AMiable Solution #110: The Un-Tease

Including teaser copy on the outside of your direct mail envelope or selfmailer is a great move…unless you don’t follow through. 

Teasers, by their nature, create interest.  They turn “regular” mail into “must open” mail.  They promise the answer to an interesting question, a solution to a problem, the end to a story, a benefit for simply opening up the mailing.

But when a reader opens a piece of direct mail and doesn’t find the promised contents, you not only lose credibility and a response to your offer, but you also risk angering your audience and discouraging response to any future offers.  You leave your market feeling duped.

Teaser copy isn’t just a strategy for getting your mail opened.  It’s the string you use to lead your readers through your offer.  The bread crumbs you drop for bringing them through the woods and to safety.   The focus of your sales pitch.

Writing teaser copy isn’t complicated, and you have many approaches to choose from:

·        Tell your readers what’s inside: booklet, checklist, membership card, etc.

·        Make a provocative statement.

·        Establish urgency.

·        Offer a benefit.

·        Start a sentence or story.

·        Ask a question.

·        Make a challenge.

·        Appeal to your audience’s interests or identity.

·        Identify a problem and hint at the solution.

Writing your “outside” copy first—not throwing it together at the end of the creative process—will both help you determine the direction your “inside” copy takes and will help ensure your readers are satisfied once they get there.