In an age of digital communication across global gigabit networks, who in their right mind is going to rely on an outdated technology like old-fashioned snail mail?<\/p>\n
Plenty of businesses, as it turns out.<\/p>\n
Each year, Target Marketing magazine\u00a0surveys<\/a>\u00a0its readers to find out how they\u2019re marketing to their customers. Direct mail was holding steady with 75% of people using it\u201425% of the entire survey base was increasing its use of direct mail, and only a handful of existing direct mail users were spending less on it. This indicates that there\u2019s still plenty of life in this marketing technique.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to ignore this tried-and-tested marketing channel when most discussions online focus on social media, but many small business clients want nothing to do with\u00a0digital communication channels.\u00a0They also don’t know what managed services are, or that they even exist.\u00a0So how are they going to find your website, Twitter stream, Facebook page, or YouTube channel?<\/p>\n If you are not marketing to these potential clients in a way that is relevant to them and via a channel that they will see, you are missing out.<\/p>\n So how do you run an effective direct mail campaign for your business? The important thing is to do it creatively, with flair. Here are 8 tips to getting it right.<\/p>\n 1. Use an attention-grabbing headline that delivers a promise<\/strong><\/p>\n Your headline needs to accomplish a single thing:\u00a0Capture the reader\u2019s attention.\u00a0Try something like this:<\/p>\n “Let me show you how to reduce IT downtime, while reducing or retaining your existing IT budget.”<\/em><\/p>\n Make a promise that will have your readers continue reading all the way to your offer, like this:<\/p>\n “Imagine knowing your network will be monitored 24×7, while you aren’t spending a penny more than you must, and having a team of professionals to ensure that all of your computer systems are running smoothly.”<\/em><\/p>\n 2. Make a solid offer\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ve made your proposition. Now give the reader a way to take advantage of it.<\/p>\n “Gain that peace of mind right now with a free consultation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 3. Provide a clear call to action with a deadline<\/strong><\/p>\n Speaking of that action you want, this also needs to be clearly laid out on your mailer.\u00a0If your reader doesn’t know how to act, they won’t.<\/p>\n “Please call me at <phone number> to set up a meeting and learn how to keep your computer systems running without impacting your IT budget.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n You need a way to insist that your reader acts as soon as possible, otherwise they will forget about you.\u00a0A deadline on your offer is a proven way to encourage action now, not later. Like this:<\/p>\n “I am only offering free consultations for the month of *insert month*, so act now!”<\/em><\/p>\n 4. Provide social proof<\/strong><\/p>\n Social proof is an excellent tactic for any type of marketing, including direct mail.\u00a0People don’t like to be the first to try things, so offer some proof about your services like a testimonial from a satisfied client.<\/p>\n 5. Make the buying process as easy as possible<\/strong><\/p>\n So, you got your reader to visit your website.\u00a0Don’t make them jump through hoops to get the information they need.\u00a0If you want them to call you, have a direct phone number. Don’t put them on hold!<\/p>\n If they came to your site via a URL on your direct mail, design a simple landing page that will give them the information they need and get them to commit.\u00a0Unbounce<\/a>\u00a0offers a nice drag and drop interface, effective templates, and integrates easily with your other third-party online marketing tools.<\/p>\n 6. Build a high-quality mailing list<\/strong><\/p>\n The quality of your mailing list directly affects your sales. One way to keep the quality high is to create your own targeted mailing lists and do the hard work of qualifying each lead yourself.\u00a0You know your community better than any costly mailing list company.<\/p>\n 7. Make your direct mail social media-friendly\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The reader may not bite right away, but if they are social media-savvy and you can persuade them to follow you on\u00a0Twitter or like you on\u00a0Facebook, you may be able to work your inbound sales later.\u00a0Always include links to your social media pages in direct mail.<\/p>\n 8. Make it measurable, and don’t be afraid to experiment<\/strong><\/p>\n If you cannot measure your results, you won\u2019t know whether your campaign has been successful, or how to tweak it.\u00a0Use unique URLs or phone numbers to help you track your direct mail campaigns.<\/p>\n Experiment to see what works for you and your prospects.\u00a0Don’t be afraid to do A-B testing and see which headlines or calls to action work best for you.<\/p>\n Creating postcards to help market your MSP business<\/p>\n Talking of experimentation, creativity is key when it comes to direct mail. Direct mail can take many forms: sales letters, flyers, and brochures among other pieces of collateral. But one of the easiest pieces of direct mail to produce is the familiar postcard.<\/p>\n Standard postcard size is 4.25\u201dx6\u201d (10.8 cm x 15.2 cm). Many vendors also offer larger size postcards: 5″x8″ all the way up to 6\u201dx11″, and just about every measurement in between.<\/p>\n Postcards are printed on stiffer paper stock than most other communications so they can get through the postal system without being damaged. Most postcard printers will also offer a glossy stock, at least on the front, to help your card stand out from the rest of the mail.<\/p>\n Postcards are a visual medium, so you want to feature a relevant, eye-catching image on its front. Create a headline in bold letters that ties in with the image and delivers your message with impact. And, of course, as with all your other marketing materials, your postcards should create a clear call to action to your prospect or client.<\/p>\n Here are some online resources that will help you with your postcard strategy. Most of these websites include the printing and postage costs in their pricing, so you don’t have to worry about licking 100 stamps.<\/p>\n Another cool marketing tool that Zazzle offers is the ability to create your own postage stamps. Try putting\u00a0your logo on the stamp of your latest direct mail postcard for an eye catcher.<\/li>\n There are many IT marketing methods, ranging from cold calling to business networking, yellow page ads, trade shows, flyers, and postcard campaigns. None of them comes close in terms of effectiveness to a professionally written sales letter. A properly written letter that follows a formula for effective selling can bring you new clients very quickly.<\/p>\n A sales letter is essentially your sales pitch in print. When selling one-to-one, you’re giving your sales pitch to one individual at a time. You practice your pitch, you polish it up, and when it’s time to deliver it, you hope that you hit all the right buttons.<\/p>\n A sales letter takes that perfected sales pitch, crafts it to make sure it hits all the right buttons at exactly the right time and in exactly the right way, and delivers it to hundreds, even thousands of prospective customers at the same time!<\/p>\n Writing effective sales letters is as much science as it is art. There are formulas and rules to follow, and they start with a basic formula called AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/b>\u00a0Get their Attention<\/b> Sending a sales letter gives the MSP an opportunity to follow up, typically with a simple phone call. Unlike a regular cold call though, a sales letter follow-up call is easy, because the letter itself did all the selling and the prospect already understands your proposition.<\/p>\n If you want to use sales letters in your marketing campaign and would like to take a shot at writing them yourself, there are several books to get you started:<\/p>\n If you don’t have the time to learn how to write an effective sales letter yourself, you can always hire a professional copywriter to take on the task for you. Experienced, proven copywriters don’t come cheap, but assuming you choose your copywriter wisely, the returns will be well worth the investment.<\/p>\n Sales brochures are another way that you can deliver your business message. They provide the opportunity to use large-format designs to draw the reader in and engage them with your content. The problem is finding the time to design and create one.<\/p>\n Instead of creating brochures from scratch, MSPs can use templates. These are typically Word-based and simply require users to click on the sections of text and type their own sales copy.<\/p>\n Keep this copy simple. You may be tempted to cram as much information as possible into the space you have, but don\u2019t. You must give the words plenty of room to breathe. Don’t confuse the reader by including huge blocks of text.<\/p>\n Here are some online resources for sales brochure templates.<\/p>\n Online marketing may have captured the public\u2019s imagination, but for many businesses, paper still has power. Don\u2019t rule out direct mail as an effective form of marketing. This old dog still has plenty of bite.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" t\u2019s digital all the way when it comes to marketing your MSP business, right? Wrong. Good old-fashioned direct mail still packs a punch. Danny Bradbury looks at how to get…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","topic-msp-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding the perfect direct mail campaign<\/h3>\n
The postcard format<\/h3>\n
Design tips<\/h3>\n
Online resources<\/h3>\n
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Sizzling sales letters<\/h3>\n
Writing the perfect sales letter<\/h3>\n
\nYou do this in the headline and first paragraph of your letter. The first paragraph has just one job: to make them read the next paragraph. Each subsequent paragraph should do the same.<\/p>\n\n
\nTo be interested in your sales letter, the recipient must be a properly targeted prospect.<\/li>\n
\nIs the reader salivating at the incredible offer you’re making them?<\/li>\n
\nAn effective sales letter compels the reader to do something once they finish reading. The problem for IT services companies is that a services contract is a big sale. A reader will rarely want to invest upfront in a contract based on a sales letter, no matter how well written it is. An MSP might get the prospect to phone them for a 30-day free trial though.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFollowing up<\/h3>\n
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Sales brochures<\/h3>\n
Sales brochure templates<\/h3>\n
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