For better direct mail.

Get 'em to call you back

A full-color mailer with a tired approach is no more a promotion than a Volkswagen Beetle painted red is a Ferrari. Think creatively to grab your readers' attention; focus on a key idea; and make it worthwhile. "Mailings that offer a special promotion encourage

Small firm practitioners can strengthen direct mail efforts and double or triple current response rates by taking a strategic approach. Start your research by looking at the direct mail you receive every day to come up with ideas to make your mailings more attractive. If you're still at a loss, the following tips will help you create a sleek direct mail campaign that generates more business.

FROM STUFFY TO GLITZY

The traditional mailing package consists of a letter, flyer or brochure and a postage-paid business-reply card in a standard business envelope. How can you make this sexy? From the outside in, these basics will make the mailing more appealing:

* Personalize it. The first thing recipients see is the name on the envelope--so avoid mailing labels. Type, print or even write the address.

* Use first-class mail, not bulk, so they know you care.

* Skip tradition entirely--send a colorful postcard or a self-mailer brochure. (This approach works best when you're promoting a workshop, report or new product or service.)

Set a goal and stick with it. What's your goal? Every piece of your mailing should highlight why you are writing, what you are offering and the benefits and advantages of your service or product. If you use a flyer and a letter, both pieces should relate to your objective and complement your business-reply card. In short, if one piece is separated from the rest of the mailing, it should work as a stand-alone selling element.

Reinforce why you are writing. Your flyer or letter can address frequently asked questions about your firm's services. Add a successful client case study; list your services in a break-out graphic.

Send it to the right address. A targeted mailing list can generate 8 to 10 times the response that a haphazard, poorly conceived one does. In fact, the mailing list is so important, you may discover that mailing to different, tested lists ups your response rate by as much as 60%.