I remember one time I went to a pretty well known designer store, and I purchased a few things for my wife. Takeaway: Use imagery that evokes an emotional response in your target audience, specifically by showing people smiling, feeling relieved, or having a great experience – or whatever it is you want them to feel. So, my advice is to find your guy or gal and stick with ’em. Such as when a government entity/ local or state agency sends out a notice for residents for an advisory (ex. These are all real-life examples from the real world: Real Estate Full-Page Direct Mailer: This is a pretty great flyer from Realty Austin. Yup, putting the phone number in an easy-to-see location is very important! “Clean clothes at the tap of a button” is more “Here’s what you get,” while lines like “Always available” are more, “Here’s what it is.” Kudos to their marketing team on their one-sentence value proposition and on-point explanatory copy. It’s very helpful to see these examples and all of your comments about them. This is my favorite The Columbia House direct mailer got me instantly. By setting up a specific page linked to this offer, IfOnly can measure both the amount of traffic generated and the number of people who make a purchase. If you have a history of writing successful direct mail campaigns then you can write them for others. I almost wish I had that flying burger picture on a shirt :)  They also give a coupon that’s featured very prominently and is personalized by zip code so they can track the flyers effectiveness: Con’s: There’s nothing super-wrong with this flyer. Most of the direct mail articles online talk about “clever” marketing. The fact that I get this flyer so often indicates it’s working damn-well. I love using old school direct mail, particularly postcards. Very simple and easy! But I’m going to send them out and see if it converts though I am thinking of re-designing them again after I read this article. Offered an incentive/timeline – no tax if you purchase before the deadline. Short, sweet, and to-the-point. Most readers will understand their core value proposition immediately. And the icons next to each step are a fun complement to keep the section from getting too text heavy. People sort mail address side up. No Envelope = Cheaper to create and send. Thanks for sharing :). The headline leaves a little bit of mystery as to how exactly IfOnly is going to help make every weekend count. I own a small water filtration company here in South Florida and yes, I have made every mistake in the book when it comes to starting a small business for example, $30,000.00 to a P/R firm who produced nothing but bright shiny objects in the form of a web site, beautiful brochures etc but no real sales. The flyer is super basic and could’ve done a better job getting people interested in the product. You’re amazing, and I’ll always open your emails. btw, I just bought your book “This Book Will Teach You How to Write Better” and I can’t wait to dig in. The centerpiece on one side of the postcard is a mouthwatering image of steak and potatoes with the phrase, “Simple, organic, ready-to-eat meals in just 15 minutes” – something that sums up the company in one sentence. I have a digital swipe file I keep on all my computers and my phone. I would suggest you stay away from getting distracted with the type of paper and such, and actually just put CONTENT on there that people like. We found our guy, someone who goes the extra mile for us by personally bringing samples of stock or sample pieces for something new we’re contemplating. Don’t try to be “too clever.”  Making “clever” puns is fun, but it doesn’t capture attention or make sales. What would be a good idea to do a test? Long copy? There’s nothing like a young Michael belting out “Santa Clause is coming to town!”. This was a piece of mail that came in an envelope and read more like a “letter” than a “flyer” like a lot of the examples above. In fact, direct mail was only 1 percentage point behind social media, the second highest ROI medium. Thank you for all the content you put out, I’m a long-time follower. Now I could showboat and tell everyone how you’ve changed my life, or how I added 9,000 dollars to my bottomline just last week because of a few of your emails and the course I invested in with you, but I’ll just save that until you read my email I just sent you. Hey Mark, I think the best way to show this would be to do a before/after shot. Things like “Grand Opening” are awesome in industries like nightlife and food…..because you want to be the FIRST to experience it! This was great Neville, thank you. Especially from a city/local government agency (i.e. Clearly is going for a crowd without insurance. Forwarding this to the owners and hopefully can take your advice. Also, personal training is more about a personal relationship or convenience. Make sure your business has high enough margins to afford the expenses of a mail drop. These people probably have A LOT of need for chiropractic service, and would be willing to spend considerable money on it. Because it’s virtually GUARANTEED to get opened. Social media icons are on a piece of un-clickable mail (seriously??). Yes, the reason direct mail works for some industries is the price per customer they get paid, and the likelihood someone will be interested in the service. Nev, thank you for all the work on this, very insightful! Business with high margins and high customer return are good. Envelope = Can make someone have to open the envelope (therefore invest a little more time and pay attention). The effectiveness of direct mail is directly related to three key aspects of any campaign: the offer, a … 11. Add these things Neville is talking about to the piece and boom, it’s like an ATM card. mailings from my state health insurance marketplace. I have never been very creative but have ideas for my own postcard and door hanger for my own business but that is not the marketing part which I need help with. Postcards in conjunction with trade shows are particularly powerful for driving booth traffic in our industry. I also have binders and binders full of old mail that’ve been collected by other copywriters. To really score a touchdown on your direct mailer, get the customer to hang it up on their fridge. Here’s a great flyer I saw offering tech support primarily for Apple products. Did I tell you how intolerant I have become of P/R firms, webmasters and newspaper advertising people who all preach about spectacular results from the same hymnal yet produce nothing in tangible results. Describes different scenarios they can help with (Fix tech for schools, churches, offices etc). It’s more about the content than the paper it’s delivered on! She’s smiling, of course. Very thorough and great examples. Local business do very well with direct mailers. Your showcase was like being in a personal workshop with you Neville. Direct mail advertising too? If you wanna know more try reading the Boron Letters by Gary Halbert! However there’s still some shady stuff that goes on. I hope the people who send these die in a car accident. The “A-Pile / B-Pile Test” is something coined by Gary Halbert that says: A-Pile: People keep. It could say something like: “Order by Friday the 22nd and get a free bottle of wine!”  Something like that could encourage to people to order NOW instead of wait around. Awwwwwwwww what a cute chocolate lab! I’ve seen very high-converting direct mail pieces that were printed on the cheapest and crappiest material…..and some low-converting pieces printed on the fanciest and most expensive stuff. You request a doctor visit through a mobile app on demand or whenever is most convenient for you. SpotHero tries to solve this problem by helping people find discounted parking close to where they’re going. And like an irresistible menu description, lay out the specifics that entice people to order. Most of our stuff are occasional cards like birthdays, or holidays. I’ve used this personally, like on Christmas cards, but not so far for business applications. Takeaway: Link to a targeted landing page to measure traffic and use a coupon code to measure the number of new customers. P.P.S. Send Piece of Mail –> They Order –> You Make Money.