Articles by Marcus Johnson
Blog Archive
The Outer Envelope is Key to Getting Your Direct Mail Opened
Fair or not, your audience is always going to judge your direct mail by its outer envelope. Their three-second assessment of your outer envelope (part of the 3:33 rule of direct mail—a topic in itself) will make or break your mailing. If they’re not moved to open the envelope, you don’t get to talk to them [...]
Four Questions to Ask Before Using Humor in Marketing
Is using humor a good tactic—or strategy—for selling your product with direct marketing? Depends. That’s a good place to start. It depends on the product. If you were creating a direct marketing campaign for Depends Adult Incontinence products, humor might not be your strongest approach, a) because a certain sensitivity is called for in this category and b) it’s off brand. A humorous campaign for Huggies diapers? Different story.
Tips for Creating a Call-to-Action that Can’t Be Ignored
From time to time, in direct marketing writing and design, we need to focus on the fundamentals to help us stay sharp in conveying the purpose and value proposition of what we’re selling. Why? Because so many direct marketing packages fail to answer these basic questions: Do we give our audience a reason to open? […]
7 Ways to Make Your Marketing Copy More Engaging
Do you still believe the tired platitude that everyone hates direct mail? Hate, tolerate, or love it, direct mail gets results. And it’s become a key, if not essential, part of the mix for any smart marketing strategy. But let’s concede that there may be a grain of truth to that old chestnut [...]
The Power of Direct Marketing Copywriting, Tips, and Testing, Testing…
Quick, which offer will pull better: 50% off or Half Off? Should you offer something FREE or Complimentary? Buy One Get One Free or BOGO? If you answered “It depends” to the questions above, you’re right. That is why we test.
