5,169 passages, newest first · 448 ms
#4
Remove
your company name from your corner card.
#5
Get
rid of all teaser copy on your envelope.
#6
Print
the word "RUSH" in red on your envelopes.
Let's pause for the cause here a moment. All
of those last five suggestions are designed to make your mail
look more like first class mail and, as we all…
From your lettershop.
From your post office.
From your customer.
It's all a matter of respect. Did you know
that the post office is about to bar the use of those fake
Federal Express type envelopes because those envelopes have
been fooling postal employees?
True. Those envelopes (even when mailed bulk rate) get a very
prompt delivery and sometimes…
Enough about envelopes. Let's talk about your
sales letter.
#7
Re-type
it and use wider margins and more subheads. Also, make
certain things stand out by showcasing them in bold,
like I'm doing in this
letter.
Do all this to provide "eye relief."
To make your sales message more inviting and less formidable
when your prospect first sees
your letter.
#8
Throw
away your brochure or hide it in a plain white
envelope so your prospect doesn't see it as soon as he
opens your envelope. Ditto with your order coupons.
You already know why; it's to avoid the
"Oh Yuck!" reaction.
#9
Change
your 10-day or 30-day or 60-day guarantee to a full
1-year guarantee.
Did you know that the longer the customer has
to request a refund the less likely he is to do so? Yea,
verily, it is true. You see, if you…
No good. Give 'em time to forget about getting
a refund. Give 'em a year.
By the way, the longer the guarantee period,
the higher your response rate will be too.
#10
Put
a photo of the author of your letters on your
letterhead. For some reason this usually increases
response. I think it does so because it tends to…
#11
Print
your order card on yellow stock instead of whatever
other color you are now using. The reason? Simple -
yellow and black is the easiest-to-read color
combination when it comes to print. This is especially
important on order cards since many of them contain
relatively small type.
#12
Call
Bill Royal (804-648-4168) and tell him you are one of
my subscribers and ask him to send you samples of the
new envelopes he has designed. He's the guy who
originally designed those envelopes the post office
wants to outlaw and he's come up with some new ones
that are real "high impact" beauties…
#13
Put
your phone number in the body copy of all your letters
and invite your customers to call you if they have any
questions.
This makes the prospects feel like it is safe to order. Like they can "reach out and touch you" if
necessary. And, of course, the safer they feel, the more
likely they are to order…
By the way do
not use an 800 number for this purpose, use your
"real" number.
And while I'm at it...
#14
Stop
using an 800 service and starting taking your call-in
orders yourself.
Listen: If you do this and you do it right and
if you write a little "script" that teaches your
employees how to "bump…
Plus, it will make your 800 service (if you
still use them at all) a little nervous and they will start
doing a better job for you.
#15
If
your package weighs an ounce or less and your unit of
sale is $39.95 or more stop
mailing bulk and start mailing first class.
When you do this, you will get a higher
response and a much faster rate
(isn't cash-flow important to you?) of response. Plus when you
mail first class you can start to...
#16
KEEP
A DAILY LOG OF YOUR NIXIES.
Now wait a minute. How in the world can
keeping a daily log of your nixies improve your response rate?
I dunno, really. All I know is that when you keep a
"nixie log" (and when you make sure your list broker
and all list owners know you are doing so) you will, after a
while, tend to start getting…
Try it.
#17
Start
renting more responsive mailing lists.
Start fighting for hotline names. Start
networking (isn't that a dandy buzzword?) with five
list brokers instead of just one. In fact, why not contact 10
or 20 or 30 or 40? And while I'm at it, why don't you contact
the list owners and ask
them if…
#18
Always
test by mailing first class even if
you are going to roll out using bulk!
Time is money. You can read first class
results much faster. In fact you'll know how good your mailing
is going to be within 12-days of your drop date. And hear
this: The sooner you know what's likely to happen…
#19
"Double
team" everything you do!
Use more than one lettershop. Use more than
one list broker. Use more than one printer. Use more than one
copywriter. And believe it or not,
#20
Always
mail at more than one post office!
Some post offices are "black holes"
where advertising mail routinely gets lost.
Spread your business around and let everybody
know you are doing so. Keep everybody on their toes. Make sure
your mail gets accounted for and is treated with respect from
go to woe.
And now, for the most important suggestion of
all.
#21
SEND
GARY HALBERT YOUR CONTROL PACKAGE AND ASK HIM FOR A
FREE CRITIQUE.
I'm serious. If you subscribe to this
newsletter, one of the perks is a free critique of your ads
and letters. I'm happy to do this because:
A.
It keeps me sharp
B.
It helps me make new friends
C.
It sometimes gets me into profitable business
relationships and,
of course, I like to do it because, let's face it...
I'm A Prince
Of A Guy!
Sincerely,
Gary C. Halbert
In-Print
Salesman
P.S.
Next
month's newsletter is going to be special. When you
read it you are going to think you died and went to
direct-marketing heaven. You are going to learn how
(and, I'm not
kidding) to use direct response to make bundles of
money and improve
your sex life…