Provide real incentives. Direct mail works by getting your prospect to respond to an offer. That could mean a sale coupon, a free trial or sample, a guarantee of service or money refunded, a special deal for a certain time period, or some other reward for taking action. When you go cheap on your offer, you waste marketing dollars. Nevertheless, incentives don't always require a hefty expenditure of profit or inventory. Time truly is money nowadays. Offer time-savers or special shopping experiences as incentives.

When possible avoid percentages. Instead of "Save 25 percent," say "Save $50." Try "3 out of 5 consumers agree," in place of "60-percent of all consumers agree." Percentages are abstract, while numbers are real and more meaningful to consumers. Avoid using a catch such as saving $100 when you spend $1,000. The $1,000 price tag may give the impression that to use your service they should expect to spend $1,000 or more. If that's not the case, you may intimidate a potential customer who is looking for one of your less expensive services.

Personalize the message for your audience. For instance, if you're mailing new homeowners or new movers, welcome them to the neighborhood. This personalizes your message and shows them that you are part of the community welcoming them. You're happy they chose to move into your community - let them know it! They'll appreciate it.

Ask them to take action. Plain and simple, ask them to do one of these things:

• Request information from you
• Visit your store or website
• Call you
• Purchase something from you

Avoid Clutter. A picture is worth 1,000 words. Find an image that tells your story and go light on the copy. Choose the most important message you have to share and work around that. Try to limit reading time to 3-5 seconds. Your mail piece is not meant to provide potential customers with every bit of information on your product or service. Trying to squeeze unnecessary copy onto your mail piece will generally cause it to be overlooked. Instead, drive them to you call you or visit your website for more information, then close the sale.

Sell only one thing at a time. Don't complicate your direct mail piece by offering too many things at once. Recipients should read your direct mail piece and understand clearly what you want them to do.

How can I improve my response rates? One of the advantages of direct mail marketing is the ability to measure response. That doesn't mean that direct marketers can predict response rates, but what you can do is evaluate your campaign and maximize response by asking yourself these questions.

• How focused is the list?
• How current and accurate is your list?
• How clear are your message and the benefits of your offer?
• How compelling is your offer?
• How does your competition stack up against you?
• How fresh is your offer and messaging?
• How strong is your brand and reputation?

How many times should I mail my prospect list? Many successful direct mailers have learned that you can't mail just once and expect great results. Why do you think credit card companies, cable companies and big retailers keep mailing you week after week? I wouldn't suggest that you go those extremes - just don't throw in the towel after you've mailed only once! If you've got a well-targeted list and a compelling offer, there's no reason why you shouldn't mail each prospect 2 or 3 times.

Here are a few ways to approach frequency:

1. Re-mail the original mail piece to the same target audience.
2. Approach the second time with a different service or benefit. If your first approach doesn't work, it may not be the list it. Go back to the prospect with a different pitch and compare your results.
3. If it's the last time you will contact them, or if the offer will expire soon, let them know. Creating a sense of urgency may just convince them to take action before it's too late.

Postcard vs. brochure vs. letter, what to mail? There are 3 primary formats for you to choose from when you develop your mailing piece:

1. Postcards
2. Letters
3. Brochures

Think carefully about your product and your message before making a decision about a format.

Postcards. Postcards are an effective medium for most products, because they cut down the barrier of the envelope between the consumer and your message. The first thing people do before they read their mail is sort through it and separate the "junk mail" from the mail they want to read. With a postcard, they are much more likely to catch a glimpse of your postcard which increases the likelihood of them reading your message. Postcards also offer the advantage of being the least expensive medium for printing and postage.

Letters. If you decide to mail letters, they must be presented in a way that does not scream "junk mail!" You must compel your audience to acknowledge your piece as worthy of opening. This means the outside of the envelope is as important, if not more important, than what's inside. One way to do this is to include a hint or message about what's inside the envelope. For example, you could include a message on the outside of the envelope that offers something for free or at a discount. Another way to do this is to handwrite the addresses on the envelope - this personalizes the letter and piques the curiosity of your audience. Once the envelope has been opened, you must sell your product quickly. Don't use a long, boring letter to talk about your product. Make it interesting and concise - in other words, get to your point as soon as possible.

Brochures. Brochures offer more opportunity for you to explain your product and enhance your message. Be careful, though! Brochures that do not capture the readers' attention will not be opened and read. Typically, design of a brochure is much more graphically involved and requires more advanced design knowledge. Effective brochures are a great way to educate the reader about your product, but they are typically the most expensive of these three formats.