Get Personal: Letters vs. Direct Mail

One of the reasons direct mail works is the personal aspect. It's ostensibly a letter from you to your prospect. Because of this, the more personal you make it, the better your response will be.

If you're mailing to 100,000 people, putting your prospect's name on your letter is about as personal you can get. But there are times when you can ? and should ? send out highly personal letters to individual prospects.

Say you sell gardening supplies, and driving to work one day you notice a home with a lovely garden, but dying roses. You find out who the owner is and send her a letter complimenting her on her wonderful garden, along with tips on rose care. Or, you meet a prospect at a business networking function. You get back to the office and send out a letter referencing your conversation and outlining what your business can do for his.

But unlike direct mail, you don't ask for a response. Instead, tell the recipient that you'll be calling in about a week to talk about how you can help them. Then follow up with that phone call.

Now, instead of a mass mailing, you have a personal contact and the beginnings of a relationship. This kind of letter will have double or even triple the response rate of a typical mass mailing. Sure, it's more time consuming, but that fact is what makes it work so well.

So what are you waiting for? Get personal!

Lisa Packer, author of "How To Dramatically Increase Your Business... Without A Blockbuster Budget" and "7 Ways To Get A Pay Raise From Your Web Site" is an independent Copywriter and Marketing Consultant. Find out how to get these two reports, plus more helpful articles like the one you just read at http://www.dramatic-copy.com

Dramatic Copy: The Right Words Make A Dramatic Difference.

---

Effective Lead Generation

How to Gain your Prospective Clients' Attention and Generate the... Read More

Marketing Lessons From Apples iPod

Apple Computer just announced that their earnings from the last... Read More

Creating Your Own Lead Capture Pages

Having a downline can be golden. A downline is a... Read More

Why Pay for Online Press Release Distribution?

We've all heard that "free advice is worth what you... Read More

Name the Top Cable Network

When Cable began as Community Antenna Television in 1948, all... Read More

Marketing And Patience

"Get your positioning and your programs implemented properly, and the... Read More

Marketing Planning Made Simple - Another Small Business Power Tool

Marketing planning must be really difficult and complex, otherwise why... Read More

Do You Really Know Your Prospect?

I'd like to introduce you to someone. I don't actually... Read More

Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash!

First of all - keep in touch with your customers!... Read More

Turbo-Charge Your Viral Marketing- Five Easy Ways

The world of marketing has changed. With increasingly better educated... Read More

Non-Profit Success Requires Ongoing Marketing

In a crowded marketplace of ideas, it is important for... Read More

URL Everywhere? Offline Marketing For Online Success

Your URL (www) should be everywhere and more.I know many... Read More

Focusing Your Marketing Efforts

One of my favorite quotes is often used to describe... Read More

Identifying, Creating and Using Your USP?

What's your USP? Don't know, or worse still, you've never... Read More

How to Brief a Marketing Agency

A new client recently emailed us a brief here at... Read More

Plant a Seed and Watch Your Business Grow

Do you have all the business you could possibly want... Read More

Its Not All about the Cleavage! Or is It?

Times are a changin'! More women today work outside the... Read More

A Questionnaire for Businesses

As best you can, answer the following twenty-five questions. There's... Read More

Motivate Your Market Force

IntroWant me to tell you something on how you can... Read More

Terrific Titles, Happenin Headlines

You've probably heard the slogan, "You never get a second... Read More

Questioning the Data of Demographic Off The Shelf Marketing Products

I have been working on a direct mail campaign for... Read More

Behold the Power of the Tip

You are an expert. You have lots of content -... Read More

Nurture Sales Leads with Direct Mail Marketing

Direct mail is a cost-effective way to make sales and... Read More

Let It Ring

Telemarketing has its place in the marketing arsenal. But telespammers... Read More

Increase Your Response with Multi-Step Marketing

"There is only one way to judge the effectiveness of... Read More