Tony Attwood's Blog

During July and August Hamilton House offers its solo mailing services at 20% discount.

You don’t have to have your material mailed out during the summer – we’re quite happy to hold it for despatch in September or October – all we want to do is to undertake the work during the two summer months.

Your discount will be

· 20% off the mailing list (applies to our B2B and educational lists)

· 20% off the envelope cost (DL, C4 and C5 paper and C4 poly)

· 20% off the labour cost

Unfortunately we can’t do anything about the postage. (Although of course you will get your mailsort discounts).

We can also give a discount on our normal printing price for most jobs – but because printing is so varied we can’t say it is 20% on everything. Please call to talk this through.

There’s no minimum order – but there is a limit to the capacity. So to get the discount service you need to book in as soon as possible, and then make sure you get your materials to us by the agreed date. We are unlikely to be able to take much work after August 20 at the discounted rate.

Once all is agreed and we’ve got your leaflets we’ll then complete the work and hold it until you wish us to despatch it.

Charging details: We will invoice you once the mailing work is complete, and this invoice must be paid in the normal 30 days. The postage does not have to be paid at the same time, but does have to be paid before the mailing goes out (unless of course we are using your postal account). Because we are aiming to do the print at close to cost, if print is required it must be paid for in advance.

There’s details of our mailing lists at http://www.hamilton-house.com/gateways/mailing%20lists.html

Question: how can I double the response rate in my direct mail?

Answer: there are at least 50 different things you can do

Question: OK let’s not bother with all 50. Just tell me the most important.

Answer: Use the 70% theory.

The 70% theory of direct mail says that around 70% of people who receive direct mail at work glance at it for a few seconds – and then throw it in the bin. If you want to get your message across to people you have to consider how to get more than 30% of the people you mail to look at your work.

In fact you have to focus on getting attention.

It seems a simple statement, but most of the direct mail and email advertising I get does not do this.

If it seems of interest to you, there’s an article on the subject at http://www.theory.bz/factor1.html

Alternatively you can send me a copy of your advertising and I’ll give you a call back to tell you if it grabbed my attention. If it did not, I’ll tell you how I would have done it. Of course you don’t have to take any notice of what I say, but it might just give you an idea.

No charge, no obligation.

Tony Tony at hamilton-house.com

By 2014 the average user of email will get over 9,000 email marketing messages a year, according to a report from Forrester reported in Advertising Age.

This number excludes all the junk that we get – these are proper adverts for real things that exist. That’s getting on for 40 messages for each working day of the year – at the moment the number is around 10.

A lot of these messages will never arrive because they will be stuck in dubious message folders or just deleted on their way in. Many more will never be read.

The only ways I can see to get through this clutter will be

a) to make sure the emails reach the right people directly (which means ever better email lists)

b) to make sure the subject line and the opening line really grab attention (as we have always had to do with sales letters)

c) the link to the web site takes the reader to a totally relevant page, not a general page

d) the message is lively, attractive, interesting, and (to use the old phrase) “grabs the reader by the throat).

If you are producing emails and want to run them by me any time, please do forward it to me, with a covering note saying you are asking me to review the piece. Email Tony@hamilton-house.com

Tony Attwood

20% of adults who don’t have online access at the moment will get it in the next six months, according to a survey from Ofcom.

The survey analysed why 30% of UK adults do not have the internet at home and what stops them signing up in the future. Recently the Communications Consumer Panel research that revealed that many people already regard broadband as an essential service at home similar to gas and electricity.

Those intending to get the internet in the next six months are more likely to be younger and working, use the internet already outside of the home and have children.

The main reasons cited for getting internet access is for information or to source information (36%) followed by social networking (26%), keeping up with technology (25%) and because friends and family recommended it (25%).

The Government’s Digital Britain report which is due out shortly will advocate the idea of universal broadband in the UK.

The research also identified two main groups of people without the internet who do not plan to access the internet at home. Some have no interest or desire to sign up (mostly older and retired although including some who do not want to be on line for religious or philosophical or life-style reasons), and those who simply can not afford it.

Tony Attwood

PS: If you want regular news and information on the creative side of direct marketing please send an email to CreativeDirect-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

I have written a number of times in the past few months that advertising has changed and that adverts in the old style of a few years ago no longer work so well. Only the people adopting the new approach are really getting the message across and making the sales.

I was therefore interested to hear an interview on Radio 5 yesterday afternoon, while driving, in which a man who used to be a journalist but now trains politicians to be able to talk effectively on radio and TV, argued much the same – but for the political world.

His view was that in the past 2 years politics has changed so radically that the old refusal to answer a question and just blame the other party approach, which has dominated political interviewing for years, is no longer tolerated by the public.

It struck me as an interesting parallel. What the speaker was saying was that people now want real conversations with real questions and answers. What they still get is the old yhaaboo politics.

In advertising I am arguing that the recipient of email and direct mail no longer wants to be shouted at with BUY NOW!!! and ONLY FOUR DAYS LEFT!!! and 50% discount!!! – they actually want to be treated like adults and have products and services explained, with the benefits set out, and a clear analysis of the situation.

The proof that this approach has value comes from the fact that three years ago it was hard to rent an email list (i.e. a list of potentially interested people, but not a lists of your customers) and get much over 0.3% response rate in terms of sales. (You could get more with give aways, and of course the number of people going to a web site could be higher, but directly attributable sales have often been around that level).

Now it is possible to get 10 times that level of response rates with carefully crafted text that is conversation based.

If you would like to discuss this, or indeed if you would like me to review an advert of yours without any cost or obligation, do get in touch – Tony@hamilton-house.com or 01536 399 013.

It does seem to come down to two alternatives – rules or inspiration.

Of course as with most things, both need to be used at some time. For example I would always argue that if writing to a person who has not opted into your email list you should ensure you write short paragraphs which have a real buzz and excitement in the first few words (as in “The best solution is” and that sort of thing).

But I am concerned about the wholly mechanistic approach to emails, which says, you may only use x number of words in a sentence, you should never send out on a friday, your subject line must contain one of the following key words and so on….

The fact is that every time such rules come out, a lot of people who lack the creativity element in writing emails, follow the rules slavishly – and the results are dull.

In essence, the rules that apply to the sales letter apply most of the time to the email, and the only reason for mentioning emails here is that people who comment on emails tend to be more rule orientated than people who comment on sales letters.

There’s an article “How to write the perfect sales letter” which appears on the Hamilton House site in the How To section (www.hamilton-house.com – click on How To on the left) which sets out what I mean. If you are looking at ways of enhancing your response rates, it contains a few thoughts that you might find interesting.

Tony Attwood

According to “How to Sell to Schools” this is the best time to be promoting to schools in England and Wales.

This is because school managers (heads, deputies, heads of departments etc) use this period to order goods either so that they can prepare for their use during the summer vacation, or have them in school and ready for use in September. The new money (which enters school accounts on April 5) is all allocated and the spending begins.

This year life is a little easier for school marketing companies because there are now six different ways to sell to schools, and this has been a great boon to everyone selling into schools.

Ten years ago most companies poured into shared mailing, and the shared packs became very full. Three years ago, everyone was doing generic emailing, and that too became very full. Now the marketing is spread between the six methods, and most of these approaches are running at sensible levels, so the teachers (and the administrators who handle the adverts) don’t get swamped with huge amounts of advertising arriving all at once in the same way.

For convenience I list the six methods below in order of unit cost, starting with the most expensive and working down. As a rule, the more you pay, the more sales you get – its as simple as that.

The prices in the details below include just about everything except the creative work. Basic print is included for the direct mail options, but obviously if you are putting a 50 page full colour catalogue out, prices will go up. Email includes sending the email to the teacher and the list rental.

For samples of mailings and how to get other details please see the end of this message

Solo Direct Mail. Choose the schools you want to reach by size, location, age range, funding etc. About 45p per school – and response rates of 3% or above are not unusual (although as with all promotions the response rates depends on exactly what you are selling and how you write the advert. The rates we quote are for selling reports prices at around £20 each with ads written by our creative team). Ideal for testing – take maybe 400 addresses at random and mail them to see what response rate you are getting. Postage discounts available for larger mailings.

Subscription Email. Teachers and managers who have asked to be sent a weekly news item on their subject or area of interest. The adverts are advertorials – you write your promotion, and we’ll do a re-write to fit it into our editorial style (you approve the final copy). 15 different editions available from Heads of Primary Schools, to Teachers interested in Behaviour and Discipline issues, from Maths to Music etc. 20p per teacher. Response rates can be similar to Solo Direct Mail, or a little lower. You don’t reach every teacher of course – just those who have subscribed, but basically if you can’t get a good response here, it is unlikely you will with any email campaign.

Personal Email. Emails directly to the teacher’s own personal email address. Click through and response rates are a little below the Subscription Service but still very high compared with the other email services. Only available for secondary school heads of department – most subjects have around 1000 teachers available. Can be selected by area. 20p per teacher.

Preference Email. Some schools don’t release personal email addresses, but prefer us to send the emails to the administrator at a specifically nominated address, with the actual name of the teacher in the subject line – hence the “Preference Service”. The response rates are only about a half of the Personal Email service — but the price is only 10p per teacher. Secondary schools only, but you can select by subject and by area.

Shared direct mail. A shared mail pack contains between five and 15 leaflets from different companies. Upon arrival at school the administrator takes the pack and splits the leaflets up – perhaps one for the Head of Music, one for the Head of Languages and so on. Secondary shareds go out each week, primary shareds roughly once a fortnight. A single leaflet costs around 8p per school – but you can make a considerable saving by putting in two leaflets (e.g. one for Maths and one for Science) as the second leaflet normally costs around only 3p per school (including print). Response rates are about a quarter of what you get with a solo mailing, but the price is only a sixth of the price of a solo – so it normally makes a good deal. You can make selections by age range and location – but location selections can add to the price quite significantly.

Generic Email. These are the most common form of emails – they go to the school’s general address and have the teacher’s title in the subject line (e.g. Attn: Head of English). They are the cheapest form of email (around 5p each) but you have to pay extra for analysis of click throughs. Also there is no restriction on their use, so schools can get quite large numbers of email adverts to this address. We don’t recommend these until you have proven that your promotion will work by using one of the other forms of promotion. Indeed shared mailing will often give far superior results, for only a few pence more.

For samples of shared mailing packs or of recent emails that we have sent out in any of our services please call 01536 399 000.

For more details on all our email services please visit www.yesmail.org.uk/schools.html or call 01536 399 000

For more details on shared mailings please visit www.shared.org.uk or call 01536 399 000

For more details on list selections available with solo mailings please visit http://www.hamilton-house.com/gateways/education%20mailing%20lists.html or call 01536 399 000

For the “When to Mail” report please visit www.hamilton-house.com and click on “How to reports” on the left and then select “How to Sell to Schools”.

Tony Attwood

I was meandering around the internet (as one does) and found an article on a direct marketing news service (source details at the end). This is how part of it reads

When was the last time you received an uninspiring sales letter that was a front and back page of text, text, text? No bold. No italics. No imagination. Just gobs of information on white paper.

With sales letters,, subheads can be the key to turning a scanner into a potential customer. Use subheads in your sales letter to break up the sections of your copy.

Later there is an example of what the writer means…

Dear Mr. Smith,

You’re tired of working for someone else. The boss gets all the glory while you’re stuck in your rut waiting for 5:00 to roll around day in and day out.

Don’t be someone else’s lackey anymore.

Become Your Own Boss
Most people dream of being their own boss but you can turn that dream into a reality today. The only boss you’ll ever have again is yourself.

Flexible Work Hours
Say goodbye to punching time cards. Once you get started, you’ll work when you want. No more putting in a request for vacation!

Make Money at Home
You set your own hours so it’s up to you to decide how much money you want to make each month. Bring home the bacon one month and live it up the next.

You get the idea. This is in fact the way many people are taught to write – with sub headings. About 15 years ago I started to do some research with the sales letters of Hamilton House, and I compared the results I got from writing with the standard sub headings, and without. Writing without the sub headings won (in terms of response rates) hands down – as long as I obeyed some other rules.

What I found was that if I kept the paragraphs short (two or three lines each), had big margins each side (about 1″ or a bit more) and opened every paragraph with a phrase that seemed to suggest that this was the paragraph that was going to give you all the inside information, I got the best results.

In fact what seems to happen is that people receiving such cold call sales letters skim down the paragraphs looking for something that is going to be the key to the offer. With short paragraphs with interesting openings (such as “the solution comes from” or “the real reason is” or “However what really improved the situation was”) even if they just read the openings, they somehow got the hang of what the rest of the paragraph was about.

In short it is the closest direct mail advertising ever gets to the subliminal.

Such improvements in response rates that come from taking out the sub headings and instead writing the opening to each paragraph in a certain way, are less than the improvements you can get from writing a really good headline and a PS that throws the reader back into the letter. But that they are still interesting and still worth doing.

If you would like me to comment on any particular direct mail campaign you are or have been involved with, just email it to me at Tony@hamilton-house.com

Tony

There’s more on direct mail writing in the How To guides on www.hamilton-house.com Here’s the link to the original article that I found on the internet…

http://advertising.about.com/od/directmail/a/subheadsdirect.htm

Royal Mail is offering an online service that produces personalised direct mail campaigns in less than 30 minutes.

Mailshots Online is advertised as a cost-effective means for companies to market to existing and potential customers, with prices starting from 55p per item.

By visiting www.mailshotsonline.com, small businesses can design postcard or letter campaigns, incorporating their own logos, images and text in four straightforward steps. Royal Mail then handles the production and delivery of the campaign.

Royal Mail business customers can either use their own databases to target their mailings, or use Royal Mail data.

There is no minimum order-level for the service, which is being launched as Royal Mail shares the success stories and advice of 100 booming small UK businesses through www.royalmail.com/growth.

The only problem with the whole thing is that there is no evidence at all that company owners with no experience in copywriting and design can produce campaigns that are likely to work. Of course some will – because some products or services are truly innovative and needed, but these are a tiny minority. If you want to explore what makes one campaign work and another not, please do call HHM on 01536 399 000, or if you have a few days to spare, take a peek at www.theory.bz

If you want to receive direct marketing news on a regular basis at no cost send an email to direct-mail-secrets-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Hamilton House Mailings plc reg number 2444392 VAT 354907535GB. Phone 01536 399 000.

Is it…

the envelope
the mailing list
the sales letter
the brochure or catalogue
or the offer

I strongly believe that the answer is the sales letter – because simple changes to a sales letter can make a huge different to the effectiveness of the overall mailing.

While all the other factors can add or take away part of the response rate, the sales letter can have much more effect, taking us perhaps from a 2% response rate to a 3% response rate or more.

It does this by focusing the reader. While a bad sales letter does nothing at all (it just says, “I have great pleasure in enclosing a catalogue”) a good sales letter really can grab the reader, hold the reader by the throat, and shake the reader around a lot until the sale happens.

You can read a simple, straight forward report on How to Write the Perfect Sales letter (that is one that will really make a difference to your response rate) by visiting the How to section of the Hamilton House site. If you want a direct link to the article click here, if you would like to see the full list of How To articles (all available free of charge) click here.

If you would like to know more, call me on 01536 399 000 during office ours or email Tony at Hamilton-House.com