Event marketers have used tickets for centuries to give their events a special feel of exclusivity and as a way to know who to let in. Tickets are cost-effective attention-grabbers that (done right) can really add spice to your marketing. You can use tickets to fill events, seminars, webinars, teleseminars, even for pre-tradeshow marketing. However, as I’m going to show you in a moment, you don’t necessarily have to be hosting an event to be able to use this attention-grabbing marketing tactic. This means EVERYBODY reading this marketing how-to article, can use this tactic in their marketing.

One such company that used tickets in their marketing was a client of mine who was hosting a local seminar. We came up with the idea of including printed tickets to be sent in a direct mail package to a cold prospect (meaning we bought a list and they were not current clients of my client). We thought we did everything right, but the initial response was only around 1.1%, which we thought was low given the importance of the seminar topic and the fact it was free.

Then I had the idea of sending the package out again, but this time letting them know the tickets were in the envelope by adding a CopyDoodle® on the outside of the envelope. The result was a phenomenal bump in response (to 8.7%) and one of my first CopyDoodles success stories.

Recently, a number of other excellent examples of “ticket marketing” have come across my desk and I thought I would share them here. Probably one of the best examples of using tickets to fill an event (and fill it it did) comes from Mike Crow of Dallas, Texas. At the recent GKIC Info Summit(SM), Mike handed out these great0looking tickets inviting attendees to a special breakfast. They were printed on a high-quality metallic gold paper and they got attention. Notice the effective use of copy cosmetics and good “reason why” copywriting. Nice job Mike and his marketing guy, John!

Speaking of the GKIC Info Summit, GKIC sent out a great looking ticket to help fill that event.

James Malinchak, who spoke at the Info Summit created another great-looking, high-response ticket for his recent bootcamp that had over 600 people in the room.

And finally, to show one more example of using tickets to fill up events, here are the tickets Charlie McDermott and I are using to get business owners to attend our Business and Entrepreneurs Networking meetings (www.benphilly.com). We print these up and hand them out to members to allow them to invite their friends to our next meeting.

But what if you’re not hosting events, can you still use tickets in your marketing? Absolutely and one way to do this, would be to create a graphic that looks like a ticket and use it in your ezines, newsletters, sales letters, HTML emails, web site, etc. The idea is to use the ticket to get attention and get your recipients engaging with your marketing.

This month, I released a Ticket CopyTemplate for my CopyDoodles Access Club Platinum members and it contained a number of ticket templates and special ticket marketing CopyDoodles for our members. One such template was a ticket design just about any business owner could use (as you can see) as an attention-grabber.

So I hope I’ve triggered an idea or two on for you to consider how you can use tickets in your marketing. If you have any other ideas or ways you’ve used tickets in your marketing, leave me a comment below!

Starting a marketing campaign from scratch each and every time is tedious and not a great way to leverage time and creativity, which is why most successful marketers build and maintain a marketing swipe file.

A swipe file is your own personal collection of creative marketing examples that can include direct mail packages, sales letters, emails, advertisements, etc.

Personally, I have several large boxes in my office where I keep my creative marketing examples and my marketing radar is always on – looking for new things to add – which might help me in the future (I recently wrote about just such an example in this article (http://www.mikecapuzzi.com/marketing-ideas).

I also maintain a set of folders on my computer hard drive where I collect and store online creative marketing examples, like emails and web pages.

I use these swipe files to generate ideas and spark creativity. Sometimes I use the materials for to get ideas for my copy writing, but regardless of what I need to accomplish, by simply maintaining a healthy swipe file of both print and web materials, I can beat the blank page blues.

If you haven’t been keeping a swipe file of creative marketing examples, here’s several ideas to help you get started.

Offline Marketing (print) – study the mail you’re receiving each day and be on the look out for unique and creative ideas that grabbed your attention. Read magazines and newspapers and pay attention to the advertisements. Again, you’re looking for examples that catch your attention. Pay particular attention to headlines and eye-catching ads.

Recently I took home several ads, from the SkyMall catalog that you find on every airline flight, because the headlines were so good.

When you attend tradeshows or marketing events, don’t just walk through the vendor area – look for marketing ideas you can use in your business.

Online Marketing (web) – watch for email headlines and emails that grab your attention. Either print them off or store them in a folder on your computer. I like to use SnagIt from TechSmith to capture web sites, optin pages and sales letters. SnagIt take a picture of the entire site – no matter how long it is – and I use it many times throughout the day to build my digital swipe file.

And speaking of swipe files… we just put together a HUGE collection of creative marketing examples from over 160 CopyDoodles members. It’s our brand new CopyDoodles Swipe File book and you can learn more about it by visiting:
http://www.copydoodlesbook.com

The CopyDoodles Swipe File book is the ultimate companion for anybody who uses CopyDoodles to improve their marketing and is the short-cut for smart marketing ideas and strategies for boosting response with over 180 real-world examples from real-world business owners around the world. It’s over 5 lbs. and 700 pages of idea-generating examples covering just about every type of media possible, including...

• Advertisements
• Books
• Business cards
• Emails
• Envelopes
• Faxes
• Flyers
• Greeting cards
• Newsletters
• Order forms
• Postcards
• Sales letters
• Special reports
• Websites

There’s even a CD-ROM containing the full-color versions of each example in the CopyDoodles Swipe File book and a special interview video with a number of individuals who submitted examples describing their marketing and results generated. For example you will see…

• The business card from the dentist in Texas that’s stopping people in their tracks…
• The postcard from the restaurant owner in California that brought in the biggest turnout he’s ever seen in one of his locations…
• The advertisements from the magician in New Jersey that took his marketing to another level…
• The email from the insurance agent in Ohio that brought in 632 more sales…
• And the list goes on.

You can grab your copy of the CopyDoodles Swipe File book and CD at a very special introductory price by visiting:

http://www.copydoodlesbook.com

Finally, one last point I feel it’s important to make – swipe files should be used for inspiration and to spark creative ideas. I do not recommend simply copying these creative marketing examples verbatim.

The bottom line is to always have your marketing radar set to on and keep your eye open for creative marketing examples you can use add to your swipe files!

I also created an episode of CopyDoodles TV (http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/lost-art-of-personal-correspondence-cdtv-episode), where I show several additional promotion ideas and examples of “the lost art of personal correspondence” and its ability to connect with people in this day and age of plain-vanilla, everything looks the same marketing.

I wanted to share one additional example of smart promotion ideas and marketing with you in today’s article.  Again, it’s from a recent automotive industry mailing I received.

Promotion ideas you can pull from this marketing piece:

As you can see it was sent via DHL Global Mail, which practically guarantees its going to get opened.  While it doesn’t quite have the impact of Federal Express or even Priority Mail in my opinion, this format has a higher level of significance and impact than an ordinary envelope.

This was also a “blind mailing” meaning I could not tell who it came from, which probably increased readership in this specific case.

Once I opened it, I was greeted by a unique letter that included a personalized “Trade Appraisal” certificate at the top complete with my name and car model in a blue handwritten font.

Promotion Ideas I would add to this marketing piece:

While this letter tends to be much better than 90% of the direct mail I receive, there are three things I would have done to make it even better (so make sure to write down these promotion ideas).

The first would have been to explain why the letter was being sent via DHL and why time was of the essence.  They tell part of this story by explaining the “market demand story” (which is pretty good), but could have created more urgency.

I would also have added some type of CopyStamp to create another visual eye-magnet and to reinforce the urgency.  Creating these simulated rubber stamps is a breeze in the CopyDoodles Access Club.

And finally, I would increase the correct use of “copy cosmetics” to make this letter a bit more readable.  Copy cosmetics are design techniques to make your copy easier to read (and if it’s easier to read, response should go up).

Unfortunately most marketers and business owners don’t understand the right ways to apply copy cosmetics, which is why I created my one-of-a-kind Copy Boosting Profit Secrets course, which I am putting on sale for the next few days (the discount will be applied at checkout).

In this unique three-part course, I show you how to not only write BETTER copy, but how to use copy cosmetics effectively.  Plus there is a bonus session with master copywriter, Bill Glazer on the topic of “The Psychology of Writing Copy That Sells.”

Knowing how to write good sales copy is critically important for every marketer and knowing how to make it look right is equally important!  If you’re looking to get more response from your copy and better promotion ideas, you definitely want to invest in my Copy Boosting Profit Secrets!

I highly recommend everybody watching this episode read this book and consider its application to your business and direct  marketing.  I found it quite eye-opening and took several pages of notes.

The logic behind the price strategies discussed in this book could help every single business owner, entrepreneur, and especially anyone who is doing direct marketing.  Dan Kennedy and Jason Marrs share their secrets for setting prices for the greatest gain and they tell you how to compete with FREE which is becoming so prevalent in today’s marketplace.  I highly recommend this book.

Want a fun, attention-grabber for your next direct marketing mail campaign?  Check out the million dollar bills you can print from EasyMillions.com (non-affiliate link).

While these are not new, two different direct marketing campaigns crossed my desk recently using them and both caught my eye.  I think they’re a fun, eye-grabbing way to grab attention, which is the critical first step to any marketing campaign.

The company that makes these also makes a unique million dollar thank you card, so check out EasyMillions.com.

My last tip is for anybody who wants a free set of never-before-released CopyDoodles (these are exclusive and will never even be available in the CopyDoodles Access club)!

We’re going to give you this set if you help us spread the word about the power of CopyDoodles by telling your business-owner friends about the power of CopyDoodles.

You’ll be helping us out (which I greatly appreciate) and you’ll be able to grab two different sets of brand new CopyDoodles as a way of thanking you for your support.

Check out www.copydoodles.com/x/free-copydoodles-friend to grab these CopyDoodles and thanks in advance! {NOTE: Free Offer Ended 9/1/11}

I hope you enjoyed these 3 direct  marketing resources and tips which I have shared with you today and if you have any comments, please leave them below!

http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/2011/07/

In case you missed it, it’s well worth three minutes of your time to check it out.

On this particular episode I shared three tips for helping your improve your business and marketing.

Resource #1

The first was a little, classic book by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones called “Life is Tremendous.”

This book is less than 100 pages and over 2 million copies of this book have been sold since it was first published.  It’s full of positive and actionable leadership strategies relevant to everybody reading this article.

While you may not have heard of Charlie Jones, who passed away in 2008, don’t let that stop you from reading this book.  You can grab a copy for under $10.00 on amazon.com.

Resource #2

Would you like free access to a number of must-read newsletters from the late, great copywriting and direct marketing expert, Gary Halbert?  Then check out

www.thegaryhalbertletter.com

If you don’t know who Gary Halbert was, you should.  He was one of the most successful copywriters who ever lived before passing away in 2007.

Starting in the late 80’s, Gary wrote The Gary Halbert Letter, a monthly print newsletter full of marketing wisdom and Gary’s unique style of writing and wit.

Fortunately, you can access many past editions of Gary’s newsletter at the web site above.  And while it’s not the easiest site to navigate and it will take you a few clicks to get to them, but its well worth the search.

Resource #3

My last resource is a proven direct mail strategy and one I’ve used many times in my own business. It’s a format that practically guarantees the piece will be opened.

Think you know what it is?  It’s making your direct mail look like a personalized greeting card.

Who can resist not opening up something that looks like a birthday or greeting card?

The key for a successful mailing is to make it look exactly like a card envelope you would buy at a greeting card store.

You want to handwrite the recipient’s name and address or use a handwritten font at a minimum.

Personally, I put my name and return address on the envelope and depending on the context of the mailing, I may use a CopyDoodle on the outside as a teaser.

You should also use a live stamp.  The point is to make it look like you’re sending one card to one friend.

8 times out of 10, I will put in a greeting-card style mailer inside the envelope.  It could be a thank you card, an obscure holiday card or you can even make up your own holiday reason for mailing like my friend Charlie McDermott did with his recent National Web TV Day mailing.

So if you want to create a direct mail piece that begs to be opened, create your own greeting card-style mailer.

You can check out past episodes of my 3 in 3 web TV show (the only web TV show guaranteed to give you three valuable business resources in only 3 minutes) at

http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/3-in-3

There’s a lot of neat ideas and strategies you can use in your business, if you simply have your “marketing radar” on and are always looking for good marketing examples that are getting your attention.

This is why I am such a fan of swipe files and why I am publishing the CopyDoodles Swipe File book, which you can be a part of for free! Visit www.copydoodlesbook.com for more information!

Recently, a number of good marketing examples caught my eye and I thought you would enjoy seeing them along with my notes as to what I think they’re doing right. There’s a total of six good marketing examples and I’m going to cover the first three this week and the final three next week. Make sure you look out for next week’s article, where I am going to show you one of the most unique upsell strategies I’ve ever seen (I think its genius)!

To download a high-resolution version of these good marketing examples, click here:

http://mikefiles.com/example1.zip

In this first good marketing example, CopyDoodles Access Club Member Shannon Harvey, created a great-looking direct mail package to help raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Here’s a few of the smart things Shannon did on this direct mail package:

Envelope: I like the association with Shannon and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on the outside of the envelope. This may have been a part of the mailing requirement, however I would like to have tested having the letter come directly from Shannon and add a note about the Society on the outside (basically flip-flopping the content on the envelope).

I like the CopyDoodle® choice Shannon made for the outside of the envelope, however I would have preferred if the CopyDoodle was in color. Again the one-color may have been a requirement for the envelope.

The blue handwritten font (and the partial red handwritten note) showing through the window caught my eye immediately.

Live, first-class stamp adds to the overall package.

Letter: Shannon did a great job with the use of CopyDoodles, photos and captions that tell a story and the clincher that got me to donate was the personal note at the top of the letter from Shannon right to me. Great job Shannon and I hope your campaign paid off big time for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I saw this next good marketing example at a recent marketing event and it comes from Benjamin Bressington. It’s a four page sales letter that’s disguised as a comic strip. I’m a big fan of using comics and cartoons and Ben’s good marketing example caught my eye at the conference. It’s different, it’s easy to read and it stands out from 99% of the marketing out there. Nice job Ben!

Check out the course I put together on using cartoons in your marketing by visiting www.marketingresponseshop.com.

This next good marketing example is from long-time CopyDoodles member, Linda Steele Thom. Linda used one of our CopyTemplates and created her own unique-looking “check self-mailer.”

While it’s hard to see in the image above, this is a single sheet of paper that is folded lengthwise and gets mailed. On the side opposite the address side, is a personalized “check.” The recipient opens it up to a singe-page sales letter.

This is a very unique-looking direct mail piece that is inexpensive to send out and is a good marketing example.

So there’s the first three good marketing examples I wanted to share with you. The next three are a bit more “corporate”, but excellent examples none-the-less. Stay tuned for next week where I’ll share these good marketing examples with you!

Let’s check out some pet marketing that have been used on television in the past (this might help you get some winning advertisement ideas for your own business)…

Who doesn’t remember seeing and falling in love with Mr. Ed or Lassie? Many companies are STILL using talking pets (like Mr. Ed) or Lassie in their marketing.

Just the other night I easily though of some great advertisement ideas simply by watching commercials on TV – pets are used everywhere! Even big companies are using pets and animals.

So why am I telling you that you need to get advertisement ideas from those in the industry who are using pets and animals?

Because the biggest challenge we face is getting the attention of our target market! Using pets in your marketing as one of your many advertisement ideas, is a very effective way to overcome this challenge.

Here are some different advertisement ideas on how you can use pets in your marketing:

• Newsletter stories
• Direct Mail packages
• Facebook
• Blogs, websites, email
• Web TV shows

How can you use pets (and animals) in your marketing to create an emotional connection? Check out some advertisement ideas from smart marketers who are currently using pets to gain attention!

As for the advertisement ideas I got the other night while watching TV, my dog Zoe joined me in the set for a recent episode of Mike Capuzzi’s 3 in 3!

To check out more advertisement ideas using pets, watch my recent episode of CopyDoodles TV full of real life examples from business owners and marketers!

And for those of you who are current members of the CopyDoodles Access Club, we recent added 46 new CopyComics dedicated to pet marketing. All of these comics are sure to give you hundreds (if not more) of advertisement ideas for your business!

Today I want to focus on an often over-looked, left to the last minute component of many direct marketing mail packages – the envelope. If you were to study any of the great direct mail marketers, each will reaffirm the critical importance of the design and look of your envelopes and how certain design principles can result in very profitable increases in response.

If you were to ask any layperson what the purpose of the envelope is and they will typically say its job is to hold your mailings contents together and get them delivered as you intended without them getting lost or damaged.

And they would be right. This would be the “physical” job of the envelope (and an important one at that), but it would not be the answer we marketers are focused on. Ask any sharp marketer what the purpose of an envelope is and he or she will tell you it’s to ensure the recipient notices your direct marketing mail and opens it immediately.

This is what your envelopes must do and in today’s world with all of the junk mail that we receive, this is no small task. Whole books have been written about envelope design and strategy and if you’re so inclined I would suggest you seek out books written by Dick Benson, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Denny Hatch, and Dan Kennedy.

If you don’t have the time or interest, you’re still in luck because I am going to give you several useful and easy-to-use strategies for ensuring your envelopes are getting ripped open immediately.

Two Envelope Design Strategies

There are two basic strategies you can employ when designing your envelopes. The first is what I call the positive recognition strategy. This strategy is designed to result in an “Oh, it’s from your-name-here and I need to open it” response.

This strategy works when you have a relationship with your recipients and that relationship alone is enough to get them to open the envelope (thought you may still want to use several of the envelope booster strategies I mention below).

The second strategy is to arouse significant curiosity from your recipient with your direct marketing mail piece. This strategy can be used with any type of market, cold or warm and it taps into one of the strongest human emotions – curiosity – to get them to open your envelope.

There are different ways you can arouse significant curiosity with your direct marketing mail envelopes, including:

• The envelope that carries a promise
• The important-looking envelope
• The questioning envelope
• The tell-all envelope
• The blind envelope

There are certain parameters that need to be considered when and how to use one of these styles of envelopes and to see examples of each of these, watch this video:

http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/

Direct Marketing Mail: 10 Smart Envelope Boosters

Regardless of which of the two design strategies you use, there are several “envelope boosters” you can use on your envelope to get the attention of the recipient and practically guarantee they will open it immediately.

These envelope booster strategies are all concerned with “the look” of your envelopes and what you are doing on them to grab attention and yield response. Each is easy to use and anybody reading this article can and should use all of them when designing their envelopes.

1. Fun, live postal stamps – actual first class stamps get more response than bulk rate stamps. Consider using special edition, fun stamps to get more attention.
2. Use both sides – printing on both sides of the envelope can be a smart strategy to get your envelopes to stand out from the rest. Consider adding photos or testimonials to the other side so they will be seen as the envelope is being opened.
3. Non-paper envelopes – there are several alternatives to traditional paper envelopes, including translucent, mirror, linen, denim and clear envelopes.
4. Unique envelope shapes – consider sending your next direct marketing mailing in a unique sized envelope that stands out from all the #10 and 9 x 12 envelopes that fill your mail box. One size I like to use is the invitation sized envelope to send personalized mailings.
5. Colored envelopes – a smart strategy to tie into the time of year or an upcoming holiday (e.g. red envelopes for Valentines Day). There are just as many envelope colors as there are sizes and materials.
6. Tease with CopyDoodles® - using handwritten fonts and doodles and teaser copy on your direct marketing mail envelopes helps them stand out and get noticed right away.
7. Alert with CopyStamps – simulated rubber stamps on your envelopes creates a sense of urgency. Like any of these boosters, these should be used within the correct context of your entire mailing.
8. Engage with CopyComics – Putting cartoons on your direct marketing mail envelopes can be a fun and unique way to engage your recipients, especially when they are personalized to the individual. Check out this video where I show smart ways to use cartoons in your marketing.
http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/advertising-a-business-using-comics
9. Fun, quirky elements – In this day and age, anything that stands out from all the plain vanilla marketing is a good thing. There are certain elements you can add to your envelopes to make them appear as one-off and individualized as possible.
10. Unique photos – I love using fun, unique photos on envelopes. Photos are proven attention-grabbers and should be used in your direct marketing mail design arsenal.

For more details on these 10 envelope boosters and to see examples of each, please check out this video:

http://www.mikecapuzzi.tv/

I hope this article has opened your eyes to the rather important job your envelopes have and the major part they play in getting maximum response out of your direct marketing mail campaigns. Your envelopes should not be an afterthought when it comes to creating profitable and response boosting direct marketing mail.

If you would like to discover more ways that your marketing can stand out with the use of CopyDoodles and copy cosmetics, check out our Copy Boosting Profits Secrets Course and our CopyDoodles Best Practices Webinar Series!

He was excited that something as simple as adding a few handwritten CopyDoodles could bring new life (and response) to one of his existing direct response marketing campaigns. We discussed his direct response marketing and then he asked me what I thought was a very interesting question…

“Mike, if you could do only one thing in 2011 to create better-performing marketing, what would you do?”

And without even having to think about it, I answered, “Increase the 1:1 personalization of all my marketing efforts.”

Friends, I believe in this day and age of “too much noise” we don’t have to be searching out the latest and greatest shiny object to cure what ails our marketing.

Sure, things like social media and video marketing have their rightful place in our direct response marketing arsenal, but I believe THE MOST IMPORTANT marketing strategy we can all use is to increase the feeling that I am talking directly to you and only to you with information that is relevant to your business or life.

This is the power of personalized marketing and it’s more important than ever to be using these strategies as much as you can.

To give you some ideas on how you can increase the personalization of your marketing, here are 7 easy-to-implement personalized marketing strategies I recommend.

1) Personalize your story – Everybody knows that in order for people to do business with us, there’s a “know, like and trust” factor that comes into play. Depending on what you’re selling the degree varies, but regardless, it’s important for our prospects and customers to have an insider’s glimpse on why we do what we do.

How much of your life you want to broadcast is up to you, but sharing at some level is important. Sharing stories and things that have happened to you (that are relevant to your market) via direct response marketing, email marketing, social media, newsletters or even a Web TV show are important ways to help build the know, like and trust factor.

2) Personalize your copy writing – Today’s technology makes generic, “Dear Reader”-type marketing obsolete. At a minimum you can personalize your copy writing and direct response marketing pieces by simply dropping the recipient’s name in your copy, but there’s so much more you can do, including adding personalization to offers and guarantees.

You can personalize the copy of your offer in a way that makes it feel like I am the only one receiving the offer, by including specific copy based on my previous buying history or knowing something specific about me (e.g. the type of pet I own or the type of car I drive, etc.).

For example, if I was marketing dog food, which do you think will get more attention and more response?

“Dear Dog Owner, we can help keep your dog fit and trim with our natural dog food.”

or

“Dear Mike, we can help you keep your dog Zoe fit and trim with our natural dog food formulated exclusively for German Shepherds ages 2 – 8.”

Obviously the second example is much more relevant to me, since by using this type of direct response marketing technique, they are talking to me directly about my specific pet. This example includes four specific personalized elements that illustrate how you can increase the personalization of your copy. Of course this does put the burden of collecting and using this data on you, but once started, it’s not difficult.

3) Personalize with CopyDoodles – In this day and age where just about everything is computer generated, the use of CopyDoodles has a unique “pattern interrupt” effect on readers.

CopyDoodles create the effect the writer had some final important points to make after the copy was written and wanted to especially make sure the reader saw them. Used in the proper context, there’s nothing like CopyDoodles to convey the “me to you” connection.

Study any of the great copywriters and direct response marketing designers and they will all tell you the proper use of handwriting and doodles in your copy can increase readership and response.

4) Personalize with photos – Did you know readership and response studies have shown that photographs are one of the first things people look at when looking at any direct response marketing piece, advertisement, letter or marketing piece?

Photos are an important way to connect with others, not only to tell your story, but also to create more of a 1:1 connection to support the personalized copy. You can include fun and interesting photos of your workplace, employees, family, vacations, etc. in direct response marketing.  Again the goal is to create a connection with your market.

Going back to the dog food example… consider how much more powerful it would be to include a picture of a German Shepherd in the piece that was sent to me?

Whenever you use photos in your marketing, make sure you include a caption (studies have shown captions are the next thing readers look at after the photo) that has personalization in it.

5) Personalize with comics, cartoons and caricatures – The use of these unique graphics in direct response marketing is underutilized in most business owners marketing efforts and offer a unique opportunity to connect with people for many of the same reasons photographs do.

Comics, cartoons and caricatures can allow the smart marketer to create visual connections that simply cannot done any other way, including the use of humor, which is a powerful human connection.

You can put comics, cartoons and caricatures on your direct mail pieces, in your direct response marketing emails, on your web sites, wherever you want to create an emotional connection and don’t forget to use personalized elements in your captions!

6) Personalize with handwritten notes and thank you notes – Recently I wrote an article on my blog and created a video (www.mikecapuzzi.tv) about the power of handwritten thank you notes. For the sake of this article I am going to expand and include the use of handwritten notes as an important personalized direct response marketing technique.

Today, when everybody complains of receiving too much email, junk mail and irrelevant marketing and advertising messages, NOBODY is complaining of receiving too many handwritten notes or thank you notes. The use of handwritten notes (either real handwriting or simulated handwriting fonts) offers every business owner a unique opportunity to connect with their readers.

7) Personalize with PURLs – A lot of successful direct response marketing uses personalized URLs, which are a relatively new way for marketers to create unique, 1:1 messages and help drive people to personalized and customized web sites that have been created specifically for the individual reader.

An example of an effective PURL would be:

http://Julie-Doe.HasaGiftFromMike.com

This PURL arouses curiosity for Julie and with the proper motivation will get her to visit the PURL (in this case to see what the gift is I am giving her). Once she arrives at her site, I can now personalize the page using all of the strategies I described above.

I’ve used PURLs in my marketing since 2004 and they offer many unique benefits, including a relatively inexpensive way to create a very personalized, 1:1 message with your market.

Personalize and Profit!

If you would like know more about how I use personalized direct response marketing and about a brand new special software system I developed for my business, I invite you to download a free, 28-page report at http://www.MikeCapuzzi.com/personalize.pdf.

One important final note… there’s always a few critics who poo-poo the ideas and strategies I outline above. Their contention is that these are all thinly veiled techniques that reek of “fakeness.”

I want to make it clear that I am not supporting any strategy that is not congruent, meaningful, and real to your business and helping improve the lives and businesses of your market. These personalized marketing strategies must be used in ways that are real and authentic.

In order make the human connection personalized marketing offers you, it must not appear contrived. The goal is not to use personalized marketing for the sake of personalized marketing, but to make your marketing appear as real, natural and 1:1 as humanly possible!

If you would like to discover more ways that your marketing can stand out with the use of CopyDoodles and copy cosmetics, check out our Copy Boosting Profits Secrets Course and our CopyDoodles Best Practices Webinar Series!

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This article originally appeared on the NO B.S. Not So Daily E-Zine which publishes useful direct response marketing tips and business advice.

We’ve just released 20 fun new CopyComics, including 10 restaurant-themed specific comics on our membership site. CopyComics are copyright free comics for marketers and they may be customized via our CopyComic Generator.

Also just released is a brand new CopyTemplate. CopyTemplates are templates you can customize for your specific marketing needs.

This month, it’s a single-sheet, double-sided self-mailer CopyTemplate which is sure to get the attention of your reader! On the outside you can place any one of a number of check or certificate images and on the inside there is room for a single page letter.

Included in this CopyTemplate are graphics you can customize for your specific needs, including a “stimulus check”, gift certificate, raffle ticket and service certificate. We’ve also included a number of unique CopyDoodles related to each graphic.

This is a great template to use for direct mail or a flyer and you can easily create it right in your own office!

Current CopyDoodles.com members may log in and begin using immediately. If you’re not a CopyDoodles.com member, please visit http://www.copydoodles.com.