How to Make Direct Mail Work in Any Business…


...Even YOURS!

Dear Savvy Marketer, 


Today there exists a tried and true marketing channel that has been around for centuries, will never censor you and can never ban you. 


This same marketing channel also boasts a 99% deliverability rate. 


And open rates are routinely 80% or higher!


Of course you already know from the headline above that the marketing channel I’m referring to is Direct Mail. 


But what you may not realize is that today, as a result of digitally obsessed marketers who direct ALL of their marketing efforts online, Direct Mail is uniquely positioned to provide you with one of the least competitive marketing channels on the planet!


At some point, the smart ones will come to their senses when someone points out their blind spot. 


It may even happen after they read this letter.


Because here’s the truth.


If you know how to make email marketing work for your business,

then it’s likely you have the necessary building blocks to make direct mail work

for your business.


You just have to be shown how. 


More on that below, but first let me to introduce myself. 


Hi my name is David Foley, direct mail guy. 


I’ve worked in direct mail marketing since 1973 and I’m deeply passionate about it. 


I love the touch, the smell and the layers of messaging that one experiences

with physical mail.


I love how one can make notes, share the contents with others and discuss what 

action to take – perhaps visiting a particular website, making a purchase or

making a phone call.


I wish more marketers knew how to use this wonderful marketing channel. 


My hope is that after you have read this letter you will see the opportunity that direct mail holds for YOUR business.


Because let’s be honest…


None of your customers woke up this morning secretly hoping you would add yet another email to their inbox. 


Yes, email marketing works and you should use it.


But it’s crowded. 


And there are other marketing channels where your marketing message can show up all alone with little to no competition and is all but guaranteed to be opened and read.   


One such location is your customer’s mailbox.


The Least Crowded Inbox Is at the End of Your Driveway


Take a look at the pictures below…


On one side you have a typical email inbox filled with offers from a variety of businesses. This is the environment your email marketing is showing up in. Let’s pretend that the email highlighted in red is from you promoting your latest offer. 


On the other side, is a mailbox with a peculiar looking package. It also contains a message from you promoting your latest offer.


[insert pic of crowded inbox vs mailbox with lumpy package]


Here is the test…and your honesty is crucial.


Which of these promotions do you think your customer will be most excited to open?


And which one will they likely place on the kitchen counter where, based on recent data from [SOURCE], they’ll pick it up and read through it 4 to 5 more times?


Does this mean they’ll make a purchase from you?


I don’t know. That comes down to your skillset as a marketer. 


But as a marketing channel, it should be clear that when done right, direct mail marketing is unmatched in both the bond it creates with your customer and the shelf life of your marketing message.


So How Do You Do Direct Mail the Right Way?


If you found yourself silently asking this question, you are thinking in the right direction.


This is THE question to ask. 


Because if you want to turn more buyers into multi-buyers (and you do), you ignore direct mail at your own peril. It is, among other things, the perfect marketing channel to create multi-buyers.


Don’t get me wrong. Direct mail can certainly help you acquire new customers as well. 


Just ask Google.


Google earns virtually all its profits from its advertising business, and Google promotes this profit powerhouse almost exclusively through direct mail. 

This Google campaign, which has run for 15+ years, is even more remarkable when

you consider that Google already has a list (businesses volunteer their information to 

be listed in its database), and they can easily send emails with the same offer as you 

see above. 


Why do they spend money on direct mail? Because it works!


The cost to produce and mail the campaign gets repaid quickly. Google’s bean counters would probably tell you that direct mail gets a tremendous ROI.   


If direct mail is good enough for Google, then… 


Will it work for e-commerce giant Amazon? Yes. It does. 


Will it work for LinkedIn’s HR business? Yes. It does.


Will it work for delivery giant DoorDash? Yes. It does. 


Will it work for your business, or your clients’ businesses?  Probably…if you do it the

right way


Which begs the question, why do perfectly rational, numbers-driven business people 

shy away from direct mail?


They are running from failure. 


And “failure” might be… 

  • LOSING MONEY – Some direct mail campaigns knowingly lose money, and that’s OK. Others are rigorously tested, starting with small quantities, to avoid this fate.  

  • EMBARRASSMENT – Are you concerned that your colleagues will shun you because you’re the “direct mail person” from the 80’s? Perhaps they’ll stop inviting you to the local bar for a cocktail on Thursdays. (No, they will not!)

  • BRINGING IMAGINATION TO THE TABLE – You should be applauded for your courage to suggest something new and innovative. Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten. 


The truth is that anything we don’t know how to use seems scary… At first. 


And it's easier to ignore the scary thing and tell yourself it’s not for you, even if it’s ultimately the missing resource you’ve been searching for.


People LOVE to receive letters, cards and packages addressed to them.


They trust postal mail, especially when they know the sender.


And they OPEN postal mail almost immediately upon receipt, and devour the contents, frequently reading and reviewing it more than once.


People respond to the mail they receive, if it piques their interest. 


And, there’s the real problem: How to create physical mail that clients will study carefully, share with others and take meaningful action.  


This is where I want to help you succeed. 


For many years I have wanted to put a program together that allowed me to share in a 

concise way, what I know about making direct mail work for businesses – online and 

“offline,” the latter meaning “brick and mortar” operations. 


I am much more familiar with offline businesses. 


Thankfully, I recently connected with Chris Mason who is an online marketer turned direct mail practitioner. 


Chris is the co-author of Breakthrough Advertising Mastery, a field guide of sorts for the Eugene Schwartz classic Breakthrough Advertising that he wrote with Brian Kurtz. 


So, to balance out this program between online and offline, I asked Chris to become a partner in bringing this program to life. You enjoy two perspectives for the price of one. 


Chris and I have put together a bootcamp called Direct Mail Mastery. 


We want to teach as many people as possible how postal mail can bring higher 

customer lifetime value, higher sales and higher profits to their businesses. 


Introducing the Direct Mail Mastery Bootcamp

An 8-session learning experience that gives you the skills you need to confidently plan and execute your first (or next) postal mail campaign.


The Direct Mail Mastery Bootcamp delivers seven 60-minute learning modules, which includes time to get your questions answered. In addition, there’s an eighth session devoted to helping you move your direct mail plans forward, even if they are in the early stages. Every session will be conducted on Zoom and recorded for your future reference.


Here’s what we’ll cover on each call:

  • Call 1 - Welcome call with me and Chris plus how and why you must develop a “Direct Mail Mindset.”  Plus, you’ll view an informative video on “Lifetime Value” as “homework.” (Yes, there is “homework” after each learning module, because it improves your understanding and comprehension of the subject. That said, “homework” is optional.)

  • Call 2 - In this module, we describe what your “housefile” should look like… explore “customer segmentation”... and introduce the concept of RFM analysis.

  • Call 3 - Here, we inform you on the details of renting mailing lists so you can build a list of prospects and customers.

  • Call 4 - How to choose the offer(s) for your direct mail campaign.

  • Call 5 - How to choose the right format for your direct mail campaign.

  • Call 6 - This module is all about “direct mail math.” This “math” is not difficult but it is vital that you understand it in order to know the profitability of our campaigns.

  • Call 7 - “Office hours.” Let’s build your campaign together! Bring your direct mail ideas to the table. We will answer your questions and offer insights into your plans.

  • Call 8 - In addition to a quick review of the previous sessions, you will get the inside story on planning and producing your direct mail campaign as well as getting your fulfillment right. 

In addition to each of the above-noted LIVE CALLS and their recordings, you will also receive four valuable resources for your future direct mail projects: 

  1. The Addressed Promotional Mail Format Guide helps you decide which formats are best suited to a particular campaign, and 
  1.  The Offer Template gives a range of the most popular offers for you to choose, and 
  1. The Direct Mail Metrics Worksheet reminds you of the metrics that you must monitor for your direct mail campaigns, and 
  1. With the Instant Workback Calculator for Direct Mail Projects (House Files) you enter the date that you want to mail your campaign and it calculates other key dates for your project with one click. If you are renting files, you can easily modify this spreadsheet to reflect the additional tasks (and time). 

 

Chris and I are committed to making Direct Mail Mastery affordable, which is why we have priced the program at just $97 (US currency).  We should charge more and, in the future, we probably will.

  

Will the Direct Mail Mastery Bootcamp teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about the art and science of direct mail?


Of course not. No direct mail pro ever learned his or her craft from eight Zoom calls.


But the Direct Mail Mastery Bootcamp will give you EVERYTHING you need to CONFIDENTLY plan and execute your first (or next) direct mail campaign.


As you might imagine, we have an ongoing learning offer with this program, and if you participate in the next session, you will get an amazing deal on that service as well.


To register for the Direct Mail Mastery Bootcamp, go to our sign-up form. Or call me at 416-253-1224 and I’ll take your details over the phone.


To your success!

David Foley and Chris Mason

Direct Mail Mastery