Who's Mailing What?

Thoughts that Count

Outer envelopes are also perfect for showcasing teaser tactics, which drive positive results.

Some popular strategies include multiple windows, affixed stickers and compelling, faux-handwritten copy broken into short phrases.

To elicit an emotional response when targeting Americans over age 50 living in rural areas,

often with limited social contact, a health-care book publisher included the phrases "God bless America" and "I love you, (first/last name)" on the outer envelope, in addition to the classic teasers "do not discard" and "account information enclosed."

To sell a retirement report, a mailer included three true or false questions on the outer envelope, enticing readers inside to where the answers were printed on the back of the order form. In another instance, a book publisher affixed a shiny penny to a bright, purple 9-1⁄2x11" envelope featuring the catch phrase "a penny for your thoughts." Recipients used the penny for a scratch-off on the back of the reply device.

Score a Direct Mail Hit

It is one thing to get a recipient to open a mailer, and quite another to elicit a response. Market research shows offering a variety of reply options, such as toll-free phone numbers, Web site and e-mail addresses, traditional BREs and in-store visits, improves responses.

Bob McCormick, quality control and purchasing manager for Goodwin Graphics, Carrollton, Texas, noted many end-users do not like to send out jobs with postcard replay devices requiring recipients to remove stubs before returning.

"Dealing with perfs increases the potential for tears in postcards as well as the tendency for recipients to not want to be bothered with them," explained McCormick. "We have the capability to provide variable insert die-cut cards in almost any size end-users desire.

The die-cut cards slip out of the mailers. "Recipients don't have to do a thing but send back the pre-imaged card," added McCormick. "The die-cut adds nothing to the cost, only value to the design."