99 Easy Ways to Pump Up the Pulling Power of Your Direct Mail Package

Your Teaser Copy   46.   Use copy to select your audience. Use key words that relate to your prospect's interests or identity.   47.   Lead your reader inside. Copy on the envelope serves only one purpose; to get the reader to open the envelope and look at what's inside. Identify your prospect's problem and say the answer is inside. You can say there's something free, valuable, new, and exclusive inside. Or you can simply refer to the contents of the envelope if you've sent something intrinsically interesting to your prospect, like "Here's the Free Brochure you asked for."   48.   Promise a benefit inside. The best teaser copy will simply state a clear benefit for your prospect, but require opening the envelope, like "Inside: A new way to cut your tax bill in just 5 minutes!" A teaser is nothing but a headline, which must grab attention and lead the reader into the body copy. In this case, the body copy is everything inside the envelope.   49.   Feature the magic word - "FREE."   50.   Make a provocative statement.   51.   Put your deadline on the outside.         Inertia is your enemy.         Action is your friend.         Deadlines induce action. Therefore, if you're sure about your mailing date, a deadline can prevent your prospect from setting aside your envelope for later.   52.   Avoid "prospect letdown." Never mislead or oversell with a teaser. Whatever you say on the envelope, don't overdo it. Your envelope contents should always deliver as much or more than you promise, otherwise you'll alienate your prospect.   53.   Fully develop your "envelope real estate" to sell the sizzle. Bullet point benefits. Starburst your special price. Hint at a special gift for immediate orders. This works best for consumer offers that are proven sellers needing little explanation, like best-selling books, software upgrades, fact-packed newsletters, etc.   54.   If you use a blank envelope, make it completely blank. Not a single word of teaser copy. No graphics. Perhaps not even your logo. Just a street address in upper left corner and your delivery address. You might include the letter signer's name in the corner if that person is well known.   55.   If you're mailing to a business, use a low-key approach. Most business-to-business, mail is intercepted by a secretary, assistant, or mail room. If it looks too much like advertising, it may get trashed. You stand a better chance of reaching your prospect if your envelope looks personal, important, and business-like.

Extracted from
Direct Marketing Magazine
Dean Rieck - Author