For every man, for every woman, for every child there is a way to do something that comes from the heart.  If a person wants to do something terrible enough, he/she will find a way to do it.  The majority of people around the world have a common dream, and that dream is to not want or need for anything.  Sadly, this dream seems unobtainable, but is it?  Nothing is unobtainable for the person who believes, at least that is what Mark 9:23 says.  Such a saying as that is something that has much meaning, and I believe in it whole heartedly.  Therefore, anyone and everyone can gain financial freedom.  For there is millions to be made in the “direct mail postcard” business, all one has to do is a small research and step into the door with faith. The [direct mail postcard] business is not something that is known to people who are new in the home based business arena, and even those people who have been in the home based business arena for a while are not too familiar with postcards.  But, there are a few seasoned home based business people in the “direct mail postcard” business, and there are more people getting in the [direct mail postcard] business every single day.  For the fact of the matter is that there is mucho money to be made in the “direct mail postcard” business.  The business of the direct mailing is nothing new, and it has been around for ages.  People mail and hang flyers; they also mail letters and postcards.  To be honest with you, I have not met a person yet who has not made money from the “direct mail postcard” business.   Out of all the ways to do offline marketing, postcard marketing is the most affordable and influential.  If a person chooses to mail out 1,000 letters it will cost them about $734. 00.  But, if the person chooses to mail out 1,000 postcards, it will cost them roughly $385.  Also, postcards can pull money just as excellent as, and better than the letters.  Thus, we have a win-win situation with the postcards.  Now all a person needs with the postcards is to find a program to use the postcards.  I highly recommend the “Million Mail Program. ”  The [Million Mal Program] was designed to be a success with the offline marketing such as letters and postcards; plus, success is inevitable with this business.  Within my first week in the [Million Mail Program], I made a couple hundred dollars.  To join the “Million Mail Program” it only costs $200, and when you join The Million Mail Program Team, you will learn how to use postcards to market any business you choose, as well as the [Million Mail Program].  Not to mention, you also get a free website and 100 free postcards when you join The Million Mail Program Team.   

     Take crossing the road for instance. Do you remember those green cross code adverts? These adverts told you how to safely cross the road. After people learned how to cross the road safely, accident rates dropped through the floor. This is because education reduces risk. Not completely mind. But then to win without risk is to win without glory. You couldn’t win if you couldn’t lose, could you?
     So a certain amount of risk is healthy and it adds to the fun of things. But stick a blindfold on before you cross the road and then it’s not so amusing, right?
     If you’re willing to really do a tiny bit of work on your direct mail business then you’re well on your way to becoming a master. All that’s needed to succeed are the secrets, a small intestinal fortitude and keeping your finger on the pulse.
     Okay, let’s talk about some facts about direct mail
10 Facts You Should Know About Direct Mail
1. It is possible to start a direct mail business with £20. If you do a small mailing of 40 one week to a excellent list, you are likely to get at least one order, which will pay for your next slightly larger mailing. And so on until you’ve generated enough to organise larger and more profitable mailings.
2. It is also possible to start a direct mail business by obtaining email addresses and emailing the copy and order form to them. But, the initial contact must be a warm and friendly letter asking them if they’d like more information.
3. There are three ways to make a product. You can pay someone to write or produce it for you. You can buy the resell rights to a product. Or you can write it yourself. All are just as excellent as each other.
4. The same applies for sales letters for the product. You can pay people to do it or get a sales letter with the resell rights or you can write your own.
5. People buy what they are buying. So before you choose a product you must get on a mailing list for that particular market and check out what’s on the market, what combinations, what similarities. The more exposure you have to a market the better your choice of product will be.
6. No product is perfect. You can vastly improve on a selling product and/or give it a unique twist and make a fortune.
7. When a market is saturated by a product, the market then wants a product of superior quality. This is right of all markets.
8. The best way to sell a product is to write the sales letter before you make the product. Imagine if you wrote a fifty paged book and then couldn’t find any beneficial properties to the book. The least risky option is to write a sales letter that you want to receive first and then craft a book around the benefits in the sales letter.
9. When you’re selling lots of product, a rough rule of thumb to work out what you take from the business is to take a third of the product’s sale price multiplied by the number of sales. This leaves enough in (Approximately) for taxes and business growth.
10. A secret of the rich is that they only pay themselves what they need and invest the
rest.
There is of course a lot more to direct mail than the above but those ten facts are universal facts and are used in all successful direct mail businesses.

Any American living in the States is subject to receiving a slew of direct mail. In case you are unaware of what direct mail is exactly, they are the pieces of seemingly random paper we receive in our daily mail with specific companies’ advertisements printed on them. In a way, they are mini billboards, but with more information. Mike Ryan, the President of Cactus Mailing, writes, “Direct mail marketing provides a higher return on investment (ROI) than any other means of advertising. ” Instinctively, a honest amount of recipients throw these pieces of paper away. Which may be why Ryan also reports, “. . . it typically takes 3-5 postcard mailings to the same mailing list before the response rate ramps up fully,” meaning that with direct mail, it takes several tries to really cement the message into your recipients’ minds. Especially for small businesses who are trying to circulate their name even more, direct mail marketing must be done repetitively and with fervor. It is similar to television advertisements being repeated three or four times during the course of a thirty-minute program. It might come off as bothersome and pointless, but no matter how annoyed we are, we tend to remember those commercials and their jingles the most. The same thought goes for receiving the same direct marketing mail pieces over and over. Another vital aspect of direct mail pieces is the sense of urgency in their body copy. Since recipients are already naturally inclined to glance at flyers and throw them away, the message they show must be timely, vital and express urgency. For example, if you own a salon, you will want your pieces to exclaim small-term deals so it urges the recipient to act quick. If these small-term deals end July 30, start sending the direct pieces out on June 1, so you are guaranteed to reach the recipient at least 3 or 4 times before the offer is up. Although marketers will argue whether e-mail marketing or direct-mail marketing is more effective, author Joanna Krotz makes a compelling argument for the latter. On Microsoft’s Web site, Krotz writes a list of some of the reasons as to why direct mail marketing is still alive and effective: it generates traffic for Web site, targets customers who might distrust your Web site, sends content or news about your company or brands, and most importantly, improves customer service in general. Krotz writes, “With appropriate lists and laser-targeted customers, direct mail is very effective. ” Speaking of laser-targeted customers, more personalized direct mail products should be taken into consideration when your customer groups’ characteristics are so focused. Depending on what your company’s service is, thinking outside the box when sending direct mail pieces can be a smart way to engage the recipients even more. A excellent thought is sending direct mail with a promotional gift. They are far less likely to throw away a mini manicure set or a full-color fridge magnet they receive as apart of your direct mail marketing program. Marketing your company and company’s products in more creative ways is vital. Catalogs are also sometimes overlooked in the direct mail marketing process. Catalogs are effective as direct mail by providing a lot of information at once in a magazine-type form. As Krotz reports in her article, “Postage generally runs about 40 percent of the cost of sending out catalogs, according to the Direct Marketing Association. So you may pay the same postage for a 20-page catalog as you would for a 40-page catalog. You wouldn’t want to miss out on sales opportunities the fatter catalog would give you. ” Therefore, it makes more sense to get the most for your dollar and send your recipients as much information as possible when shipping out catalogs. The number one thing to remember, but, is the thought of repetition. Businessknowhow. com reports that after a year-long study dealing with the receiving on direct mail, it concludes that the magic number is nine: a recipient of direct mail must receive the same direct mail nine times to ensure the transition from apathy toward the company to purchasing readiness. Although the number may seem large, it’s probably accurate. In a world with countless distractions, noise and clutter, current or potential clients are bound to ignore your marketing message at least a couple times before they really know it. But, with persistence and creativity, you are bound to get the message across to them sooner or later.

Face it: most people sort their direct mail over the trash can.   This process works quick, like flipping channels on tv.   Or better yet, reckon back: you’re a kid and a friend is showing you baseball cards for possible trades:  gottem gottem needem gottem gottem needem gottem.   200 cards, 50 seconds. Todays direct mail… Post Cards… Same thing: Direct mail credit card offers, direct marketing magazine subscriptions, direct selling insurance solicitations, and junk mail penny stock hawkers all get the briefest attention before being trashed.  But wait, there’s more! Post card marketing adds another dimension to the view-and-toss direct mail sorting process. Make your card right, and post card readership can be quite high, instantly.   Because – it’s all right there, right in front of the reader—and in his hand. Post card readership is defined by how fantastic the direct-selling copywriting and graphics are for your card.   So the fate of your direct mail post card starts in the hands of the creator, which I believe is you, isn’t it? I call it “Instant Readership;” a term I coined, well… just now, to clarify what happens the moment a reader glances at your direct mail post card that has just landed in his hands.   Instant readership is the 2-seconds readers spend upon their initial glance on your post card: one second on headline and topic, one second on copy and the blink of an eye on graphics — unless they’re really dazzling.   It’s the same thing as in life!  Like, when I meet a new woman: one second on headline and topic, one second on copy and a blink of the eye on graphics, unless they’re dazzling…  Hey, maybe this is a pattern of ALL life, and everything can be described by this phrase?   Wow, this is like learning plutonium… maybe I’ll get a medal! The Nobel Peace Prize – yes, I’ve always wanted one of these, especially since Obama received one for doing, well… I’m not sure – so they can’t be that hard to get. Or a Pulitzer! Yes, for writing this direct marketing article!  OK, I’m pretty safe here saying this won’t happen.   Or, maybe, just maybe I’ve just learned all this writing is just a soliloquy for my own life?  Help me out here, wouldja… Glance readership of a post card is like seeing the headline of an ad in a newspaper (remember them?): you only get a second or two to capture the attention of a fleeting reader, before they continue on to the obits, the comics or the TV page.   Or is that just me?   Failure. Post card readership reviews can be quick and brutal and end in the briefest of time; failure resulting in the sudden spiral of your direct marketing mailpiece directly downward into the circular file below. And your money following suit. Ouch. Success. Or, you can instantly get an extremely high-rated review and have your post card placed in the highly coveted pile of “read later with the rest of today’s vital mail. ”  It’s your choice.   Right now, you’ve got to question yourself, “Am I feeling lucky?”Rule Number 1. Write and design everything in your post card for the first two seconds. When your recipient gets a excellent look at your post card, you get the immediate opportunity to pass or fail. So… what’s it gonna be?  Coveted pile, or circular file?  Yea, or Nay?  Success, or failure?  Prosper, or fludghum?  OK, I might have made that last word up, but you get the thought, and the reader’s choice is immediate.   Your choice. The bright side: For us on the creative end of direct mail, it just can’t get any better.   Buy the right mailing list and get your post card into the right reader’s hands: I’ll get him to read it. Your direct marketing agency will too… and if they can’t, find another agency – plenty of excellent ones out there.   Or call me – writing post cards is a favorite pastime of mine, like monopoly or tractor racing – but it pays better.   A well written and well designed post card can delight in exceptionally high readership – and get exceptionally high response.   OK, so your potential reader is now standing there with your wonderfully written, dazzlingly designed, properly prepared post card in his hot small hand and that, my friend, is fantastic alliteration. It’s where the rubber meets the road. Or hit the road, or something about the road.   I forget——I have Alzheimer’s.   But… at least I don’t have Alzheimer’s!Rule 2. You need to force the reader to read your post card. How?  Compelling headline. Followed by intriguing subheadlines.   Brilliant body copy and fantastic, fantastic graphics.   Spend a small more time (and money) here and what happens? Yes, the coveted “read later” pile. As in paragraph 6a above, subsection 254:  The reader brings the card to his desk, and with no other option handy, reads the card you forced him to read. Now, some nitty-gritty of how to do it. “Instant readership” is based 100% on your headline hook, appropriateness of subject to your audience and dazzling layout.   It’s followed shortly by the value made in your offer, if they get that far.   Wrap all these elements in sparkling printing and nice paper and now your direct mail post card presents itself in a glancing, quick 2-second visual bite.   Direct mail post cards are the visual versions of the sound bits you hear on MTV or promos for the evening news; which, come to reckon of it, appear to be written by the same writers. Designing for instant readership has the singular objective of drawing the reader into the post card, no more, no less. On the immediate receipt of your post card, each reader has his or her own mental preference files that compels him or her to stay tuned into your card, yet some commonalities exist.   Wait.   Wait just a moment.   This gender thing of saying “Him or Her” all the time has got to go—it’s too clunky to keep saying “him or her, him or her,” – so let me clear this up once and for all.   I’ll just place everything in the male gender until I get complaints from, well, you know…  Hey, do you know how many men it takes to change the toilet paper roll?  No, me neither. Post Card Instant Readership & The first round of sorting So right on the top section of your post card, as in all highly responsive direct mail, your headline needs to be fantastic. If you have a “excellent” headline, no! NO! That just won’t work. Strangely, “excellent” is really not excellent enough.   You need something more than just excellent, you need “exceptionally fantastic!” Make this one line correctly, viola – instant readership on a maximum level.   That’s how vital this single line is. The first work-order of the day is to make an unbelievably fantastic, maximum-interest headline so the reader is instantly hooked into staying in the copy and continues reading.   So…Rule 3. The goal of the headline: keep the reader reading.   Nothing more.   Nope.   No selling. Rule 4.   Invoke The 100-to-1 Rule: Since your post card headline needs to be G-R-E-A-T, use the Jeff Dobkin 100-to-1 rule for making G-R-E-A-T headlines (as found in Dobkin’s book, Uncommon Marketing Techniques): write 100 headlines, go back and pick out your best one. Oh, you like this thought!  Plot to use it?  OK, it’s copyrighted.   Send me Ten Bucks.   And you’re getting away cheap.   OK, jest kidding.   Just send $5 bucks.   Make that a Starbucks Card — they were going to get it anyway. Rule 5.   The founding principle of high readership: Headline = G-R-E-A-T, or else. The objective of any direct marketing or direct mail headline is to grab the attention of the reader and yank him so far into the copy that if he throws your direct mail piece into the trash, he’ll come back later and route though the trash to dig it out.   Yes, and a really fantastic headline is when the reader digs it out of the trash even though he dumped his kitty litter in there on top of it.  Rule 6. The headline is NOT the time to sell your product. The reason?  The first glance is a pivotal point in your presentation because the reader has no investment of time in your direct mail piece and so no commitment to read further. Initially, your recipient isn’t intrigued by whatever you’re selling, at whatever price; because he hasn’t seen your electrifying offer, hasn’t seen any of your product benefits, and hasn’t followed your compelling tale line for 10 paragraphs and wants to see how you close the sale, or how your storyline finishes.   So right now, at this first glance – nothing: no commitment, no involvement – right now you’re just another blah blah of direct mail; a piece of paper with no message, no heart, no soul.   Man, these first 2 seconds are critical.   And without any involvement, your reader is ruthless.   If the headline sucks at first glance the card can be tossed without regret.   Kindly recall the reader has lots of other mail, and has years of practice at “getting quick” at his standing-there-over-the wastebasket first sorting time.   You need to instantly connect and deliver: survive this cut OR your direct mail piece suffers death by wastebasket. Cruel. And buried along with your post card, your money.   Whoa… Crueler still. Rule 7.   The rule of readership survival. The rule of readership survival as it relates to the first glance of your direct mail post card: it’s the critical changeover point where unless your headline and graphics are G-R-E-A-T, your loss of readership stops your post card from being your “investment” and shifts it to an “expense. ”  What’s it gonna be — Pass? Or failure? Excellent headline. Or fantastic headline.   Excellent graphics. Or awesome graphics.   Your choices. The second round of sorting Ok, enough blah blah about Instant Readership of post cards.   Like my first wife said about our marriage certificate, let’s just get past this.   Oh well; I thought we had a pretty excellent week.   Evidently she didn’t reckon it went that well.   But opinions are like smelly feet — everyone has their own. I then learned while only some women may marry you for your money, they all divorce you for it. OK, so you and your post card made the first cut. Congratulations, y’ancient direct mail guru.   Fantastic graphics, hellatious headline, compelling, convincing copy; opulent irresistible offer.   Having survived the first cut following the “Instant Readership” rules, your card now sits comfortably at the reader’s desk with the rest of the “vital” mail.   Nice.   But you’re not out of the woods yet.   Check your balance sheet.   This “Second Look” opportunity gives your direct marketing post card the luxury of more time — now that the reader has taken it back to the comfort of his office, a comfortable chair, a couple of beers, some excellent smoke and a small more time to invest in reading it. Or is that just me?  Anyhow, to survive the first glance means the reader has made the choice he has an interest in whatever you’re hawking, or at least in what you have to say.   Congratulations.   Welcome to Level II. Jeff Dobkin will now take your questions.

Need More Business? Why struggle: If you?d like to easily get more customers and kick up the response you get from any direct mail program, visit [Jeffrey Dobkin?s website] at www.dobkin.com and read more FREE articles ? learn other quick and simple ways to make your direct marketing more effective – and yet lower your cost. Read more FREE articles [Direct Marketing Articles] at [

Direct Mail for Retailers – 6 Tips for increasing customers from direct response marketing!

Posted By: admin on in Direct Mail - Comments: Comments Off

Business is lousy.   The economy is tanked. You’re looking around your store and saying, “Where is everybody?”Here’s How To Use Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaigns To Bring More Traffic in your Front Door. Excellent News: If you’re a retailer, here are direct marketing tips to show you how to get people to show up at your door.   If you’re in a service business, here are direct mail tips that show you how to get your phone to ring.   If you’re a restaurateur, here’s my phone number: 610-642-1000 – I usually get hungry around 7PM.   If the campaign works really well, I’ll be bringing a few friends. 1. Track Response of All Your Direct Mail. Learn what’s working in your direct mail program, and just as vital, what isn’t. Leave a memo pad by each phone and when you receive a call – in the very beginning of the conversation – say, “And how did you hear of our us?”  Write down the response on the memo pad, and throw that slip of paper in a drawer and forget about it for now.   At the end of the month tally slips up and you’ll have a pretty darn excellent thought which direct mail campaign brought in the most customers.  2. The Best Direct Mail Campaign Ever:  Mail to your house list. No matter what industry you’re in, what you’re selling, or what type of business you own, your direct mail strategies and your direct response email campaign should be to mail to your house mailing list.   This is the lowest cost and most effective direct marketing strategy you can have.   Hmmmm… Mailing to your house mailing list…  Lowest cost?  Most effective?  Any questions?Start by collecting current customer’s names and addresses.   If you don’t have a customer house file – a mailing list of the names and addresses of all your customers – start one now.   This will turn out to be your most valuable asset. 3. Sign people up!  Sign as many people up as you can! Keep a card by the cash register, or by the front door, or both to sign people up for your “FREE Preferred Customer Mailing List!”.   Don’t be worried to recommend they fill out the card so you can place them on your direct mail list — so they can receive special offers and awesome preferred customer pricing during private sales. just for your special preferred mailing list customers. 4. Tighly focus your Prospect Mailing List = Get a customer for $. 44 through direct mail. Depending on your type of business, prospecting through direct mail can be very precise with nearly no wasted expense. Carefully aim your direct mail towards geographic targets (close to your store), demographic targets (people who like to/can afford to shop in stores like yours), and industry related personnel – in the specific markets you serve (such as lawncare, hearing aids, pet supplies, etc. ). Retail direct mail campaigns usually have a target geographic epicenter.   Everybody likes to shop in their own backyard, and direct mail can take advantage of that.   Limit your direct mail marketing to people who live or work within a comfortable drive. That “geographic market segment” qualification of your prospects was just for starters.   In addition you can select mailing lists by consumer age, household income, house cost, assets, number of children, number and type of pets; or by buying data: recent buys, amout spent, and merchandise category. If you don’t have a fantastic direct mail prospect list, start one of those mailing lists now too.  5. Mail a Gift Certificate, get a direct response customer for under $5A gift certificate is inexpensive to print and low cost to mail.   The nice direct response letter you send with it?  Same. The goodwill it generates, invaluable.   It’s a double function direct marketing piece. Excellent for the customer and fantastic for you, too.   To make sure people open it, print the teaser copy of “Gift Certificate Enclosed!” on the envelope. Best of all, the direct marketing strategy of sending a gift certificate through the mail has a cost only if the customer really shows up and redeems it.   No new customer, no cost.  6. Referral Marketing: Use the Jeff Dobkin “Gift Certificate Referral Method. ” Clone your best customers with the most on-target direct mail campaign you can send. Feel free to question your better customers if they have friends they want to send a gift certificate to with their compliments.   Nearly every customer will say yes.   What a fantastic direct marketing strategy that can turn into the most focused and effective direct mail campaign.   Then mail the referral prospect a letter – and the gift certificate – compliments of your original customer (and from you, personally. ) As an added incentive to keep referring friends, mail an additional gift certificate to the customer making the referral.   include a letter saying, “Thanks for the referral. ”  The Jeff Dobkin “Gift Certificate Referral Method” is one of the most effective direct response campaigns on the planet — because there is absolutely no wasted direct mail expense.   It’s the lowest cost, and the best way to buy new customers who are similar to your current clients – they like your store, shop, restaurant or services, and immediately have trust in you, your firm, your service. Customer acquisition cost: just $. 44 in postage. Then that five bucks discount (gift certificate)?  Well, that’s taken off the merchandise or food bill: so it didn’t really cost you five bucks, did it?  It was the discounted cost of your goods. One of the best resources for low cost customer acquisition is direct marketing, and this one of the best direct marketing strategies ever. And that’s the way you make your direct mail marketing campaign effective.   Reaching people with your direct mail message can get expensive in a rush, especially if you reach the incorrect people or make an offer no one will respond to. Tighly specify your mailing list and mail a fantastic offer and you’ll get busy. Read more of Jeffrey Dobkin’s practical direct marketing articles to learn more useful and simple direct mail marketing tips to increase your response and get – and keep – more customers.

Need More Business? Why struggle: If you?d like to easily get more customers and kick up the response you get from any direct mail program, visit [Jeffrey Dobkin?s website] and learn other quick and simple ways to make your direct marketing more effective – and yet lower your cost. Read more FREE [direct marketing articles] at www.danielleadams.com. Author Jeffrey Dobkin has written 5 books on direct marketing, including the cult classic, How To Market a Product for Under $500.

Free Sample Sales Letter: Example of How to Write a Persuasive Business Marketing Letter

Posted By: admin on in Advertising, Direct Mail - Comments: Comments Off

Here is an example of a business-to-business sales letter
mailed to auto dealers by a firm that markets gift cards that replace paper gift certificates. Anything in brackets [like this] did not appear in the letter but simply appears to describe the mechanics of the letter

Author: Alan Sharpe

Target audience: General managers of auto dealerships

Mailer: Sharpe AutoCards [a fictional company for the purposes of this sample letter]

Purpose: Generate appointments for salespeople

[MAILING ENVELOPE]

[Is 5 x 9 inches in dimension and has a window, through which appears a part of a gift card, personalized with the prospect's name. The envelope has a teaser headline: Inside: A win-win-lose proposition for your auto dealership.]

[LETTER]

[Is 8 1/2 x 11 inches, copy on both sides]

December 27, 2007

Brad Carling, General Manager

Tri-City Chev-Olds

123 Any Street

Anytown OH 12345-9163

[Right here, beneath the prospect's name, is affixed to the letter a sample auto gift card, personalized with the prospect's name, and this headline: As you can see, this card has success written all over it.]

Dear Mr. Carling:

Go ahead, pull this incredible small card off the paper.

It’s made of plastic. It costs you $2 to buy. But it’s worth the price of a new car, sold off your lot. This card is worth the lifetime value of a loyal customer. In sales, service, parts, accessories and referrals. And goodwill. And free word-of-mouth advertising.

Hold it in you hand for a minute, and reckon of your competition. Consider your revenue goals for the next quarter. Do you need to increase your new and used vehicle sales? Boost your parts & service department revenue? Multiply your accessories department revenue? Retain customers after their warranty runs out?

This card will help. Huge time. It’s a vital part of Sharpe AutoCards, a custom-branded loyalty and gift card program that generates revenue for your dealership. But first, how it works.

Take a look at the front of your card. As you can see, you customize the card to match your dealership’s brand image and visual identity. Now turn it over. See that magnetic stripe across the back? It stores information about the card’s dollar value and each transaction.

You hand cards like this to everyone whose business you want to attract and whose loyalty you must keep. Walk ins. Be Backs. Looky-Lous. Current customers. Even former customers. They all use the card to buy products and services at your auto dealership only.

You manage the program using a simple card reader hooked to a personal computer at your dealership running our software. For an average auto dealership, the start-up cost of buying the system and operating it for one year is less than $2 per car sold that year.

That’s what the card does. Here’s what it does for you.

Please read the brochure I’ve enclosed for the compelling specifics. You use the Sharpe AutoCards card to:

1. Close more sales by beating competitors’ discounts

2. Boost your service department revenue and repeat business

3. Multiply your accessories department revenue

4. Retain customers for years after the sale

5. Attract potential customers
and increase traffic in your showroom

6. Increase referral business

7. Increase revenue on the back end

8. Promote brand awareness of your dealership

The Sharpe AutoCards system is up to five times less expensive than competing offerings. Plus, you pay no transaction fees and you don’t have to buy any annual maintenance contracts. I call that a win-win-lose proposition for you, your customers and your competitors.

Use your card today to receive free coffee and donuts for four.

The gift card you are holding in your hand has been pre-loaded with $10 worth of coffee and donuts. Get a first-hand demonstration of how the card works by inviting me to your showroom for a complimentary consultation about the Sharpe AutoCards system. Hand me your gift card, I’ll swipe it, process your transaction, and hand over your free coffee and donuts. Like the gift cards you’ll use one day, this one can only be redeemed at the place of business on the card, which is to say, Tri-City Chev-Olds.

When is a excellent time for us to get together for coffee and a chat at your showroom? Call me at 123 456-7891 today and let’s set up an appointment.

Yours sincerely,

[signature in blue ink]

Direct Mailing List Tips Self Publishers & Business Owners Must Know

Posted By: admin on January 4, 2010 in Direct Mail - Comments: Comments Off

Many self publishers, book publishers, entrepreneurs, and home-based and small business owners are in the dark about mailing list rentals-how to order targeted, direct mailing lists – say for a direct marketing campaign, what to look for, and what to beware of. And they often make a few expensive mistakes. The following tips and trade secrets will help you avoid some of these mistakes and help you make better decisions when you seek out quality mailing list services.
First of all, generally, you rent, not buy mailing lists. They remain in the ownership of the mailing list company and are usually not for sale.
Many business owners rent lists but don’t use them straight away, which is a mistake. Most lists change considerably in 30 days or less. Some lists, like mailing lists of public libraries, prisons, hospitals, hospital gift shops, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, universities, daily newspapers, TV stations and radio stations will have very few changes. They are honestly stationary so not as likely to go. Bookstore lists, new age bookstores lists, organization lists, specialty lists, MLM lists and business mailing lists may have a high rate of return. To avoid a lot of returns, rent the selected lists just prior to making your mailing.
Be careful about renting any mailing list that goes to individuals: consumer mailing lists, seniors mailing lists, residential mailing lists, homeowners mailing lists and opportunity seekers mailing lists, for example. With 20% of the population moving every year you may get significant returns.
But do expect some returns. As often as we mail using lists, we always get returns (called ‘nixies’ in the trade) from the post office. People go, forwarding orders expire, people expire, post office boxes close, and businesses close their doors.
Mailing list management and upkeep is expensive. It takes a lot of time and labor for companies to compile, add to, clean and mail to their lists and other necessary maintenance. They also use expensive mailing list software programs which can have costly bugs of their own.
To help you plot ahead, before you order your mailing lists, question when you can expect the order to arrive. This can vary considerably from company to company. Some companies can take up to two weeks or more.
Mailing lists can usually be ordered in at least three formats – peel and stick (pressure-sensitive) marks or Cheshire (18 pound, spreadsheet-size computer paper-less common these days) or on a floppy disk (used less often these days) or CD. You order peel and stick marks if they’re going to be affixed to your mailing piece by hand. Or if you know how to import the lists you can order them on CD. If your mailing house is going to do your mailing they’ll probably prefer the floppy disk or CD – check with them on this before you order.
Mailing houses used to require the Cheshire format instead of peel and stick marks before the advent of computer technology and CD ROM. They have machines that cut the printed Cheshire sheets into marks and glue them to the envelopes. When ordering lists on CD, specify the format you want to use for conversion, usually ASCII comma-delimited. You must know how to import it when you get the disk though. The mailing lists will always be for one-time use only even if they’re on a CD or disk. And some mailing list companies offer instant downloads of lists.
Also if a mailing house is going to do your mailing, they may want the marks to be merged if there is more than one list, or bar-coded, which will save considerably on postage. If you can’t answer their technical questions, have your mailing house call your mailing list rental company to work out the final details.
Consider the cost to mail out your mailing piece. You might want to test a small number on the list first if you have an expensive or heavy package.
When you do mailings First Class, you’ll get returns from the post office at no additional charge. If you mail Third Class (bulk mail), you won’t get returns. They will be tossed out at the post office, UNLESS you’ve printed ‘Return Service Requested’ on the envelope. Then each return (nixie) will cost additional postage (based on first class), or ‘Change Service Requested’ (cost based on piece regardless of weight. ) Make sure to check current costs with the post office because they change their rates AND rules periodically.
Always send any nixies back to your mailing list company, even if there aren’t enough for a credit, which is nearly always offered. This is a excellent practice especially if you plot to mail again to the same list soon. They usually have a time limit as to when they can accept the nixies for credit because the lists you rented will become outdated honestly soon.
When you contract to rent a list, some mailing list companies may require a sample mailing piece. This is so the company can determine if you’re mailing a competitive or objectionable piece.
The business of mailing list rentals is based on the honor system to a degree, but this honor system also has a built-in alarm: owners protect their data by planting decoy names (seeds) in the mailing lists they rent. If a renter contracts to use a list on a one-time basis and uses it a second time, the decoy will receive the unauthorized mailing and report the misuse to the list owner. The decoys are often friends or relatives of the staff of the companies. Also, many mailing list companies use companies that specialize in tracking or monitoring mailings to detect any misuse. Since decoys are different for each list order, the renter who abuses a contract is simple to trace.
Mailing lists are protected by copyright and trade secret law. Any violation of a list agreement is strictly upheld by the courts. Once a list rental contract has been broken, the list owner has legal recourse to sue for compensatory and punitive hurts. Punitive hurts could amount to as much as three times the value of the list and more.
All list owners have excellent reason to be so protective of their data. List rental is a multibillion-dollar business. There are literally thousands of lists available for rental in the United States alone.
If all else fails, you can enlist the help of a mail list broker. Brokers usually collect their fees from the mailing list company. Check this out first.
In any case caveat emptor! In any case you can reap rewards handsomely from sending out fliers, press releases, press kits, review copies of books and other materials via the direct mailing lists you choose.
These tips and trade secrets should help self publishers, book publishers, entrepreneurs, home based or work-at-home and small business owners make better decisions when working with mailing lists, mailing list rentals and mailing list companies.

Helen Hecker helps book & self publishers, heads Twin Peaks Press, a PR, offline-online marketing, mailing list, consulting, publishing co. Do AP press releases. Publish books, ebooks. “Helen Hecker’s Biz Hotline” for biz owners. Free co-op mailing service. Since 1982.
http://www.TwinPeaksPress.com

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