Five Ways to Spruce Up Your Direct Mail Materials

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BIG CLOSEOUT SALE THIS TUESDAY!

Dear Mr. Smith: Are You Paying Too Much For Your Mortgage?

How many times have you received a piece of direct mail worded like the ones above? Furthermore, how many times have you thrown away a piece of direct mail like this?

Direct mail (often called “junk mail”) infiltrates our mailboxes on a daily basis. When done wrong, direct mail is nothing more than an eco-disaster (i.e. a massive waste of paper and trees). When done correctly, however, direct mail can positively affect your profits in ways you have never dreamed of. Here are five ways to spruce up your direct mail materials:

• Color, Color, Color! – A lot of direct mail materials are in boring black and white – often just simple letters written on a plain sheet of 8×11″ paper. Want to spruce up your direct mail materials? Use color – not just color, but high-gloss and vibrant color. Colorful materials that are printed professionally are far more valued than boring old black and while letters.
• Magnets and Specialty Items – Including magnets and specialty items with your direct mail materials can do wonders for your profits. People love these little “gifts.”
• Include Local References – If possible, include local expressions and references. Creating geographic-specific direct mail materials can be highly beneficial, as this works to personalize your brand to the consumer.
• Include Sports Schedules – Include a professionally printed sporting schedule (i.e. the times and locations of a local sporting team’s games) with your logo on it. Sports fans hang onto these; in turn, they hang onto your logo and image.
• Professional Copy – Use professionally written copy (as in, text) for your direct mail materials. Grammatical errors and poorly written paragraphs make your brand look unreliable and inferior. When your text appears professional, your business appears all the more professional.

Direct mail can be a tricky game; after all, it is quite easy to fall into the “junk mail” trap. Quality, well-written, and colorful materials are the key in making sure that your direct mail is thoroughly read.

Lies vs. Euphemisms: Where to Draw the Line

In marketing, there is often a fine line between euphemisms and lies. It can be quite tempting to embellish when crafting your promotional materials, especially when the competition may seem to have an edge.

However, blatantly lying on your marketing materials can have strong consequences. Not only can it result in a backlash against your brand, but it also can actually have legal ramifications. To avoid accidentally lying on your promotional materials, here are some tips and techniques to keep in mind:

• The Truth, Only Prettier – Do as your mother said and always tell the truth. However, there is a huge difference between telling a blatant lie and telling a “pretty truth.” For example, if you own a paint shop and are advertising a special on discounted expired cans of paint, it would be a bad idea to promote the product as new or fresh. However, if you believe that the expired paint is still to completely useable, you can emphasize that fact in your promotional materials. That would be a “pretty truth.”
• Don’t Fake Customer Testimonials – If you are planning on running testimonials to promote your business, that’s fine. However, insincere customer testimonials performed by actors are usually regarded as false advertising. Err on the side of caution and pursue your customers for genuine testimonials. Many will love their fifteen minutes of fame.
• Consider Legalities – Remember that false advertising is a huge deal. People have and still do sue businesses that advertise falsely, and it can also get you into hot water with the Better Business Bureau. You should be extremely cautious of any statement that could be considered untrue. When in doubt, always omit any phrase or sentence that you think could later lead to trouble.

We know that marketing can be an extremely competitive sport. However, with the right materials and well-crafted ad copy, you are sure to stand out from the crowd. Just remember: Never ever fabricate any information about your business. The results are too dangerous to ever make it worthwhile.

Using Copy to Turn Your Promotional Materials into Must-Reads

Promotional materials can be a phenomenal way to promote your business and help improve your company’s local reputation.

However, promotional materials can be a disaster when written incorrectly. Let us look at a sample of poorly written promotional materials to get a better idea of what not to do:

Hello! Thinking about selling your home? I am Kathy Smith and I have 20 years experience selling houses and condos and comercial properties in the Shore Hills neighborhood! I am experienced in getting you youre money fast! Call me at 555-555-5555. I want to sell your home today!!!

Obviously, this is a humorous exaggeration of a poorly written, misspelled promotional flyer. However, it is not all that far off the mark. Plenty of small business owners aren’t Pulitzer quality writers. There is nothing wrong with not being a literary genius; no one ever said that you had to be a grammar whiz to start your own business!

Nonetheless, in putting your best foot forward, it is important that the copy on your promotional materials do your marketing investment justice. You want to enlist the best writer on your staff to help with the copy, and proofreading again and again is essential.  Bringing a professional writer on board can do wonders for your promotional materials. Don’t worry about having to break the bank either. Consider hiring an English or journalism major from the nearby university to write the content for your next promotional effort. Plenty of them will work for a smaller fee, and they will be eager to take on the job to boost their resumes.

Here are some important buzzwords to remember when it comes to assembling excellently written promotional materials:

• Branding: Branding is an advertising term, used to describe the process of creating a recognizable image through consistent themes and tones in advertising materials. Try to utilize the same writers and designers for all of your promotional materials. A recognizable theme allows customers to more readily remember your company’s name.
• Copy: Copy is simply a word that refers to the actual text of your promotional or marketing materials. These are the catchphrases that will describe the essence of your company and compel your potential customers to respond to the call of action.
• Synergy: Synergy is when multiple products are advertised under one campaign. This doesn’t necessarily refer to collaborating with other companies; a good example of synergy would be if a construction company advertised both their roofing and siding services on one flyer. When done well, synergy allows you to effectively promote multiple services or products under the same block of copy, which ultimately helps you to save money.

If you can get these buzzwords down and utilize them to your advantage, your promotional materials will be the talk of the town in your neighborhood.

5 Phrases to Avoid in Your Promotional Materials

Are you gearing up to assemble your next round of promotional materials? We wish you the absolute best of luck, especially where your text and descriptions are concerned. Unfortunately, when it comes to promotional materials, the same mistakes are made over and over again. To avoid becoming a marketing mishap, here are five phrases to eliminate from your promotional materials.

1. “We are Among the Best” – Why would you declare your competitors to be your equals, let alone potentially “the best?” Don’t feel the need to censor your overwhelming pride in your business or your brand. Declare yourself the best and nothing less!

1. “Despite Popular Belief…” – Avoid sentences that qualify your company’s claims about their quality. For example, you don’t need to preface “Our shoe factory is the state’s best shoe factory” with “Unlike what you may have heard.” Don’t put doubt into your potential clients’ heads. Your promotional materials should leave them believing that they have never felt anything besides enthusiasm for your company or brand.

1. “If You’re Not Satisfied…” – Avoid “no” speak. Sentences should always be positive, never negative. Even if you are setting up a money-back guarantee, try to use more positive language. For example, you could state, “Although you will be satisfied, we provide a money-back guarantee for all of our valued customers.”

1. “Our Happy Employees” Avoid any text that labels your employees as “hard working” or “content with their jobs.” While your employees may indeed be very industrious and pleased with their careers, they are not Santa’s elves. Using them as marketing tools is dehumanizing, and your clients will pick up on that sentiment.

1. “Our Product is Better than Their Product” – While you should certainly identify yourself as the leading resource in your market or field, avoid naming specific companies or products. No one likes a negative gossip, and bashing your competitor can often come across as annoying to potential customers or clients. You can gently hint that your rival companies are inferior, but don’t single anyone out. It’s petty.

If you can avoid these five marketing blunders, your marketing and promotional materials should turn out wonderfully and successfully.