Your recipients decide within the first two seconds whether they read your letter or not. So you only have one chance to make a positive first impression. To ensure that your direct mails convert much better in the future, we have summarised the 11 most important criteria for you once again at this point.

1. Use a moderate colour scheme

Your customers must be able to see at first glance that your letter is advertising. After all, you are communicating benefits and advantages. However, our experience has shown that a moderate colour design converts better than an overloaded one. A blatant design may attract the attention of the recipients, but it contradicts the serious context of the letter and in the worst case triggers negative emotions in the recipients.

2. Communicate the reason for the salutation in the subject line

The subject line must enable the customer to see without detours why he is being addressed. If the relevance is not immediately apparent, your customers’ willingness to read will drop drastically.

Example

Say “We miss you” instead of “coupon promotion” in general.

3. Be personal

The letter stands for personal communication. It is therefore urgently necessary to address the recipient personally with the salutation. Furthermore, the personal address suggests an exclusive offer and the readiness to read increases.

Example

Say “Dear Lisa” instead of “Ladies and gentlemen”.

4. Use the justified typ

To ensure that your letters convey a serious overall impression within the first few seconds, a clearly structured structure is essential. Avoid long paragraphs and use short bullet lists if necessary. As the classic flutter type creates a feeling of unstructuredness, it is rather counterproductive for this purpose. You can create the highest readability by aligning your text in justified type.

5. Highlight particularly relevant content in bold

Emphasis is an effective means of making benefits and advantages immediately recognisable. Remember: You only have two seconds to get customers to read your letter. Of all the highlighting methods, boldface is the most effective. However, avoid an inflationary use of this stylistic device and only set accents.

6. Commit yourself to a Call to Action

Tell your customers directly what you should do to make them aware of the offer. Since a trustworthy context prevails, we recommend a pre-filled reply card with a return envelope or feedback by phone. If you are using coupon codes, you must tell your customers about the redemption website.

Example

Simply send the signed reply card to the address given. Or: Redeem your personal voucher code at www.yourwebsite123.de/

Suggest exclusive offers

7. Add incentives

If you use incentives in the form of coupon codes, please note that individual codes convert much better than general ones. By the suggested exclusivity, you will induce customers to buy much better. It cannot be said in general terms that vouchers with a percentage discount convert better than fixed euro values. However, you can easily find out the best practice for your application case by means of A/B tests.

Example

Use “JCH625” instead of “WINTER2017”.

Indicate the limited duration of the offer

8. Emphasise an exclusive offer 

To further emphasise the exclusivity of the offer, please note the limited duration of the promotion. The recommended period for discount promotions is 8-12 weeks. The exact validity date should be printed in small print.

Example

Say clearly visible “This exclusive offer is only valid for a short time!

*Valid until April 30, 2018.”

9. With a blue signature you signal trust

Since the letter creates a personal context, the reader expects a signature at the end of the letter. If this is missing, your letter will quickly appear dubious and the willingness to read it will decrease drastically. An essential factor and an absolute must for successful advertising letters is therefore an easily readable personal signature in blue.

Example

Sign individually with “Lena Müller – Managing Director” instead of “Your Team”.

10. PS… I love you – use the PS to emphasise advantages

The PS at the end of the letter is often read first. Therefore, communicate the advantages and benefits of your offer already here to increase the readiness to read.

Example

“PS: This 30% discount applies to our entire product range!”

11. Segment your Direct Mail Campagins

Say goodbye to one-size-fits-all. The times of impersonal mass mailings are over. Customer centricity is also one of the most important success factors for the postal channel. Use your customer data for letters, postcards, etc. to address relevant customers with specific content at the right time. This will motivate your customers to buy much better. With the optilyz platform, you can book highly segmented direct mailing campaigns in just a few minutes. Contact us today – we look forward to the exchange!

PS: All you need to know about segmentation is also available in our blog.