Direct Marketing Tip

Use an 0800 number. The use of 0800 numbers increases response from 10%-50%. If you can't afford your own 0800 number, many companies now offer 0800 number services for a fee. To find out about them, look through the ads in any direct marketing magazine such as Direct Marketing or perform an online search.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Check the flow of your letter. Your letter should flow smoothly from section to section. Lose your course and you might lose your reader. Also, if you use a teaser copy on your envelope or in your email subject line, make sure your headline or first sentence picks up where the teaser left off.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Always end your letter with a P.S. The P.S. is one of the most frequently read portions of a letter even when other sections are skipped. Take advantage of this by driving home an impressive benefit, sweetening your offer, or otherwise motivating your prospects to act now.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Give your prospects an incentive to take action NOW. Offer discounts, free merchandise, time limits, or iron-clad guarantees to help ease your prospects over whatever makes them feel reluctant.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Always issue a call to action. Tell your readers clearly and precisely what you want them to do. Do Not be timid. Tell them more than once. If you don't, you run the risk of them not doing anything.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Always offer a guarantee. By this I mean a strong guarantee. Something that shows your prospects you have complete faith in your product. A good guarantee period is at least 90 days and a one-year guarantee is a true winner.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Provide your customers with testimonials from other customers just like them. Overcome customer reluctance by demonstrating how well your product has worked for other customers with similar problems. When using text, audio or video testimonials, a complete name and company name along with the city is most convincing.

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Direct Marketing Tip

Use a negative fact to make your claims more believable. Although it's important to demonstrate the key benefits of your product, a negative element can help establish credibility. Here's how this technique works. Let's say you're selling quality cashmere sweaters at bargain prices. Many customers might doubt your ability to deliver. But if you emphasize that these sweaters are limited to only three colors which have a lot of appeal, you've used a negative fact to give reasonable proof of why you can offer such a fine deal.

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Direct Marketing Tip

When using figures, make them as specific as possible. "30% of all adults do not get enough iron" sounds more believable than "most adults aren't getting enough iron." Believability and credibility are factors that help your prospects accept and buy your products.

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