ME & MIKE + QUICK TIPS

ME & MIKE
I received an orange coloured self-mailer, which alone would have been enough to capture my attention. But, for good measure, the people promoting a Motorola brand of communications device went one step further.

The headline read, “Bob did it in under a second.”

Naturally I had to find out what I’d done in under a second so I looked inside. The piece was all about some device called Mike that makes for speedy phone conversations.

It included a personalized URL which you, loyal blog reader, are free to use yourself (http://www.meetmike.ca/bknight5). As you’ll see, it’s kinda cool.

TIP: Don’t stop just because you’ve come up with one arresting means of grabbing your prospect’s attention. Keep the pedal to the medal. A one-two or even a one-two-three punch can create a knockout DM piece.


QUICK TIP #1
The Canadian Olympic Foundation sent me a very nice package – an outer envelope that was brilliant red on one side and, on the other, featured a full colour photo of an Olympian in action.

Inside were Olympic stickers, a folder and a letter signed by the athlete on the envelope. The design was good. The production values were good. The copy was good. But one thing turned me off.

Near the end, the signatory said that she and her teammates were going to work hard to bring home a gold medal…”But we can’t do it without you.” My immediate reaction was, gimme a break. You mean Canada’s Olympic hopes rest on my puny shoulders?

The tip? Don’t overstate your case or your credibility can go down an Olympic sized tube. Fast.


QUICK TIP #2
UNHCR sent me a very compelling newsletter and an accompanying letter with a strong ask. The problem? I almost didn’t open the envelope because of the teaser.

It read, “Actions speak louder than words.”

I’ve heard that old chestnut 1000 times before. I even believe it (except when I write the words, of course). But there’s nothing there to encourage me to open the OE.

The tip – if you’re going to use a platitude, modify it somehow to make it your own. (Maybe something like, “Your actions speak louder than our words.”) Then you might impress prospects like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

Where's the blog

Sorry – you've come to the Dr. Bob blog but there's no new posting. The problem is, I was so busy, I didn't have time to review last week's unsolicited mail, let alone comment on it. We're just going to have to let it go till next Monday.

Thanks again for stopping by today. See you on the 29th.

Dr. Bob

SAY WHAT?

Note: In this blog, I usually deal with a non-profit DM package and another from a commercial mailer. But a mailing I received from a charity last week contains lessons for anyone using the mail. So I’ll only describe one package today.

(1) The outer envelope features the question, “Can we avert a national healthcare crisis?” Then there are tick boxes for Yes and No.

TIP: Don’t ask questions that recipients can answer definitively, or they don’t need to open the envelope to get the proper answer. In this case, they could have salvaged the question if, rather than featuring the answering options, they’d instead followed the question with something like, “Look inside for the surprising answer.”

(2) In the second paragraph, the letter talks about “half a million people” who have a disease and “97,000” who are going to get it. Look at what I’ve just written. My bet is that the numerals grab your attention more than the words. Yet the organization is trying to wow you most with the former figure.

TIP: If you’re trying to impress someone with numbers, use numerals…"500,000" just looks like more than "half a million".

(3) The package asks me to make a donation and to complete their survey, returning both in the BRE. But the postscript reads, “If you would like to help us reduce the impact on the environment, you can also complete the survey online by visiting (URL).”

Wait a minute. They’ve already impacted the environment negatively by sending me the mailing. How am I going to be able to reduce the impact by merely returning what they’ve already printed?

Plus, why do they say “also”? Do they want me to return the hard copy AND go online?

And, after pleading for a donation, they end up telling me to go online...just to do the survey. There's no mention about donating online.

TIP: Before you go wrapping your organization in motherhood statements, make sure that they make sense. And before you give a recipient instructions, ensure that they’re correct. Otherwise, you might get what you’ve asked for. Especially if you’re dealing with someone like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

IF YOU GOT IT + HELP WANTED

IF YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT
This week a well-known non-profit organization sent me a #10 envelope featuring only the name and address of the organization. I wasn’t really in the mood for opening the envelope and was about to chuck the package. But, being in the business, I made myself open it up.

Surprise! There were address labels and a notepad inside. They’re not bad, so I’m glad I didn’t throw away the package unopened.

TIP: If you’re sending donors a gift, let them know about it on the envelope. Chances are, they’ll open your package to get your freemium, read your message and possibly donate out of guilt.

Even if they’re not interested enough to open the envelope, at least you’ll have made some kind of impression on them – that yours is an organization that was nice enough to send them something for free.


HELP WANTED
A self-described ‘busy marketing consultant’ working a few miles from me needs even more help than he realizes.

He sent my neighbours and me a flyer seeking a top-notch admin assistant who lives in his residential complex. But if living in the designated complex is a requirement for employment, why sent it to the residents of my neighbourhood?

TIP: It’s great to focus on a narrow target audience and to address them by segment in the headline (e.g. “Attention: Left-handed sufferers of bunions.”). But you have to deliver it to THEM and not to right-handed people who have healthy feet like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net

BE PREPARED + DON'T BLAME ME

"BE PREPARED"
That’s the slogan of the Boy Scouts. But it’s obviously been taken to heart by at least one non-profit organization.

About a week after Cyclone Nargis hit, I received a package from UNICEF. The outer envelope featured a stenciled, “URGENT Emergency Appeal” ‘stamp’. Through a second window I could read a headline on the enclosed letter – “Children in Crisis: Myanmar/Burma Cyclone”.

The return envelope had a line under the logo reading, “Thank you for responding to our emergency appeal.”

The entire package seemed to be designed around the tragic cyclone. But, of course, UNICEF has a kazillion OEs and BREs sitting in warehouses just waiting for the next crisis in the world. Then they just need to bang out a customized letter and pop the package in the mail.

TIP: Planning – and printing – ahead can not only save you time; it can save you a whack of money. Take a look at your own future mailings and see if you can print some common components in advance.


DON’T BLAME ME
I received a folder about the 2008 Search Engine Strategies Conference, and I could tell that some adhesive had to be dealt with before I could open it.

I thought that two panels were glued along the bottom, so I started trying to separate them. But I only succeeded in nearly destroying the whole piece, as I pulled and tugged and uttered epithets at the sponsor of the mailer.

Eventually I figured out that it was held together by two clear stickers and that I should have simply used a letter opener to slit them.

TIP: There are a lot of people out there who race through the process of opening their mail. So instead of using clear stickers that befuddle the minds and fingers of souls like your scribe, why not let them know that there are stickers involved? Use coloured stickers so your target audience has a better idea as to what they’re up against. Then you’ll be applauded, instead of cursed at, by recipients like…

Dr. Bob
symbiomarketing@telus.net