The question is often asked, "When should direct mail be included in a marketing plan?"

Direct mail should be used when…

  • You can identify the target audience for your product or service.
  • You have a strong, easy to understand offer.
  • You have a simple clear call to action.
  • You desire measurable results.

If all of the above are true, then direct mail should be included in your marketing plan.

Now, you need a group of direct mail professionals that can put together a successful program. A group that can develop a strong mail list and effective mail package. A group that provides outstanding client service and project management. A group that delivers results. That group is FORECAST Direct.

20 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
ABOUT YOUR DIRECT MAIL PACKAGE

  1. Did you design your envelope to get noticed...and opened...in the mailbox clutter?

  2. Is there an intriguing headline on your letter?

  3. Did you call attention to the most important selling point in your letter...and use it again in a P.S.?

  4. Did you state your benefits to the reader right from the start?

  5. Do more sentences in your letter start with "You" instead of "I" or "We"?

  6. Is the letter designed so that it is easy to read...short paragraphs, short sentences, key points extracted and bulleted, important points underlined, paragraphs indented, and lots of white space.

  7. Did you talk directly and specifically to the needs and desires of your prospects, showing how your product or service will solve their problems...what's in it for them?

  8. Did you create a unique offer for your product or service and convey that message clearly in your copy?

  9. Is your brochure interesting to look at...easy to read? Is the design for your audience?

  10. Did you include all your product's features in the brochure?

  11. Are your phone number, address and web site easy to spot... large enough to stand out...and printed in several places (at least once on every piece)? Are they correct? Call phone number and test the web address to make sure.

  12. Did you use images of people actually using (and benefiting from) your product or service? Did you list its uses?

  13. Did you answer the "Who", "What", "When", "Where" and "Why" of your product or service in your brochure?

  14. Is your response form simple to understand and fill out? Did you practice actually filling it out? Did you put your phone number on it?

  15. Did you make sure to add your unique offer and maybe key selling points to your response form?

  16. Did you design each piece in your package separately, using varying styles, colors and typefaces? Perfectly matched and coordinated pieces just don't pull as well.

  17. Did you give your prospect good reasons to respond NOW?

  18. Did you consider your reader's fundamental human needs? In other words, did you think about emotion and not just facts?

  19. Did you remember to pay careful attention to the direct marketing adage: "the letter sells...the brochure tells?"

  20. Did you have the entire job proofed carefully? Do all pieces fit together (ex. reply form in the response envelope). Is the BRE or BRC barcoded correctly?
 
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