet, ask someone else), why a stranger should trust you. Then overcome that distrust with testimonials, your credentials, third-party endorsements, accreditations and other facts that build trust.
10. Make ordering easier
Is your order form too busy? Have you frustrated prospective customers by giving too few ways to order (only mail, for example, instead of mail and fax and phone). A change here can make a dramatic difference.
11. Ask for order sooner
Read through your sales message and see how long you are in getting to point. Experiment with putting your offer and call to action further up in message.
12. Add to your package
The temptation when response rates are lower than expected is to reduce size of package. Instead, add something to mailer, such as a brochure, buckslip or liftnote (if you don’t know what these things are, visit Direct Mail Glossary at www.sharpecopy.com/glossary.html). You are more likely to boost response by adding to your package than you are by making it cheaper.
© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided links remain live and content remains unaltered (including "About author" message).
