6. Research formats.
Your offer, goal and audience are going to determine the most suitable package for your campaign. “The key to selecting the most appropriate format is to start with understanding your audience and how much mail they receive at home or the office,” Friesen said. “Your piece needs to stand out in the stack.
“You also need to consider if your mail piece has to get past a mail screener in order to reach the intended person,” she continued. “And, what is your business objective? Is it a one-step sell-by-mail/phone effort or a two-step lead generation piece?”
If budget is an issue, postcards might be your best bet—though Friesen warned that postcards can get expensive if they don’t produce the desired results. Other options include #10 solo, 6x9" solo and self-mailers.
Whatever you decide, your format should effectively present your offer, showcase what you’re selling and anticipate potential buying objections, Friesen said. “I once wrote a solo mailing that was selling subscriptions for a pocket size (4x5.5") inspirational magazine,” she recalled. “I created a solo package with an outer that wasn’t much bigger than the magazine that held a letter (4x10"), order card, BRE and a sample of the actual magazine. While this format was more expensive than the postcards and self-mailers it tested against, it outperformed all of them, selling more subscriptions, more cost-effectively.”
Friesen’s success is proof that a little bit of research can go a long way. “The reason I chose this format was that it was appropriate based on research that showed once someone held, saw and read the magazine, they loved it and subscribed,” she concluded. “Bingo!”