Making the Most of Direct Mail's Popularity – Part 6
Keep your eyes on the prize.... Sell!
With so many buzzwords rolling around, it's easy to forget that the primary aim of any Direct Mail campaign, be it directly or indirectly, is to sell. Anything that comes before this should only be done with the core focus in mind, although the trick is to make your campaign clever enough that the 'S' word never registers in the reader's mind. In short, you need to inform, educate and inspire.
The first rule of effective selling in a DM campaign is to avoid over-complicating your product. This is easier when you have a product that people are really going to want, as opposed to need, and it's a rules that works well when it comes to eGaming. After all, who isn't going to 'want' to win some serious cash? You can turn this to your advantage.
The trick to effective selling is to adopt the traditional features and benefits model – It does X, which means Y – and to anticipate all of the potential negatives a reader might come up with. Let's take a roulette game as an example – It offers a £100,000 jackpot, which means the player could win up to £100,000, but their sensible head tells them the odds of actually winning that are fairly miniscule.
So, without mentioning the potential negative, you can attempt to counter it by focusing on the positive elements of the product, such as the chances of winning a prize, the many different ways to win and the fun you can have trying. The primary USPs of the campaign should be woven right through your copy and the design, without being so overt that they put the reader off.
Existing and potential customers will have awareness of many factors that are beyond your control, such as their own spending power, the choices available to them in your sector and their general perceptions and expectations. Your task when selling to them is to analyse the data you do have in order to sell them something they want. It is human nature that innovation always attracts curiosity, so don't just tell them you have a great roulette game, tell them why.
In summary, effective selling via Direct Mail begins with a strong proposition. You then need to differentiate that proposition in a way that makes it seems relevant and attractive to your target audience. The trick is to engage your audience without overtly 'selling' to them. Crack that nut and you're half way there.
To find out how we can help you get it right, contact the Secure Direct Mail team on 01624 698488 or at securedirectmail@iompost.com.