ail Pack
This is the workhorse of any direct-mail sales effort. It’s been around for a hundred years, and the experts have been working at fine-tuning its appeal for 50 years. Many direct-mail campaigns consist of nothing more than a sales letter and envelope. It’s inexpensive to duplicate, easily reproducible and simple to test. No matter what your product or service, a well-written sales letter gives you the opportunity to “make your case” to the prospect.
Catalogue
Catalogue marketing is a specialized branch of direct marketing. The two disciplines share many of the same characteristics. Like direct marketing, catalogue marketing is based on interactivity, or one-to-one communication between the marketer and the prospect or customer. Catalogues always include response devices, and cataloguers are able to measure the response to any and every mailing they make. It is safe to say that most at-home shopping takes place through catalogues. Catalogues offer consumers a wide range of products of either a generalized or specialized nature. In this respect they share some of the characteristics of retailers. Like retailers, cataloguers employ buyers to select merchandise. Catalogue buyers attend the same trade shows as retail buyers. The layout of a catalogue is planned in a way that is analogous to the layout of a retail store: space is at a premium in both locations, and merchandise is arranged so as to maximize sales.
One Piece Mailer
A scaled-down direct-mailing option is the self-mailer, which can incorporate virtually all the elements of a full direct-mail package on a single folded sheet of paper. And, of course, along with a decrease in elements is a reduction in cost. With a self-mailer, you eliminate the costs of producing additional elements, inserting them into an envelope and paying greater postage. The simplicity of a self-mailer also makes it easy to produce quickly, enabling you to introduce a new product, announce a sale or make contact with customers in short order. The only challenge of self-mailers is overcoming the image of a flimsy fold-over that epitomizes so-called “junk mail.” However, what the self-mailer lacks in format appeal, it can make up for in copy clout and design. The “guts” of the self-mailer can be set up any number of ways. In a three-panel piece, one panel can have bullet points, another a personal sales letter and another the response device or order form. You can even make your self-mailer a four-panel affair, with the final panel for testimonials.
Postcard
The postcard is perhaps the most elementary of mailing formats, offering many of the advantages of a folded self-mailer, as well as some exclusive to itself. Since a huge percentage of direct-mail packages never get opened, it pays to consider a format that never has to overcome that obstacle. With a postcard, all the recipient needs is a flip of the wrist to read everything you have to say. This can be a big advantage in attracting the typically impatient reader.Inexpensive postcards give you the opportunity to consider a mailing “campaign,” enabling you to send out a number of such cards at regular intervals to remind the recipient of your product or service. You can also produce oversized postcards that give you more “canvas” on which to display your wares and make your sales argument. And while the larger size costs incrementally more in printing, paper and postage, its simplicity still makes it affordable. Like the folded self-mailer, one possible downside of a postcard is that it won’t get the respect of a sealed envelope. But if it’s developed in a way that has originality and selling power, you could have yourself an inexpensive business builder.