In a world dominated by digital noise, direct mail still holds a unique power: it gets seen, held, and remembered. But getting your brochure into someone’s hands is only half the battle—the real challenge is inspiring them to act.
Whether you’re aiming to drive donations, generate leads, or boost sales, small strategic tweaks can make a big difference in your response rates.
From compelling design choices to smarter messaging and timing, these 11 proven tactics will help you turn more mailboxes into meaningful results.
- Put your strongest benefit on the cover.
Otherwise, your prospect may never open it to look inside. - Show a photograph of your target market on the cover.
The first question anyone will ask when he or she picks up your direct mail is, “Who is this for — for people like me?” - Remember the 20 percent rule.
Show photos of people who are 20 percent younger than your target market, 20 percent more attractive, 20 percent better dressed—because that’s how most people see themselves. - Personalize the cover.
Digital printing makes it easy (and not that expensive) to put the person’s name on the cover of the brochure. - Come up with a great visual.
Most direct marketing solutions are verbal. Most people are not great readers. An unusual or unexpected visual can make a big difference in response. - Show before and after.
An example might be a brochure for a lawn service. On the cover a picture of a bad-looking lawn with dandelions. The caption says something like “Before XYZ lawn service.” When you open the brochure, a beautiful green lawn is revealed. The caption reads “After XYZ lawn service.” - Involve your prospect in your brochure.
You can use check-off boxes and ask something like, “How many of these benefits do you think are included?” When they fully open the brochure, they see that all the boxes are checked. - Use problem/solution.
But make sure you use at least three problems or solutions—your prospect is bound to identify with at least one. - Promote pass-along readership.
“Do you know anyone else in your company who might benefit from this information? Please feel free to pass it along.” Research shows 70 percent of people are willing to forward an e-mail—many might do the same with an interesting brochure. In B-to-B, you might even consider putting two brochures in the same mailing. - Ask three provocative questions.
Ask three questions before getting to what the product is. Try to get people to say “yes” to any one of them—then you can sell the product. - Be creative.
Three-fold brochures are boring. Look for interesting designs, including pop-ups and dimensional pieces.