Direct mail marketing is the backbone of many marketers today.
If you haven’t tried direct mail lately – or haven’t tried it at all – it has undergone a massive shift, increasing response rates, and producing leads and sales far better than 10 years ago.
Why?
Largely because of advanced data modeling, but also because formats have changed and improved.
Envelope Mailings
When most people think of direct mail, they think of an envelope mailing. An envelope mailing is an easy way to be able to test direct mail, and right now I’m working on several envelope campaigns for clients across the world.
These envelope mailings largely include an envelope with powerful teaser copy, a persuasive letter, and other components.
Magalogs
The magalog is much more dramatic, whether you’re a business-to-business (B2B) or consumer marketer. A magalog cuts through the clutter and is like an infomercial in print.
Magalogs are typically 16-24 pages long and feature multiple articles that grab the prospect’s attention, share all the benefits of your product or service and provide valuable information.
Most direct mail, no matter how strong the copy and art, is often ignored or lost in the mail stack. However, because magalogs look like valuable magazines, they avoid the trash and are far more likely to get a second look.
Here’s an example of a magalog I created for an investment newsletter client:
Typically, we create 2 covers for our magalogs, and test to see which one gets the higher response.
Click here to watch a video briefing on magalogs. It’s about 1 ½ minutes long.
Newsalogs
My client Dr. Bruce West of Health Alert had been using a magalog for many years. When response rates were starting to go down, we decided to use a newsalog. The response rates dramatically increased, beating the magalog and giving him a higher response and a lower cost-per-sale.
Here’s what the newsalog looked like:
Having generated over 100,000 members for his company that sells nutritional information and supplements, the newsalog could not be beat by any other format. That might be the case for you.
What is a newsalog? It looks like a newspaper and feels like a newspaper, but it’s not a newspaper. Newspapers are dying, but when somebody gets this in the mail, it’s powerful.
In fact, newsalogs generally receive a 20-30% higher response rate than other mail formats and cost less to mail.
With the right direct response copy and art – that all point to your product or service – these can be powerful response-boosters.
We’ve been making newsalogs for a variety of clients. I’m working on 4 newsalogs for 4 different clients right now.
Click here to watch a video briefing on newsalogs. It’s about 2 minutes long.
I’d love to help you to be able to create a successful direct mail campaign, either using an envelope, magalog, or newsalog. The best thing to do is talk. Let’s discuss your market, your goals and objectives, and see if any of these formats would work for you, and what would be the best solution.
Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
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