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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
June, 2001
Volume: 16 Number: 6
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How to choose the right direct mail format
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If you're going to sell your product through the
mail, there are a number of important decisions
you'll have to make.
First, you'll want to decide on the list(s) you're
going to use. If you've done your homework and built
a clean house list, you're already one step ahead of
the game. If you haven't, you'll have to get in
touch with a list broker you can trust. You'll also
have to create a compelling offer that will induce
prospects to respond in droves.
Only after you resolve these basic issues should you
start thinking about what physical form your mailing
should take.
One of the things you'll have to decide is whether to
use a self-mailer package or an envelope package.
Definition: a self-mailer is any mailing that is
completely self-contained and doesn't require an
envelope.
A postcard is a self-mailer. So is a catalog. In
fact, there are hundreds of kinds of self-mailing
pieces or formats you can use. The basic question
is, When does a self-mailer make sense and when is an
envelope package the right choice?
Let's take a look at them both.
The self-mailer. The great advantage of this format
is that it's cheap. Your printer just takes a single
sheet, prints it, folds it, and you're ready to roll.
That means you won't have to print a number of pieces
and then stuff them into an envelope. You can forget
about creating sales letters, reply devices, "lift
letters," and so on.
The self-mailer is a good choice for making noisy
announcements (which is why retailers use them at
sale time). It's also easy for the prospect to
unfold a self-mailer. There's no envelope to tear
open so you know that you stand a good chance of
getting the reader into your message.
Here's the important point: If you have a simple,
clear story to tell, a self-mailer can make a great
deal of sense. If you've got to do a long song and
dance and make a lot of selling points, it's time to
turn to a full envelope package.
The envelope package. Its virtue is its flexibility.
You can put whatever you want into an envelope (which
can be of any size) and do a total, compelling
selling job. This means you can communicate all the
important benefits, answer all the difficult
objections, and do a complete close.
The place to do all this, of course, is in a selling
letter. Self-mailers, unfortunately, cannot
accommodate multipage letters.
True. You can cram a lot of useful information into
a
self-mailer. There can be folds galore and a good
deal of surface area to work with. Nevertheless, you
won't get to use the wonderful, personal letter
format which is at the heart of so many successful
packages.
The bottom line: it makes sense to use a self-mailer
format for simple, direct messages only. When
you've got to pull out the stops and start selling,
be sure to use an envelope package.
Bob Stone, a direct response legend who has been
keeping score for over 40 years says, "Self-mailers
are cheaper to produce, but they practically never
outpull letter mailings."
My personal experience confirms Stone's, and I suggest
you use self-mailers only under the right conditions.
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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 2001, by Ivan Levison, All Rights Reserved.
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