How do you create a direct mail advertising campaign that gets results?The following tips on creating a direct mail advertising campaign have been street-tested and will bring you huge returns in a short period of time.In Fact, these tips enabled me to generate over $47,000 in mortgage commissions in less than 30 days!Keep reading and I will share 3 key elements to creating an effective direct mail advertising campaign:Key Element #1: The prospect list – Mail to a targeted list of prospectsHere are a couple of ways to find targeted prospect mailing lists in your niche:Look in your industry trade publications. I found great list providers for my direct mail advertising campaigns in the back of Mortgage Originator Magazine – A popular mortgage industry publication.Or, search Google.com for: your industry + “mailing lists”. For example, I am a mortgage lender so my search would be: mortgage + “mailing lists” in Google.com.By the way, when purchasing a prospect list for your direct mail advertising, be sure to get some kind of personal information about your prospect to use in your campaign.Here is an example of personal information I use in my direct mail advertising campaigns:* The prospect’s current mortgage company
* The prospect’s original loan amountKey Element #2: The Envelope – How to get your letter openedThe envelope must entice your prospects into opening and reading the enclosed letter.Here are some ideas for getting your envelope opened:1. Insert a personalized “RE:” line above your prospect’s name in a window envelope.I found that the original lender’s name works well in my campaigns:RE: ABC Mortgage
John Doe
123 N Main St.
City, State Zip
—Bar Code—2. Use this text with your return address in the upper left corner of the envelope:Administrative Office
1234 South Broadway Pkwy.
City, State ZipConfidential InformationPersonal and ConfidentialKey Element #3: The direct mail advertising mail piece – Get your desired resultThe purpose of your direct mail advertising mail piece is to get your prospect to take a desired action. For me, that action is picking up the phone and calling me for a loan.Here are some tips to help you get your desired result from your direct mail advertising mail piece:1. Personalize the mail pieceIf possible disclose small pieces of personal information about your prospect to get their attention and build rapport.Here are some examples of personalized text I use in my direct mail advertising campaigns:”Based on your original loan with ABC Mortgage in the amount of $250,000 your new payment would be $924.05.”"Based on our calculations, this loan program may save you $32,841 in interest charges over the next 5 years and $197,046 over the life of your mortgage!”2. Include a few “bio lines” under your signature. Tell them a little bit about who you are.Here are the “bio lines” I use:To your financial success,My Signature
Hartley W. Pinn, JrSenior Mortgage Planner
10 Years Mortgage Experience
Licensed Financial Planner
Married with 3 children3. Offer a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) in your mail pieceIf you don’t currently have a unique selling proposition for your direct mail advertising campaign – Find one. What makes you different from your competitors? What makes you better? Why should a prospect use you over a competitor? Answer these questions and you will have your unique selling proposition.Here are some sample USP lines that work well in my direct mail advertising campaigns:”No House Payment Until April 2006!!! Imagine what you could do by skipping your February and March house payments.”"Additionally, we specialize in loan programs with No Points. We can pay this customary closing cost because we are paid directly from the new lender.”4. The call to actionAsk them to take your desired action:”Call now and ask for me personally so we can discuss your individual needs and goals.”"Be sure to visit http://www.YourWebsite.com to view this Free Video: “How to Get Paid For Refinancing”. Discover how to use your mortgage loan as a tool to secure your financial future. It’s the most informative site on the web!!”Well, that’s it! I wish you all the best with your next direct mail advertising campaign. The only thing left for you to decide is how much money you would like to make over the next 30 days? Mail more letters and you will generate more sales!

Do you want to build steady streams of qualified leads for your sales force? No matter what kind of marketing you use — direct mail… telemarketing… print ads… radio or TV— the same cardinal rule applies: test everything on a small scale before spending money on a big scale.’Testing’ is an ugly topic. Why? Because testing variables in advertising direct mail, phone scripts and sales presentations requires discipline, diligence and patience. You can only test one variable at a time if you want to get it right. This means that if you change a headline, you can’t change anything else.Start with small tests. Use them as launching pads for your product or service.Test one ad one time. Avoid the costly mistake of repeating your test ad. Save your money! Test your ad by running it one time — and one time only. Using this low-cost method you can test market any product or service for under $500.Before expanding your schedule, track and measure results. Is your ad profitable? Is it generating sufficient leads? Are these leads turning into orders? Evaluate your test by using the following guidelines.The fastest way to test is the A-B test or as some call it split testing. This is the fastest
way to test and get to a reasonable conclusion. Let’s assume you have a letter and you want to leave everything the same but test 3 different headlines, and you have 1,200 similar addresses to mail to. What you would do is send every 1st person the A headline while sending every 2nd person the B headline and every 3rd person the C headline.You can test again a control. A control is a letter, newspaper ad or Val-Pak coupon that already works well and you’re using it on a continuing basis. You have been using it long enough you know what it produces. You have a known to measure against. Now you can start trying to improve that control, ideally one step or variable at a time.If I’m trying to beat a control, here are the variables I’ll look at closely, to see if there’s room for improvement:1. The offer2. The guarantee(s)3. The urgency of response4. The big idea or big promise5. The overcoming of skepticism i.e. credibility and believability6. The style or tone of the writing itself7. The look of the pieceBy the way, little, very testable things DO sometimes make very big differences. A contractor changed the headline on his direct mail letter and went from getting three or new clients a month to 18 to 20.You must collect accurate data or all your testing will be wasted. You must know where all your business comes from. To do this you need to code every offer, and track it. If you have employees who are lax about this, they can totally screw up your test.My clients that have the best profits and incomes possess the best information about where their business comes from.Highly successful HVAC contractors view everything they do…as testing. They do NOT see things in the context of ’success’ or ‘failure’ like ordinary people do, and as a result they do not become ‘de-motivated’ like most people do.Instead, they carefully organize the things they do into a series or sequence of experiments, testing options, and focusing on the ones they find that work. And they fully expect to go through any number of experiments that don’t pan out before walking away from the lab with a winner.
Always, always test your marketing methods small. Then if they work and only if they work, test a little bigger. Keep getting bigger and bigger if it works.
I’ve known many people to lose their shirts by not following this rule.
No matter how wonderful you think your idea or plan is, test small. Let the response tell you if it’s good or not.
One guy I know bought 500 names from a mailing list broker. He mailed the 500 names and got a tremendous response. It was unbelievable. Then he did it.
He made a huge mistake. He decided to mail to the rest of the list – which was 10,000 names. He spent $1800 to buy the list (18c a name) and spent $3700 on postage. Guess what his results were? Only $350 in sales.
Mailing brokers always give you the best part of the list first.
The most responsive buyers.
This guy lost $5150. This is a common mistake. Many, many people have made it.
Remember test, test, and test. Test small. Get bigger slowly.

Now that you’re building your list of customers effectively, what do you do with this valuable information?Don’t sell them, whatever you do!When you gather this information, in the back of their minds they are just a little bit worried. This customer list is to build relationships, not to up sell them! Don’t confirm that suspicion by trying to sell to them. (This is one sure way to turn your customer off.)Begin a proactive step in building relationships with your customers. You are gathering data so that you can send them direct mail pieces, call them on the phone and even email them. Here are at least three avenues of contact to use. You may even have their anniversary date or some other personal information. If done with the attitude of “caring for your customer”, all of these can be used effectively.People are so sick of being sold!! It is estimated that the average person gets 3000 marketing messages shoved at them each and every day. This makes your potential customers jaded and savvy. If you try to sell them with your interest at heart they will know it an respond negatively.You need to get to know them, and the best way to get to know them is to let them get to know you. Send them Information about you that is important to them. If you care about your customers in a more substantial way than just because they can buy from you , they will sense this too and be very loyal to you. This one fact is what separates the amateurs from the pros in business marketing. the real challenge in this area comes in the change of mindset. You see, you can’t fake it. If you still believe in your heart that people are just customers, here to put money in your hand, they will always sense that. As a professional business person it is vital to your business to put the interests and concerns of your customer ahead of your, when you do that business will flourish.What is one tool that can be used to show your customers that you care about them?Let’s start with direct mail, which has actually gained some credibility in recent years. With more modern and cheaper methods of contact, people are getting less junk mail so when your message comes to their mailbox. If done right, your direct mail will have a huge impact. You can have meaningful contact with your treasured customer for as little as $2 or $3 per person. Imagine the loyalty that is built with an anniversary card sent by you to your customer! When you consider the Lifetime Value of that customer, it’s a pittance to invest.

Direct Mail Advertising is an effective way to grow your business. However, all advertising should be part of an overall plan that sets your business apart from the competition and creates a demand for your products or services.Most business owners do not have the time to contemplate and then write a proper business plan. Furthermore, they usually don’t have the budget to hire a professional to do it for them. Besides, no one knows your business as well as you do, so I recommend that you do it yourself by starting with a “SWOT” Analysis.A “S W O T” Analysis is a simple yet effective marketing exercise (first introduced in the 1960’s) that can help a business focus on improving sales.The initials stand for:
“S” – STRENGTHS
“W” – WEAKNESSES
“O” – OPPORTUNITIES
“T” – THREATSYou don’t need a marketing guru to conduct the analysis, you can do it yourself, if you are willing to be honest. Start with 4 blank sheets of paper and title each with the headings shown above.Here are some examples to help get you started:STRENGTHS could be -Your location, a one of a kind product or service, a reputation built over the years, your staff, etc.WEAKNESSES could be -Your location, similar products and prices offered by nearby competitors, not enough parking, a bad reputationOPPORTUNITIES could be -A competitor goes out of business, new homes being built in the neighborhood, new products available from a supplier, using the internet to expand sales, etc.THREATS could be -New competitor opens nearby, gas prices go up, temporary road construction, etc.With a completed analysis, you will be better equipped to develop an effective marketing and advertising plans, including a direct mail advertising campaign.

Cash gifting postcard mailings can be one the most cost effective weapons in your advertising arsenal.The best way to attract new prospects to your business opportunity is to diversify your approach in making contact with those new prospects. This holds true in any work at home, Cash Gifting, MLM, direct sales or internet opportunity that you advertise. Many people starting a home based business fail to grasp this simple truth and end up marketing their business opportunity in one way over and over again. Psychologist Abraham Maslow PHD (1908-1970) who penned The Hierarchy of Needs once said: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.” Today let’s examine a tool that many work at home marketers have not given any thought to; the simple postcard.The first rule of advertising is consistency. Webster’s New World defines consistency as: “agreement with what has already been done or expressed; conformity with previous practice.” It really doesn’t matter what type of advertising you are doing if it is working for you, as long as it is done in a consistent manner. Adding another form or way of advertising only increases your opportunity to draw in new prospects.A direct mail postcard is a great marketing tool that can be used very effectively for your cash gifting program. With the right mailing list of potential wealth builders you don’t need a marketing budget the size of the federal deficient. Some direct mail companies will even add the names electronically when printing and then mail the postcard for you at the same time. Obviously, this requires payment upfront, but can save a good amount of time.Four key elements to consider for direct mail postcards are:Cost Effectiveness: Full color photo quality printing costs have become very reasonable in the past couple of years and mailing a postcard is a much lower cost than mailing a regular size envelope. At present it is about a 35% difference and postage seems to go up every couple of months. A postcard, no larger than a 4 X 6, will mail for 26 cents today and can hold a large amount of advertising, if laid out properly. The difference in cost, from a standard business letter sized envelope and a postcard can really mount up when mailing thousands of pieces of advertising. Remember that the printing quality can greatly enhance your response rate.Readability: What happens to the standard piece of business or “junk mail” that you receive nearly every day? It ends up in the trash before it is ever opened and read. A postcard on the other hand, like a billboard, can be easily perused as soon as it is seen. With the proper message it will grab the new prospects attention and garner a little more respect than your average advertising, wrapped in an envelope.Measurability: A postcard mailing campaign can be measured for effectiveness very easily. If you were to send out two thousand postcards and received one hundred responses to your mailing you would then have a five percent response rate. Simple math right? You could also take it to the next level and track the number of prospects who join your work at home opportunity.
Multiple Uses: Postcards can be used to announce any number of things. Such as a new website, a sale, expansion of your cash gifting program, an invitation to a seminar. You get the idea.Adding postcard marketing to your advertising arsenal can generate an influx of new business for the new marketer as well as the seasoned veteran alike. Remember this simple and often underused marketing tool and you’ll be on your way to generating new business and bringing eager new prospects to your home based business opportunity.

There are many forms of advertising the public comes in contact with every day. This could be in the form of radio or television ads. You can advertise on billboards. One of the cheapest forms of advertising is direct mail. Printing your ads on post card stock or sending out flyers can generate more business. Choosing how to advertise is not hard. Choosing a direct mail printing company is difficult. There are some things to consider when choosing the company responsible for your ad campaign being printed properly. There are many companies who will want your business, but there is only one who can do your business properly.One of the first things to consider when choosing the company to do your printing is how many pieces you will need. You must determine this to figure costs. Some companies will offer a discount for more pieces. If it is a continuous order, there may be a different price. Certain printers are equipped to handle only a certain amount of business and must send large orders out. This could result in delays of your order being delivered on time.There are many companies who can take orders on line. Determine if this is how you want to do business. With a local printer, proofs can be easily altered right at the counter. With an on line direct mail printing service you may have to wait for e-mails and faxes to ensure the design and layout are right. Not all the on line services take long to respond. They are familiar with working under deadlines and will work to meet them accordingly. Some of the on line printers offer tracking services for your orders. You can know when your order will be done. This can help when you are under a deadline. Ask for references if you are in doubt of a printer’s service.These companies should use state of the art forms of printing. You need to know what type of printing the company uses. Colors on your project need to be clear and, in some cases, can not vary even a shade or two. This could ruin the entire project. Laser printing and digital printing formats result in quality print jobs. Older styles of printing may be fine for some projects but not all of them. Determining what type of printing service the company offers can help determine if you want to do business with them.If it is possible, view some of the other printed material the direct printing companies have done. This is the best indication of whether the company will be able to handle your order. Each company offers many different services. There are some who will deliver the finished product to the office. You may even be able to have the product delivered to a client. Speak with the representative and ask questions about your needs. You can find the printer who can handle your project to your satisfaction with a little research.

Here’s a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready? Some people say one thing and do the opposite.In other words …One shouldn’t pay attention to what people say they’ll do as much as what they actually DO.For example, it seems most readers of the National Enquirer don’t want to admit they read it. Just ask people, “You read that tabloid stuff?””No way! Not me.”Maybe they’re afraid of looking silly to others? Maybe their embarrassed to admit buying a paper with headlines like, “Brad Runs To Jen As Angelina Lays Down The Law.”Perhaps they fear people will think they’re too shallow? Un-sophisticated?Doesn’t matter.What matters to the National Enquirer, of course, is that millions of readers each week buy it. Whether folks admit to reading tabloids or not there are a whole lot of those papers being sold. So the old rule applies… Don’t pay attention to what people SAY they do as much as what they DO.What’s this got to do with direct mail?Plenty.If anyone should LOVE direct mail it would be a magazine editor. Direct mail is used to sell millions of magazine subscriptions each year.But check out what William Baldwin – - editor of Forbes magazine – - wrote in the July 4th 2005 issue:“The junk mail industry, says Chana Schoenberger in the story beginning on page 90, is giving a new lease on life to Xerox. This firm sells a $500,000 color printer ideal for customized advertising circulars.Junk is a lucrative sector of the ad business, with a $51 billion annual volume that dwarfs the outlays for magazine advertising. Lucrative, and wasteful. I don’t know if the catalogs I get from Land’s End cost more to make than the shirts, but surely they weigh more.Between printing and mailing it costs at least half a buck to send a first-class pitch to someone. If 90% of the recipients chuck the envelope unopened into a wastebasket, then the pitchman is spending $5 just to get one advertisement read. Isn’t there a better way of getting people’s attention? …”Now… please ignore the fact Mr. Baldwin writes this even as he gets a Land’s End catalog in the mail.This means, of course, that either he, or his wife probably bought something from it. Which is why he continues getting a Land’s End catalog in the mail regularly.Also ignore the fact that direct mail sales letters have been used to launch prominent magazine-publishing empires over the years.Mr. Baldwin says direct mail is lucrative (for the “junk mail industry”) yet wasteful (for those using it) at the same time. Am I missing something here? Doesn’t he know much advertising is “wasteful”, and direct mail sellers only mail things out over and over again because it’s profitable?How many advertising dollars are spent (and wasted) targeting people who won’t buy because they’re not the right audience for the sales pitch? How much ad money is wasted paying for commercials on T.V. nobody watches?Direct Mail is Targeted MarketingThere’s no better… or more cost efficient way… of reaching those most interested (and most likely to buy) your product or service than direct mail. And after you reach the person most likely to buy you’re able to hit all their emotional hot buttons. Give them all the reasons they should buy from you. Tell them your story. Person-to-person.Is there any waste? Sure there is.People live busy lives. Even if your sales pitch reaches the right person it may not reach them at the right moment in time.They might not have time to read it today. Or this week. They might not be ready to buy again. Your pitch might end up in the trash before it even gets read.Overall … doesn’t matter. Know why?Because if you’ve mailed correctly a certain percentage of prospects are going to read your pitch. They’re going to respond they way you want them to.They’re going to buy … or call for more information … or send for the free sample.
You’re going to be offering people something they want. Maybe even something that makes their life easier. Or helps them out in some way. Or lets them be more productive. Or enhances their quality of life somehow.So how do you know if direct mail is good for you?Well … despite everything you may have read about response rates … the test is simple.First thing though … forget about the fact everyone says they don’t like getting “junk” mail. The majority of people who get lots of “junk” mail (and say they don’t like it) get on mailing lists after buying something through the mail.Now …Determine beforehand if a mailing can make money on paper … then do a live test mailing. If, for example, you get a 16% response rate but your overall mailing costs exceed your net profits then your mailing is a failure.Bottom line … if your net profits from a direct mail campaign are a lot higher than your costs to do the mailing then you’ve got a winner.Some direct mail companies run successful advertising campaigns with less than a 1% response rate. They mail millions of ad pieces. But their mailing costs are low relative to their huge profits – - even with low response rates.Response rates aren’t nearly as important as actual profit margins.Small businesses usually can’t keep mailing costs extremely low. If you don’t mail tens-of-thousands of pieces you won’t be able to get letters and envelopes printed in bulk for pennies-a-piece. Don’t let that bother you.If the numbers work … and your product or service is priced right … then maybe only a few orders out of every 100 sales letters will make money.So what are you waiting for?Sit down. Work the numbers. Do a test mailing.I bet if you think about it hard enough you’ll be able to figure out a way to make direct mail work for you. If you need some help contact me. And don’t worry about what people say. Pay attention to what they do.

Direct mail has been a powerful way to get your message in front of people for many decades. In this article we will take a look at a few direct mail postcard marketing tips.1. Choose a reputable vendor to print your postcards. If you are working in a business opportunity that suggests a vendor it is probably worth paying a little bit more to them, that it would be to cut corners and find someone yourself.2. Pay attention to the offer on your postcard. Although you do pay for every square inch of your postcard it needs to be easy to read and feature your offer front and center.You have a couple of seconds to get someone’s attention and the offer should be what their eyes are drawn to. One good thing about direct mail postcard marketing is you know almost instantly whether you have hit upon a good design or not based on the results it gets.3. Although email marketing is free direct mail postcard marketing is still fairly inexpensive. Based on this fact you should plan on multiple mailings as people need to see an offer several times before they act on it.4. Include a link to a landing page where you can capture your prospects contact information and follow up for free for many years to come. You do this by using an autoresponder and it allows you to further promote your product or program to them via their email.This is several direct mail postcard marketing tips that will help your next campaign be more successful.

Direct mail has been proven an effective marketing technique that generates new business. The same is true for promotional products. A number of research studies have shown that giving away promotional items augments a company’s clientele base significantly. As both are important strategies in the marketing of a business, many are now combining these two approaches for an even more successful outcome. Promotional products, when paired with a piece of direct mail, can greatly increase direct mail response rates. Experts say that sending a promotional product along with a piece of direct mail can increase the response rate by as much as 50 percent.One real life case study involves a local mortgage company in a particular city. In the past, this certain company had utilized the methods of direct mail only. However, after learning about the maximum benefits associated with combining direct mail strategies with promotional products, a change was to be made. This certain mortgage company worked with a promotional consultant to create the ideal scenario and include both strategies in the same campaign. In addition, this business was already effectively incorporating the use of a mailing list, which the firm’s in-house marketing director had created. The results of the previous attempts of direct mail submissions were to be compared with the new approach of giving away promotional items along with the sales letters.Each recipient on the mailing list received a personalized letter advertising a certain interest rate and explaining the details and legal restrictions that were involved. The material was time-sensitive and the packaging indicated so. The letter welcomed potential clients to make plans to purchase their first home, to refinance their existing home, or to upgrade into that house that they had been dreaming of. In addition to the sales letter the local mortgage company had composed, members of the marketing team also enclosed a small, easily mailable promotional item that fit easily into the package and didn’t add extreme costs to the postal fees. Small pads of paper in the shape of a house were an added bonus. Imprinted on the pads of paper was the complete contact information for the mortgage company including the names of the owners, web site URL, phone number, address, and hours of operation. Potential clients received the invitation to respond to the special offer via the direct mail piece, as well as a free gift item- one that was extremely simple, but one that could also be useful for taking notes during their mortgage process. The results were better than expected. This mortgage company noted a forty percent increase in the response rate of their efforts using both the direct mail sales letter in conjunction with the free promotional item.Remember these helpful suggestions when organizing your next direct mail campaign.- Give your prospective clients a reason to respond. Involve a brand new incentive, or a special discount. Tell them about a new program.
- Choose a promotional item to send that mails easily. Gift cards are an excellent example. Offer potential customers a few free ring tones for their cellular phones. Giveway a free Itunes song. Other mailable promotional products include magnets, bookmarks, wide shaped pens, letter openers, mouse pads, and pads of paper.
- Remember also the demographics involved with those you desire to reach. If you are targeting first time homeowners, connect your promotional products to this group’s age group, values, beliefs, and economic status. Also consider relating your promotional items to a certain theme. If you are promising to save your potential clients money on their down payments, choose an item that will express this. For instance, you could imprint a money clip with your business’ logo and contact information.
- Have a time-sensitive offer. Give your recipients a deadline by which to respond.Many businesses have used direct mail strategies because of the powerful marketing technique that it is. It can reach new clients and generate new business. Similarly, other companies give away promotional products for their advertising. Experts have shown statistics indicating that both of these marketing strategies are very effective in increasing customers and sales in a company. Doubling these tactics can take your business to the next level. Have you considered combining these two approaches for an even more successful outcome? Contact one of our helpful promotional consultants today to imprint the product of your choice.Pairing promotional products with direct mail sales letters increases customer response rates. Experts say that sending a promotional product along with a piece of direct mail can increase the response rate by as much as 50 percent.

I was cutting the grass in my backyard a few days ago when I noticed a caterpillar strolling down a blade of grass. Now, I happen to know this particular caterpillar will one day be a Monarch butterfly, you know, the kind with the big black and gold wings.After the change from worm to butterfly takes place, he’ll fly, soar, float and flutter and I’m sure he’ll think he’s in a new world with his brand new life and the freedom to fly anywhere.Our lives are kind of like that little caterpillar’s life. At present, we live in the world of men. Later, we’re not sure just when, we’ll change. Then we’ll live a completely different life. No doubt, after the change, we’ll live closer to God. Then we’ll be able to sing praises to Him, face-to-face in His – backyard.What the caterpillar might call the end of his life in the world, God calls a butterfly.
If you are in the habit of thinking a certain way, then you will always come to the same old conclusions you’ve always come to – over and over, again and again…To get some new ideas, new conclusions, you need to change that pattern of thinking by breaking away from your old ways. Try a new path. Take a different fork in the road. Learn to see things from a new and different perspective.In short, to come up with new and creative ideas you need to ask the Holy Spiritto “come alongside ” and direct your thoughts toward His way of thinking.We are told the Holy Spirit is the wind of God, and as you know, you can’t direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails so you will reach a safe harbor.