Appendix A: Mail Order Basics
From time to time, we all need a refresher on the basic building blocks of mail order success. As you learn more through rolling out new projects, you will be able to see new dimension and greater subtleties in the underlying principles of direct mail marketing.
So, review this chapter occasionally. Consider it part of your continuing education in direct mail success!
- The three traditional, basic mail order products:
1. Merchandise
2. services
3. printed information
- There are two distinctly different mail order markets... there is mail order for product (Sears is in that business), and mail order for people in mail order, ‘opportunity seekers.’ These are two separate markets.
- The customer’s unspoken message, which any sales letter must answer, “What’s in it for me?”
- The average direct mail package contains:
1. Outside envelope
2. Return envelope
3. Sales letter
4. Brochure
5. Order form
- Convenience is one of the greatest motivators to buy through the mail. Not necessarily because it’s cheaper because generally it isn’t cheaper.
- A direct marketing rule: Figure out beforehand how much you can afford to spend to obtain each order.
- Know your order margin... the most you can spend to get an order and still break even (what’s left after all the expenses are paid).
- Remember what you’re selling... people don’t want to buy books, per se, they want to buy results. They want to make some dramatic improvement in their lives.
- It’s not how many that buy. In direct mail, it’s how much money people are willing to spend on items, rather than how many total items are sold. In some cases, (say a $2 million yacht) a single sale might make a handsome profit.
- Know in advance who you’ll sell your product to and how you’ll sell it. Never decide what you want to sell and then try to sell it.
- Choose quality over quantity. In direct mail, it’s usually easier to get ten $100 orders than a hundred $10 orders. Plus, the fewer number of orders needed for the same profit means lower overhead and expense.
Source: 301 Direct Mail Tips, Techniques & Secrets |
| Category: My articles | Added by: Marsipan (04.12.2012)
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