How to use Content to get direct mail opened, read, and the offer acted upon.

1. Content Marketing Secrets
for
DIRECT MAIL SUCCESS
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2. Content is the New Black
• “Content is King” – even for OFFLINE
marketing efforts
• Maximize the value of your Content:
Use it to get your direct mail
OPENED and “READ”
and make attractive OFFERS
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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3. DIRECT MAIL CREATIVE Challenge #1
• GETTING IT OPENED
• 44% of mail is never opened – % has stayed
consistent for about last 20 years
• How much time are you spending thinking of
new ways to get your envelope opened?
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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4. Use Your CONTENT to Get Mail Opened
• Use most relevant topics.
• Find them: your web analytics, popular blog
posts, popular tweets, content that is shared,
updates with comments, e-newsletter articles
with clicks.
• Remember:
“You are not your audience.
NEVER assume. TEST.”
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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5. Potential
Envelope
Headlines:
What are the
Top 3 Breakfast
Spots in San
Diego?
San Diego’s 10
Great Unknown
Breakfast Spots
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6. More Headline Ideas Based on Content
10 Best
Restaurants?
3 Accredited
Sommeliers?
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7. Remember This Highly Successful
Package? – Totally Based on CONTENT
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8. No Headline? This is the FRONT!
(USPS delivers mail with address face up)
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9. Don’t Hide the Sell on the “Back”
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10. CREATIVE Challenge #2:
Getting it “Read”
1. Intriguing Headline and “Lead” Paragraph
2. Tell me something I didn’t know
3. SPECIFICS SELL, prove VALUE
4. Scan-able: use SUBHEADS
5. Every word there for a reason
6. “YOU”-focused: talk TO your audience
End result should be: “I NEED to have this. NOW.”
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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11. CREATIVE:
Getting it Read: APPEALS
• Content Illustration • Bonus
• Subscriber Benefits • Fantasy
• Identification • Exclusive Invitation
• Secret • Testimonial
• Story • Question
• Problem/Solution
Based on Winning Direct Response
Advertising by Joan Throckmorton
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12. “Content Illustration “
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13. “Identification”
• Offer at top
• Identification
Headline
• Bullets =
Scan-able
• Subhead pitches
Offer
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14. Is this the Key Appeal for Public TV?
Is it “independent voice” – or CONTENT?
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15. RENEWALS
1. Track topics
clicked in
enewsletter by
subscriber
2. Drive Renewal
Appeal by Clicked
newsletter topics:
What was of
interest to THIS
subscriber?
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16. Remind
Subscribers of
CONTENT:
- Subscribers may
not recall every
great article/show
you produced
- Remind of unique
features
- Talk about most
popular articles or
shows
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17. “Exclusive Invitation “:
The Economist
“May I send you 3 FREE ISSUES of what may be the
most influential (as well as selectively distributed)
newsweekly in the world?
Every Monday morning, a rather unusual publication
arrives at the desks of a select circle of individuals in
positions of power and influence.
The readers of this discreetly (one is almost tempted to
say reluctantly) publicized newsweekly include
presidents (of countries, banks, universities and Fortune
500 companies) . . .”
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18. “Fantasy”: Martha Stewart Living
“ . . . As I grew up, my dream picture
came into focus. I saw a table draped
in damask, with old roses in an antique
vase and candles flickering over an
elegant array of sparkling silver, crystal
goblets and glimmering china . . .”
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19. Lazy copywriting
delivers weak “fun”
appeal:
“You’ll never know
just how much fun
you missed . . .”
Is this why readers
pay money for Golf
Digest – really?
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20. OFFER: Is it Irresistible?
Farther from product = Related to product =
lower quality subscribers high quality subscribers
• Gift Offer • CONTENT Offer
– High response – Good response from right
audience
– Higher cancellation – Lower cancellation
– Lower renewal – Higher renewal
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
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21. CONTENT OFFERS
• From Organic Gardening:
Best Gardening Ideas I Know
Organic Gardening Harvest Book
• From Business Week:
Executive Portfolio of 13 special reports
• From a City Magazine:
Get the last restaurant survey as a bonus?
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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22. From San Diego Business Journal:
Subscribe @ $99– get Lists as PDF
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23. Past Content as Offer
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24. AMA Membership Offer: Content?
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25. But when you go to the URL:
Where’s the Sample Toolkit?
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26. None of this is clickable?
Where’s the sample toolkit?
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27. Content Marketing Secrets for
Direct Mail Success SUMMARY . . .
• Spend more time on your envelope headline
• Spend more time on your letter appeal
• Craft an Irresistible offer – by repackaging
your CONTENT
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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28. Thank You!
www.ResponseFX.com
Latest Response Stats by Medium:
FOLLOW: @ResponseCoach
LIKE: Facebook.com/ResponseCoach
“How to”:
BLOG: ResponseBlog.ResponseFX.com
© Copyright 2012 Strategic Marketing and Advertising, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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