Direct mail, sales letters, mailshots… copywriter explains what it’s all about
Direct mail, mailshots, sales letters - if you need a copywriter for any of these, you probably also need a quick guide to the whole messy subject. First of all, just what is direct mail and why do you need a copywriter to do it for you?
Direct mail, sales letters, mailshots, call them what you will - and we copywriters tend to call them direct mail, mailshots or sales letters - are a uniquely personal form of communication. As its name suggests, direct mail copywriting tends to go directly to the intended recipient, rather than through some third-party media.
Direct mail copywriting
As a copywriter, your juices should start flowing at this point. Because direct mail is the copywriter’s chance to talk directly to his or her target audience, which is what every copywriter surely craves.
However, let’s not get too excited. Why? Because it can all go horribly wrong. Let’s consider sales letter copywriting. Now, the undoubted mecca for sales letter copywriters is the USA. Over there, they have a particular style of sales letter that works a treat. This sales letter is around 32.7 pages long and contains no noticeably useful information - barring the extended life history of the author.
Now, it’s always been no small mystery to me why copywriters have had such success with this type of sales letter in a land with the attention span of a caffeinated tsetsi fly. But, no matter. If it works, it works. And, believe me, I’m happy to write ‘em, if that’s what you want. (I’ve had some quite awesome success on this front; in fact, a fellow copywriter once told me I was master of the US sales letter copywriting genre.)
Sales letter copywriting - UK-style
But, I have to say - these sales letters should be avoided by any self-respecting UK copywriter. We’re just different over here. We (presumably) have less time to absorb information, we’re not taken in by the big hard-sell, and we have, in general, an acute sense of humour. This means that any sales letter from the pen of a UK copywriter can afford to be a little more creative than the US version.
OK, so we’ve established that sales letters for the British market should be short (preferably two sides or under), slightly creative and, ideally, written by UK copywriters. There is, in fact, a formula for sales letters that budding copywriters can use. And it works. E-mail me here if you want to know the secret.
More to direct mail copywriting
OK, so that’s sales letter copywriting. And, if that’s all there was to direct mail, this copywriter would be laughing. But it’s not. And I’m not.
There’s the glossy stuff. Sometimes known as direct mail, sometimes as a mailshot, quite often as junk mail, this is the rainbow of colours that lands on your doormat each morning. Ninety-eight per cent of this direct mail, with its carefully crafted words by a highly paid copywriter, and its exquisite art direction, is then unceremoniously binned. Why?
Because this direct mail wasted an opportunity by the copywriter to speak directly to its target audience. This direct mail needed a headline - maybe on the envelope - by the copywriter that ideally focused on fear, fun or freedom. (There are one or two others as well, but let’s not give too much of the direct mail copywriting game away.)
Direct mail copywriting and the bin
Then, if the reader got past the bin stage and the envelope stage (some swear by not using an envelope in direct mail at all - these copywriters see it as just one more barrier to sales), the nice, glossy stuff inside really should pick up on the theme and run very fast with it, using the same formula we discussed before (e-mail me here, remember). And, obviously, since we’re talking directly with our audience, a good strong call to action is absolutely vital.
But, sadly, 98% of direct mail, with its fancy copywriting and art direction, doesn’t do any of this. Which is why the forests of the world continue to suffer. So, save a tree today - bag yourself a great direct mail or sales letter copywriter. Thanks. You’ve been great, and my name’s Nigel. You can call me on 01772 435827.
t: Nigel,
+44 (0)1772 435827
m: 07745 092037
e: nigel@mightier-than.com