That’s a question we hear everyday at DirectMail.com.TM
And the answer to that question is easy …
only if it will tease the recipient to open the
envelope. In those few critical seconds that your
prospect scans your envelope, your teaser copy
will be a key deciding factor whether to discard
it unopened, save it for future consideration
or open it immediately.
All too often a mailer will add teaser copy to
their envelope because they feel it needs to be
there. And one of the biggest mistakes is to reveal
the entire offer on the envelope. Some recent
examples we’ve seen include: “Save
on Your Long Distance Bills” and “Refinance
Your Home Today.” These direct mailers could
have just as effectively mailed a postcard, because
they didn’t take advantage of the power
of a letter to sell. The recipient didn’t
even need to open the envelope to make a decision
– or get the full sales advantage of your
offer.
Remember, the objective of the teaser is to get
your envelope opened, and more importantly, to
get your letter read. Some powerful examples of
teaser copy include: “Save 18% on Your Monthly
Household Budget … Details Inside”
and “Get Accepted to the College of Your
Choice … Free Report Enclosed.”
Some of the most successful direct mail packages
we’ve seen have no teaser copy at all! This
is especially true for business-to-business offers
at the executive level, as mail that is overtly
recognized as advertising mail is often screened
by mail-rooms and executive assistants.
Additionally, no-teaser letters often work very
well in consumer direct mail offers, especially
if the recipient is someone that knows your organization
and you’re promoting additional services
or benefits. Some examples include a financial
company cross-selling products and services, or
a membership organization selling additional benefits
or programs. The recognition of your organization
alone will get the envelope opened, while adding
give-away teaser copy to your envelope will likely
result in the offer being discarded unopened.
Package formats also help dictate teaser copy
decisions. DirectMail.com has devised extremely
successful campaigns with invitation style packages
that have either no teaser copy or something like
“Jane Sample, You’re personally invited
…” Who can resist that?
One important rule is to never make an offer
with your teaser copy that’s not delivered
inside. The results are obvious.
So, should you put teaser copy on your envelope?
The answer is yes, if you have followed the advice
above and then test, test and test again. We recently
measured a 20% increase in response to one of
DirectMail.com’s client mailings, by simply
adding the word FREE to their existing teaser.
DirectMail.com can help you evaluate your options
when deciding on the perfect teaser (or not!)
for your direct mail marketing campaign –
call us today at 1-888-690-2252 or click
here to see how!
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