4. Being Creative

Your copy will have to be more than merely polite if you are to make an impact. Think how much junk lands on your doormat every day and you will see just how much ‘background noise’ you must cut through to create an impression. You need to do something special to grab the recipient’s attention the minute they open that letter. One of the great joys (or challenges) of DM copywriting is that it demands a high level of creativity within a relatively confined format. You must try to fit your imagination into an envelope. To do this, go back to the benefits and USPs discussed in the last chapter. Think about what makes your client’s product or service stand out. Then try to build a message around it that will appeal to your reader’s emotions. And do not forget to stick to the principles of good copywriting discussed in Chapter 8.

Do not be limited to the traditional printed paper format of your mailer. Apart from perishables, poisonous substances and very delicate items, there are plenty of things you can post. Imagine you have been briefed to write a mail piece for a car dealer. You could send prospects a letter extolling the virtues of the latest models in the showroom, or you could send a car key and the message, ‘Yours for the duration of a test drive’ printed on the fob. Instead of a piece of marketing collateral, you are giving someone the real key to a real car. Which is more likely to generate an emotional response?

Covering letters

It has been proved time and again, over decades, in tens of thousands of test mailings, that no matter what else you send to people, if you enclose an accompanying letter it will boost response. Letters are seen as a one-to-one form of communication and even a standard letter mailed to thousands of customers can be a powerful business tool if it is properly crafted.

DM letter copy used to be personalised in a relatively crude way, by changing the product make or altering references to family members. Nowadays, however, many versions of each paragraph, or ‘module’, are written up so that they can be combined to make up hundreds of different letters – each relevant to a different type of lifestyle and life-stage. This allows the marketer to put together completely different sales propositions for different groups of people within a single database. The writing is only part of the story; the databases themselves are extremely sophisticated and new digital printing techniques have made it possible to produce high-quality letters to even small groups of people, at relatively low cost.

A tried and tested medium

Almost every aspect of writing for direct mail has been carefully tried, tested and tested again, until it has become a honed craft. Testing is a vital part of each new campaign, too. Typically, a client has to mail hundreds of thousands of packs to even hope to cover their costs. Otherwise, they will have to spend more on copywriter, designer, printer, stationer, mailing house, marketing department and so on than they could ever cover from the number of sales generated (unless they are selling Rolls Royces or aeroplanes). A mass-mailing is more likely to be counted in the millions than thousands or tens of thousands. To make sure it is not an expensive failure, a mailer will test a mail shot on a run of, say, 5,000 packs. Each pack can have anything up to 30 different components. Usually, five or six of these are tested, including, for example, the envelope, the response mechanism and three or four different messages.