The acceptance rate on trial offers is about 85%.
Recipients of a direct-mail package usually go to the letter first, then to the folder, and then to the reply device.
If you want prepayment, use a package format with a reply envelope enclosed.
Lift letters should be signed by a person senior to the signer of the sales letter.
Fulfillment package inserts usually pull better than statement inserts.
The two most powerful elements in mailings are money-back guarantees and free trial offers.
A consumer offer of a free gift will pull better than a discount of the same value.
Making a gift offer a separate enclosure, independent of the folder, usually will pull better.
Money-saving offers work best with consumers. In business offers, saving money is not a strong primary appeal.
A premium offer will increase response sharply. However, as the response rate rises, response quality goes down.
Asking for an order by a specific date lends urgency to your sales message.
A weak offer to a strong list will pull better than an excellent offer to a mediocre list.
Offers of high-priced products work best when preceded by an inquiry-producing advertisement or mailing.
In generating orders, a lengthy letter usually pulls twice as many responses as a one-page letter.
A two-page letter on two sheets of paper usually pulls far better than a letter printed on both sides of a single sheet.
A blue signature on a sales letter will pull more strongly than one printed in black.
Photos instead of drawings in a brochure— especially if they show a person using the product—will lift both readership and response.
The most economical catalog size is a 16-page signature with an 8-1/2" X 11" page size.
It is likely to be more economical to draw catalog stock from your printer’s paper inventory than to buy from a paper house and risk having too much or too little stock.
Including a toll-free telephone number in a catalog will lift response by about 20%.
A headline needs no punctuation at the end unless it asks a direct question.
A separate reply device usually pulls better than one that must be cut or torn apart from another element in your mailer.
You can expect 15%-25% improved dollar response when you offer payment by credit card.