Two Experts Recommend These Direct Mail Response Boosters

On November 1, DirectMarketingIQ hosted a Webinar featuring Patrick Fultz, DM Creative Group, LLC, and Michael Capuzzi, Copy Doodles.com. Fultz and Capuzzi cited their favorite direct mail response boosters. Here's a quick recap.

PATRICK FULTZ

Try variations of the envelope teaser:
• hand-written teasers;
• presenting the offer on the envelope;
• a novel approach to presenting the teaser;
• promising a gift inside;
• pointing out special features with handwritten arrows and notes.

Vary the size of windows in a window envelope to:
• show variable text elements on the outside;
• feature a product or sticky item (labels, etc.);
• show a premium or free gift through a window;
• create interest with specially shaped or odd-shaped windows.

Personalize with options like these:
• name and address, of course;
• variable images (in some cases, variable images have generated response rates of 40%);
• 1 to 1 marketing;
• tailored copy, offer, and images for individual relevance;
• handwritten personalization.

Consider a variety of options for the postage space:
• First class v. Standard;
• Indicia incorporating graphics;
• Live stamps;
• Meters with the company logo incorporated into the meter imprint.

Test changes in delivery format, including:
• Postcards (generally, these appear to be generating good returns now);
• Self-Mailers (these require testing, but can boost response and save on postage);
• In-line printed envelopes that offer additional personalization options;
• Three-dimensional mailers to create additional interest.

Test newer technologies:

• pURLS, which can drive response rates up significantly, but need to be tested;
• QR Codes, which are in wider use now, but should be used highlighted only when it makes sense to use them and always highlighted;
• Mail Tracking. For example, it’s now possible to structure and track Standard rate mail to hit a 3 to 5-day window, thus saving on First-Class postage.
• eMail follow-ups that are triggered by the direct mail drop;
• Sound-Light-Video blurs the line between digital and print media and can be very powerful for the right audience.

MICHAEL CAPUZZI

Adopt creative strategies to help shut out the noise of other marketing:

Make It Personal.
1. Personalize the "who," the copy, the message, the offer.
2. Make your direct mail look like it's coming from a friend.
3. Make your direct mail distinctive (for example, try a hand-crafted look).
4. Apply handwritten messages that pop-out and work as eye-magnets and envelope teasers.
5. Use cartoons and comics to generate interest.
6. Use sticky notes, rubber stamps, doodles, and hand-art on letters and envelopes.

Create Envelopes That Get Opened.
7. Window envelopes with handwritten fonts generate interest.
8. Print on both sides of the envelope so all real estate is used.
9. Use "Do Not Fold" messages to pique interest.
10. Test cool stamps or multiple stamps.

Create Postcards That Get Results and Campaigns That Get Attention.
11. pURLS are appropriate, but not all the time. Make sure the web landing page for a pURL is also highly personal!
12. Handwriting is a smart way to get eyeballs to focus on certain parts of an envelope or letter.
13. Photos of the sender on the envelope are worth considering.
14. Be creative with the mailer (for example, try a brown paper bag to deliver the message).
15. Create urgency with envelope teasers and notes that say "Last Chance," "Final Offer," "Act Now," etc.

So What’s Working in the Real World?
16. Addition of a red note on the envelope saying "Your Tickets Enclosed" bumped response from 1.1% to 8.7% response rate.
17. Addition of an item circled in red and addition of two hand writte words (free and Stop boosted response rate from zero to 3.3%.
18. Adding doodles boosted response to 5.9%.
19. The sender sent the same letter, but added handwritten notes "Act Now" and "Call Me," along with underlines and other handwritten marks drove response rate up.
20. A 28% boost in response came when one marketer added a few red handwritten notes, underlines, and doodles to the letter.

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Video Content Delivers Marketing Wins Across the Board

Increasingly, video is replacing text.

2011 statistics are difficult to come by (yet), but we do know that, according to a comScore study released in February 2011, 82.5% of the U.S. Internet audience viewed a video online. As far back as October 2009, Mashable notes that YouTube already was serving 1 billion videos per day. We also know, for example, that Discovery Channel increased video streams by 123% in 2010.

So, yes, we're watching more video online -- lots more. And, for marketing purposes, videos can't be beat.

• Better Conversion. Online retailer Ice.com reportedly found that viewers who chose to view video converted at a 400% increase over those who did not.

• Decreasing Returns. Ice.com also credits video with decreasing returns by 25% (Internet Retailer, December 2009).

• Better Conversion Again. Shoppers who view video at Onlineshoes.com convert at a 45% higher rate than other shoppers, and the site has seen a 359% year-over-year increase in video views. Product pages with video have higher conversion rates than product pages without video. (Internet Retailer, February 2010).

For more stats, check out "101 Online Video Stats" To Make Your Eyes Glaze Over" by Matthew Bavosa at engage.com. Or visit stats from activate media group.

So, if you're still getting resistance to the video marketing investment, let's hope this ammunition packs enough fire power to argue for a test.

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Can -- and Should -- Creativity Be Crowdsourced?

Crowdsourcing our own opinions and relying on others' is all the rage: Yelp, Angie’s List, Facebook Likes -- apparently, we won’t buy anything unless we consult to see if groups of strangers think it’s okay.

Crowdsourcing, first name-tagged in a 2006 Wired magazine article, has infiltrated the creative arts, too.

For instance, the Japanese are heavily into keitai shosetsu -- thumb novels written by collaborating hoards of teenagers and 20-somethings who knock out romance novels and crime thrillers via mobile phone texting.

The trend to crowdsourcing film has been tested in the Netherlands. The Dutch filmmaker who undertook this effort said, “We wanted to make a movie that shows the opinion of the public, created by the public, on a subject that concerns every tax-payer: The bankruptcy of DSB Bank in the Netherlands (2009) … We did not have any budget. Lucky us, we have an excellent … social system in the Netherlands.”

Mashable demonstrated the possibilities of creative crowdsourcing when it featured “10 Cool Crowdsourced Music Video Projects.” Similar collaborative projects have popped up at Fashion Stake, communal problem-solver Innocentive, photo sharing site Flickr Creative Commons, and Wiki-Art.

Naturally, somebody saw the dollar signs in crowdsourcing. In Chicago, the enterprise Crowdspring.com has sprung.These online marketing folks allude to crowdsourcing in their name, but others describe the process as a worldwide contest wherein folks in the creative arts (design, website development, writing) are invited to “work for spec” and, if they’re lucky (?), be chosen to actually work on a project and get paid. Chances of being chosen and getting paid are very slim, say detractors – and some (like Brian Yerkes) who have participated are, frankly, furious.

In a Nutshell, Please: Can Creativity Be Crowdsourced?
Garrick Schmitt addressed that question exactly in AdAgeDigital in 2009. Garrick concludes: "For agencies, crowdsourcing forces us to re-examine how great work gets produced and where the best talent resides ... For marketers, crowdsourcing creative services poses both great risks and rewards ... And finally, for the industry as a whole ... time will tell."

Point Is, There's Crowdsourcing and Then There's Working for Free
In his article, Garrick came up with some excellent examples of creative crowdsourcing, as has econsultancy. In many of these examples -- though not all -- true sharing and collaboration occurs when participants group together in a common pursuit. A different scenario emerges when dozens (or hundreds) of folks of all ilk compete fiercely, investing time and resources in pursuit of a positive outcome that only one will ever enjoy.

And, now, for MarketingBrillo's Final Word ...
Crowdsourcing for creative inspiration and a good time? Definitely yes.
Crowdsourcing spec work in hopes of landing a job or getting cheap work? Definitely stupid, probably exploitative.

More Resources For Deciding How You Feel About Crowdsourcing
As for whether crowdsourcing can work for commercial enterprises looking for publicity, this report demonstrates that effective crowd sourcing requires 1) a crowd, 2) incentives, and 3) an easy project.

For an authoritative voice on the economics and ethics of crowdsourcing, check out writer/designer/entrepreneur/Ironman competitor Andrew Hyde's various blog posts on the subject (alert: Andrew thinks spec work is evil, period.)

For more info on what’s new in crowdsourcing, see The Complete Idiot’s Guide here.

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Another 2012 Prediction (You Won’t Like It)

Luxuriate in the Fresh Air of a Wholesale Dump! Take in the Aroma of Original Content. Ahhhhh!

Yes, my friends, I’m talking about the murder of “content aggregation.” It's an early demise, I know, since aggregation just got born in 2011. But, if I have anything to say about it, "content aggregation" is going to wither and die in 2012. For somebody who's done a fair amount of "aggregation" this year, the prediction hurts. But it's inevitable.

Why? Because we Can't HANDLE it.

When Chris Brogan began unfriending people left and right in March, he called it getting rid of a mess.

Margie Clayman, too, is wondering if smaller social media might not be better social media.

The real issue, though, isn’t what you call it, or even how you do it. The nugget here is the sense of panic human beings are grappling with under the information tsunami. And "aggregation," which has the potential for exponential repeat, retweet, rehash, and regurgitate, has got to go.

A Case In Point
I got a brilliant e-newsletter from Brad and Steve at bscopes. I don't know why I read it-- I am way too busy to read any enewsletter -- except that it used the phrase "RSS bankruptcy" in the first sentence and alluded in the second paragraph to feeling a tremendous sense of relief at wholesale dumping of articles collecting dust in the reader.

I had to write to bscopes. “I don't think I've received your email before. I tend to throw stuff out, but this post caught my eye and I read it all the way through. You're right, information-choke is a HUGE problem and the "just throw it away" process doesn't work. I think part of it starts with a better email client coupled with, perhaps, the growing professions of "virtual assistant" (not kidding)."

But that was just a stab in the dark. The real solution lies with Brogan: Just turn it off.

Why Are Human Beings Reacting This Way?
Amid the “anxiety of not knowing” [something, everything, more, enough!], we find ourselves facing the reality that there is no way to know enough. Suddenly, this year, in 2011, as we drowned in the tsunami, we realized everything we don’t know. Fact is, we’ve never known… it’s just that we didn’t know we didn’t know (if you know what I mean).

There’s more. The more we delve into a topic, the more anxious we become about not knowing.
Well, how about crowd-sourcing, then? Can’t these other people tell us what to eat, think, feel, buy? No, because as soon as we start listening to crowd-sourced comments, we realize all that opinion is worth the paper it’s written on. There's just too much of it and nobody agrees anyway.

Instead, when we need to know, proactive researching is our best option. Sure, we'll come across a lot of junk. And, if we think it’s all relevant, we're a dead duck. So, we're going to need to use our own judgment.

With information as with everything else in life, less is more. I do believe that in 2012 many many of us will start by simply "turning it off" and then rebuilding: consciously, purposefully, intelligently. The skill of "curation" will be invaluable here, but aggregation is headed for the landfill.

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The Secret Ingredient In Zillow's Social Media Magic

How come Zillow does social media so well? Simple. They employ Grade A, top-notch writers churning out top-notch social media at every turn.

People have yakked about the folks who write copy for Groupon, but I think Zillow out does them. Groupon is self-conscious, insider-ish, and full of itself (sorry guys). but Zillow does what copy is supposed to do: It challenges us to open -- and read -- the social media envelope.

As a company, Zillow started with data in early 2005 and hit the Internet about a year later with info on millions of U.S. homes. Though Zillow hadn't turned a profit when it went public in July this year, shares of Zillow shot up 120% at the IPO. Not bad for a company operating in the industry that's experienced -- some would say caused -- the worst recession in history. If anything can kill the National Association of Realtors®, it's Zillow (no, I don't have stock in the company).

Even if Zillow goes under, I will always argue that they have one of the best social media efforts in the country. And the entire program is built on good writing.

Cases in point:

1. They know how to gossip. Zwillow knows that America is talking about and they find a great way to relate the latest buzz to real estate. Take the story that appeared front and center in the September 22 newsletter: Where Are They Now? Update on Some Guilty Pleasures.

2. They write killer headlines:
• Reasons to Friend (or Not) Your Tenants on Social Media Networks
• Strutting Their Stuff: Homes of Fashion Designers

3. Their tweets are must-click masterpieces.
• Have an open house coming up? Here's how to do it on Zillow. http://bit.ly/n4QcLs
• Zillow's Facebook Question of Day: Do you drink tap water, filtered or bottled in your home? http://on.fb.me/p4PTrx
• Can you buy a house when your current mortgage is upside down? http://bit.ly/pgimos
• Borum Hill rental: $3,100/month. Bedrooms: 0 -- But hey, its got bike storage
• Crazy times. See a home you can buy for the price of a car. http://bit.ly/mRJ9MW

4. Their content is USEFUL. Gossip isn't all Zillow has going for it. This is useful stuff. Here are just two examples
• Do you understand income tax considerations of rental properties?
http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-09-20/do-you-understand-income-tax-considerations-of-rental-properties/
• What to do if your home doesn't sell. http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-09-21/what-to-do-if-your-home-doesn%E2%80%99t-sell/
• Moving? How many boxes will you need? Use our cool, new Moving Box Estimator Widget to find out. http://u.zillow.com/bEbN/
• How to protect yourself from rental scams. http://bit.ly/nhi6YE

5. Their Facebook page is fresh, interesting, and interactive. Just to "be there" is to join in. For example, how about these options to get involved and comment?
• Good morning, weekend warriors! Tell us your locale and present real estate status.
• Is there a home in your neighborhood that has been on the market forever? What do you think the reasons are?
• How is the water consumed in your home?
• What is the costliest home system/structure failure you’ve ever faced?

6. Zillow is out front in social media with its own YouTube channel. This one features Zillow's Performance Engineer talking about Zillow's performance on mobile apps. This is content sharing at its best.



6. What else, you ask? How about Zillow's new real estate blog, Curbed. Or in Zillow words, "For the first time, Curbed readers can search for local and national listings directly from Curbed National and all of Curbed’s city sites [Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.]. The Zillow search experience gives Curbed readers direct access to a comprehensive selection of real estate listings alongside Curbed’s witty and insightful coverage of the country’s most vibrant urban centers."

Yep, the copywriters are at it again. Who said words don't count? In Zillow's case, you can take them to the bank.

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What's Bothering the Big Boys and Girls?

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Early FourSquare "Fan" Strategy Gets Monetized

When FourSquare launched in March 2009, most consumers couldn't "get" why people would want to pinpoint their whereabouts. Twitter was full of "who cares?" commentary.

But FourSquare was smart. By wooing the early adopters with a competitive, one-up game of "Mayor," FourSquare got cool in the right places -- among techies -- real quick.

Today, the social game is poised for a higher paying purpose: commerce.

Now that Near Field Communications are getting closer, Four Square can easily graduate from game to get-down-to-business. As blogger Caitlyn Mayers sees it, there's lots of opportunity for location-based marketing to eat through the landscape. "Think about how this could change your experience at a concert or at a movie. You could purchase tickets for reserved seats, order food and drinks, and pay for it all without having to use more that just your cell phone."

How can a business leverage FourSquare and other location-based apps? In July, business people in Charlotte, North Carolina, were invited to a session titled "The Evolution of FourSquare Marketing." The panel suggested eight fundamentals to help business people think through the possibilities:

• Ask the right questions before leveraging FourSquare for your business.
• Experiment with FourSquare as a user first.
• Listen through FourSquare.
• Understand the basic marketing tactics of FourSquare (tips, specials, badges).
• Build offline community through FourSquare.
• Integrate FourSquare marketing efforts with your full marketing campaign.
• Train your staff to keep them "in the know."
• Promote your FourSquare marketing/specials.

The same month, American Express launched Go Social, a tool that enables retailers to integrate offers to consumers with Foursquare and Facebook.

Clearly, the potential is here -- and when American Express buys-in, the potential is hot.

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