Direct-mail consultant René Gnam writes that lift notes — those secondary messages that appear in many direct-sales mailing packages:
Raise the quantity and dollar value of orders
Boost orders for a deluxe version of the offered product
Increase responses to accessories advertised in the mailing
Lift orders for other advertised products, such as a second title in a series of DVDs.
Mail advertisers who use lift notes report that the following tactics work effectively for them:
Treat your lift note as a cue to action —which it is. Avoid negative cues, such as “Read this only if you have decided not to order!”
Lift notes with smaller dimensions than the package’s main letter (which usually, though not always, has pages measuring 8-1/2" x 11") pull better than lift letters of the same size.
Lift messages printed on paper different in color from the mailing’s main letter generate more responses than those produced on the same stock.
Lift notes printed on two sides earn more readers than those that use only one side of its sheet.
When a celebrity signs a lift letter, printing a headline and caption copy with his or her photo on the first side seen by the addressee pulls remarkably well.
Terse, to-the-point lift notes win more respondents than verbose communications.
Fold your lift note differently from your main letter.
The person who signs the lift note should be an individual different from, and senior to, the person who signs the package’s main letter.
Lift notes are one of the most economical, cost-effective ways to increase response to direct-mail sales letters. Some mailers have reported a 10% response boost by including lift messages, which cost peanuts, in their mailing packages.
See also:
Direct Mail Packages Home Page
Marketing Home Page
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