10 Best Tips For Direct Mail Copywriting

Direct mail copywriting has been around for decades, and it remains a powerful tool for businesses to increase sales almost instantly.

With the right words, you can capture your audience’s attention, generate interest, and ultimately convert them into customers.

Direct mail marketing is not dead. No.

It’s still very effective today.

And it doesn’t matter if you have an agency, an e-commerce store, or a consumer brand. Everyone can benefit from using direct mail marketing.

That’s why today, you’ll discover more about direct mail copywriting strategies.

Let’s begin;

What is Direct Mail Marketing?

Direct mail marketing is when you, as a marketer, send physical mail or sales letters directly to the mailbox of your recipients.

For decades, direct mail has been the marketing strategy of choice for many companies around the world.

Before the Internet, direct mail was a way to reach customers.

But today, we have social media platforms and Google, and many other paths to take to reach customers.

Back to direct mail marketing. 

Since people receive these marketing materials on a daily basis, they sieve through the mail standing above their waste bins.

That’s why it’s important to grab their attention so that they open your mail.

And that’s where direct mail copywriting comes in.

Direct Mail Copywriting

The sales copy of your direct mail is the most important aspect of your direct mail business.

This is why you need to hire a good copywriter to make sure your direct mail copy converts.

It’s easy to think that you can slap a bunch of words together and be done with it. But great copywriters understand the science of what sells.

They use proven copywriting strategies like storytelling, calls to action, and psychological triggers to make the prospect drool for your product and whip out their credit cards.

One note of warning though. Avoid cheap copywriters. They are cheap for a reason. Your results will be poor.

There’s a good reason good copywriters charge higher rates. They deliver top-notch results.

You won’t find a copywriter worth his salt for $10/hr. If you want to make money, spend money.

10 Direct Mail Copywriting Tips for Success

Below are the 10 copywriting tips for direct mail that can help improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.

Tip 1: Know Your Audience

The first and most important tip for effective direct mail copywriting is to know your audience.

You need to understand who your target market is, what their needs are, and what motivates them to make a purchase.

Once you have this information, you can tailor your messaging to speak directly to them.

This will help you capture their attention and generate interest in your product or service.

Tip 2: Make It Personal

Personalization is key to effective direct mail marketing.

Use the recipient’s name, address them directly, and make sure your messaging is relevant to their interests and preferences.

When people feel that you are speaking directly to them, they are more likely to engage with your content and take action.

Personalization can also help build trust and rapport with your target audience.

Tip 3: Use a Compelling Headline

Your headline is the first thing that people will see when they receive your direct mail piece, so it needs to be compelling and attention-grabbing.

Use a headline that is clear, concise, and speaks directly to the reader’s interests or pain points.

A good headline should make the reader want to keep reading to learn more.

Tip 4: Focus on Benefits, Not Features

When writing your copy, it’s important to focus on the benefits of your product or service, rather than its features.

People are more interested in how your product or service can improve their lives than they are in its technical specifications.

Make sure to highlight the benefits in your copywriting to make your offering more attractive to your target audience.

Tip 5: Use Emotional Triggers

People make purchasing decisions based on emotions, so it’s important to use emotional triggers in your copywriting.

Use words and phrases that tap into your audience’s emotions, such as fear, excitement, and desire.

This can help make your copy more persuasive and encourage people to take action.

Tip 6: Include a Call-to-Action

Your direct mail piece should include a clear and compelling call-to-action (CTA).

This is the action that you want your audience to take, such as visiting your website, calling your sales team, or making a purchase.

Make sure your CTA is prominent and easy to follow.

You can even offer an incentive, such as a discount or free trial, to encourage people to take action.

Tip 7: Keep It Simple

Direct mail copywriting should be simple and easy to understand.

Use short sentences, clear language, and avoid jargon or technical terms that your audience may not be familiar with.

Make sure your copy is easy to skim, with bold headings and bullet points to break up the text.

This will help make your message more accessible and easier to absorb.

Tip 8: Use Testimonials and Social Proof

Including testimonials and social proof in your direct mail piece can help build trust and credibility with your audience.

Use quotes from satisfied customers or statistics that demonstrate the effectiveness of your product or service.

This can help alleviate any doubts or concerns that people may have and make them more likely to take action.

Tip 9: Focus on the Reader, Not Yourself

Effective copywriting is all about the reader, not about you or your company.

Make sure your messaging is focused on the reader and their needs, rather than on your company or its accomplishments.

Use language that shows you understand their pain points and offer solutions to their problems.

This can help build a stronger connection with your audience and encourage them to take action.

Tip 10: Test and Measure

Finally, it’s important to test and measure the effectiveness of your direct mail campaign.

Use A/B testing to compare different versions of your copy and see which one performs better.

Measure your response rates, conversion rates, and ROI to determine the success of your campaign.

Use this data to refine your copywriting and improve your future campaigns.

Other Copywriting Tips for Direct Mail

These copywriting tips can take your business to the next level. However, if you want to gain mastery in this field, and write the type of copy that makes your business squash its competitors, here are more copywriting secrets for direct mail.

Use proven copywriting formulas

If you’re new to copywriting, formulas can help you structure your direct mail copy for maximum effectiveness.

Use these formulas to inspire you for your own campaigns.

Before – After – Bridge

This formula helps the reader build a story in their heads where they picture how their lives will change after using your product.

You start with how their lives are now. This is the ‘Before’ part.

Next, you paint a picture of what their lives will look like after using your product. (This is the ‘After’ part).

Finally, you show them how to get from the ‘Before’  to the ‘After’ stage.

Check out this example:

• Before: Are your messed up teeth keeping you single?
• After: Don’t worry about your teeth again. Our braces will bring back your confidence.
• Bridge: Book a call with us today to see if braces are a good fit for you.

This formula is popular and for good reason. It uses a narrative to position your product as the best fit to solve their problem. Thereby, speaking to their biggest pain.

Problem – Agitate – Solution

This is one of the oldest and most effective copywriting formulas out there. Even copyblogger called it the key to dominating social media.

It’s similar to the previous formula with one key difference.

Instead of showing the prospect how their lives will change, the formula focuses on telling the prospect how their lives will be if the problem persists.

It agitates the problem before providing the solution. Here’s an example:

• Before: Are your messed up teeth keeping you single?
• Agitate: Do you really want to remain single, with no one to love you, no children to carry on your legacy, and no companion in your old age?
• Solution: Book a call with us and live a fulfilling life.

Attention – Interest – Desire – Action

This is the AIDA formula and it is the oldest copywriting formula. You can see this formula in many digital marketing ads.

First, you get the reader’s attention. This is done through a compelling headline that speaks to the reader’s biggest problem.

Next, you want to spark their interest. Here, you give the reader a piece of information that connects to the point in your headline.

Then, you want the reader to salivate for your product or service. Add some social proof that says your product delivers on its claims. Then add a call to action that compels them to act.

Here’s an example;

• Attention: Are your messed up teeth keeping you single?
• Interest: Our braces can straighten your teeth in less than one year, and you only have to wear them at night!
• Desire: You’ll never have to worry about your smile again, just like Jerry from Oklahoma. (Testimonials go here)
• Action: Call us today to schedule your free braces consultation and see if our braces are right for you.

These are just some of the many copywriting formulas that you can use to help get the gears turning for your next direct marketing campaign.

Work backward

Working in reverse is a great way to know what you need in your direct mail copy.

Think about the end goal, then list the steps it will take for the customer to get to the end goal.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s say that the end goal is to purchase your product or service. What would the customer go through before getting there?

They might also have questions too.

Think about all these and add them to your direct mail campaign and copy.

Anticipate objections

Anticipate your customer’s objections.

When your prospect reads your copy, they’re always asking questions at the back of their minds. It’s your job to answer those questions in your copy.

Now, you don’t know what the prospect is thinking. That’s why knowing your target audience, (as mentioned earlier) is one of the first steps to writing a direct mail copy.

Here are common objections that you’ll see in many sales conversations.

1. I don’t have time
2. Too expensive
3. What if it doesn’t work for me?
4. I don’t believe your claims
5. It’s not for me

If you’re able to anticipate and answer these questions in your copy, you’ll improve your conversion rate.

Focus on the customer

No one cares who you are. They’re reading your copy because they want to know how you can help them.

Going on and on about yourself is a great way to lose the prospect.

Instead, focus on the prospect. Use ‘You’ instead of ‘Me’ or ‘We’. The prospect will feel as though you’re talking to them directly.

Make your copy easy to read

People are busy. If they have to jump through hoops to read your copy, they’ll throw your mail in the trash.

You want to write in a way that is easy to understand. Use simple words. Use short sentences and paragraphs.

Also, leave plenty of room between paragraphs. Let there be white spaces in your copy as a whole.

This is because a bunch of text on a sheet is intimidating to read.

Study shows that readers read in an F-shaped pattern. From left to right.

They skim headlines, opening paragraph sentences, and dive deeply into portions they find compelling and interesting.

Expect your prospects to read your copy the same way.

Put more time and attention into creating headlines and hooks to increase your chances of drawing the reader into the body of your copy.

Final Thoughts on Copywriting Tips for Direct Mail

Effective copywriting is essential to the success of your direct mail marketing campaign.

By following these 10 copywriting tips, you can improve the effectiveness of your messaging and generate better results.

Remember to know your audience, personalize your messaging, use a compelling headline, focus on benefits, use emotional triggers, include a clear CTA, keep it simple, use testimonials and social proof, focus on the reader, and test and measure your results.

With these tips in mind, you can create copy that resonates with your target audience and drives conversions.

If you want a good copywriter to improve the bottom line of your business with effective direct mail copy, click here.