This Is the Most Interesting Blog you’ll Ever Read!

What compels you to read a piece of mail, stay in your car to listen to a radio ad, or sit tight during a television commercial? It all has to do with the message. A message that’s delivered in a creative, thought-provoking way begs you to read, watch, or listen. It compels you to act by visiting the restaurant, purchasing the product, or hiring the service provider. The audience has to be drawn in and feel motivated to act. In the case of direct mail, getting an audience’s attention begins with clever and creative copywriting.

In his article, “8 Ways to Hook Readers into Reading Your Direct Mail,” writer Wes Powell outlines great copywriting tips that include strategies such as creating a catchphrase, offering helpful tips, and leveraging the element of surprise. He also corroborates what we know as the golden rule of direct mail: Keep the word count short. So what else can you do to create interesting and exciting text? Here are a few ideas to help you reach your audience and persuade them to act.

Hilarity Hits Home

Messages that make you laugh are memorable. Use the offbeat or absurd to make a point—if it makes sense to your brand. If your brand relies on a buttoned-up professional voice and tone, then humor isn’t the best strategy. But for those brands where humor is appropriate, it can work to create an entertaining experience. Example: Swans Around the World Swear by Crystal Clear Pool Cleaning.

 Exaggeration is Essential!

A cousin of humor is exaggeration. To make exaggeration work, it has to enter the territory of ridiculous. Look at the headline of this blog and you’ll understand what we mean by exaggeration! Exaggeration works when it’s over the top. For example, the headline, “Direct mail is the best way to bring in 100 new clients each week,” may not seem like exaggeration because fiction and fact are walking a close line. But if you say something like, “Direct mail will bring in 100 billion new clients each week and put your company on every Forbes list!” then people will know you’re exaggerating and they’ll remember your message.

Be Contrarian

The fear of being left out is a powerful one. Use a statistic or idea in a headline or opening copy that goes against the grain and you’ll create interest. By making people stop and think, you’re persuading them to spend time with your brand. Example: 75% of marketing pros use direct mail. Are you leaving opportunities on the table?

 Less Is More

Why go from A to Z when there’s a much shorter path? Get your message out in as few words as possible. If your headline is long, convoluted, or esoteric, you’ll lose your readers—and potential sales.

Tri-Win helps companies use the most direct and influential messaging to attract attention and generate business. Let us know how we can help you with your copywriting needs so you can become the Very Best Company Ever in the History of the World!

Market to One with Personalization

Group Cartoon People

The market to one marketing approach leverages a customized or personalized message intended to speak to or engage a specific individual. This ultra-segmented method for addressing people on a one-to-one basis has proven to be a highly effective marketing tool. Customer expectations have evolved thanks to technological advances that make it possible for businesses to send individuals unique offers based on their activities or previous buys, or track their online habits so they can suggest compatible products and services. As such, individuals expect the same level of specific attention across all marketing channels—including direct mail.  After all, who doesn’t like to see his or her name on a postcard? Who doesn’t like to feel as if a company or organization “gets” them and is speaking directly to them about a product or service?

This report from Econsultancy says that 38 percent of marketers don’t use personalization, yet personalization is directly tied to ROI, according to this report. While personalization tactics refer to various type so of marketing, it can be implement in a direct mail campaign with variable data printing and messaging.

Personalization begins with data management. Lists that accurately reflect names, addresses, previous purchases, income and spend, as well as a host of other personal variables can help a business reach a sort of “eye level communication” with individuals in the target audience.

Tri-Win assists companies in financial services, healthcare, education, real estate, and more achieve a market to one approach with personalized postcards, letters, snap packs, and more. Let us know how we can assist your business.

And yes, we’re talking to you.

This Is the Most Interesting Blog you’ll Ever Read!

What compels you to read a piece of mail, stay in your car to listen to a radio ad, or sit tight during a television commercial? It all has to do with the message. A message that’s delivered in a creative, thought-provoking way begs you to read, watch, or listen. It compels you to act by visiting the restaurant, purchasing the product, or hiring the service provider. The audience has to be drawn in and feel motivated to act. In the case of direct mail, getting an audience’s attention begins with clever and creative copywriting.

In his article, “8 Ways to Hook Readers into Reading Your Direct Mail,” writer Wes Powell outlines great copywriting tips that include strategies such as creating a catchphrase, offering helpful tips, and leveraging the element of surprise. He also corroborates what we know as the golden rule of direct mail: Keep the word count short. So what else can you do to create interesting and exciting text? Here are a few ideas to help you reach your audience and persuade them to act.

Hilarity Hits Home

Messages that make you laugh are memorable. Use the offbeat or absurd to make a point—if it makes sense to your brand. If your brand relies on a buttoned-up professional voice and tone, then humor isn’t the best strategy. But for those brands where humor is appropriate, it can work to create an entertaining experience. Example: Swans Around the World Swear by Crystal Clear Pool Cleaning.

 Exaggeration is Essential!

A cousin of humor is exaggeration. To make exaggeration work, it has to enter the territory of ridiculous. Look at the headline of this blog and you’ll understand what we mean by exaggeration! Exaggeration works when it’s over the top. For example, the headline, “Direct mail is the best way to bring in 100 new clients each week,” may not seem like exaggeration because fiction and fact are walking a close line. But if you say something like, “Direct mail will bring in 100 billion new clients each week and put your company on every Forbes list!” then people will know you’re exaggerating and they’ll remember your message.

Be Contrarian

The fear of being left out is a powerful one. Use a statistic or idea in a headline or opening copy that goes against the grain and you’ll create interest. By making people stop and think, you’re persuading them to spend time with your brand. Example: 75% of marketing pros use direct mail. Are you leaving opportunities on the table?

 Less Is More

Why go from A to Z when there’s a much shorter path? Get your message out in as few words as possible. If your headline is long, convoluted, or esoteric, you’ll lose your readers—and potential sales.

Tri-Win helps companies use the most direct and influential messaging to attract attention and generate business. Let us know how we can help you with your copywriting needs so you can become the Very Best Company Ever in the History of the World!

 

Electronic Ads vs. Print—New Intel May Surprise You

The digital age is all about faster, better, more ubiquitous communication so you can reach more customers and gain market share. Across any channel you’re using to advertise, market, and tell your business story, one rule rings true: You won’t gain a thing if your message isn’t received. If you’re using online ads to reach customers and prospects, you will undoubtedly be surprised to learn that more than half of all Internet display ads are never seen at all, according to Google. In the article, “56% of Digital Ads Served Are Never Seen, Says Google,” published at AdAge.com, Google reports that these ads don’t show up in the browser’s viewable area, and that means more than half of all businesses paying for the space are getting zero ROI.

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Direct Mail is Alive and Well, Thank You

In our super high-tech, social media obsessed world, some marketers think in terms of snazzy instead of sound. What we mean is that while there’s a distinct need to communicate marketing messages in innovative ways—social media posts, online platforms, email blasts, digital advertisements, etc.— there’s also a strong need to talk to customers in a personalized, interesting, 3D kind of way. This is where direct mail comes in.

Direct mail can be highly targeted, precisely customized, and personalized. This communication tool can take on infinite forms, sizes, and shapes. You can manipulate the feel of the paper with texture, and even add aromas, too. With the right design and copy, direct mail makes an impact and impression that drives business and the bottom line.

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Drumming up Votes for Direct Mail Marketing

No doubt you’ve received your share of postcards from politicians and political organizations vying for support. And while campaign fundraising may seem to largely take place at fancy galas and online sites, direct mail marketing is an effective way to facilitate donations and boost the overall success of a candidate’s campaign. As this post at CompleteCampaigns.com points out, direct mail is the “easiest and most frequently used form of advertising” when it comes political moves, from introducing a candidate to campaigning for votes. Case in point: Politico says politicians have spent more than $150 million in direct mail marketing so far in 2014 (including postage and printing costs)—and the year isn’t over.

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Marketing’s Sure Thing: Snap Pack Mailers

Snap pack mailers are one of the most prolific and effective types of direct mail ever–in the history of the direct mail industry. You may not know them by name, but you know them by experience. These pieces are pressure sealed and perforated on three sides for quick and easy opening. Often they look official or important, and they get a near 100 percent open rate because curiosity—and possibility of finding something valuable inside—is always just a quick tear away. In marketing, there are no guarantees, unless you’re referring to the open rate of snap packs. By most industry expert accounts, snap packs are almost universally opened.

 

The benefits of Snap Packs

The messaging in a snap pack is short, candid and gets right to the point. This format typically doesn’t call for intricate design or heavy aesthetics because it’s the format itself that generates interest. Snap packs are also a perfect format for variable printing. They’re used regularly for communications such as account statements, warranties, credit card offers, dividend checks, delivery notices, medical statements, refinance offers, and even year-end 1099 forms.

Have you received a snap pack mailer lately?

 

SnapPackMailing.com

Snap pack mailers have become such a popular, cost-effective form of direct mail marketing that Tri-Win launched Snap Pack Mailing, a division dedicated to creating, printing, processing, and mailing via this unique format. Our clients get all of the consistent benefits as they would with Tri-Win direct mail services—data modeling, postal optimization, creative, production, etc.—and have their own dedicated account manager to assist with every snap pack  mail campaign.

Let us know how we can assist you with snap pack mailing. You’ll see what we mean when we call it “marketing’s sure thing.”

Direct Mail May be Old School, but its Got New Cool

Modern marketing embodies the best of many channels, from print to broadcast. In a recent report sponsored by Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and consultant Winterberry Group, (which you can read more about here,) the researchers corroborated the fact that marketing professionals believe in the power of having an omnichannel approach to reaching customers and prospects. And, as all of us at Tri-Win already know, direct mail is an integral, effective, component of the overall strategy. Direct mail can serve as an introduction, drive online traffic, or facilitate a storefront activity by offering coupons, special offers, or timely information.

The effectiveness of direct mail has long been studied, and although new technology calls its relevance into question from time to time, its place as a marketing tool is always validated. For example, in an article called “Print’s Not Dead: Print Marketing Will Thrive in 2014 and Beyond,” the reporter explains that nearly half of all retail advertising dollars spent last year were for direct mail campaigns. What will the figure be for 2014? If the way marketing trends have shifted are any indication, the reliance on direct mail marketing will remain steady.

So why is it that, in the midst of all of the high-tech, super cool advertising and marketing tools, direct mail is still so popular? As the “Print” article points out, one of the key reasons is because direct mail offers the ability for marketers to customize the message. With variable printing, clients can reach their customers and prospects with a personal flair that begins with name and ends wherever the imagination can go. When a consumer is researching a new provider, vendor, or business, those little touches can go a long way to converting a prospect into a client.

Direct mail is also an effective channel for cross marketing. Providing relevant ancillary information by driving traffic online with an augmented reality app such as Arasma, is another way to hook a client, foster loyalty, and, at the same time, look really cool.

Direct mail by be old school, but it’s got a new cool.

The Staying Power of Print Marketing

If you ever wonder how effective, impactful, and important print marketing is, consider the fact that, according to expert research, 79 percent of consumers pay attention to direct mail. Printed pieces have a value proposition that can’t be touched by digital messaging: they are tangible assets. According to this article, 80 percent of all printed mail is opened—more than four times as often as email messages, which have an open rate of about 20 percent.  Year after year, print marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reach a target audience.

Proponents of the “digital only” strategy may say that print marketing is outdated, isn’t environmentally friendly, or lacks the cool factor. (These critics obviously haven’t seen our recent “Super Hero” campaign!) Print marketing can be cutting edge, avant garde, and impactful with the right messaging, creative elements, and print strategy. And while the green angle is an easy target for critics, it’s important to remember that most print shops, like Tri-Win Direct, employ sustainable practices. According to Print Is Big, 70 percent of all direct mail is printed on recycled paper. The site also quotes the fact that “Forestry is the most sustainable of all new energy and materials industries.” This means that our forests can be regenerated year after year.

For most organizations, one marketing channel doesn’t always achieve every business objective or reach every prospect. This is why a multi-channel approach is often the most advantageous. But even in the fast-paced digital landscape, direct mail marketing has a substantial reach and impact. And no matter how many new online technologies catch on, or how many Websites and apps are available to reach clients and consumers, people like the hands-on experience of direct mail. Modern marketing leverages the power of social media and online strategies, but to make a lasting impression, remember that print marketing is here to stay.

Who’s Helping You Curb Postage Costs?

 

Direct mail marketing was responsible for more than $2 trillion in sales in 2012, which translated into a whopping 8.7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, according to the CMO Council. The same source reports that a majority of people prefer direct mail over email for local business and bank marketing.

While there’s no denying the power, convenience, and creativity of direct mail marketing, there’s also another piece to the equation: leveraging even greater ROI from your direct mail campaign. The key lies in curbing postage costs.

As postage rates continue to climb in response to the U.S. Postal Service’s fight to operate in the black (read more here), businesses using direct mail marketing have to be smart about reining in costs associated with getting the mailers from point A to point B. It has become incumbent upon the direct mail partner to help you mitigate expenses, which most often can be accomplished by analyzing your mailing lists and postal delivery methods.

Tri-Win Direct works side-by-side with clients to see where there are opportunities to save on the variables related to postage. From the method we use to ship your direct mail, to the way we screen and scrub mailing lists to identify duplicates and correct mistakes, we have several stopgaps in place that are designed to save time and money. The result is a more streamlined direct mail marketing campaign that still reaches your target audience on time, just in a way that’s friendlier to your ROI.

If you ask the question, “Who’s going to help me curb postage costs?” you’ll get an enthusiastic show of hands from Tri-Win. That’s because we’re driven to help customers realize the greatest ROI possible. It’s the way we do business.