Danged effective direct mail
Yes, people do read long sales letters
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We admit it’s counterintuitive. But:
• The most powerful thing you can put in the mail always has been, and still is, a well-constructed sales letter.
• People do and will read long copy. We have proved this many times. This sales letter, four pages long, is a perfect example. It is the most successful direct mail MBA recruiting effort that Westminster College ever launched.
Note the free offer in the P.S., on page 4. (Putting a P.S. in your sale letter is a must. Most people read that first.) The college initially objected to the free offer because: it seemed unacademic/unprofessional to them; and they didn't believe that a $20 freebie would influence anyone to make a $30,000 education decision.
So we split the mailing. Half of the people on the list were offered the freebie, and half weren't. The freebie produced eight times as many applications. The college happily asked us to mail the package three more times over the next year, freebie offer and all. And, yes, we gloated. To read the sales letter, click here.
Never underestimate the power of a letter in an envelope with a killer headline
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Who could resist an envelope with the headline, “BUSTED. Juicy gossip I overhead at lunch...”
Red Hanger Cleaners customers love getting letters with coupons, and usually redeem them in record numbers. But this one, to date, has outstripped all the others, thanks to that headline, and a well-written letter inside.
Repeated tests show that the most powerful thing you can put in the mail isn't a big colorful brochure. It's a letter in an envelope. Provided, of course, you do it right. (We happen to be pretty good at it.) To read the sales letter, click here.
A fundraising appeal that drew fan mail (and record contributions)
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Possibly the greatest test of a writer’s skill is the fundraising appeal. With no tangible product for sale, the writer can only offer the satisfaction of supporting a worthy cause. This appeal for the Colorado Plateau pulled record contributions over its lifetime. Yet an unexpected surprise came with this piece drew fan mail. Attached to a generous check from a New York City resident was a note praising this letter as “one of the nicest” she “ever read.” The giver went on to thank the Colorado Plateau for sending it! To read it, click here.
