Talon Mailing &
Marketing, Inc.
561 Acorn Street, Deer Park, NY 11729
(631) 667-5500
Piggyback Label Mailings can help manage your responses.
Today’s high-speed direct address technology is amazing. It’s fast, versatile (thousands of font
styles and sizes), various colors and print densities. We ought to know - we own four
state-of-the-art inkjet machines. (Click here to see a sample). Examine the direct mail that you receive and
you will notice almost all of the pieces are now addressed with inkjet
technology. It is a rarity to find the
traditional mailing label.
Well there is still one fantastic use for mailing
labels: Talon has just been selected to
print and affix piggyback labels on Arrow Electronics’ magazines and
newsletters. A piggyback label is a
peel and stick label that is glued onto the mailing piece. The benefit is that the recipient can easily
peel off the label and then apply it to the response piece. These labels can increase response rates
and reduce errors since the recipient no longer has to handwrite
information. Another benefit is that an
account number or list code can be printed on the label. This
saves time and money when processing the responses. With modern laser technology Talon can print
zip+4 barcodes on the labels so mailers can take advantage of all presort and
automation postal discounts.
"_"
The 10 Big Bad Ugly Mistakes in Direct Mail
By
Susanna K. Hutcheson
I've
made a ton of mistakes in my long career as a copywriter and direct mail
consultant. I still do. But don't tell anyone! You may not be a copywriter. In
fact, I'll bet you're not. But you may need to write your own sales letters
sometime. Unless you can afford to hire me to do them for you! So I've prepared
a list to help you avoid the mistakes I've made and just about everyone else
who writes professionally and who writes at all makes. Hopefully you can avoid
them at all costs.
1.Not
knowing your target market --- or your audience.
All
writing should be to a specific targeted group. You should know this group as
well as the back of your hand. Know their hot buttons. What will make them say
"yes" to your offer? What will turn them off? What motivates them?
What concerns them? Who exactly are they? What age are they? What sex are they?
Then write to that person. Write in language that person will understand. Use
terms he or she will use. Then, write in style and content specifically to your
readership.
2
. Mailing to the wrong list.
This
probably the most common - and most fatal - error made in mailings. Spend as
much time on researching your list as you do on the creative aspects of writing
and lay-out, and on the research about your products, pricing, and offer.
Unless the people on your mailing list have a desire or need for your product
(or service), they're going to be tough to convince, and probably impossible to
sell. You might have a great service or product. But if you're selling books
you want people who read. A list of non-readers won't get you any results. So
don't skimp on your list. Target it as tightly as possible. You may pay more
for the ideal list. But the returns will more than pay you back.
3.
Not having a clear goal in your writing.
Make
sure you know where you're going with each piece you write. Then stay focused.
Write your objective. I write my objective clearly and then paste it on the
monitor of my computer. I refer to it often. I don't want to lose sight of
where I plan to go with the piece I'm writing. Whether it's a letter or
brochure, speech or radio spot. Stay on target.
4.
Price before offer.
"Only
$19.95!" No matter what you're selling, a price has no meaning until
readers know what they're getting. Make sure you tell them about your product
or service first. Build value in whatever you're selling. Don't bring up price
first --- no matter how great the price.
5.
Price before benefits.
"Just
$29.95!" may sound like a great price to you for a nice watch. But if you
present it first - before showing exactly what the benefits are it really won't
matter how great the watch is - most of your readers will go right past your
ad, or toss your letter out before they even see your product or offer. You
need to tell readers what makes your price so great - in terms of benefits
they'll understand.
6.
Wrong price point.
There
are thousands of theories on how to price your product or service correctly.
Everyone thinks they know how to price a product or service. But you should let
the market set the price. You do this by testing each price point you feel will
work, and seeing which one brings in not only the most orders, but the most
overall profit. In my copywriting business I've tried several price ranges for
various services. Through trial and error I've discovered what my own personal
market will bear and, at the same time, how I can make a reasonable profit and
keep my bills paid. There are lots of books out there that have complicated
methods of figuring out how to price. But the best is simply what your own
market will bear. Of course, if you distribute for a company with set prices,
there isn't anything you can do about that. Chances are, however, they've
tested the prices before they set them. So you're in the clear.
7.
Inadequate testing.
There's
no reason to lose big money in direct mail. Everything is testable and you
should test small mailings until one is clearly a winner. Test every single
piece you mail out. Make changes slowly and only one at a time. Otherwise, you
won't know what change caused the rise or decline in your return rate. If you
do not test you are not going to succeed. You should have two or more letters
to test against each other. Test everything. This is a crucial step and I find
that many people I talk with and many clients fail to do this. Don't you do it!
8.
Wrong objective to your marketing piece.
If
you need to generate leads, don't try to sell! Big mistake! What is your
objective? To sell a product or service with the mailing or to get people to
contact you for more information? You need to know that and write with that in
mind.
9.
Wrong headline.
The
headline is the perhaps the single most important element of your ad or sales
letter. In fact, in most any marketing material. Solely on the basis of this
one line your reader makes the decision to continue - or not continue - to
read. I often write 100 heads before deciding on one! You'll have to do the
same too. We professionals make it look easy. It's not!
1O.
Not telling your readers exactly what you want them to do.
I
get letters that clients or prospective clients have written all the time. They
ask me why their letters are not pulling? Most often, it doesn't even tell the
reader what action is expected of him or her! You can't sell that way! You
should tell your readers several times exactly what you want them to do. Be
specific. Let readers know exactly what action you want them to take; tell
them, and tell them again. Do you want them to call you? To send in a card? To
send a fax back? Don't just leave it dangling like one client did when he
wrote, "If you're interested, I'd love to hear from you". Duh!
So
there you have them. The BIG TEN! The mistakes most often made by people who
want to do business by mail. If you can avoid these mistakes you can make a lot
of money using direct mail.
Good
marketing!
For more than 30 years Susanna K. Hutcheson has specialized in writing
exceedingly successful direct mail. Visit her Web site at http://www.powerwriting.com.
Did you know Talon offers the following services? Click on the links below to see samples.
·
HP High Quality
Inkjet (near laser quality)
·
Data Entry (from
100 to 100,000 names and addresses)
·
Polybag and
shrinkwrap services
·
Merge/Purge
services with comprehensive reports that can instantly be retrieved from the
internet
New Clients:
Talon would like to welcome the following new clients this
month to our growing roster of clients:
Mailing
Clients:
New Mailing Lists Housed at Talon
(we house over 400 mailing lists)
·
Peel - Music and Entertainment News
·
Gamespy
Mike’s Favorite Links:
Here are some links you probably are not aware of:
- Openoffice - Free software. Might
become the biggest threat to the Microsoft Office suite monopoly.
- How Stuff Works - Very well done
web site.
- Interview with God - Truly
inspirational – a must see!
- The Internet Archive - View the history
of any web site. See how the site
looked in 1995, or 2000, etc.
- Urban Legends - Is that story really true
or an urban legend? Find out here!
- Internet Marketing - ClickZ.com is a
comprehensive and valuable source for internet marketers.
Yankee/Mets Giveaway:
We are giving away two tickets to the Yankees or Mets. To win be the first caller (please call,
don’t hit reply or email). Call Michael
Borkan at 631-667-5500 x 303. One set
per winner and you must make arrangements to pick up the tickets.
- Thursday
September 5th, Mets vs. The Florida Marlins 7:10 PM
- Thursday
September 5th, Yankees vs. The Detroit Tigers 7:05 PM
Newsletter Archives:
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our newsletter? Please let us know
by email: mb@talonmm.com
To learn more about our company, please visit our web site: www.talonmm.com or contact Michael Borkan at
(631) 667-5500 x 303.