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THE LEVISON LETTER
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Action Ideas For Better Direct Mail,
E-mail, Web Sites & Advertising
Published by
Ivan Levison, Direct Response Copywriting
April 2006
Volume: 21 Number: 4
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How to guarantee direct mail success
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Some years ago, I bought a pair of charcoal gray
Monsanto socks. On the sticky label that holds the
socks together was a little guarantee written in
tiny type below the company name. It informed me
that if, at the end of a year, my socks had worn
out, I could return them, along with the receipt,
for a brand new pair.
Obviously, they believed in their product and
their heart was in the right place. But who, I
thought, would be compulsive enough to save their
receipt, keep track of that particular pair of
socks, reexamine them after a year, pack them up,
and mail them off?
What really troubled me was the thought of the
poor, queasy mailroom clerk who had to open all
those pungent parcels. Can you imagine sitting
there, day after day, opening packages containing
nothing but year-old pairs of festering socks?
Not a pretty picture.
I don't know how many extra pairs of socks
Monsanto was able to sell using this specific
guarantee, but I do know that guarantees are
essential to direct mail success. They help
overcome the skepticism and inertia that are our
mortal enemies.
Here are six practical ideas that can help make
your next direct mail package a winner. I
guarantee it!
1. Don't simply call it a "Guarantee."
That's flat and boring. If you're the copywriter,
give your guarantee a little personality or
individuality. Call it an "Iron-clad, no-
questions-asked guarantee." Or a "No-risk
(really!) guarantee." Or a "30-day Unconditional
Guarantee." Anything to brighten it up a little
bit.
2. Make the guarantee as strong as possible.
If you can live with a 30-day guarantee, why not
consider going out to 45 days or 60 days? It
definitely is worth testing. If you have few
problems with returns, make the guarantee stronger
and stronger.
3. Be clear. Be honest.
Your guarantee should spell things out in simple
terms and should never scare people away with
legalistic clauses or "fine print." You know those
T.V. commercials that local car dealers run? The
ones with the eight sentences of unreadable type
that flash on the screen for a nanosecond at the
end? We want our guarantee to do just the opposite
and make an unqualified promise of satisfaction.
4. Use a border around the guarantee.
Never, ever bury a guarantee in body copy! That's
a great way to lose one of the most compelling
elements of your mailing. The guarantee should
float as a separate element surrounded by a corny
border, or at the least, a one-point ruled line.
You want your guarantee to jump out and get read.
Many companies ignore this rule and miss out.
Don't let yours be one of them!
5. Try to offer more than one guarantee.
Sometimes you can split a guarantee into several
guarantees and thereby add value. For example, I
wrote an ad for an Advanced Micro Devices chip that
included a triple guarantee! The first offered a
30-day moneyback refund. The second offered a
lifetime product performance guarantee. The third
was a moneyback software compatibility guarantee.
Now THAT¹S an offer that overcomes sales resistance!
In fact, I got a nice letter from Glen Burchers,
the AMD Marketing Manager, who wrote to tell me
that "in terms of reader response, this ad has
been the most successful that AMD has ever run."
6. Include the guarantee on the reply device.
Don't forget to make sure that your terrific
guarantee is repeated on your Business Reply Card,
coupon, brochure, wherever. Again, many companies
fail to make the most of their guarantee, which
is a pity.
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How To Get In Touch
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Ivan Levison
Direct Response Copywriting
14 Los Cerros Drive
Greenbrae, CA 94904
Phone: (415) 461-0672
Fax: (415) 461-7738
E-mail: ivan@levison.com
Web Site: http://www.levison.com
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Copyright 2006, by Ivan Levison, All Rights Reserved.
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