Articles by Marcus Johnson
Blog Archive
What Should Your Outer Envelope Say?
You probably know the expression “the eyes are the window to the soul.” It’s much the same with direct mail: the outer envelope (OE)—with or without a window—gives insight into the inner contents. The OE is a blank slate for your direct mail package, and has the potential to telegraph what someone will find inside. […]
Avoid These Three Direct Mail Bad Habits in 2020
I’ve built a shiny metaphorical bandwagon, and I’m inviting you all to jump on and help me improve the quality and effectiveness of creative direct mail writing in 2020. At the same time, we’re going to—once and for all, I hope, although I know better—say a final farewell to a few nagging direct mail bad habits.
Give Your Direct Mail Marketing a Lift with Promotional Cards
You know from our reporting on direct mail response rates that direct mail works better than other channels for getting response. That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to improve it even further. Today’s topic: using cards to captivate your audience …
Long Copy or Not—That is The Question
It’s debated in boardrooms and break rooms. The subject of passionate internet screeds. And the source of endless squabbles in the neighborhood sandbox. What am I talking about? Whether long copy or short copy sells better in direct mail [...]
Reading vs. Scanning: Sidebars Can Engage Any Kind of Mail Recipient
Are you a reader or a scanner? The world is full of both. That matters to those of us who include direct mail and direct response advertising as part of our marketing mix. If we don’t create direct mail designs that account for both of those information intake preferences, we risk losing a big chunk of our audience and their potential to respond.
Play by the 3:33 Rule for Direct Mail Success
You just launched a big direct mail acquisition campaign. Close to a million pieces are fanning out to carefully segmented audiences in areas where your research indicates high concentrations of verified prospects. Will it be a hit or a miss? Grab a stopwatch (or your mobile phone with its many timing apps) and let’s consider. […]
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 [...]
