Mailings
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[quote=ytrewq]chief,
This is just how it worked for me. Adding a rate reduced the response significantly, even if the rate was great.... The exact text from the postcard on a letter in a window envelope generated 2-4 times the response of the same text on a postcard.[/quote] While I have no experience with this type of mailer - I can tell you that letters in properly presented envelopes outpull postcards all day long when it comes to end game results in direct mail. The window style is good - but try the Fisher Inv approach too - a huge ass envelope with a stamp and then bold lettering on the lower right that says: DO NOT BEND Works like a champ and since the perceived value is higher than a postcard the quality of the prospects that take atction is much higher. Len has an idea for some direct mail we'll be testing soon that has to do with envelope presentation - we'll post the results when they're done. Some advice for selecting mail format: When sorting through your own junk mail take note at the stuff that ends up being junk but fools you into sorting it into the "open" pile. If it fools us, it probably fools others, therefore it may be worthy of a test. Perceived value is the key - so if it fools you because it looks very important, then you may have a winner. Unfortunately, the only way to know is to test and track. An easy way to do this is splitting the mailers into two groups and send out 1,000 or so of each but with different phone numbers for the reply. Take the winner and test it against another each month until you've found your control - the piece that does what you want and gets the results you desire. Good work ytrewq (whatever that means)!Any advice on direct mail companies to use? There are tons of postcard fullfillment companies, but it’s hard to comapre direct mail marketers.
BTW, it's QWERTY backwards (you know, the keyboard thing)Was the text inside the window envelope hand written or typed?
Have you tried non-window firm letter head style envelopes? What was the response rate? 1% 5%?[quote=OrDieTrying]Was the text inside the window envelope hand written or typed?
Have you tried non-window firm letter head style envelopes? What was the response rate? 1% 5%?[/quote]Text inside the window - I did a little video maybe you watched.
Firm letterhead envelopes #10 are probably the worst possible envelope for direct mail. It screams junk solicitation and will get a miserable response rate.
Forget about response rates. The only thing that matters is how much aum is raised. So 5% response of hungry people with no money or motivation is 5% too much. 0.1% of very highly qualified and motivated potential clients is worth every penny. Just do the math: You send out 1,000 pieces, get 1 good client with $1mm, and make a huge ass return on investment. Outsource all the crap work and just run the meetings. Then your aum is only a bi-product of how much are you willing to spend and how much time do you have to meet with clients and prospects.
Knock em' dead,
J
[quote=B24]Any advice on direct mail companies to use? There are tons of postcard fullfillment companies, but it’s hard to comapre direct mail marketers.
BTW, it's QWERTY backwards (you know, the keyboard thing)[/quote]The postcard fulfillment companies are all pretty much junk imo. You need to find a good local printing and mailing company and then YOU provide them the material to print. I use a company called PreSort Services that I just tell them my list criteria and what I want them to prepare (word file, envelope style or postcard, etc) and when to send it out. They get the list, do the printing, stuff the envelopes, apply the postage, etc. If you find someone relatively local it is best as you will eventually be doing a lot of business with them and occassionally get some special treatment and prices.
i know that this post is a couple of years old. i'm curious as to if anyone has been incorporating direct mailers into their practice more recently?
i work for a large wirehouse and it is TOUGH to get 'attention grabbers' approved. mailer options are pretty basic and i'm going to test out about 10k in the next couple of months. fortunately, i have a buddy in the printing business and my mgr will be paying for postage.
J20, man, you bring me back to my humble beginnings.
Direct mail MIGHT work, if you only mail accredited investors, AND you mail them an actionable idea. Trouble is, if you tell them EXACTLY what the idea is, they'll just buy it on their own, or from their own broker.
Hate to tell you this, but the only real way to succeed, is to find good leads, then pitch them an idea THEY like. Do that enough, and you'll open accounts with folks that matter.
Direct mailers have brought me zero business. Only did about 2000 so that might not be enough to close the door on them forever... just seemed like a waste of time and capital.
Mailers for seminars work like a charm.
I've been thinking of hiring someone to hand write the addresses for a seminar I have coming up. 2000 invites. Going to pay them .10 cents per address. Who the heck does not open a letter with a hand written address? Any thoughts???
[quote=SuperMan]
Direct mailers have brought me zero business. Only did about 2000 so that might not be enough to close the door on them forever... just seemed like a waste of time and capital.
Mailers for seminars work like a charm.
I've been thinking of hiring someone to hand write the addresses for a seminar I have coming up. 2000 invites. Going to pay them .10 cents per address. Who the heck does not open a letter with a hand written address? Any thoughts???
[/quote]
2000 Invites? What kind of response are you anticipating?
I been using a call mail call since december and spent about $500.00 in leads and made about 7500.00 since then. the key is to cold call to get in the door but you must get better with referrals. And this is just my personal opinion
SuperMan, yes, hand written envelopes help. Even more so, if there is a real stamp. Direct mail, here is a dandy of a tip...
On the back side of the envelope, write something, then put a highlighter through it.
Please respond by (date) Please reply Thought this might be of interest Information you requestedOr anything else that is creative. I accidentally did this years ago with clients, as I REALLY wanted to start reviewing some accounts back in 2007. My client response by doing this was very quick, and over 90%.
There are a number of key elements I incorporate into the letters inside the envelope too. Be brief, to the point, larger font size (12 and 14, not 10), an attractive creative font, and address them by salutation in the summary of the letter. I'll extra font size the first cap letter of the opening line too.
A good letter is like a good cold call. There are certain ingredients that MUST be present in order for it to work.
For a few years, I did a seminar every other month. After years and years of seminar failures, someone was gracious enough to tell me how to make them work. The real trick, was to not put your foot in the water like most people do, myself included, but instead commit to doing 3 seminars. By doing 3, the process of improvement kicked in, and by the third one, all the bugs were worked out. Eventually, I got tired of doing them, because they are physically exhausting, time consuming, and pretty expensive. Not to mention, that can distract you from whatever else you need to be doing. A single rep, with no dedicated sales assistant, requires an enormous amount of labor to pull it off. Just an example of that, is the fact that 2/3 of attendance came from follow up phone calls.
BFP, et al., Do/did you have a favored audience size for seminars? I would think that smaller groups would work better (personally speaking) assuming you have a prospect or two that are vocal during the presentation. Not at all knocking you Superman, but if you have a 5% showing for 2k invites, you will have a crowd on your hands.
I give options for two nights when I do a drop that large. Better attendance and since Jones fronts me 300 for exp. I can spread it over two nights instead of one. I usually get a 1.5 - 2.0% responce rate with a windowed envelope with corporate logo on it. However, I live in a small area and other brokers are starting to adpot my strategy. Going to mix it up .. hope to increase the responce rates. 2-3% would rock but doubtful. I'll know soon.
Raised about 8mm from seminars last year... going for 9mm this one.