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!

Both examples follow the principles I outline in my "3 Steps to Incredible Response" webinar (and soon to be book). The mailings are personal, distinctive and they look "me to you." These are three strategies I believe everybody reading this article should be using in their marketing campaigns.

One of the examples is very good and the other borders on excellent and both should give you some new marketing ideas for your own marketing campaigns.

Let’s look at the one that is almost perfect in its execution, staring with the envelope it arrived in, which you can also pull some great marketing ideas from.

First off, this envelope is an “odd size.” It is 6.75 inches wide by 3.75 inches tall. Right off the bat, it stands out because of its unique, personal correspondence-sized format.

Combine that with a blue handwritten font and a return address and sender names and this envelope begs to be open.

I had no idea who Chris and Ryan were, but their address is local and this has all the indications of a personal piece of mail, which is great to pull some marketing ideas from because everyone is more likely to open something looking like personal mail.

Could they have done better by using a non-pre-sorted, first-class stamp? Probably. But the presorted first-class stamp is a decent alternative.

The marketing ideas you can pull from this envelope are...

• personal (addressed directly to me)
• distinctive (unique size and stamp)
• and has a “me to you” look (handwritten address and return info in blue)

Whoever put this together did a great job and they continued the smart marketing strategies inside where you can pull even more marketing ideas from…

The first thing that sticks out, and you should mark down with your other marketing ideas, is the personal-looking correspondence format of the letter. This piece has the look and feel of a personal letter being sent directly from Chris and Ryan using their own personal letterhead that is 6 inches wide and 9 inches long.

If you've ever pulled marketing ideas from very old letters, back in the day when people use to write letters (instead of texting, email, etc.), this personal letterhead format was used quite often. It is a very distinctive look that stands out from everything else in your mail and ironically is one I recently started using myself as you will see below in another example you can get great marketing ideas from.

One of the marketing ideas I'm pulling from this example is that I like the personal feel of the “From the desks of…” headline.

Then, using the same blue handwritten font, they write me a letter about my wife’s minivan. They know the exact model and year of the van and they use that data smartly.

• Letter is personal to me – smart.

• They have a August 31 deadline – smart.

• They use a P.S. – smart.

• And I especially like the circle CopyDoodle that calls attention to the call-to-action – very smart.

Overall, an excellent job (and if we still owned the van would inspire me to call).

The one area I could see improvement would be multiple ways to respond (call, email or fax) and I would have stressed the idea of contacting Chris or Ryan directly, instead of going into some generic call center. This call-to-action would have been more congruent with the feel of the piece.

Again, the marketing ideas you can pull from this mailing are:

- personal (uses my name, car model, etc.)
- distinctive (personal letterhead size)
- and has a “me to you” look (blue handwriting, CopyDoodle)

The format of this mailing is very smart and can be very effective, so make sure to save all of the marketing ideas you're pulling from it!

Just yesterday I had a consulting day with a successful info-marketer who was putting together a direct mail campaign for an upcoming event. I suggested this same exact format and marketing ideas to help her break through the clutter and get opened and as I mentioned, I recently started using this format myself and sending out a personal note to new CopyDoodles Access Club members.

Next week, I will share the other notable mailer I received from another local car dealer, which is also great for pulling more marketing ideas from. It’s pretty neat.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this particular marketing example and marketing ideas how you’ve used other similar personalized marketing styles in your marketing. So leave a comment below before next week's post (9/1) and in return, I will email you a PDF that contains the full-sized images of both marketing pieces above so you can print them out and swipe all the marketing ideas you need!

The big lesson for today is understanding how to create marketing that crosses the goal line.  What I mean is, in many cases marketing will get somebody to a certain point in the process and then not create the final and necessary steps to score (a.k.a. get the prospect to take action).

Using a football metaphor, it’s similar to getting to the five yard line and then not being able to get a touchdown.  All the work to get them to a certain point has been done, but not the necessary final push to score.

In my pile of mail today, I received a direct mail advertisement that exemplifies this short-coming.  Let’s walk through both the letter and the envelope it came in. The blue notes are my notes to you to illustrate the good and bad points

When I received this direct mail advertisement envelope, it looked very personal (except for the indicia) which gave it away as business mail.  The direct mail advertisement was hand-written in real handwriting, taking it to the 5 yard line, but then the company used an indicia versus a live stamp, which prevented the score. Even though this was a mistake the marketer receives a B+ for effort.  Now let’s look at the letter.

This direct mail advertisement letter is a classic example of doing a few good things, but several really dumb things that negate all the good work.  First the good things:

• Personalization increases response and increases conversion.

• Hand-signed signature conveys a real “me to you” letter so it appears to be coming from a real person.

Unfortunately, that’s about it for good techniques.  Now for the bad…

• Logo at top of letter tells me right way this is not personal correspondence (I wonder why they can afford a color logo, but not “real” printing for the envelope?)

• Copy is very weak and is classic, corporate-style copy.  It’s all about them and not my pains and concerns.  When writing copy, always keep your prospect and his pains in mind.  Remember, your reader is always thinking W.I.I.F.M – “what’s in it for me?”

• This direct mail advertisement has no strong call to action.  No urgency.  All he is doing is warning me that he’s going to call.  It would have been much better if he gave me the opportunity to raise my hand and request information from him.

• Telling me to visit their Web site without giving me a reason to visit is worthless and a waste of prime copy real estate.

• Other side of the direct mail advertisement letter was completely blank and could have been used for testimonials, etc.

So there you have it.  A business to business direct mail advertisement letter that had the makings of a pretty decent direct mail package that fails to cross the goal line.

If you’re going to do the hard work of marketing your product or service, make sure you go follow through and create marketing that grabs attention and converts.

Remember, getting all the way to the five yard line, regardless of how you got there, doesn’t count for anything!

Click on the link to download a PDF of this direct mail advertisement envelope and letter example.