Direct Mail Tips
Blog Category
The Johnson Box—What, Why, Where, and How
Before we dive into the value and inner workings of the Johnson Box, a little family history. The Johnson Box was invented by my great great great grandfather Eustice Aristotle Johnson, a pioneer in direct mail. This breakthrough in marketing occurred shortly after he created boxed cereal and sliced bread. I’m a little fuzzy on […]
Six Direct Mail Don’ts
The usual focus of my wildly entertaining blogs (hold your applause until the end, please) is ways to improve your direct mail—writing, strategic thinking, presentation, etc. In other words, what to do. This month’s topic is based on one of my father’s favorite phrases, dating back to my youth. At some point during an average […]
Earn a Postage Discount While Enhancing Your Marketing Campaign with Informed Delivery
In a little more than a month, the Postal Service’s Informed Delivery mailing promotion will give marketers the opportunity to earn a two percent postage discount while expanding the reach of their direct mail campaigns. Informed Delivery is a USPS product that seamlessly links your mailpiece to digital experiences. It works by sending subscribers an […]
Does Your Direct Mail Package Pass the Test? An Essential Checklist—Rules 7-9
We’ve come to the final three (of nine) questions that every direct mail producer should ask before, during, and after you create a direct mail package. Reminder: these questions come courtesy of Paul McQuillan, who turned his experience at a marketing seminar into a piece for Target Marketing. His article appeared a few years […]
An Essential Direct Mail Checklist. Does Your Direct Mail Check the Boxes?—Rules 4-6
Continuing our review of the nine questions that should guide every direct mail user— courtesy of Paul McQuillan and an unnamed marketing seminar speaker. Paul turned that seminar encounter into a helpful direct mail checklist and wrote a piece for Target Marketing a few years ago. Let’s move on to questions four through six. All […]
An Essential Direct Mail Checklist. Does Your Direct Mail Check the Boxes?
We’re always on the lookout for and appreciative of essential advice for direct mail producers. A tip of the hat, then, to Paul Mcquillan and an unnamed marketing seminar speaker, whose direct mail checklist I recently came across in a piece Paul wrote for Target Marketing.
How to Use Color in Direct Mail to Drive Results
You might have heard through the grapevine that Pantone’s 2020 color of the year is Classic Blue. I see a lot of blue in my job; there are several studies showing blue is America’s favorite color, and approximately one-third of brands use blue in their logos.
Why Nordstrom and J. Jill’s Direct Mail Mistake Cost Them Millions
A very unexpected article drew me out of my usual morning email-checking haze today. My supervisor Debora Haskel had forwarded me an “interesting read” from MindFire, highlighting a drop in sales for clothing retailer J. Jill. The headline read “Retailer J. Jill learned the Hard Way Why Direct Mail is Still Relevant,” and the smell of scandal perked me up more than the cup of coffee I was holding [...]
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 [...]
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? […]
