Direct Mail

The 12 Most Common Direct Mail Mistakes

In “The 12 Most Common Direct Mail Mistakes…And How to Avoid Them” by Robert W. Bly, we are taught several common mistakes direct marketers make that worsen their direct mail results. I’d like to discuss two key points that can help you stay away from these potential mistakes.

1. Research:

The very first mistake that Bly points out involves research.  He states, “the most common direct-mail mistake is not spending enough time and effort upfront…”  Your goal with a mail piece is to reach out to potential customers and get them to respond to your mail.  How you reach them comes through studying them, presenting solutions to their problems, discovering their likes, dislikes and more.  By understanding your target audience, you will be better prepared to write a mail piece specifically designed to fit their needs and increase your response rate.  In the words of Bly, “In your research, the challenge is to find out what the customer wants to know about your product and then tell them in your mailing.”

In the book Or Your Money Back, by Alvin Eicoff, a story is shared about a radio commercial selling rat poison.  This particular ad had worked tremendously well in the consumer market. However, when it was targeted to the farm industry, sales plummeted.  Mr. Eicoff drove out to the country to talk with farmers about the product and it was revealed to him that farmers weren’t ordering the product because they were embarrassed about having a rat problem and feared their neighbors would learn about it when the poison was delivered by mail.   After acquiring this information, his approach changed completely and his radio ad emphasized that the product would be mailed in a plain brown wrapper.  Coincidentally after the launch of this campaign his sales skyrocketed.

From this example we learn that customers are looking for specific features that help them solve their problems.  When those are addressed, they are easily converted into customers.  Eicoff’s rat poison was able to fulfill the need of escaping embarrassment through plain packaging.

Bly has a rule of research that pertains to the amount of time you put into gathering information, “You should collect at least twice as much information as you need – preferably three times as much.  Then you have the luxury of selecting only the best facts, instead of trying desperately to find enough information to fill up the page.”  When we apply this rule in our research we can be certain to include the most important information on our mail piece.

2. Test:

Eugene Schwartz, author of Break-through Advertising says, “There are no answers in direct mail except test answers.  You don’t know whether something will work until you test it.  And you cannot predict test results based on past experience.”

The mail piece, mailing list, and promotions are only a few aspects of direct mail that should be tested.  These items should all be tracked and graded on performance, based upon their response rate.  As you do this you will understand your target better and how they respond to direct mail.  Your test results should be continually leading you to your best direct mail options.

Tests provide facts, and as Bly states at the end of his article, “Nobody Can Argue with Results”.

Article Review by: Tyson Knowles

2 thoughts on “The 12 Most Common Direct Mail Mistakes

  1. I like the tips you’ve given for using direct mail. It make sense that research is crucial for using direct mail. I’ll have to use your advice for testing direct mail research as well.

    1. Glad you are finding the tips useful, John. Please let us know the results of your testing.

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