Direct Mail Response Rates Low? Eliminate these Mistakes

Written by Alan Sharpe


Continued from page 1

OFFER
You are offeringrepparttar same thing that your competitors are offering
Your offer is not specific
Your offer is not exclusive
Your offer is not relevant
Your offer is not valuable
Your offer is not unique
Your offer is not useful

CALL TO ACTION
You do not ask forrepparttar 150500 order
You ask forrepparttar 150501 order, but too late in your letter
You conclude by saying, “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me”
You give too many ways to respond—or not enough

REPLY DEVICE
Your reply device is too cluttered
You do not tell prospects what to do to buy your product or service
Your reply device is not postage-paid

TIMING
You are mailing atrepparttar 150502 wrong time ofrepparttar 150503 year
Your letter is arriving onrepparttar 150504 wrong day ofrepparttar 150505 week
You are mailing too often, so prospects ignore you
You are not mailing often enough, so prospects do not remember you

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print providedrepparttar 150506 links remain live andrepparttar 150507 content remains unaltered (includingrepparttar 150508 "Aboutrepparttar 150509 author" message).

About the author

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter who helps businesses attract new clients using direct mail marketing. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at www.sharpecopy.com.


Direct Mail Response Rate Boosters (10 of them)

Written by Alan Sharpe


Continued from page 1

7. Give something away

Free is still a powerful word in direct mail.

8. Offer a guarantee

Removerepparttar 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, includingrepparttar 150409 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 forrepparttar 150410 order sooner

Read through your sales message and see how long you are in getting torepparttar 150411 point. Experiment with putting your offer and call to action further up inrepparttar 150412 message.

12. Add to your package

The temptation when response rates are lower than expected is to reducerepparttar 150413 size ofrepparttar 150414 package. Instead, add something torepparttar 150415 mailer, such as a brochure, buckslip or liftnote (if you don’t know what these things are, visitrepparttar 150416 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 providedrepparttar 150417 links remain live andrepparttar 150418 content remains unaltered (includingrepparttar 150419 "Aboutrepparttar 150420 author" message).



Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers attract new clients using direct mail marketing. Learn more about his services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at www.sharpecopy.com.


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