Anatomy of a Direct Mail Letter

By George Duncan

A direct mail letter is not ordinary correspondence. The only similar elements are the salutation and signature. As we will see in this brief tour of a typical letter, direct mail letters are quite different. Not every letter will have every feature, and these apply to sales letters only. Lead generation letters, especially to top management, follow some different dynamics. If your letter is to sell, and not just to convey information, you should have most of the following elements.

The Headline

First, consider the headline. Yes, there is usually a headline, but not always in lead generation letters. Right away you can see that this isn't your normal business correspondence.

The headline focuses the reader's attention on one quick benefit or promise (or two). It gives the reader a reason to spend valuable time with your letter. It also helps close out other random thoughts and provides a context for what is about to follow.

If your company letterhead is designed as an attention-getter at the top of the page, you may want to consider placing it at the end of the letter instead (now you know it isn't correspondence). In this way, your logo won't fight for attention with the headline. You're not selling your name, unless you're IBM.

Try to make a promise or allude to some key benefit. Refer in some way to the offer, perhaps in a subordinate line. Remember, the offer is what the reader will eventually act upon.

Try a "headline group." A headline, subhead and one, two or three short bulleted phrases that extend the headline message provides more information in a key location. It promotes greater involvement than one headline.

The Opening

The opening is the first sentence or first two sentences following the salutation. "I am writing to you about..." or "I want you to know about..." are not openings. Frankly, the reader doesn't care what you want. He cares about himself. This is a key place to say something about him or his needs which your product will gratify.

Most letters are won or lost in the first sentence. The best way to lose is to begin talking about yourself and your organization.

A phrase to keep in mind is, "Talk about my lawn, not your grass seed!" Another famous ditty that speaks to this situation is:

Tell me quick and tell me true Or else, my friend to hell with you. Not how this product came to be, But what the damn thing does for me.

Offer Preview

After the opening, make a brief reference to the offer: "...and you can discover it, (prove it, enjoy it) FREE, without obligation with the certificate enclosed."

Now the reader knows you're not going to be asking him for money. Maybe. The reader can relax. The response device begins to set up the response behavior. It's also smart to "merchandise" the offer by referring to it at several points throughout the letter. "When you send for your free demo and get it up and running, you'll quickly see..."

Sell Copy From the offer preview, get right into the benefits that your reader will realize when he/she tests, previews, examines your product. Stay in second person throughout your letter. You're talking to the reader (one person, not a market) about the reader, not you, and you're talking about yourself and your product only in terms of what it will do for reader.

Remember you're selling the offer, not the product. It's much easier to sell a 30-day trial or a free examination than it is to sell the product itself. You'll discuss payment terms later.

"As one of America's elite "Million-Plus" pharmacies, you are in a unique position to increase sales, slash operating costs and grow your business rapidly with xyz..."

Use Subheads To Introduce New Thoughts

To avoid eye-glazing, mind-numbing, wall-to-wall copy, use subheads to introduce new thoughts and to move from one part of the letter to the next. Write in short sentences. Short paragraphs. Present a list of benefits or features in list form:

* Each item * Preceded by * A bullet

...instead of in a linear paragraph. Use words of one syllable as much as possible. Don't assume that the person you're writing to is as literate as you are. Even if he is, he's distracted, and he's trying to extract the key information he needs, often by just scanning your letter. Which is another good reason to use subheads...bulleted listings...and...ellipses.

Edit out unnecessary words and phrases and "write like you talk," assuming you can talk like a successful salesman. Clarity is more important than literary merit.

The ability to sell is more important than the ability to write.

The Offer

When you've fully described the many ways your product will benefit the reader, show the reader how to acquire this fabulous program. Or, rather, how the reader can realize these benefits right NOW.

Spell out your offer in detail. What does the reader get? If you're offering a premium, this is the place to sell that a bit, too. You may also feature it in the brochure, if you have one, or in a separate premium flyer.

If at all possible, and if appropriate, date your offer. An expiration date helps to keep your package from going up between the lamp and the tape dispenser for further consideration. Again, agreement doesn't do it. Only acting on that agreement right now results in sales.

The Guarantee

No one wants to make a mistake. Especially not an expensive mistake. Relieve that fear with your guarantee. By law you must refund legitimate requests up to 30 days anyway, so why not make it a virtue? Don't worry that your guarantee somehow sheds doubt on your product. The guarantee speaks to your performance as a business person they can trust, not to your product.

But don't hawk it as a "Money Back Guarantee." or "Full Refund If Not Satisfied" kind of thing. That's negative. A Free (or Risk-Free or No-Risk) 30-day Trial is the same thing, expressed in positive terms. "Examine it, try it, use it for a full 30 days without risk." That's an invitation, not a warning

The Call To Action

Even after all that, you can't assume the reader will do what you want him to do, right now. But that's what he must do. So spell it out. Does he complete a reply card, call a toll-free number, complete a questionnaire, check a box? Detach a reply card? What? Is there a postpaid or self-addressed reply envelope to use?

Ask the reader to do all that right now because that expiration date will be here before they know it. Because they really want to try this, but if they let it go until "later," they will forget.

The P.S.

Punctuate the call to action with the signature, then add a P.S. After the headline and first sentence, the P.S. is the most read part of a direct mail letter. Use that important space to repeat a key benefit, or add a twist or an another idea to something you've already said. Also repeat your call to action here, in slightly different words.

The mnemonic for the basic function of all direct marketing, but especially for letters, is AIDA. Get Attention. Arouse Interest. Stimulate Desire. Prompt Action. And it ain't over until the "fat lady" returns the order form!