Designing Direct Mail That Sells

If it sells, it is creative. This, in essence, is the first rule of direct mail design, according to legendary designer and author, David Ogilvy. But what sells? Here are a few tips to keep in mind when designing your next direct mail marketing piece:

The basics are in your mailbox.
When you need inspiration, just go to your own personal direct mail idea vault... your mailbox! You probably receive tons of good direct mail each year. Set aside packages that catch your eye. The companies mailing these have spent thousands of dollars researching the best methods. Why not learn from their research?

Always try to beat your previous response rate.
Play around with the design before sending the mailing out again. See if minor changes make a significant difference in the response rate. Send out different versions of your design to similar groups in your database, and test to see which one results in the most responses. Whatever you do, test it, and then test it again!

Use words that grab the reader's attention.
Here is a recent list of "Words that Grab Attention," produced by Starch INRA Hooper Research Worldwide:
Announcing / Discover / Easy / Exclusive / Free / Guarantee / Health / Help / Immediately / Introducing / Know / Learn / Love / Money / New / Now / Powerful / Profits / Protect / Proven / Results / Safe / Save / Secret(s) / Today / Trust / Understand / You

As you design the mailer, remember... have fun!

Comments

Preparing Files for Print

If you design your own marketing materials, successfully preparing your files for print production can not only save you time and money, but will also ensure your final product is exactly what you envision. Here are a few tips on how to prepare your files for print: Include a listing of all contents used in your file, such as fonts and images. Save your files with explicit, useful names. Include high resolution (300 dpi) images and make sure the images are linked to the images used in the document. Modify images in a photo editing program before placing them in a layout file. For example, if you rotate an image, rotate it in Photoshop before you place it in Quark or InDesign. Check your printout for text flow issues and bad text breaks. Include all font styles (bold, italic, etc.) for every typeface used in the project, not just the individual font. Use exact measurements and guidelines to ensure accuracy. Include registration marks for bleed trims. Define the size of the document to m

JPEG or TIFF

The JPEG file format has gained prominence over the past few years, in large part due to its ability to provide a fairly high-quality image at a fraction of the size of other formats, such as TIFF. Of course, that benefit comes at a cost. JPEGs save disk space by eliminating some of the subtle color changes not readily apparent to the human eye. At a minimal compression setting, those changes are fairly hard to see. The higher the compression, however, the more of those changes are lost, and the blurrier the image becomes. Here are some tips to remember when working with JPEG images: • Start at the top. If you’re taking your own digital photos, set your camera to its highest-quality JPEG setting. The images will come out larger, but the quality will look sharp. For photos when print quality is especially important, set the camera to save images as TIFF files, if that option is available. • When editing an image, consider saving it as a TIFF, instead of a JPEG file. TIFF files are large

Pack Extra Meaning into Your Message with Strategic Color Combinations

Of all the elements of design, color is probably the most challenging to understand. Color originates from a light source that is viewed directly or seen as reflected light. While colors can be displayed in spectrums, prisms, or contrasts, the power of colors is not only in their arrangement, but in the way we perceive them. Want to add depth to your message? The colors you choose can add an extra layer of meaning. Colors Prompt a Specific Response According to Sally Augustin from Psychology Today, research shows that particular colors can prompt measurable responses . Here are the impacts of five particular colors, and how you can use them to your advantage: Green Seeing the color green has been linked to more creative thinking—so greens are good options for pieces featuring innovation, creativity, artistic specialties, or proactive growth. Red People featured in front of red backgrounds are generally seen as more attractive when silhouetted against other colors, so reds are great fo

Solid Impressions

Search This Blog