Launching a new product is never easy… and the media or channel you choose to use in an e-commerce campaign is absolutely essential.

Strategically one of the best steps to use is an integrated multichannel campaign with a digital and direct mail component.

Direct mail is often overlooked in product launches, but it shouldn’t be and could be key to generating profits and growth for your new product or service. It minimizes the risk of a new launch and can maximize the chance of success.

Here’s an example of a new launch my team did at CDMG.

Whole Botanics has a CBD product.

It’s designed to help people alleviate pain without the harsh side effects and addiction potential of pharmaceuticals.

The CBD market exploded almost overnight and, in a few years, became commonplace. As such, it’s hugely competitive, making it more difficult to differentiate products.

So, how do you break through all the noise and clutter?

How do you achieve a successful launch and make money from the outset?

The answer for most marketers is a two-part campaign.

First, we test a carefully crafted, powerful direct mail piece, In this case, for Whole Biotics, the direct mail consisted of an envelope, a sales letter, and several other key components that we’ll look at in a minute.

Second, we added digital elements for a multichannel, integrated campaign to the very same names we sent the direct mail to. This includes emails, Facebook ads, pre-rolls, and Google ads to increase sales and boost responses to the direct mail piece … and generate profitable online sales themselves.

The 7 Key Steps to Profitable Direct Mail

We created seven elements for the Whole Biotics direct mail package:

A 4-page 8.5 inch by 11-inch sales letter;

A 2-page 7-inch x 10 inch lift note;

A 2-page 8.5-inch x 14 inch response device;

A 2-page 8.5-inch x 11 inch V.I.V.A piece;

A 6-inch x 9-inch envelope;

A Business Reply Envelope; and

An Informed Delivery Component.

Let’s look at each of these in more detail …

Step #1: The Foundation … A Direct Response Sales Letter

There are several important sales-letter essentials worth underlining …

Signer … The signer of a sales letter is critical. That’s why, for the Whole Botanics campaign, we found a pain management specialist to create credibility. A medical doctor who specializes in treating and managing pain is better than the president of the company … and anything is better than a “marketing doctor.”

So, the four-page letter came from Dr. Douglas Spiel, America’s #1 anti-pain pioneer.

Benefits … The copy was full of the benefits (rather than features … and you can read why that’s important here) that CBD oil offers pain sufferers.

Tagline … Then we created a tagline: America’s #1 Anti-Pain Pioneer

Personality … The top of the letter had the doctor’s photo and tagline … We intentionally did not add a masthead to avoid distraction or pre-judgment.

Superscript … Above the salutation was a powerful tease, hooking the person into the letter.

Salutation … Better than “Dear Friend,” we said: “Dear Fellow Pain Sufferer.”

Indentation and second color … To keep skimmers reading, we used a second color to make key points stand out, and we indented key paragraphs.

P.S. … The most read part of the sales letter is the PostScript. So, it must have a “hook” to get a skimmer back into the letter. Besides, when any prospect opens the mail, they look to see who it’s coming from. They also look at the P.S. Both elements must work hard to get the prospect to spend more time reading your letter.

Step #2: The Lift Note

In the world of direct mail, you don’t know what piece of the campaign will catch a prospect’s eye. In contrast, there is a handful of people who will read everything, most just skim over the pages and elements. So, you present them with several pieces, one of which sticks … grabs their attention … and gets them intrigued, interested, and more receptive to your offer.

For this first phase of the Whole Botanics direct mail campaign, we made the lift note slightly smaller than the sales letter – printing it at 7 inches x 10 inches. This helped separate the piece from everything else stuffed into the envelope.

We used the dark green color intentionally because it’s a powerful psychological trigger in the direct response game. We know this because we’ve done a lot of testing on the impact of color on response rates.

A lift note can increase response by 10% to 20%!

Step #3: The Response Device

Order forms, also known as “response devices,” are critical components to the success of your direct mail campaign. In fact, it could result in sub-par results if it fails to follow tested and proven direct response rules.

The order form we created for Whole Botanics applied all the rules, including the positive acceptance statement (PAS), guarantee, premiums, and the call to action (CTA).

Step #4: The V.I.V.A. Insert

V.I.V.A. stands for Valuable Information, Value Added. It’s a critical component of any direct response effort. And a real response rate booster. It gives your prospect objective, interesting value.

Not only that, but it:

• Sets your company apart with a unique selling proposition (USP).
• Creates a branding effect to help you gain market share.
• Overcomes skepticism and objections of buyers.
• Rapidly expands your customer/client base and multiplies sales from your existing database.

For Whole Botanics, it was a checklist of the latest scientific studies.

Step #5: The Envelope

Without the right envelope, your entire direct mail campaign is doomed. That’s the first thing your prospect sees when flipping through his mail at the mailbox. If it doesn’t grab him by the eyeballs, it goes into the trash without a second thought. And all the hard work and great copy never sees the light of day.

Here are 5 little-known direct response envelope techniques guaranteed to get your message opened and read.

We applied these techniques with the Whole Botanics envelope … including a pre-cancelled stamp that will increase response 12% to 18%.

But we also started our first test of the campaign on the envelope. I’ll talk about that another day, so be sure to check your weekly issues of Direct Marketing Update so you don’t miss seeing what we tested and what the results revealed.

Step #6: The Business Reply Envelope

Besides using online ordering and phone, we used BRE, a Business Reply Envelope (otherwise known as a BRE in the industry). Many think this is history. It’s not for audiences 50 and older. It helps the prospect place the order without having to think about it. No searching for a stamp … or an envelope of their own in which to put the check … or writing an address on the front.

All they must do is complete the response device, pop it in the BRE, pop that into the mailbox, and flip up that little red flag for the mailman.

Particularly with the more mature generations – the Baby Boomers and the older Silent Generation – they’re likely to feel more comfortable writing a check than placing an order online. They grew up with checks. They trust them.

Step #7: Informed Delivery

The final element of our Whole Botanics direct mail campaign was Informed Delivery. It’s a fantastic service that the United States Postal Service offers, and it boosts response rates wildly.

Postal customers who have signed up for the service get a daily email letting them know what will land in their mailbox that day.

It has a readership greater than 80%! The prospect sees your mail in advance.

If you’ve followed the direct response rules to make your envelope irresistible, then informed delivery helps build up the anticipation to open when the prospect gets the mail.

Plus, under the image of the envelope in the email is a banner ad that allows a “sneak” preview by clicking to go to the Whole Botanics’ landing page even before they get the mail.

If you’re not doing Informed Delivery as part of your direct mail campaigns, I urge you to give Michael Oppenheimer a call. He can explain how it works and why it is now such a critical component of your direct mail efforts.

There you have it: the first phase of the Whole Botanics direct mail campaign.

If you are interested in a direct mail campaign or multichannel digital campaign, call or send us an email. We’re here to help. Email Michael Oppenheimer at [email protected] or give him a call at 615-933-4647.