How to Write Direct Mail Letters that Sell

Main Article Categories

"Copywriting" Article
Article Directory Home

How to Write Direct Mail Letters that Sell By Expert Author: Steven Sellwood
View Summary \| Submitted: 2007-12-02 \| Word Count: 586 words

If you want some serious response from your direct marketing, get serious about your direct mail letters. The success of your direct mail campaigns stand and fall on the quality of your letter. But when it comes to direct mail letters, you can find huge differences in style and quality.

Unfortunately all too many businesses send out woolly, ungrammatical and poorly composed mailing letters, which do more damage than good. On the other hand a good direct mail letter needs to be clear, punchy and persuasive.

So what tricks are used by professional copywriters to create direct mail letters that really sell? Here are some simple steps to help you get serious about your direct mail letters:

Step 1: Hook Your Reader The first line of letter is vital. Your opening gambit should be short and
precise, with a time limit to create urgency with the reader. Good headings should be short and clear, and go easy on alliteration and superlatives.

Step 2: Paint a Picture Having hooked your reader with the headline work hard on the first paragraph, as this is where you will engage your reader and make him want to read more. Use the first paragraph to paint a picture of what you can offer or what problem you can solve in the readers mind - as the old saying goes, people "buy the sizzle not the steak". Don't make it too long, short and punchy is better.

Step 3: Time to Tease Now we have hooked the reader and engaged him we need to tease him a little in the next paragraph. Write something that's going to make the reader want
to visit your shop, give you a call for a chat, or come to your website, by implying some other benefits that may be on offer - but only if they take the action you want them to.

Step 4: Bullet the Key Points At this point bullet points are good to use to reiterate the points you have made and allow the casual skim reader to pick up the points you want. Some readers may just scan the letter anyway, and pick up on the visual cues the bullet points provide, so make sure the bullets include really valid key points, and not fluff.

Step 5: Add a Call to Action OK we have hooked and engaged the reader and reiterated the relevant points, we are now ready to summarise and provide a call to action. A call to action tells the reader clearly what you want them to do or how to make a purchase. Surprisingly often this key step is overlooked.

Step 6: Don't Forget To P.S. Now you need to sign off and include a P.S in your mailing letter. The P.S. is the second most read part of the direct mail letter after the heading, so it's where you want to hammer home your message. Adding a P.S. Allows you to summarise the key points you want to make, although bear in mind that if the letter is a very formal approach it is not always appropriate.

Step 7: Flower the Text Now the main letter is finished, you can also indulge in a little decoration
of the text, just to give the eye some 'flowers' in the text to help keep the readers attention. For example - break up text with hyphens. You can also use; semi colons and colons to create a dramatic pause just before a key point. And add just the occasional keyword in bold, underline or italic- but use sparingly.

About the Author/Author Bio

This step by step guide to writing direct mail letters that sell is provided by www.selectabase.co.uk, leading providers of UK direct mailing databases and lists. Selectabase provide quality lists for b2b and b2c direct mail campaigns, packed with quality leads and prospects for your newly written direct mail letters to get their teeth into.

Article Source: http://www.articlesphere.com/Article/How-to-Write-Direct-Mail-Letters-that-Sell/115338

Article Tags: writing and speaking, copywriting, copy, copywriting, copywriter, direct mail, letter, letters, mailing, mailings, direct marketing, marketing, mailings, sales, conversion

More "Copywriting" Related Articles

Listed below are more articles related to the above article from the "Copywriting" article category.

People interested in the above article "How to Write Direct Mail Letters that Sell" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Keyword Density in Copywriting: The Important Aspect of SEO

Before venturing into the issue of what the ideal keyword density should be, let us understand the exact meaning of keyword and keyword phrases. A keyword is the word or a word phrase that the internet user puts into the search engines in order to get the information he is looking for.

Don't Let Good Grammar Spoil Good Writing

Good grammar is fundamental to good writing, right? Wrong. However, years of experience working with people who use English as a second or third language have demonstrated that focusing too much on grammar can actually be detrimental to good writing. It's a question of priorities.

5 Steps to Get Ready for Proprioceptive Writing

You’re probably thinking this is the calm before the storm, and you will probably be right. When thinking about proprioceptive writing you have to be ready for whatever your mind wants to throw down onto the paper infront of you.

10 Top Tips in Style and Mechanics of Legal Writing

You’ve probably been baffled by all of the different texts and articles telling you how to write and in what way in the legal community. One source telling you one way and another leading you down another route. Legal writing is a tough and demanding process and is much like writing for professors. You need a certain style and scope of writing, here you will learn some short tips to overcome any worries you have about legal writing.

Ending Your Writing Well – a Guide for Writers

A story or manuscript not having a great ending will undoubtedly not leave a lasting impression in your reader's mind. They might not remember the story or your name, which isn't great. Learn how to end your writing well in this short article guide.

Entering the Real World – Your Own Creative Writing

Being already able to set your brain to maximum reception mode, and follow these 3 steps, you will set yourself apart from your competition. Ideally, give yourself some time to ready your mind for your writing task, for it is going to be a greatly unique experience. Some writers have even reported of finding a great amount of emotional unburdening through these treasured sittings!

How to Create Believable Stories

Creating believable stories is probably at the forefront of many writer’s minds when you are looking to put pen to paper and excel in writing a truly monumental story/novel. Through this article, you will be provided some helpful tips and hints that will help you in the construction and creation of an entertaining and believable story that your peers will envy.

Print Article

Comment on Article

Favorite Article

Email to Friend

Republish Article

Article Directory Home

Writing And Speaking

Copywriting

Can't find what you're looking for? Try Google Search!

(Search in 23 languages: English, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Italian, German,
Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Greek,
Swedish, Romanian, Polish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Czech, Croatian, Bulgarian)

(We serve worldwide - Locations updated as at Wednesday, 15 October 2008 12:37 am , Singapore)

United States of America, USA . United Kingdom, UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bonaire . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam . Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Channel Islands . Chile . China . Christmas Island . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Curacao . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Gaza . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea-Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Hawaiian Islands . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Johnston Atoll . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Leeward Islands . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Midway Islands . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Montserrat . Morocco . Mosquito Coast . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Navassa Island . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paracel Islands . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Pitcairn Islands . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Ryukyu Islands . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tom?& Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tonga . Transkei . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Turks and Caicos Islands . Tuvalu . US Virgin Islands . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Upper Volta . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Wake Island . Windward Islands . Yemen . Yugoslavia . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe

Copyright © 2005 - by Larry Lim, Singapore - Article Search Engine Directory at ArticleSphere.com™
All Rights Reserved Worldwide. All Trademarks and Servicemarks are the property of the respective owners.

Template Design by Internet Marketing Singapore | Internet Marketing