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203Chapter 13: Mailing Direct to Your Market

4. Talk in terms that matter to your market.

Emphasize the benefits your consumers can count on. They don’t need a
line-up of facts or features that matter more to you than to the market.
(See Chapter 8.)

5. Use as much space as you need to communicate your offer.

Multi-page letters can work beautifully — if they are superbly written. If
you decide to go with a long letter, use headlines and bulleted or high-
lighted text to catch and hold reader attention.

6. Finish with a P.S.

An astonishing number of direct mail recipients glance only at the open-
ing line and the P.S. (postscript) of the letter. Some studies show that as
many as three-quarters of readers actually read the P.S. first. Use it to sum-
marize your sales message, reiterate key benefits, make a pitch for and
reinforce the value of your offer, remind the reader of the time-sensitivity
of your offer, and tell how to contact you.

Sending your mailers

Know before you go is the rule when creating direct mailers. For mailers origi-
nating in the U.S., start at the U.S. Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com/
directmail — it is full of how-to instructions, advice, resources, postal rate
information, and free downloadable direct mail templates. You can also order
or download the free Postal Service brochure called “Simple Steps” which
details five steps to a successful direct mail campaign.

Meeting regulations

Mailers must match precise dimensions in order to be processed by post
office equipment. Use the templates available at www.usps.com/directmail
or visit your post office or a mailing professional to make sure that your
mailer conforms. Do so while your project is still in the design stage — not
when it’s printed and ready to be sent.

Take particular care when it comes to the address panel of your mailer.
Postal equipment reads addresses using high-tech postal character-recogni-
tion equipment. If your recipient address doesn’t appear in the correct place
on the envelope or if other design elements intrude on the space, your mail-
ing piece may take longer or cost more to process.

Taking advantage of discounts

If you prepare your mailers to meet processing and delivery regulations, the
post office rewards you with reduced rates, called Standard Mail (A) or bulk
rates. To take advantage of these discounts, you must