Should You Use Postcards or Envelopes in a Mail Order Campaign? The Truth is Either Method Can be Used Effectively. Here's How.
By Leon Johnson
Which is REALLY better for a mail order campaign...postcards or envelopes? The arguments are endless and there are countless theories on the subject. So who's right?
The answer, which may at first seem contradictory, is BOTH. Either method, when done well, can produce awesome results. However, determining which method you should use to sell your product or advertise your offer depends on many variables which become more apparent with experience. Here are some good rules of thumb:
To determine the best mailing strategy for YOUR advertising campaign, you must first answer the following questions:
1. Is your offer going to an outside mailing list of people who have probably never heard of you, or are you mailing to prospects you've already communicated with or done business with in the past?2. Are you trying to make a sale from your initial mailing (anything over $1), or are you offering FREE information to obtain as many prospects as possible?
POST CARD APPROACH
If you're offering free information to an outside mailing list and can easily contain your message on a postcard, the postcard approach is an excellent choice. With rare exceptions, you should NEVER use the postcard approach if you're trying to sell something directly to an outside list. Postcards work best in a two-step approach, when you get them interested enough to ask for more information, THEN send them your full sales pitch.
If you have an established customer base who are very familiar with what you offer and who have purchased something from you before, then and only then does it become feasible to ask them to make a purchase directly from a postcard mailing. You've already convinced them you're worthy of their business and assuming you've treated them well, your postcard offers to them can be effective, even when asking for a considerable purchase.
THE ENVELOPE
Mailing your offer in an envelope is critical if you can answer "yes" to either of these questions:
1. Is Your offer being mailed to an outside list and requires a purchase of more than a dollar or two?2. Is your offer too "wordy" to fit effectively on a postcard?
Mailing your offer in an envelope has several strong points. First, you can obviously include MUCH more information about your offer. You can include a cover letter, which often makes ALL the difference in the world--it's usually the strongest element of any mailing piece. Your prospect will be far more interested in the contents of your cover letter than what is contained in a circular advertising the product or service itself.
Once you've decided which method better suits your offer, you'll need to create your mailing piece appropriately. Whether your vehicle will be a postcard or envelope, your message should first and foremost stress BENEFITS. Don't bore your prospects with details about how great your company is--the only thing a prospect wants to know is, "How will this benefit ME?"
Come up with a short list of about three strong benefits and design your mailing piece around those benefits. The entire focus should be on your prospective customer, NOT on your company.
QUALITY IS EVERYTHING
I'm literally startled to see some of the junk floating around in the mail. It is simply amazing that a person would spend postage to mail a poorly copied sheet, as opposed to having the information professionally printed for about a penny more. They literally spend hundreds of dollars on their mailing and try to save a few pennies by making third, fourth and even fifth-generation photocopies. But in mail order, YOUR MAILING PIECE IS YOUR ONLY STORE FRONT. It's the ONLY way your prospect can judge the credibility of your company.
Using poorly-copied materials will cut your response rate so drastically that you'd be better off burning your cash in the fireplace--at least you can enjoy the warmth of the flames.
WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU?
Naturally, there are exceptions to EVERY rule. It may very well be that your particular offer is better suited to a more involved envelope package rather than a postcard system right from the get-go. The only SURE way to know is to learn from other people's experience with the same type of offer, or do a lot of testing yourself. After all, mail order is not and never will be an exact science. If there were easy answers that worked every time, EVERYONE would be wealthy in business.
The truth is--only those who are persistent and determined over a long period of time will make it big in mail order. It IS within your reach, but only YOU can make that commitment and decision for yourself.
Happy Mailings!
Leon Johnson is an advertising and marketing specialist. To obtain his FREE reports, contact him at:
Leon Johnson 1928 E. Highland Ste. F 104-443 Phoenix, AZ 85016-4626
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