AMiable Solution #43: Tips for a Happy New Year: Remember Your Customers

How many times did you cringe this year after reading a marketing survey or study that identified trends or strategies that were not on your department's radar? Or worse, they conflicted with activities or strategies your organization had spent the year supporting?

In 2009, Direct Marketing News reported on a study, conducted by Borrell Associates, predicting that direct mail marketing spending would decrease by 39% between 2008 and the end of 2013.

However, just this month, Print in the Mix, a publication of the Rochester Institute of Technology, reported that marketing firm Epsilon Targeting determined, through its latest annual Consumer Channel Preference Study, that consumers prefer to receive marketing through direct mail over all other marketing channels.

Did something change? Who's right, and who's wrong?

It depends on who you ask. The survey takers clearly have a stronger opinion than the survey readers, but that doesn't necessarily make their conclusions or decisions your conclusions or decisions. Studies are great for giving you a general sense of an industry or community, but that doesn't necessarily mean what's good for them is good for you. The marketing industry in general may be spending less money on direct mail, but that might not be the best strategy for you.

No one knows your clients, members, or donors better than you (at least they better not). If you know, through historical data and reports, that your clients respond better to direct mail than email, keep mailing! Not only will you continue to communicate in a way that's most likely to appeal to your clients and generate response, but you may also find you have increased visibility as more and more other companies--including your competitors--listen to the studies and follow general trends instead of customer preferences.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #42: Ways to Save in 2013, Part 2

Direct mail marketers should not rely on integrated direct mail/electronic strategies alone, or so the USPS seems to say with the inclusion of three mail-focused promotions on its 2013 schedule.

Hoping to encourage customer replies by mail, the USPS is offering an "Earned Value Reply Mail" promotion. Marketers who register (beginning January 1, 2013) and include a first-class Business Reply Mail (BRM) or a Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM) envelope in their mailings will receive a postage credit every time a customer uses the envelope to respond.

The USPS is also offering a "credit" of sorts to mailers incorporating Picture Permits into their first-class and standard-mail letter and card mailings. Picture Permits, which allow marketers to incorporate a corporate logo, brand image, or trademark into the permit imprint indicia, typically carry a one-cent-per-mailpiece fee. However, with the USPS's "Picture Permits" promotion, that fee will be waived for all mailers who register, beginning June 15, 2013. Picture Permits can be used with pre-approval only, so interested mailers must be sure to allow themselves time to complete the registration and application process prior to the promotion's scheduled run time, August 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013.

Finally, running August 1, 2013, through September 30, 2013, as well is the USPS's "Product Samples" promotion. The promotion seeks to encourage the inclusion of product samples in direct mail pieces by offering qualified mailers a 5% upfront postage discount. The promotion also draws attention to the USPS's proposed "Simple Samples" pricing for standard mail, which will go into effect January 27, 2013. Registration begins May 1, 2013.

As was the case with the mail/mobile technology promotions discussed in the last blog, complete details for these promotions are still forthcoming, but the potential benefits of each promotion to your organization should be analyzed and added to your calendars now.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #41: Ways to Save in 2013, Part 1

In an attempt to encourage the marriage of mobile technology and traditional direct mail, the USPS has designed three savings promotions for 2013 that provide an upfront postage discount for marketers who integrate the two mediums.

The first promotion, called “Mobile Coupon/Click-to-Call,” applies to physical coupons that include a mobile barcode or other technology that leads recipients to a digital coupon or provides click-to-call functionality. Mailers save 2% on postage and can begin registering for the promotion January 15, 2013. Qualifying mail pieces must mail between March 1 and April 30, 2013.

The second mobile/mail promotion, "Emerging Technologies," offers an upfront postage discount to mailers who integrate cutting-edge innovations, including near-field communication (the ability for smartphones to establish communication by touching them together or bringing them within close contact) , augmented reality (which combines the digital and the physical world), and mobile-enabled authentication technologies into their direct mail campaigns. Registration begins June 15, 2013, and the promotion runs from August 1 through September 30, 2013.

Finally, the "Mobile Buy-it-Now" promotion provides an additional opportunity for marketers to invest in technologies that enhance the mail/mobile technology relationship and save in upfront postage in the process. The promotion, which runs from November 1 through December 31, 2013, is designed to coincide with the holiday season and offer a convenient shopping option for customers. Registration begins September 15, 2013.

Although complete details are not yet available, the USPS is hoping these promotions will shine a spotlight on the value of direct mail in a digital world. With a little evaluation, consideration, and planning, they may add value to your marketing efforts and budget, too.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #40: Dressing Up Your Direct Mail with Polybags

Make your next campaign clear--literally--without requiring any action on your recipients' part. How? Polybagging.

 

Unlike envelope mailings, polybag mailings allow your recipients to see at least one component of your multi-component direct mail package without any effort. Packaging your catalog, brochure, magazine, etc., in clear polyethylene bags gives you the advantage of enticing your clients and prospects and engaging their interest without needing them to open a thing.

Because they're less expensive and lighter than envelopes, polybags can also save you money when it comes to printing and postage. Your cost savings increase further when you share your bag space and your expenses with a partner.

Whether you mail brochures, free samples, subscription offers, reply cards, or more with your primary marketing material, polybagging allows you to make the most of your postage and your exposure.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome

AMiable Solution #39: Dressing Up Your Direct Mail with Inserts

Want to add a little something extra to your next envelope mailing? Try incorporating an insert.


What's the benefit of an insert?

First, if you're using your insert as an "oh, by the way, we also offer..." in invoices, statements, renewal reminders, etc., than the inserts are nearly free. Since the product or service marketed on the insert is not the main purpose of the mailing, you essentially pay only for printing: postage, list rental, and mailhouse expenses are already covered.

Second, if you use them in single-product/service packages, inserts allow you highlight and draw out specific key information in your sales letter or brochure, including testimonials, special offers, deadlines, guarantees, etc.

In both cases, inserts also allow you to target your appeal to specific buyers and offer information, memberships, subscriptions, products, or services to clients and prospects based on previous inquiries or activity.

Your insert can be a simple, postcard-sized sheet or a larger, folded brochure, but the focus should be related to the main content of the envelope. It should have a clear, strong headline to identify its purpose, and like any other piece of marketing, it should include your company's name, contact information, and a call to action.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #38: Dressing Up Your Direct Mail with Color

In my opinion, nothing makes a child's room more uplifting and inspiring than bright colors: red, green, yellow, orange, and blue. They encourage creativity. They're cheerful. They catch your attention.

Which is why they work in direct mail, too. Although we generally think of "dressing" something "up" as making it more sophisticated--think black-and-white and drab all over--dressing up a mailpiece simply means giving it an element of excitement. Something a little unexpected. Something to make your intended audience take notice. Something that makes your prospect put everything else down and look at your mailpiece. Now.

Bright colors do that.

Think about the mailpieces that have caught your attention. Some of them did it with color. A bright yellow highlight through an important reply deadline. A fluorescent splash on the cover of a catalog. A red teaser on an envelope.

Although the brighter the color is the more you need to use it in moderation, eye-catching colors accomplish the first goal of your direct mail piece: to stand out and get noticed.

So go ahead. Skip the pale, washed out orange and go for the bright, no-doubt-this-is-orange Pantone Orange 021. Forget the mossy green 392 and go for the bright lime 389. Change your dirty-brick red to Christmas red. You could increase your open and response rate as easily as that. And that's not child's play.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

Solution #37: Dressing Up Your Direct Mail with Post Scripts

If you don't regularly include postscripts (P.S.) in your direct mail letters, you're missing a crucial opportunity to capture your audience's attention and pull readers into your copy.

According to Ray Jutkins, a direct mail copywriting specialist and frequent contributor to the National Mail Order Association, 79% of the people who open your direct mail package will read the P.S. first.  If written well, that P.S. will inspire them to read more.

The length of your postscript depends on the content and length of the letter it follows, but it can be as simple as a sentence or two or, in some cases, as long as a few paragraphs.  Here are a few things you can do with a P.S.:

·         reiterate the top benefits of your product or service

·         remind people how to respond

·         repeat your offer's deadline date

·         remind readers about a special gift they will get if they respond

·         emphasize the financial aspect of your offer: the potential money saved or earned

Jutkins also suggests summarizing your entire sales message in your P.S. in a single paragraph, but he cautions against ever introducing any new information in your P.S.  Including new information in the P.S. that readers can't find further elaboration on in your letter will confuse and frustrate them, and frustrated readers don't usually become eager buyers.

P.S. If you have multiple points you want to emphasize in your P.S., don't hesitate to break them up into two postscripts: a P.S. and a P.P.S.  Multiple postscripts allow you to emphasize multiple points and draw more attention to the P.S. area.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with?  Say it here.  Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #36: Dressing Up Your Direct Mail with Photographs

For a direct mail piece to succeed--no matter what format: brochure, letter, postcard, catalog, etc.--it must include good, clear, convincing copy. Although effective mailers have been created without the use of graphics, you can enhance your marketing copy and add visual appeal to your promotion, in turn increasing ROI, with photographs.

But incorporating photos into your direct mail piece requires more than just buying an image and slapping it into your layout. To make the most of your pictorial additions, keep the following tips in mind:

• Use high-resolution photos. Otherwise, your image will look grainy and detract from the purpose and effectiveness of including the photo. If you're not sure if your photo is up to snuff, let your printer review it.

• Include people. Whether they're pictured using the product or enjoying the benefits of the product/service, happy people portray more meaning than products alone.

• Plan placement. Photographs and other graphics help pull your readers into and through the promotion. Place photographs throughout the layout to draw attention to the entire piece, or place them next to particularly important text.

• Think directionally. Remember the “direction” of the picture when placing it: a person looking to the right side of the photo will lead a reader's eyes to the right side of the page. Make sure to place such pictures on the left side of the page and include key copy to the right of the photo.

• It's not the end. Avoid putting photos at the bottom of a page, especially if it's a key visual or your only photo. Graphics are one of the first things readers look at, and putting a photo at the bottom of a spread invites readers to exit the page.

Whether you buy a stock photo, take your own, or hire someone to take the pictures for you, make sure the images you include in your marketing support your text and convey your message.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #35: Marketing Lessons Learned from Watching Cartoons: Keep Your Promises

When you were a kid, how many times did you excitedly open a toy, expecting it to do all the wondrous things you saw it do on TV, only to discover that the "magic" was all make believe?


Adults, particularly economically-conscious ones, are no different from children. We expect a product to do what the marketers say it will do, and we reject, even resent, anything less.

In an effort to stand out from the competition, we sometimes want to stretch the truth. Make a statement that we think may be true but don't have the statistics or the research to back up. Out of eagerness--or desperation--to make a sale, we push the boundaries of our truth comfort zone and hope we don't get caught.

Has this ever been you? Hopefully, if you've danced along the edge of fact and fiction, you've stayed on the side of fact. Although exaggeration can make a sale, reality will kill the relationship. Customers base their buying decisions on your ability to give them straight and true information and place their loyalties with companies and organizations that deliver.

The lesson here? The same one your mom taught you when you were a kid: honesty is the best policy.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #34: Marketing Lessons Learned from Watching Cartoons: Differentiate Your Product

When she was young--elementary school age, I believe--a friend of mine kept an 11 x 17 sheet of paper taped to her bedroom door. It contained her Christmas wish list. Every time she saw a commercial for a toy she wanted, even one she hadn't previously considered, she ran to the paper and added the toy to the list.


How do you get your product or service on someone's "wish list"? How do you make your offer stand out among the barrage of offers and inspire an instant desire? Focus on what makes it better than the competition, what makes it different:

• Features. Does your product or service include a feature, maybe even a minor one, that your competitors' products or services lack? If so, it just may be enough to tip the scales in your favor. The more you know about your offer and your prospective customers' needs and preferences, the greater the chance you have of differentiating your product by feature.

• Location/accessibility. Is your product or service easy to get? Do clients or prospects have to visit a physical location, or can they conduct business via the internet, over the phone, or through the mail? If you offer an easier option than your competitors, this may be your focal selling point.

• Price. How does your selling price compare to your competitors'? This one gets tricky. Higher-than-average prices could be perceived as either exclusive/higher quality or as a rip-off. Lower-than-average prices could be perceived as either a steal or a stinker. In either case, your marketing must justify and defend--without being defensive--your pricing position and reassure prospects and customers about the quality of your product or service.

• Customer service. Nothing frustrates most people more than poor customer service. Communication barriers, poor or nonexistent responses, slow response times, and lack of knowledge or sympathy for a customer's concerns or problems can turn a current customer into a former customer. However, if you promote and promise quality customer service, support that promise with testimonials, and provide satisfying customer service experiences on a regular basis, you may have the distinguishing factor that others just can't beat.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #33: Marketing Lessons Learned from Watching Cartoons: Push Product Groups

Whenever a commercial for children's toys comes on TV, it's rarely for one product unless that product is a bigger ticket item, like a child-sized, battery-operated vehicle. In most cases, the commercial features a series or set: two versions of a princess Barbie with multiple accessories (each sold separately, of course), a collection of Toy Story or Marvel Comic action figures with optional play sets, or an electronic game system with numerous games to choose from.


When you send out an e-mail, a letter, or a postcard, do you think single product or product group?

You may think, given the limited space and focus of such pieces, that you can or should limit yourself to a single product or service. Don't.

We're not saying you should give space to every related product or service, but you should at least acknowledge they exist. Make a blanket statement about the availability of other similar items by category. Include a bulleted list of specific related items of interest. Direct clients and prospects to a web page that features your complete offering.

No matter how you convey it, making your clients and prospects aware of the range of your offerings in as many marketing campaigns as possible not only increases your potential return, but it also increases customer awareness. How else will they know what you have unless you tell them?

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #32: Marketing Lessons Learned from Watching Cartoons: Tailor Your Message

A friend of mine has a two-year-old son. Every time he sees the commercial for "Dream Lites"--Pillow Pets with projection night lights in their backs--he freezes, mesmerized. While he's probably thinking, "Wow! That's amazing!," his mom is thinking, "Great. Another stuffed animal."


Why the difference in responses? The commercial wasn't created for adults.

Marketing professional or social products and services to adults isn't much different than marketing toys to kids: both require a detailed understanding of the target audience and the motivating factors and needs of that audience. Your four-color catalog and your hi-tech QR code have the same goal as that Dream Lites commercial: to appeal to a specific audience and sell a product or service.

It's not enough to identify the cartoon market as "kids." Kids come in two sexes, a dozen ages, and countless personalities. The same is true for your customers. They have different roles, interests, and budget/income levels. Your job is to match a particular segment of your market with a relevant product/service or set of products/services and create a message your audience can't ignore. No matter how many times they see it.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #31: Speaking Out

Sometimes the best way to generate new business is in person. And one of the most economical ways to do that is through public speaking.

Why public speaking? Few other in-person situations give you the opportunity to address a large number of attentive individuals--individuals with the same goals and objectives--at one time. Public speaking provides you with the opportunity to share your knowledge, expertise, and passion, all while providing a welcomed spotlight on your company or organization.

Where can you speak? Depending on what information you want to communicate, your opportunities could be anywhere: at association conferences and annual meetings. At community meetings or events. In college and university classrooms and career-related events. Even at your own facilities or those of your customers.

What should you speak about? What you say should be current and relevant to your audience. You don't just want to speak for the sake of speaking: you want to provide your audience with valuable information. You want to impress them with your knowledge so that when they have a related issue, your name--and your organization's name--comes to mind. Whether you address an new process or service, an overlooked or improperly executed process, current issues, or forthcoming legal or regulatory changes--including how to embrace them and integrate them into the daily grind--you should do so with authority and expertise.

How should you speak? Every speaker has his or her own personality and speaking style. The important thing is to be confident and relaxed. Even if you're not a natural public speaker or have much experience speaking in front of groups, you can find books, seminars, and professional organizations geared toward helping you through the process. Want ten tips now? See http://www.toastmasters.org/tips.asp for suggestions for providing a better presentation.

AMiable Solution #30: Engaging Your Community

Looking to connect more with your customers and your community? Try involving them in your marketing or involving yourself in their activities:


1. Hold a contest. Most people are competitive to some degree and enjoy a little distraction from the usual grind, especially when it's a good challenge. Developing a new product or service? Tell your customers about it and let them help name it. Looking for new marketing material? Ask customers to submit photos and/or written anecdotes of your product/service in use. No matter what your contest, be sure to offer a reward to the winner. Free products, consultations, or discounts are always welcomed.

2. Host an event. Depending on your business and your imagination, this could be a relatively inexpensive occurrence or an all-out party. Whichever way you choose, hosting an event--whether it's a grand opening, product launch, or charity fundraiser in your store, office, or parking lot--is a great way to make your company feel more personal and accessible.

3. Participate in a community event. Most communities have them: parades, fundraisers, special events with participants and sponsors and publicity. Check out your community's calendar of events to see which opportunities are available for you and your organization.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #29: Creating Interest with Press Releases

Press releases are wonderful, relatively inexpensive ways to increase your business's visibility. You can announce a new product or new product feature, introduce a new employee or significant employee change, launch a partnership, invite the public to participate in an event or cause, etc.


But what makes a press release stand out? What makes one more readable or compelling than another? For the answer, we looked to two companies who make distributing press releases their business.

Business Wire, who distributes press releases for thousands of member companies and organizations, suggests making sure your press release "contains actual news" (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/how-to-write-press-release/). The company also suggests limiting your headline to less than 23 words and avoiding clever phrases or plays on words: straightforward headlines are more likely to be indexed correctly. Finally, include numerous links right from the beginning. Things to link? Business Wire recommends linking the first reference to a brand or product name and the names of employees identified in your press release.

PRWeb, an online news distribution and online publicity company, suggests keeping both sentences and paragraphs short: no more than three or four lines per paragraph. The company also recommends writing in the third person to avoid sounding like a direct sales pitch and limiting links to no more than one per 100 words.

Above all, both companies emphasize making any professional press release clear and concise.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #28: Encouraging Referrals

You can toot your own horn as often and as loudly as you'd like, and some people will listen. Ask a satisfied customer or client to toot your horn for you, however, and you'll likely gain more new customers with less effort and expense.


So what are the keys and tricks to convincing clients to refer you to their colleagues, customers, and friends? Bribery helps (see list below), but providing consistent and efficient customer service will generate more sincere endorsements and better responses. People gripe about bad customer service experiences, but they remember--and share with others--good ones.

Encourage strong relationships with your clients and their contacts with these referral-generating tips:

• follow-up with existing customers and stay in touch

• include a letter in your next shipment or mailing, thanking the customer for his/her past business, and asking for referrals. Make your customers' job easier by including a flyer, brochure, or postcard invitation for them to pass along.

• offer a referral reward program that benefits both your customers and their friends

• ask your professional clients to mention you to their clients and offer a special discount or service to those new customers who respond

• credit a customer's account when he/she sends you new business

• focus on your most loyal or active customers and the ones who likely have the biggest networks

• make a plan and monitor your progress and results

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #27: Envelope Mailings

In the quest to have their envelope mailings stand out from other mail--bills, letters, and other business marketing--marketers take creative measures, using clever text, colored stock, and unusual add-ons or inserts to pique a recipient's interest and get him/her to open the envelope.


Unfortunately, sometimes when creativity flows, practical considerations get tossed to the wind, causing surprise, frustration, and additional expense when the post office refuses to process the marketer's mailpiece.

Although we wouldn't want to stand in the way of anyone's creative process or innovative ideas (we love seeing all the different ways our customers find to stand out from the crowd), we would like to help you maximize your investment and minimize your postage expenses and headaches. Therefore, we present to you three key mailpiece design restrictions, courtesy of the USPS Domestic Mail Manual:

• Automated letters must be flexible. Heavy stock certainly does look better and lasts longer, but save your really heavy stock flyers and brochures for conventions and order inserts. According to the USPS (DMM 3.12.1), "a mailpiece and its contents must bend easily when subjected to a transport belt tension of 40 pounds around an 11-inch diameter drum." In other words, keep your stock under ???? pounds. If you're not sure if your piece meets the flexibility requirement, ask your printer for at least five sample pieces of your chosen stock--cut and folded to your final specs--and submit the samples and a written request to your local postmaster for a flexibility test at least six weeks before your mailing date.

• Keep inserts small or flexible. Have you ever found a penny in your mail? According to the USPS Domestic Mail Manual, "odd-shaped" items like coins and tokens are permissible in automated letters as long as they are "firmly affixed to and wrapped within the contents of the mailpiece and envelope to streamline the shape of the mailpiece for automated processing" (DMM 3.10). Credit cards get the green light, too, for their flexibility. But don't expect the post office to process envelope mailings with pencils or keys in them: such rigid items are strictly prohibited.

• Leave the envelope alone. Yes, sending your promotion in an inter-office-inspired envelope would catch your customers' attention, and yes, marketing your high-end perfume in an envelope with a fancy closure would be something, but you'd have to hide them both in a traditional envelope or box because such gimmicks just don't work in automation mailing. According to DMM 3.8, "an automation-compatible mailpiece may not be polywrapped, polybagged, or shrinkwrapped; have clasps, strings, buttons, or similar closure devices; or have protrusions that might impede or damage the mail or mail processing equipment."

Not sure where that leaves you? With the same tools that have inspired donations, purchases, and memberships for years and years: a little paper, a little postage, and a load of benefits-heavy copy.

AMiable Solution #26: Catalogs

Designing a catalog bears considerable financial and psychological weight. Catalogs are most likely the most expensive piece of direct mail you create, so the impression and the effectiveness of the design on the return must be significant.


Catalogs also take a good bit of time compiling. You have to design the cover, select the products/services, designate an order for the products/services, write or update copy for each product/service, strategize specials and offers, and run the "final" version past a slew of proofreaders to make sure your copy is error free, your prices are current, your product codes are accurate, and you generally haven't done anything stupid or embarrassing for the company.

For many marketers, "catalog" equals "dread."

Although no one can relieve you of all the stress induced by creating or updating your catalog, keeping the following points in mind will help you keep the chaos under control:

1. Remember that a catalog isn't forever. Whether you update your catalog monthly, annually, or somewhere in between, you will update it. Your catalog should look professional and represent your company in a way that you'll be proud of three years from now, but it doesn't have to last that long. The goal is to get customers to open it NOW and act. So go ahead and create a gallery-worthy cover, but remember what you're trying to sell. Include catchy copy highlighting the benefits of new and exciting products or services. Emphasize specials or limited-time offers. And give prospects and customers a reason to open the page.

2. Tout what's new. This is particularly important if you update your catalog frequently. Make sure you provide an intriguing reason for each recipient to open every catalog.

3. Change your theme but not your layout. When your catalog arrives in the mail, you want your customers to know exactly how to find the information they're looking for, and that means staying consistent in your layout and general style. Doing so will help your customers easily access contact information, categories, or ordering information when they need it, building familiarity and enabling the sales process.

Good luck!

AMiable Solution #25: Direct Mail Letters

When is the best time to use a direct mail letter versus a brochure, postcard, catalog, etc.? Anytime, actually.


According to Jeffrey Dobkin, author of "Successful Low Cost Direct Marketing Methods" and "How To Market a Product for Under $500," letters are more effective than any other form of direct mail because they can have a "story line...a blend of benefits, facts and fiction to show the product in the best light."

Direct mail letters, by their very format, imply something more personal than a four-color postcard or glossy catalog. They're typically lower-cost than brochures, and they generate the greatest focus on the copy itself, since letters generally exclude otherwise attention-detracting graphics and glam.

To make the most of your postage and your budget, consider the following tips when you write your next letter.

1. Identify your goal and stick to it. Are you looking for customer retention and loyalty or are you hoping for a specific response: an order, a phone call, a donation, etc.? Your copy should send a clear, well-written message, whether it's a simple "thank you for your business" or a sales pitch.

2. Make a personal appeal. Whether you mail your letter to 100 people or 100,000 people, it needs to sound like it was written specifically for each recipient. Personalization works wonders here. But don't stop at "Dear {First Name}." Incorporate other specific details from your database into your letter: relevant previous purchases or donations, geographical references, ordering preferences, etc.

3. Focus on benefits. Use a brochure to show what your product or service is, but use a letter to explain why the recipient needs it. Use the space to explain what your offering is and how it solves a problem.

Happy writing.

AMiable Solution #24: Design Challenge #4: Postcards

In theory, postcards sound easy. After all, the amount of space you need to fill with graphics and copy is minimal. But that minimal space is exactly what makes creating postcards tricky. You want the postcard to catch your clients' eyes, but you also need to allow room for quality content that will cause your recipients to respond.


How can you do that? Editing. Not only of content, but of graphics. The more focused your message, offer, and graphics are, the better. Keep these tips in mind to help keep your postcard focused:

• Use simple images on the front of the postcard.

• Make your point and remove the fluff.

• Limit your content to one product, service, or event.

• Make a very clear and direct call-to-action.

• Consider making your offer on the front and back of the postcard to ensure visibility.

• Keep your font size readable.

• Include a finely-honed headline that identifies your audience, describes the primary offer, and explains the main benefit of the offer.

• Don't be afraid of white space.

Although creating a standard-class postcard provides you with a larger canvas than a first-class postcard--up to 6-1/8" x 11-1/2" x 1/4" thick versus 4-1/4" x 6" x 0.016" thick--your objective and your focus should remain the same. You only have a few seconds to pull your reader in. Make every word, and image, count.

AMiable Solution #23: Design Challenge #3: When you don't have graphics

Most of the marketing we receive includes at least two colors if not more, photos, and/or graphics to visually draw us into the piece. But what happens when we don't have fancy photos of our products or colorful graphics showing the success of our services? Can we distribute text-only material and expect it to succeed?


We believe the answer is "yes." Although content always trumps graphics when it comes to making a sale, having strong copy is especially important when your readers have nothing but copy to look at. The trick is to make your text-heavy promotion look as open and inviting as possible. The following tricks can help you do this:

• Allow as much white space as possible: don't be tempted to jam-pack the space with text

• Use color to emphasize text or guide readers through the page

• Treat type as graphics by using big drop caps at the beginning of sections

• Create interest by inserting quote boxes amidst columns of text

• Keep paragraphs short

• Create visual interest using simple shapes

Still need a little extra something? Try scanning, at a high resolution, a patterned or textured sheet of paper and using a colored percentage of it--no more than 5% or 10% to avoid muddying your text--behind or near your copy.

AMiable Solution #22: Design Challenge #2: Big order forms in small spaces

If, like most people, you've left the order form for last and now find yourself trying to cram too much form into too little space, we have a few suggestions for you:


1. Inkjet the recipient's name, address, and source code directly onto the form. This saves your client time and hassle, but it also saves you space: you can inkjet the information smaller than most customers can write it.

2. Don't ask for information you don't need.

3. But don't exclude essential information—including the offer, toll-free number, company name and logo, mailing address, total price, applicable sales tax, shipping and handling charges, premiums, offer expiration date, minimum orders, delivery time, the payment methods you accept, Canadian and international charges, directions for order placement, etc.—for the sake of space.

4. Play the numbers game. Balance the benefit of leaving the lines for items ordered blank versus pre-populating the information (except, of course, for quantity). If your mail piece includes only a handful of products, you may actually be able to save space by filling-in all of the product names—in at least 10-point type—yourself instead of leaving large enough "fill in" spaces for clients to enter the product names themselves.

5. Be careful not to use a small font size. While it may allow you to cram more of your order form into a small area, it won't likely leave your customers enough room to write, and it may frustrate them if they find the font size difficult to read.

6. Offer a QR code and an alternative or two for clients without code-reading devices, including a personalized URL (PURL) and a toll-free phone number.

If you still have trouble fitting all of the necessary elements into the available space, you're probably better off revising the layout or design to accommodate the order form. Despite being the most neglected part of the piece, it's the most essential one.

AMiable Solution #21: Design Challenge #1: QR Codes

Whether you're just now experimenting with QR codes or you've been on the QR code train for some time, deciding how to use them is just the first step. Determining how to incorporate them into your direct mail campaign is another.


Unlike the rest of your direct mail design, which demands a particular order (teaser, offer, then order form), QR codes have no set rules for their placement: they can appear on the cover, in the middle, or on the back mailing panel. No matter where you choose to include your QR code, however, there are certain considerations you should keep in mind:

• Make the location fit the purpose. If you're giving consumers an option to place an online order, renew a membership, make a donation, etc., through the code, place the QR code on or near the order form. If you're using the QR code to link invitees to a map, place the QR code near the event's location information.

• Surround the QR code with plenty of white space. This will help ensure the code scans cleanly.

• But be sure to include a strong call to action. Don't just throw a QR code on the page and expect consumers to automatically take interest. Be sure to tell them what to scan the code for and how they'll benefit from doing so.

• Make it readable. There are no hard-and-fast rules on size, but your QR code should be at least 1" by 1" for greater readability.

• Keep it in the clear. Don't place a QR code on a curved surface, in or on a fold, or too close to a spine. You risk creating scanning issues for your clients if you do.

QR codes, like any other element in a direct mail package, should be subject to much testing. Track your response rates along with the location of each code to see which placement location works best for you.

AMiable Solution #20: When Two Colors are Better Than Four

We admit, if given a choice, we'd choose full-color over two-color in most cases. As consumers, we're drawn to objects, documents, etc., with more color and flash. However, color and flash aren't always necessary--even recommended--when it comes to direct mail and direct marketing.


Although the cost of four-color process printing has decreased with the increase of technology, you shouldn't assume that all jobs should be printed in four colors. Two-color spot printing still has its place in marketing. Consider two-color printing when you find yourself or your project in one of the following situations:

• When you're printing logos and letterhead. Printing in two spot colors minimizes costs and creates a more standard brand color.

• When colors must be exact. Colors print truer when printed as a Pantone solid.

• When cost and quantity must be low. You'll not only save on ink expenses, but you'll also save on paper: four-color printing tends to require heavier stock.

• When you're going for a particular image. Two-color tends to look more business-like (on envelopes, for example) than four-color.

• When you use particular colors. Orange, for example, can look muddy when built in four colors. Talk to your printer if you have any questions or concerns.

• When you have tiny type or fine lines. Such delicate details can look jagged when printed as a four-color build.

• When you want to match large areas of tints between spreads. Spot colors tends to produce more consistent solids than process colors do.

For more tips on printing on two-color printing, see our blog from May 8, AMiable Solution #17: Using Colors with Care.

AMiable Solution #19: Understanding Color Translation

When it comes to printing professional materials, what you see on your screen isn't always what you get back from the printer. Sometimes you don't notice the difference. Other times, a color simply doesn't pop on the page the way it does on your computer screen.


Before you blame your old monitor or your trusted printer, keep in mind the following: most scanners, digital cameras, and computer monitors display colors and images in three colors (red, green, and blue, or "RGB") but printing presses use four (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, or "CMYK").

Minimize your disappointment and maximize the effect of color on your marketing pieces with these quick fixes:

• Design your marketing pieces using CMYK colors

• Convert photos or graphics from RGB to CMYK yourself in Photoshop to make sure you're satisfied with the results

• Ask your print vendor for samples of previous work printed in a specific color, if you have any concerns or if you can't afford for a color to print slightly "off"

If you still find you're dissatisfied with the results, talk to your vendor. You both have the same goal in mind and may just need to work out the best way to achieve it.

AMiable Solution #18: Using Color in Copy

When it comes to printing text, black type on white paper wins, hands-down, for its legibility. But what if you want to make a statement? How can you create emphasis and draw readers into your marketing copy without causing chaos or headaches?


Just as color affects the overall impact of your promotion's design, color also impacts how--and what--your readers choose to read. Color in text helps readers identify key information, sort out information, and even identify relationships between sections of text.

But to be effective, colored text must be seen. Although black type on white paper does provide the highest contrast and therefore the greatest readability, other color combinations do work: black on yellow, red on white, blue on white. The trick is to pick two colors with high contrast. The key is to use such combinations judiciously. You may have read--or started to read--a document that overused one of these non-traditional text/background combinations. And you probably stopped reading before you reached the end simply because your eyes hurt and your head ached.

Applying color to text effectively doesn't have to be difficult, if you follow a few guidelines:

• Non-traditional color combinations work best for short, high-impact messages.

• Blue text allows you to highlight important points within copy without causing a distraction.

• Coloring only the most significant text allows you to easily guide your readers through your message.

• Consistently colored content creates unity. According to Dynamic Graphics Magazine (October 2007), "Color can be used to tie several documents together. If it is coordinated with consistent typography and uniform layout, a unique scheme can help create unity among many documents, and build brand identity."

• Non-black type, particularly when used for body copy, should be printed in a bigger font size.

• The more powerful the color (red, for example), the less you should use.

Whether you use color for drop caps, pull quotes, contact information, or key points, remember to limit the number of colors you use in your copy. Too much of a good thing can be just that: too much.

AMiable Solution #17: Using Colors with Care

Even with today's affordable four-color printing options, not every direct mail or marketing piece requires the full-color treatment. In fact, in some cases, the more limiting and strategic you are with your colors, the greater the impact your piece will make.


Printing in two colors? Maximize the impact of color on your audience by using it to highlight the important information in your copy. That may include how your audience should respond to your offer, when the offer expires, how much the product or service is, etc.

You can also limit your color to illustrations or graphics. While most photos look sharpest in full color or black-and-white, other graphics--including charts, sidebars, and --work just fine with two colors.

Want another easy way to add variation to your promotion while using only two colors? Use several shades of the same color. Just be sure to consult a tint book and/or your printer when shades are used with text to ensure that the text remains readable.

How do you know which color to use in your promotion? Match your offer and message to these general guidelines for a good starting point:

• Yellow grabs attention and provides a good contrast against darker colors. However, yellow can tire the eyes and should be used with moderation.

• Green implies hope. It also represents nature and wealth.

• Blue instills confidence and safety. It's also calm, soothing, and businesslike.

• Black conveys power.

• Red incites excitement and strong emotion.

• Orange also grabs attention. It is warm and energetic.

• Pink implies romance and love.

Using Colors that Sell

When you think spring colors, you probably think in terms of greens, blues, and yellows. They evoke thoughts of freshness, new life.


But what colors come to mind when you think "price"? Do any? According to a February 26, 2010, article in Deliver Magazine, the United States Postal Service's magazine of mail marketing strategies, certain colors do carry pricing implications.

Before you start designing your next mail piece, consider these tips from the USPS:

• If you're selling an expensive product--or you simply want to give prospects and customers the impression that a product or service is more expensive, then use blue-based reds.

• If you're selling an expensive product but want to downplay the price, then use a yellow-based red.

• If you want to emphasize the value and affordability of a product, then use orange.

• If you want prospects and customers to view your product or service as sophisticated or formal, then use white. Keep in mind, however, that white also implies a higher-end product.

As with any advice you receive, it's always best to test the waters before diving headfirst into the pool. Use a smaller mailing--or your house list--to test colors before rolling out a major campaign. You may find these color guidelines work for your audience, or you may find that you need to consider other factors, including your industry, when choosing direct mail marketing colors.

AMiable Solution #15: Keeping the "Spring" in Your Marketing

After a cold (or in our case this year, not-quite-so-cold) winter, we welcome spring as a way to rejuvenate our motivations, our activities, and our overall attitudes. But all too often, the excitement of spring doesn't last.

How can you pump new life into your marketing and keep it there, even after the cool, colorful days of spring turn to the hot, dry days of summer? Use a common location--the lunch room, a meeting room, or a common hallway--to share your department's marketing successes. Doing so not only lets others in your organization know what you're doing to promote the products or services they help support, but it also provides them with a little insight into your customers, members, or donors that they can apply in their own roles.

Sound like more trouble than it's worth? It doesn't have to be. You already have the information you need. You just need to make it public. Try sharing these points of information to keep yourself, your marketing team, and your organization motivated now and in the months ahead:

1. Post successful marketing campaigns. Include a note about how many recipients the piece mailed to, what the current tracked response is, and how that response compares to your "norm."

2. Post positive customer feedback. Too often people hear only about the complaints and not the compliments.

3. Post good press or product reviews.

Everyone likes to feel good about the work their doing. Help make that feeling last.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #14: Cleaning Out Your Inventory

Okay, so we called this an end-of-year task in 2010. But if you didn't do it then, or if you haven't done it since, it's an activity worth revisiting in the spring: cleaning out your overage.

As is the case with a number of things you keep or file--journals you intend to one day read, supporting documentation for mailings from five years ago--it's easy to forget about the extra inventory you have stored in your warehouse or sitting at the mail shop. By ignoring it, however, you not only risk wasting storage space and possibly fees, but you also risk overlooking a quick and relatively inexpensive mailing.

Challenge yourself this week to blow the dust off your overage and take inventory of what you have. If the product or service offered in the piece is old or no longer available, recycle the inventory. If pricing is old or contact information is outdated, recycle. And, if there's language in the text that dates the piece or is no longer relevant, recycle.

However, if you have current information on a current product or service with current pricing and contact information, you may have a quick and relatively inexpensive (the printing is already paid for, after all) mailing on hand. If you have large quantities of pieces that did well, you may want to re-mail them to a portion of your house list or to a tested and proven rental list.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #13: Growing Your Best Customers

Now that you've cut wasted expenses (if you missed last week's blog on identifying unnecessary expenses, click here http://amidirectmarketing.blogspot.com/2012/04/amiable-solution-12-greening-up-your.html), it's time to look at increasing income. What's the most effective way to do that? Grow your best customers.

You know who they are--the customers who order regularly, the clients who order in bulk, the donors who never miss a campaign--but do you know how to make those good relationships better? Try these two simple strategies:

• Make it personal, for both parties. The saying about putting a face to a name is true: you feel more connected to someone you've met in person. The same can be said about a person's voice. If you only ever communicate with your best customers via mail or email, then you're missing an important opportunity to really connect with them. Make it a point to call them periodically to see how things are going for them, what their needs are, what you can do for them. They'll appreciate the effort, and you'll both feel a greater appreciation--and with time, loyalty--for one another.

• Give them the best deals. You've heard of customer loyalty programs. You've probably even received your own share of special offers under that same banner. Offer pre-orders, special discounts, and exclusive deals to customers who spend a good deal of time and money with your organization. But be sure to send "customer loyalty" offers to your best customers only. Nothing makes our eyes roll as much as receiving a "because you're a preferred client" offer from a company we've barely done business with.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #12: Greening Up Your Expenses

It's hard to think "spring" and not think "spring cleaning." But how can you clean up your business and give it new life? Start by cleaning up your expenses.

Everyone focuses on expenses in tough--and even not-so-tough--times. But often we overlook possibilities for cutting costs simply because we assume a "necessary" expense really is necessary. We look at cutting back on promotions instead of the smaller, less visible (and less profitable) expenses. This week, see if you can put more green back in your bottom line by examining these not-so-essential expenses:


· Print Subscriptions. While it's important to monitor industry news and events, take a look at your publication subscriptions. How many different publications does your company subscribe to? Are they all read? Could your in-house readers get the information they need out of the publications from the publications' websites? Talk to the recipients. If you can get away with fewer copies of the same subscription or fewer different subscriptions, do it.

· Online Subscriptions. Many of us subscribe to online services--including databases and research services. But how many people access that service on a regular basis? Poll your employees. Get a realistic idea of how often each service is used. If the answer is infrequently or rarely, cut your losses and the expense.

· Memberships. Staying connected with other members of the industry keeps your employees up-to-date on important issues and changes , but if you're paying membership fees for employees who don't attend meetings, don't take advantage of training or networking opportunities, or don't benefit in any other way from the membership, cross those fees off your expense list.


Making even small changes can have a significant impact on your profitability, especially if the "deadwood" has been accumulating for some time.


Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #11: Selling Yourself, Part 4: Negotiating a Salary

The economy is tough, but the job market is tougher, right? Despite how it may feel, job candidates actually do have some power and some say in the salaries they make. The trick is to choose your words wisely.

When possible, wait for an offer to talk salary numbers. If you're the first to mention a figure, you can eliminate yourself from consideration, either for being too "expensive" or too "cheap." Jack Chapman, in his February 14, 2012, article on TheLadders.com, says that, "If you discuss salary in any detail before the employer really gets a sense of what you’re worth, or before the employer has decided which candidate he/she wants to interview, you’re almost always pushing yourself out of the range." If a human resources or hiring managers asks you for your current or desired salary before an offer is made, simply say "competitive."

Be willing—and prepared—to negotiate. Once you receive an offer, give yourself 24 hours to consider it and respond. When you do respond, have your facts together: know what your market value is and what you're willing to concede. You may be surprised by what the employer is willing to offer when you're willing to let something go.

Finding a job can be one of life's most stressful tasks. Approach it with confidence.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #10: Selling Yourself, Part 3: Nailing an Interview

Anyone who has ever actively searched for a job knows that the most painful part of submitting a resume to a prospective employer is the waiting that occurs once the resume is sent. Will you get a call? Will you be asked in for an interview? If you are, how can you be sure you'll make the best possible impression?

For those answers, we turned to veteran recruiter Megan Cuthbertson.

For starters, Megan says, give yourself every chance to be successful. Research not only the company but also any available alumni groups to get a feel for the company and the position. Prepare questions and prepare for questions. If the interview location is in unfamiliar territory, drive the route ahead of time so you know where you're going, where you're going to park, and how long it takes to get there. And, remember that the interview really starts with that first phone call. Treat the caller, and everyone else you encounter at the organization, with respect.

Once you begin the interview, be confident. "Remember," says Megan, "they asked you to be there."

Megan also advises candidates to listen carefully to the questions they're asked and to answer those questions only. Don't offer additional information: nervous chatter can backfire on you. Make sure, too, that you understand the role. Ask the interviewer to walk you through a typical day in the position.

Before you leave, reiterate your interest in the position. Then, ask if anyone at the company has any reservations about your ability to fulfill the role. This, Megan says, gives employers an opportunity to address their concerns about you before you walk out the door.

When the interview is over, don't forget to follow-up with a thank you. If you missed our March enewsletter, be sure to check it out here, http://www.amidirect.com/files/enewsmar2012.pdf, to see why following-up can be so important.
Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome

AMiable Solution #9: Selling Yourself, Part 2: Understanding Job Ads

How often have you been interested in a position but didn't apply because you didn't think you met all of the necessary qualifications? Although you may have been taught to skip the ads that included responsibilities beyond your experience, the folks at CareerBuilder.com say that by applying for only positions that you're "perfectly matched" for, you could be missing an opportunity.

So how do you know if you should apply? Look closely at the language used in the job description.

If the description says "experience required," it means that the employer is looking for candidates who have done most of the tasks advertised. The amount of experience the employer is looking for, according to CareerBuilder writer Larry Buhl, may be negotiable, so if your experience matches the majority of the duties listed, edit your resume to address those particular experiences/skills and send it in.

If the job description says "experience preferred," then you should submit your resume if you have some experience in the duties described. According to Buhl, an "experience preferred" claim means that the employer hopes you have experience in most of the responsibilities described but won't automatically disqualify you if you don't.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #8: Selling Yourself, Part 1: Updating Your Resume

When was the last time you updated your resume? If you haven't yet added your most recent job change, promotion, responsibilities, or accomplishments, now's the time. Whether you're actively looking for a new job or not, maintaining a current resume not only guarantees you won't forget to add important details or accomplishments, but it also alleviates some of the stress and panic associated with sudden unemployment.

Although updating a resume itself isn't a quick process (you need to give yourself time to review it carefully to avoid mistakes), evaluating it for these key elements will take only minutes. Use the list below to quickly identify and highlight the weaknesses and strengths in your resume:

• Nouns. The nouns you include will help distinguish you from other applicants and solidify your image as a competent, experienced professional. Include such nouns as the names of specific tools you use, software and hardware you use and that's unique to your job or industry, techniques you are qualified to use, professional organizations you joined, and trade shows and conferences you have attended.
• Numbers. Quantify everything you can. Don't just say, "Created and coordinated the distribution of direct mail pieces," say, "Created and coordinated the distribution of 500,000 direct mail pieces annually."
• Relevant details. Highlight your duties and accomplishments as best you can, but use what you have as a base. Then, when you do apply for a position, use the job announcement as your guide and tailor your resume to each job you apply for. Address each qualification as accurately and completely as you can, answering the question of whether you have the experience or ability to perform the responsibilities.
• Personal information. Remove from your resume any information that could be used against you, including age, race, and political or religious references.
• Design. Don't be afraid of white space, and don't minimize type size to maximize content: keep your font size at 10pt or greater. Use bullets to list your responsibilities, and keep the overall design attractive and easy to scan.
• Verbs. Look closely at the job description/position announcement you're responding to. What verbs does the announcement use to describe the position's duties? When you can, incorporate those same verbs into your resume. Varying your verb choices is also important. Make sure you choose verbs that convey meaning and power. For a free list of powerful verbs to consider using on your resume, email us at solutions@amidirect.com.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #7: Picking Favorites

A friend of mine loves spending time in her kitchen. She has a handful of gadgets--standing mixer, food processor, quick chopper, etc.--but her favorite kitchen tool is her baking spray. Featuring a DOSE of flour in the vegetable oil, the baking spray has secured the successful removal of numerous cakes and breads, which had previously and frequently clung to the pans they were in and ripped in half when forcefully shaken. She loves the product so much, she even uses it instead of butter on her griddle when she makes pancakes.

When it comes to marketing, do you have a favorite tool? A software tool that makes selecting your mailing list a breeze. A filing system that makes researching past promotions painless. A graphic designer or writer who turns out consistently solid work. A list broker who knows you and your needs so well that you never question a suggestion. A vendor who produces quality services and treats you like a partner.

Despite all our technology, I still love the telephone the best. It's so easy today to send an email and be impersonal. When I get a chance to talk directly with a client, that's when I get a feel for a person's situation. That's when I can better understand completely a clients initiatives, desires, etc.

After that, my favorite tool is our color laser printers. More and more people are using them to get attention and to personalize their mailings, and the more we can offer to help clients achieve their goals, the happier we are.

Do you have a favorite tool you'd like to share or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #6: Avoiding List-Rental Hold-Ups

Selecting and renting lists tends to take a back seat to creating the actual mailpiece, which can cause gridlock with your schedule if your piece is printed but your lists at large. The list rental process, unfortunately, takes time. Time (yours) to examine the lists and extract current and relevant information. Time (your list broker's) to process the orders and submit them to the appropriate owners. And time (the list owner's) to review the order and sample mailpiece and either approve or deny the rental request. Throw in holidays, vacations, meetings, and general business busyness, and your "quick" order can become a two week ordeal.

Fact is, Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president at Estee Marketing Group, in an October 2011 Multichannel Merchant article, says list brokers usually need three to four weeks to create and implement a list rental program.

So what can you do to avoid running full-steam ahead into a campaign only be to derailed by a wait? Think ahead, and ask for pre-approvals. Instead of waiting until your mailpiece is complete to turn your attention to lists, start right away. When you begin your mail plan and start scoping out potential rental lists, contact your list broker with questions about those lists--current counts, additional fees for special processing or handling, turnaround times, list selects, age of the list, etc.--before you start the actual mailpiece. By the time your mailpiece reaches its first draft, you'll most likely have answers to your questions and have a better idea which lists you plan to pursue.

Then, use the first draft and ask your list broker if she/he can secure pre-approvals on those lists, even if you're not 100% sure you'll use them. You'll most likely know which lists are useable and which aren't before your mailpiece is finalized, at which point you can place the actual order and expect a shorter turnaround time, since neither your list broker or the list owner will be surprised by your request.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #5: Editing for Effectiveness

When you create a marketing campaign, you read the same copy dozens--or even hundreds--of times. At some point, you stop "reading" and start "breezing" the words. The text and language become comfortable and accepted. You stop questioning word choices. Editing, however, is a continuous process, especially if you're recycling text from a previous campaign. Make sure your copy engages your audience without getting in their faces. Try these three quick tricks:

1. Limit how many times you name your company. Of course it's important to include and reiterate your company's name, but it shouldn't appear more often than your customer's or prospect's name. If it does, you're likely shining the spotlight in the wrong direction.

2. Limit how many times you name your recipient. By all means, address your recipient by name in your teaser and in the beginning of your letter or copy, but watch how often you name names after that. While personalization can make customers and prospects feel noticed, over-personalization can leave customers feeling "worked."

3. Vary sentence length. If you're like me, you tend to write long sentences. Some are okay and even necessary, but make sure you vary the length of your sentences. It breaks the monotony and adds punch. And emphasis.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #4: Getting Last-Minute Promotions Mailed

If you heard the news about the USPS eliminating its postage prepayment requirement for mailers who enter into a negotiated service agreement, you—like many others—probably got pretty excited. After all, how many times has a mailing been held up while you waited for your accounting department to cut the postage check? The thought of being able to mail now, pay later, was an answer to many prayers.

Unfortunately, it's an answer that benefits very few. According to a postal employee at our Merrifield, VA, facility, the change affects only those businesses who currently mail 10 million parcels a year through FED EX and agree to change their shipping to USPS.

So how can you get your mailpieces, particularly those last-minute surprises, out faster? Although you'll still have to wait for the postage check, you can increase your chances of getting your piece out faster if you try one of the following:
• Mail a postcard. The piece will take less time to print and process for mailing (no folding, inserting, etc.), and the postage will be less, which could speed up the check cutting.
• Break up your mailing. If timeliness is an issue, try splitting up your list and mailing only the most critical recipients first.
• Recycle an older promotion. Eliminate some of the time spent on creative by reusing an existing design and layout. Replace the text and key graphics, and send it to the printer.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #3: Selling an Old Dog with Few New Tricks

Most companies or organizations have at least one: a signature product or service that has been around forever and receives periodic updates to keep it current.

But what happens when the "update" has more to do with maintaining a schedule than improving the product? Marketing a "new" version with few new features or new information can be challenging. Calling out the changes could backfire: savvy buyers may not see the value of a "new" product or service with few updates. Instead, focus on what's great about the product or service—its history, its impact on the industry or society, and its success in helping solve problems. And if the product or service has legal implications, remind your clients and prospects how important it is to maintain a complete, current collection or to be consistent in using the service. With a little persuasion, your clients will see that the core value of the product or service is worth buying.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome.

AMiable Solution #2: Reviving Response

Successful direct marketing requires analysis, timing, and creativity. Sometimes, however, despite a binder full of data to back up your decisions, you still don't get the response you desired. What can you do? Take a look at your campaign in terms of

• Offer. Did you stray from your typical offer in terms of price, payment accepted, incentive, etc? If not, should you?

• Design. Usually, change is a good thing. However, if you're marketing a signature product or service in a completely different way, your existing customers may not have recognized it and overlooked it.

• Rental lists. Talk to your list broker. If a list you rented for a current campaign underperformed compared to previous mailings, inquire about the list. Did ownership change hands? Did the owner's criteria or source of names change?

• House lists. When was the last time you checked the accuracy of your customer names and mailing addresses? If your contact names seem to be aging with no recent activity, you may need to check your...

• Competition. If your competition changed its marketing tactics, improved its own version of the product or service you're offering, or bested your best offer, you may need to re-evaluate more than just your layout and list selection.

While you may not always find the answer to lower response in the issues above, they do provide a good starting point for your investigation, which could lead to a smarter, higher-yielding response rate on your next campaign.

Do you have a better suggestion to offer or a challenge you'd like help with? Say it here. Your comments are always welcome