Direct Mail : The Letter
The letter is the single most important piece of the direct mail package because it literally takes the place of the salesperson.
A good letter creates a one-to-one rapport between reader and writer. Therefore the writer and designer of any direct mail letter must understand the target audience in terms of their business and personal motivations in order to create an effective appeal that addresses one or more of the target audience’s needs.
In a typical direct mail solicitation, the sales letter sets up the positioning of the offer while the product features and benefits are substantiated in the accompanying brochure. It works to persuade the prospect that this product will uniquely meet their business needs and personally benefit them. It then creates a sense of urgency that should lead the prospect to respond immediately.
Three characteristics of effective sales letters include:
- A single coherent statement that uses specifics to focus the sales argument on the key benefits for the prospect.13
- Straightforward approaches that quickly deliver the message without unnecessary and distracting details.14
- A clear and direct call to action that tells the reader exactly what to do to respond.
Conventional wisdom dictates that the letter should be appealing and easy to read. Testing has identified several mechanical considerations that facilitate readability and comprehension.
Conventional serif typefaces have been shown to aid reader’s perception and should be used for the body of the copy. Sentences and paragraphs should be kept short, seven lines or less for paragraphs, to eliminate reader fatigue.
The letter itself should be single-space with double-space between indented paragraphs. This serves to draw the reader’s eye into individual paragraphs, eliminates the overall gray look that double-spaced type can produce on a typeset page, and physically shortens the length of the letter.
If the length of the letter exceeds a single page, the final line of the first page should break mid-sentence. This serves to hold the reader’s attention and encourages them to read on to the following page to complete the sentence. Following these mechanical guidelines will make any letter easier and more inviting to read.
Headlines, subheads, and other enhancements may be printed in another font to add emphasis. Some direct mail letters use underlining, highlighting, handwriting, illustrations and headlines and a variety of other ploys to engage the attention of the reader. To further the appearance that the correspondence is a personal letter, the second color for underlining, handwritten notes and signatures should be the same blue as a pen’s ink.
In most cases, the letter comes from the president or other senior executive of the company. Sometimes a peer-to-peer approach is more effective in establishing a personal rapport: for example, facilities manager to facilities manager, IT tech to IT tech or bookkeeper to bookkeeper. And in other cases, the main selling letter appears over the signature of a third party, someone whose credentials qualify them to endorse the product or service being offered.
Most direct mail letters employ a friendly informal tone by adopting a rapport-generating “me-to-you” orientation. A good sales letter points out the product benefits in a very personalized way. Frequent use of “you” and focusing on the prospect’s wants, needs and pain points helps engage their attention. This helps prospects visualize the use of product and identify with its benefits. Creating these mental pictures helps move the prospect through the hierarchy of effects from the awareness stage through interest, desire and finally action stages, just as a skilled salesperson would in a face-to-face presentation.
The beginning of the letter must immediately grab the reader’s attention. This is done by presenting the key selling feature or dramatizing a key benefit. Techniques for capturing the reader’s interest include asking a question, telling a story or extending an invitation. Some direct mail letters begin with a Johnson box or overline: an introductory legend above the greeting that summarizes the offer.
The body of the letter performs the essential job of instilling interest and desire in the offer. It refers to the product features and benefits as demonstrated in the accompanying brochure and explains to the prospect why this product or service will benefit them personally. The body of the letter may also include testimonials, evidence to back product claims and other reasons to buy.
The close of the letter should include a reinforcement of the selling argument combined with a call to action. A sense of urgency should be created, based on limited time, limited quantities or immediately realizing the product benefits. The call to action is a key feature of the direct mail letter. It tells the prospect exactly how to reply and encourages immediate action.
Studies of reader’s interaction with direct mail letters indicate they look at the signature first followed by the postscript (P.S.). The P.S. offers such an important selling opportunity most direct mail letters include one. In keeping with the personalized tone of the direct mail letter, the key to an effective P.S. is to position it as an irrepressible last-minute thought on behalf of the letter writer. The P.S. may be used to restate the key product benefit, highlight the offer, stress the urgency of response or direct the reader’s attention to other components of the mail package.
