There’s an old marketing lesson I want to tell you today because it’s very relevant to your business and your future financial success.
This lesson has been responsible for generating hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of sales. It completely revolutionised how many products and services are sold.
But looking at my mail today, it’s obvious that many business, especially services like carpet cleaners, have still never heard about it.
This is great news for you.
Why?
Because once you start using what you learn from this lesson, you will have a huge competitive advantage.
Let me explain…
Almost every person in the world divides their mail into two piles.
The first pile contains personal letters, postcards, and envelopes that look important.
The second pile is for materials that obviously sell something. Things like brochures, catalogues, flyers, etc.
Much of the time, the second pile gets tossed in the trash without so much as a second look. After all, nobody wants to read junk mail.
The lesson: If you want to get your advertisement read, you need to stand out from the junk mail people throw away.
This leads us to two important conclusions…
Why You Should Avoid Using Brochures
The first conclusion is that you should avoid using glossy 4-colour brochures like every other business.
These brochures immediately shout out ‘This is a sales message’.
Once someone thinks you are trying to spruik them something, your ad is more likely to end up in the trash.
This is true even if you are offering something that the person might need.
Not only that, brochures are expensive. They cost an arm and a leg to print and if you need to make changes, you can’t edit them quickly.
So what should you do instead?
Why Letters Will Get You Better Results
This brings us to our second conclusion. If you want to get your advertisement read, it’s a good idea to make it look less like junk mail.
One of the easiest ways to do that is by using a letter. Here’s why…
- Letters look and feel more personal. People think of brochures as sales, but letters as information.
- Letters are inexpensive. You can print a letter at home or in your office. You don’t need a printing house.
- Letter can be quickly changed and updated. This allows you to test different approaches and offers to find out what works.
Now, you may be thinking letters are old-fashioned. But the truth is that since the rise of the Internet, people are more likely to read letters. That’s why you should use them for your business.
TODAY’S TASK: Develop a Direct Mail Plan
Today’s task is about familiarising yourself with the preliminary steps involved in sending direct mail in Australia.
- Decide who you are going to send your letter too. Are you going to contacts existing clients or new leads? If you plan to go after new leads, you may want to get an address list from a company like AML.com.au. Alternatively, you can address each envelope ‘to the homeowner’ and deliver it directly to their mailbox.
- Work out your costs. Direct mail is not expensive, but there are still costs involved. You need to budget for postage costs, printing, etc.
- Get familiar with Australia Posts latest guidelines on direct mail. You can check out these guidelines here: http://auspost.com.au/business-solutions/direct-mail-marketing.html