Direct Mail Letter Examples
Direct Mail Marketing Letter Examples
Over the years, many companies have leveled up their direct mail marketing game and have incorporated several direct mail advertising examples. There are a lot of useful examples and ideas that can help companies get more responses and drive conversions. It is important to list your marketing objectives and your messages. Back them up with the various elements of direct mail that we will read below. The right combination of all the elements can help get the desired results easily.
In order to understand and use several direct mail piece examples, you need to define your customers and your industry properly. Furthermore, take inspiration from your competitors and analyze their strategies. You need to be aware of all the recent trends and buying preferences of your customers.
Elements of a Direct Mail Letter
Direct mail is one of the most impactful forms of marketing. To make the best use of it, read all the direct mail examples below and take them into account while designing or creating your direct mail items. There are some constants of a direct mail letter. Let us know them in brief.
Letterhead
The letterhead contains the company logo, name, address, and contact details. It makes your direct mail look professional. In the case of postcards, the letterhead area might look completely different and obviously more creative. But, it remains the same for all the direct mail pieces and is an essential element of your mailer as it informs the audience about your identity. The letterhead introduces your brand and makes your mailer look professional and legit.
There are three ways to get your letterhead printed on your direct mail items. Either you get your letter designs printed directly on your letterhead or print the letterhead and letter both together. The third option comes in when you design a letterhead, especially for a particular campaign or campaign. In this case, too, companies get their special letterhead and letter printed altogether.
Addressee
Many companies simply skip through this part and are content sending out unaddressed mail. Though it is reasonable for small-scale businesses that cannot afford to send personalized letters, addressed mail performs much better. For better targeting and cutting down costs, businesses can use a print and mail API like PostGrid that helps you conduct direct mail marketing campaigns cost-effectively and productively.
A generic introduction like Dear Sir/Ma’am cannot catch your audience’s attention. But, even generic introductions can be personalized to a certain extent.
For example, “Dear Computer User,” “Dear St. Charles Student,” or “Dear Seattle Resident.”
PostGrid can help you use variable data printing and personalize every letter with the recipient’s name and address at an all-in-one rate.
Opening Paragraph
The first sentence of your letter should be the most important and compelling one. The opening paragraph should explain the purpose of your letter and create interest among the readers. It should keep the readers hooked enough to read the next paragraphs.
Naturally, the opening paragraph is your chance to make an impactful first impression. You can enquire about the reader’s wellbeing and lead them towards your actual message.
Body of the Letter
Coming to the main part, the body of the letter should explain everything clearly. It should explain why you are writing the letter and what you want from the reader. Discuss the benefits that you plan for them and tell them how they can be availed. The body can be divided into two to three paragraphs for better clarity and understanding. The following things can be included in your letter body:
- Call-to-action: Call out your readers to take action. It could be anything like giving you a call on the mentioned number, scanning the QR code, visiting the link given below, carrying the letter to your store, posting an Instagram picture and tagging you, making a purchase, and so on. Including a pre-paid reply card is also one of the best CTAs to include in your direct mail. You can create a sense of urgency by adding deadlines and making your readers feel that they need to respond as quickly as possible.
- Discounts and Offers: The main purpose of a direct mail piece is to offer something to your prospects in exchange for them completing the CTA, which either closes the deal or brings them closer to conversion. Therefore, adding offers is the most important part of direct mail sales letter examples. Punch-out coupons, cashback, and discounts make excellent direct mail offers. Two or more offers can also be combined to increase your mail’s impact. You can offer additional discounts on additional purchases or refer a friend, and so on. Don’t forget to add some offers against a CTA. The CTA and the offer combined make the main response mechanism for direct mail campaigns.
Postscript
Restate your message and proposition by using a PS statement at the end of the letter. It summarizes your entire offer and allows readers to decide better. Many readers tend to skip through the entire letter and read the PS line at the end. It is clearly an attention-grabber, so make sure to choose the right words for your postscript.
Some postscript examples include “PS You can stay safely at your home and still help others by donating on www.careforchildren.com,” or “PS Your chance to get 2 items at the price of 1 is valid only till 15th May 2021, so visit our online store and start shopping right away.”
Top 22 Direct Mail Advertising Examples
Focus On Benefits That Sells
Though it is completely fine to list your product features, it is not okay to overburden your direct mail piece with just features. Rather, marketers should focus on top benefits that can pique their audience’s interest. You can concentrate on a few benefits that match your targeted audience’s needs and highlight them using icons and bright colors.
Use catchy words like “Save Money” and “All-in-One Solutions”.
Your product benefits are more likely to get you conversions rather than listing out the features that the customers are already aware of.
Include Checklists, Quizzes, and Samples
All direct mail examples highlight that direct mail should be creative and engaging. To keep up with it, companies can send out quizzes or checklists as part of their mailers. An excellent way to get your prospects to open your mail is to include a quiz on the outer envelope and hide the answers inside.
Another way to get your audience involved is to create a personalized checklist. The points to be checked can be actual things that a person can get help with by using your products and services. Some companies also leave a small sample in the envelope like scent strips or small candy bars. However, samples can’t be sent out by all businesses, the ones that can really try it out to increase responses.
Include Infographics
Infographics are visually appealing and informative. Impressive statistics about your company or something that is of interest to your prospects laid down using infographics can increase responses and engagements.
When talking about your company, you need to display your brand reputation and earn confidence and trust.
Direct mail marketers can include some genuine statistics like, “7 out of 10 customers buy from us again,” or “We sold 2 million pieces worldwide in 2020 alone”.
Trigger Emotions and Social Values
Some emotions can be used to induce prospects to complete the CTA. Guilt, fear, happiness, greed, salvation, anger, flattery, and exclusivity can be triggered by your marketing message. For instance, nonprofits can benefit by listing the troubles of orphans, which in turn triggers sympathy and guilt among people. It also puts the social values of people in question.
Make sure to lead the emotion by a proper CTA, such as “10 dollars = one wholesome meal for two kids, donate using the link below”.
You can also include real-life stories of how your organization was of use to the people in need.
Not only nonprofits but other companies can also apply this method by including sentences like “On every purchase, we donate $20 towards an NGO for helping the needy”.
Do the Headlines Right
A question that makes a person think and feel something is always better as the headline instead of being hidden in the middle of a paragraph. It can grab attention easily and sets the stage for your remaining pitch. Questions do make great headlines, but you can use words and phrases just as well.
Put the headlines in a noticeable area. Catchy headlines at shady spots are of no use, so make sure they are clearly visible to everyone. Many marketers choose to insert the headline in the Johnson Box to make it stand out from all the other content. Additionally, use bold formats and keep the font size big. It is wise to use subheadings that catch up with the headline and explain the benefit involved.
Welcome
Welcoming new customers through a direct mail piece never gets old. A welcome message is perhaps one of the best direct mail letter examples. Firstly, you can make your customers feel valued. Secondly, you can provide some information about the things they should know about how to use your product or in what ways they can use your product.
Businesses should also focus on sending welcome mailers to new homeowners and movers in the neighborhood who can benefit from their products or services. Introduce yourself and offer them something to try out your brand.
Insert Fascinations on the Outer Envelope
Fascinations are snippets of facts and details that fascinate the audience and convince them to open and read your mailer. You can start with something like “Did you know?” or “There is an amazing offer waiting for you on the inside”. Such fascinations increase open rates along with your chances of conversions.
Use Big Images
While going through successful direct mail examples, you will notice that their visuals are always on point. Use images that illustrate your product and purpose clearly while getting the reader hooked to your mailer. Big images are often appealing. Along with images, you can also make use of icons that help your audience understand your message clearly and lead them towards the CTA. Some things said through images work better than words. Hence, complimenting your words with images is a must.
Testimonials
It is important to add credibility to your products and services. No one can explain your brand in a better way than a satisfied customer. Hence, collect feedback from customers and include some good ones in your direct mail items. Sometimes, you need authorization from individuals and companies to add their names and images to your marketing materials.
A university including student testimonials to show how donations have helped them, or a refrigerator manufacturer including customer testimonials highlighting how their products have benefited them is great direct mail examples. Nonprofit direct mail examples are the ones where you can find the maximum number of testimonials as reviews work great for collecting donations.
Remember Special Days
Holidays are a great time to conduct direct mail campaigns. Most people are looking out for good deals during this shopping season, so how about offering them some? Curate your headlines in a way that emphasizes the deal and the occasion.
For example, “Thanksgiving Sale. Sign up now for 30% off.”
Similarly, companies can maintain a database of their prospects’ and customers’ birthdays to reach out to them with an incredible offer on their special day.
Display Your Digital Outreach
Modern customers want to be able to reach out to brands in more than one way. Hence, in order to make your mailer one of the best direct mail marketing letter examples, highlight your digital outreach. You can add icons of all the social media platforms that you use along with your usernames so that prospects are able to reach you and know more about you. Firms can also use pURLs that take their prospects to their website or social media pages.
QR Codes
QR codes are always a better option than mentioning a pURL on your direct mail piece. A reader needs to enter the entire link manually to visit the landing page. Comparatively, it is so much easier to scan QR codes with a mobile device and reach the landing page within a few seconds. QR codes work great, and you can use them to drive traffic to online pages or get the CTA completed.
Make the audience excited by writing a compelling copy such as, “HURRY! Scan the code now to book flight tickets at a flat 25% off”.
Referrals
Direct mail referrals constitute great direct mail examples. Introducing a referral program through direct mail is the best way to do it. You can send such direct mail pieces to your customers so that they can refer your brand to their family members, friends, and acquaintances with the motive of sharing mutual benefits.
For example, “Refer a friend to get credits worth $50 each”. This sentence can get you both repeat business and new customers.
Gift Cards
Gift cards carry great visual appeal and spark excitement among people. Companies can attach gift cards to their direct mail items to induce prospective customers to respond. You can stick the gift card right on your mail pieces or send it as a separate item inside your envelopes.
Either way, make sure to inform your audience about the benefits of the gift card, like, “Use the gift card to claim a 50% cashback on your first purchase”.
Copy
Whether to write a long or a short copy completely depends on your brand type and message. A discount offer can be communicated well using a small postcard, but a letter would be required to explain all the product benefits in depth. A lot of companies do excellently well, even with short copies. Images, icons, and subheadings can be used to explain more things in less space.
Make sure to provide some valuable information using content. Direct mailers should be informative, conversational, and engaging. Sending out newsletters as direct mail items is one of the direct mail creative examples that allow you to stay in touch with your audience constantly and keep their minds occupied with your brand.
Handwriting
Letters that use standard font types are not very eye-catching. Rather, they are treated as junk mail, and your prospects are likely to toss them in the bin. Marketers should either use impressive fonts with bright colors and designs or handwriting fonts. Handwritten letters make the readers feel special. There are plenty of handwriting fonts and software programs that help you with handwritten letters. Direct mail automation solutions like PostGid can help you print and mail such letters efficiently.
The Word “You”
Some words make people ponder over your messages. Businesses should identify such words and use them often in their direct mail items. The most successful direct mail examples use words like “you.” For nonprofits, the word “you” emphasizes the importance of the reader’s contribution and makes them feel that they can be a part of something good. For all other companies, this word triggers the greed emotion, as discussed earlier.
Some good examples of using this word can be “You can save 20% extra on your next purchase,” or “You can get a chance to win exciting prizes”.
Personalized Maps
Personalization is yet another important part of direct mail campaigns. Though EDDM works well, personalized direct mail items work great. Addressed mail gets more attention than general postcards with no name and address printed on them. However, nowadays, variable data printing has made personalization so much easier than you can personalize many other details. Personalized maps are among the most creative direct mail examples and can convince prospects to visit your store or branch. They are customized maps that display the exact route from the customer’s house to your store.
Loyalty Rewards
Mailpieces that you send to your prospects should obviously differ from the mailpieces you send to your customers. You need to keep customers engaged by keeping in touch and reaching out to them often with various different offers. Personalized postcards offering free shipping or a 30% discount on further orders are among some great direct mail marketing examples. Offering something to your customers in exchange for their loyalty towards your brand is both fair and profitable.
Rich Colors
Colors can add life to anything, including your direct mail pieces. But, it is important to choose your colors carefully. Avoid using dull colors or designs that use too many colors altogether. Keep them easy on the eye but attention-seeking. Rich colors can make an impact and deliver your message smoothly. They keep the audience engaged in your mail piece and motivate them to share the mailer with their friends and family, thereby increasing your visibility.
Embossed Envelopes
Embossed envelopes have a look and feel of luxury paper and clearly stand out in your recipients’ mailboxes. Recipients know the importance of a mailer by looking at its outer appearance. Embossed envelopes give you an edge over your competitors and encourage people to open and read the mail.
Segmentation
Instead of going for a generic creative, why not personalize your designs according to your audience. For that, you need to first segment your mailing lists according to your customer profile and targeted demographics. Segmentation brings you one step closer to reaching your goals. Hence, remember to send your well-thought and personalized mailers only to relevant people.
Some other direct mail letter examples include:
- Designing mailpieces with enough white space is helpful in prioritizing your readers’ focus. Use bullet points and short paragraphs to not overwhelm your readers.
- Use interesting postage stamps as they help to catch attention and raise response levels.
- Taking famous images and quotes from movies and other sources and mixing them up with your design is a good tactic.
- Add a guarantee to offer integrity and create trustworthiness.
- Keep it short. One-page letters are more effective than multiple-page letters. Most decision-makers are busy and cannot spare a lot of time to read your letters. Therefore, stick to the point, sell your product benefits, and make an upfront proposal.
- Write letters at the high-school level. Avoid jargon, complex terminologies, and long sentences.
Sample Direct Mail Letter
Sample 1
Wesley Group of Restaurants
895 Argonne St.
Texas town, TX 75001
6th December 2020
Mr. Martin Salvatore
487 Carnival Lane
Texas town, TX 75125
Dear Mr. Martin,
Greetings of the day! This holiday season, we have come up with several different offers and discounts for all the existing members of our Exclusive Group. Being one of them, you know how delighted we are to invite you to our special Christmas buffet.
How about availing of a 35% discount on the all-inclusive buffet rates? By logging into your account on our website and renewing your membership, you can not only avail of this special offer but also get a 10% discount on every meal with us for one year.
This dual offer is valid only till 20th December 2020, and we cannot wait for you to join us for the dinner buffet on Christmas. Get your family and friends and celebrate all night. All you have to do is scan the QR code below, which will take you to the ‘renew membership’ page on our website.
Call on the number given below in case of any questions and queries. Looking forward to spending another year with a valuable member.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Jack Davis
Senior Manager
PS If you decide to renew your membership within two days, you get extra credits worth $50.
Sample 2
Bank of America
77 North Georgina Circle
Portland, OR 97207
6th May 2021
Ms. Carol Williams
963 Lafayette St.
Newberg, OR 12551
Dear Ms. Carol,
Hope you are doing well. Firstly, we would like to welcome you to Bank of America and thank you for choosing us. We have been serving our customers in the financial sector for over two decades and valuing every single customer since then. Allow us to be of great service to you regarding your banking and credit needs.
Our ‘Travel With Us’ credit card saves up to $100 dollars on flight tickets every time you purchase using it. You can also get your hands on amazing cashback offers and international travel deals. Get your own customized credit card and start saving now.
Visit the link www.travelwithus.com/carol-williams/ to know more about this cost-saving credit card and what else we have in store for you.
Kind Regards,
Chris Rauch
Manager of Operations
The Final Word
Direct mail examples can help you create appealing and professional-looking mailpieces that can impress an audience easily and convince them to take action. Companies should be willing to test some direct mail items before conducting the actual campaign. By sending out a few pieces and recording responses, it is easier to know what works best and avoid mistakes.
To conduct successful direct mail campaigns, use PostGrid’s automated direct mail solutions that can help you create mail items, print, and mail, track performances, and so much more. You can make use of all of the above direct mail examples easily and effectively through PostGrid.
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