The other day, I wrote about a direct mail piece I got from Gold’s Gym. In the piece, Gold’s Gym skipped the envelope and sent their direct mail piece in the form of an oversized post card. Instead of dominating the piece with an image of the ideal hardbody one might be seeking when one joined a gym, instead the dominant image was that of a cell phone.
John Jantsch in his post “Trick or Trust” offers some advice about getting your envelope opened, which is the name of the game in the direct mail arena. John wisely advises against “trickery” such as disguising your mailing as a notice from the IRS….
Trust is the most important part of the small business marketing hurdle. Don’t prove yourself untrustworthy before you get a word out.
Great advice from a master marketer.
Ive seen alot of stuff on the internet doing marketing but How and why do people think that sending me a what looks like a bill or I owe money would get me to do anything more then get mad sure i read the letter but how many people would purchase what they are trying to trick you into doing that method is not the best and more work then results
I agree that yes, it goes right in the trash, but they win just by us reading it. These pieces are designed to get our attention enough to at least read them and it seems the “fake bill” strategy seems to work.