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[D391]Direct Mail List Broker

by Patrick Schwerdtfeger, Pat

Direct mail continues to be one of the most effective forms of marketing available. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Just look in your mailbox and you'll see proof. I'm sure you get at least a dozen pieces of direct mail every single day and reason is that it works, at least in some situations.

There's no question direct mails is better suited to some businesses than others. In particular, any business where timing is a factor in the purchase decision is a good candidate for direct mail advertising because you need to stay in front of those prospects so they'll think of you when the timing is finally right.

This alludes to the most important point. Direct mail is only useful if you do it on a regular basis. And by saying that, I'm not talking about sending your marketing piece to different people each time. No. I'm saying you have to send your marketing piece to the exact same audience, over and over and over again. The key to a successful direct mail campaign is repetition.

Companies who do direct mail spend millions of dollars each year analyzing their campaigns and how to maximize the returns they get. In fact, this area of marketing is probably studied more than any other area. And the consensus is that an average person doesn't even realize you exist before they've seen your marketing piece at least seven times.

This is an amazing reality and many would argue it's a function of being over-marketed in our daily lives. Let me say it again. The average person doesn't even realize you exist before they've seen your marketing piece at least seven times. Seven times! And there are some who estimate that number is actually much higher than that.

As a result of this reality, there's absolutely no point in doing a direct mail campaign unless you can afford to run the mailer at least seven times before expecting any results. Seriously. If you can't afford to send your marketing piece to the same audience at least seven times, don't even bother because you won't get a proper gauge of whether the campaign will work or not.

You also want to consider a two-step approach. That means the initial marketing piece invites recipients to get more information by taking some predetermined step. They might be invited to call an 800-number and hear some pre-recorded information. They might be invited to request a free information booklet or they might be invited to visit a website with additional details.

Two-step marketing is a great way to pull prospects into your sales funnel. By giving them an opportunity to get more information for free, you invite them to take action. You also have a way of getting their contact information so you can follow-up afterwards. And lastly, you give yourself a second opportunity to earn their trust by providing valuable information. All three dramatically increase the odds of making a sale.

In order to implement a program like this effectively, you'll need to decide on a value item before you get started. What additional information will you be providing? Whatever it is, it should be something your ideal customer would really appreciate. Think about what information your target market really wants. Think about what would make their lives easier. Then put it together before you even design the direct mail piece. Doing it this way will add focus to your marketing piece and save you time along the way.

Direct mail is still an effective way of touching new customers but it won't deliver any results unless you send your mailer to the same audience consistently. You'll get better results if you use a two-step approach, giving recipients a way of getting more information painlessly and the best way to prepare for the campaign is to create the information piece first. Give it a try and let me know how it works out.

While referrals and networking still account for a large portion of mortgage leads, savvy marketers have begun to realize the need for diversification. Direct mail is one of the tools they've turned to.

This article will focus on two highly effective ways you can use direct mail to support your mortgage marketing program -- the seminar and the free report.

Technique #1 – The Seminar

Type "home buying seminar" into a major search engine and analyze the results. After a while, you'll notice a trend as far as who is offering the seminars. Many of them will be mortgage companies, or mortgage professionals in concert with real estate agents.

Why So Effective?

The reason why so many mortgage companies (and individuals) put on home buying seminars is simple. Homeowners and home buyers are hungry for information and will seek it from any source made available to them. They will read magazines, visit websites, and ask friends and family for advice.

So if a free seminar were offered to them, most would jump at the chance. If the presenter does a good job and truly helps the audience, he or she has a good chance of gaining one or more clients.

Direct mail comes into play as a promotional device. With their "at a glance" impact, postcards in particular make excellent seminar announcements.

Most direct mail companies today offer some from of geographic mailing feature. In other words, they make it possible to send your direct mail postcards exactly where you want. This is perfect for promoting seminars, because you can send postcards to people who live a convenient distance from your seminar location. This narrows your mailing list to those people who are most likely to respond (from a geographical standpoint).

Best Practices

* Convey the primary benefit of your seminar through a strong headline: "Free Seminar: All Your Mortgage Questions Answered!"

* Point to a website where people can learn more about the seminar (and sign up for it).

* Create a sense of urgency: "Seats are limited, so reserve yours today."

* If possible, include a map showing the location.

* Mention a free "take away," like a printout of the presentation or a special report.

Technique #2 – The Free Report

Direct mail can also support your mortgage marketing efforts through the use of free reports. In recent years, the free report -- a.k.a. the "white paper" -- has become an increasingly popular marketing strategy. Today, many companies use reports and white papers to educate prospects about their products and services (or about topics related to those products or services).

Make Your Report a Standout

For this to work, you have to create a "must read" that your average prospect would really want to get their hands on. Maybe it's information about a new and popular type of loan. Maybe it's "insider" mortgage information they can't get from anywhere else.

Whatever approach you take, just make sure the report is strong enough to stand on its own. Here's a technique to help with this: Imagine that the only way you can market the report is by showing the cover (with title) and a two-sentence summary of the content. Based on that glimpse, does your report stand strong? Or will it rely to heavily on your direct mail piece for support?

In other words, start with a great product before you even think of promoting it. This will directly influence your direct mail response rates. Then all you have to do is feature the report in your direct mail letter or postcard.

Best Practices

* Convey the primary benefit of your report through a strong headline: "Free Report Shows How to Review Your Credit for Costly Errors."

* Point to a website where people can learn more about the report and obtain it.

* Have a lead-capturing system in place. One easy way to do this is to use a newsletter sign-up box on the web page, and then send a link to the document via auto-responder confirmation message. The postcard points to the web page, the web page captures the lead, and the auto-responder delivers the goods!

Direct mail is like any other form of marketing in that you get out of it what you put in. So for the best possible return on your investment, have a clearly defined goal and strategy. The strategies listed above will get you off to a great start, but don't stop there. Try and improve on these strategies. Modify them to suit your needs. And of course, be sure to track everything so you can see what works the best.

Article Source : Sales And Marketing Strategies

About Author

Both Patrick Schwerdtfeger & B.r. Cornett are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Patrick Schwerdtfeger has sinced written about articles on various topics from . Tactical Execution with Patrick Schwerdtfeger is a focused on growth marketing and program implementation across business markets. Visit the websi. Patrick Schwerdtfeger's top article . to your Favourites.

B.r. Cornett has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Internet Marketing and Marketing. . B.r. Cornett's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.