The Master Touch ! Section #1

Section 1 What Works Best a Letter, Self mailer, or Postcard?

In his book Secrets of Successful Direct Mail (Bottom Line Books), the late mail order co
nsultant Dick Benson says: “Self‐mailers almost never work.” “Testing has consistently
proven a one‐page letter with a compelling offer outperforms a glossy mailer [in business

to business lead generation] by 100 percent,” says Liz Taylor of Liz Taylor Marketing.

And in a recent issue of his e‐newsletter, copywriter Alan Sharpe says, “In business
to business direct mail lead generation, letters invariably outpull self‐mailers, including
postcards.” As a copywriter, I’ve always been prejudiced in favor of sales letters, because

it’s my favorite form to write. But obviously, a sales letter is not always better than apost

card or other self‐mailerand in recent years, I’ve come to love postcards for the
results they can produce for marketers on a budget.

Consider subscription promotion for magazines, where double postcards and vouchers
routinely outperform traditional letter packages on an ROI basis. For more than a deca
de, Medical Economics tested all sorts of letter packages against a snap‐pack control for
Physician’s Desk Reference.None of them could beat the selfmailer. And look at the out
rageous success of the magalog a long‐copy self‐mailer format in selling nutritional
supplements and consumer newsletters.

The copywriters I talked to were split. A few, like Ivan Levison and Herschell Gordon
Lewis, praised self‐mailers and said they can work well. Others, such as Sharpe and
Jeffrey Dobkin, are clearly fans of sales letters.

“On a dollar‐for‐dollar basis, self‐mailers can outperform a closed‐face envelope
in b‐to‐b mailings,” says copywriter Herschell Gordon Lewis. “No, you can’t
get mailed credit card information. But more and more, when the pitch is for a
phone call or online response, a quick look gets read where a classic mailing
seems ponderous. “Closed‐face means either a two‐way match‐up or an unim
printed response device, both of which kick costs upward. Windows scream,

‘This is a bulk mailing.’” “The great advantage of the self‐mailer is that it’s
cheap,” says Ivan Levison, a copywriter specializing in software. “It’s also easy
for the prospect to unfold a selfmailer. There’s no envelope to tear open, so you
know that you stand a good chance of getting the reader into your message.
“The self‐mailer is a good choice for making noisy announcements, which is
why retailers use them at sales time. If you have a simple, clear story to tell,
a self‐mailer can make a great deal of sense.”

A lot of copywriters, ad agencies, and marketing consultants like packages
better than self‐mailers because they can charge the client more for them, and
because they find writing and designing letter packages more fun and reward
ing creatively. Not a good reason to use them, of course, as Jeffrey Dobkin
admits. “When clients ask me what is the most effective piece we can send

I always say a letter,” says Dobkin. “And it’s not just because letters are my
specialty or that I charge so much for them. I do think letters are the most
effective you can be with the understanding that this is in most instances.
There are exceptions. “A personal‐looking letter is almost always opened.
I like the teaser ‘Gift Certificate Enclosed’ on anything that looks commercial:
the open rate is exceptional.”

“In certain situations, letters may outperform self‐mailers,” says copywriter
Joan Damico. “In business‐to‐business direct mail, getting through the corporate
mail room may be better served with a #10 letter package. “It also depends on
what stage in the buying cycle the prospect is receiving the mailing. A prospect
in the awareness phase may respond better to a colorful self‐mailer, while
a customer in the loyalty phase may respond better to a #10 letter package.

” Here are a few rules of thumb that can help you select the right formatTradi
tional letter package, self‐mailer, or postcard for your next mailing:

•Postcards can work well when the primary response you seek is a visit to a
Web URL or a call to your toll‐free number.
•When your story is detailed and complex, a traditional letter package is likely
to work best.
•Study your market. See what formats are being used in your competitors’
controls. Use the same formats for your mailings at least to begin with.
•When you are generating leads with a free bait piece offer such as
a white paper, catalog, or brochure use a one‐page letter in an envelope
with a business reply card.

Of course, the ultimate strategy for format selection is to split test and let
consumers vote with their responses.