Effective Copy: Direct Mail’s Backbone

Graphics and design are extremely, extremely important to the success of a direct mail campaign. However, the written word is an aspect of direct mail that can never be overlooked. Without well-written copy to deliver your campaign’s message, the accompanying graphics will fall utterly flat. While it is true that people scan more often than they read thoroughly, the quickest way to strip your campaign of its ability to connect with potential customers is to outfit a direct mail piece with uninspiring and lackluster copy.

Connecting with your audience in a straightforward and uncomplicated fashion is the mark of effective copy.

It offers facts, but uses those facts to connect with readers and influences them think further on their own. Effective copy is written with the focus being on the reader, not on the company who is trying to get the reader to act in a certain way. Copy that is written with the reader in mind answers questions that they might have AND questions they haven’t thought of yet. Instead of creating new and unanswered questions that create doubt in a potential customers mind, effective copy brings certainty and trust.

If effective copy is direct mail’s backbone, the things that help create it are the vertebrae.

Learning what to say AND how to say it are two crucial steps in the creation of a strong direct mail backbone. Combining these two aspects of effective copy with the look of your mailer and the layout of your copy will serve to strengthen your mailer’s backbone. These reinforcements are the vertebrae of your mailer:

1. Headline

A strong headline that delivers your message in a clear and concise way is perhaps the most important aspect of your mailer. Its purpose is to grab your viewers attention and drive them to read on.

2. Supporting text

This is the text that your headline drives viewers towards, so this copy has to be just as strong! Using your mailer’s supporting text to deliver benefits that your business can provide in an easy to comprehend fashion is key.

3. Offer / Call-to-Action

Creating a sense of urgency in direct mail copy is an art all by itself. Strong offers and calls-to-action require a union of knowing what to say AND knowing how to say it. Driving viewers of your mailer to act a certain way is the purpose of your campaign!

4. Design

There is what you say, there is how you say it, and there is also WHERE you say it. You may only think of images and graphic layouts as design elements, but where you place your copy is also a very important aspect in the visual appeal of your mailer. Proper spacing and placement of your copy will make it easy for viewers to digest all the information without feeling overwhelmed.

5. Contact Info

While this may seem strange, providing your company’s contact information is a part of the effective copy that makes up a powerful mailer. Displaying ALL of your contact information in an easy to see, but not overbearing, spot on your mailer will make it easy for receivers of your campaign to respond to your call-to-action.

6. Finishing Touches

Adding third-party backing and validations of your company’s credibility in the form of testimonials, reviews, and awards are great finishing touches to add to your direct mail campaign. Letting readers know if and where they can find you on social media is another great added feature that effective mailer’s can employ.

Paying attention to these facets will benefit the strength of your campaign’s copy immensely. Want to be even more effective? Partnering with an experienced direct mail company that knows all of these things and more is your direct mail effort’s biggest asset!

Working with a professional mailing company will ensure that you make the most of your mailer. Kessler Creative‘s extensive direct mail abilities are invaluable in furthering the success of your business. We are the definitive full-service solution for all of your direct mail marketing needs. Call us at 1.888.416.4098 or visit our Contact Page to get in touch with us today!