Bly textbook direct mail techniques

An intensive training session on how to create effective, result-getting direct mail programs for your product or service.

Here is a partial listing of topics covered. Your seminar can cover all topics or just the ones that are most important to your business.

Module 1: Overview

• What is “direct mail”? (vs. direct response, direct marketing, mail order)
• 9 advantages of using direct mail
• The 6 most common direct mail mistakes-and how to avoid them
• Applications of direct mail

Module 2: Planning the Direct Mail Program

• Establishing your objectives
• Determining what to sell—and who to sell it to
• Picking the “big benefit” that will generate the maximum response
• How to identify and gather supporting sales points
• The offer—what it is, how to create one, why you must test different offers
• The big decision: leads vs. sales?
• How to research information on your product and your market

Module 3: Finding And Using Mailing Lists

• What is a mailing list? (vs. a database)
• The importance of the list
• Defining list requirements
• Types of lists: house, compiled, response
• Criteria for mailing list selection
• Tips for profitable list use and selection

Module 4: Sales Letters and Outer Envelopes

• The power of
• How to write an effective direct mail letter
• Review of sample letters
• Do teasers work? How to write good outer envelope teasers
• The 4 functions of the outer envelope
• How to design outer envelopes that increase your response rate

Module 5: Direct Mail Brochures

• The letter sells—the brochure tells
• Do you always need a brochure? When should (and shouldn’t) you use one?
• Design considerations for direct mail brochures vs. product brochures
• Tips on writing effective brochure copy
• How to use buck slips, hot sheets, lift letters, and other inserts

Module 6: Order Forms, Reply Cards, Business Reply Envelopes

• Asking for the order
• 12 basics of designing reply card elements
• The magic of yes/no/maybe or hard/medium/soft
• The reply form as a qualifying, screening, and market research tool
• 7 ways your order form can increase your average order
• The reply form as a sales vehicle
• Does it pay to use a business reply permit on your reply cards and envelopes?

Module 7: Using Direct Mail To Generate Sales Leads

• The importance of sales leads
• Quality vs. quantity
• 7 ways to get better leads—and 7 ways to get more leads
• How to write an effective lead-getting sales letter
• 12 questions you should ask when planning a lead-getting mailing

Module 8: Using Direct Mail To Generate Direct Sales

• Money in your mailbox—what sells by mail?
• 8 reasons why people buy through the mail
• 10 questions to ask when evaluating whether your product can be sold through a one-step (i.e., mail order or direct sales) mailing package
• How to determine the best price for your product
• How to structure an effective direct response offer
• 10 popular mail order offers
• Calculating break-even and setting financial goals
• Elements of the successful mail order package

Module 9: Profits From Postcard Decks

• Postcard decks: direct marketing’s secret weapon?
• What is a postcard deck?
• How to write a postcard headline
• 6 secrets of effective postcard copy and design

Module 10: Self-Mailers

• Are self-mailers working better today?
• When to use a self-mailer—and when NOT to
• Choosing a format for your self-mailer
• 12 ways to improve your next self-mailer

Module 11: How To Write Direct Mail Copy That Sells

• Defining the assignment
• Knowing your product. Knowing your audience.
• Techniques that can add punch and power to your direct mail copy

Module 12: How To Design and Produce Effective Direct Mail Packages

• How to design a winning direct mail piece
• A designee’s checklist
• How long should it take to produce your package from start to finish?
• Determining the cost, setting the schedule
• Should you personalize your direct mail package?
• How to work effectively with your letter shop
• First class, third class, other post office considerations

Module 13: Testing

• What is testing?
• How to keep testing simple
• Tracking response is the key
• How many pieces must you mail to get a statistically valid test result?
• The roll-out rule
• The three most important things to test
• 10 essential rules of direct mail testing
• What if you mail too few pieces or your lists are too small to test?

Module 14: Optional Module (time-permitting):

• Direct mail “response builders”—a miscellany of ideas to increase your direct mail response rates
• The most commonly asked direct mail questions. and the answers

Preparation and Customization

All clients must submit a completed questionnaire along with samples of their direct mail in advance of the seminar date. The seminar is tailored to your specific educational needs based on this information. Actual samples are used throughout the presentation as examples, for critiques, as exercises, and to illustrate and dramatize ideas presented in the classroom.

In addition, we further customize by going through the course agenda with you and having you tell us which items you want emphasized. There is no extra charge for this customization.

Number of Students

Recommended number of students per session is 6 to 20; however, you may send up to 25 attendees for the base price. There is an additional materials and preparation fee of $50 per attendee for each student above 25 registrants.

A 50% nonrefundable deposit authorizes CTC to begin preparation of your seminar and puts a firm hold on the date(s) you requested. The balance is due net 30 days after the presentation of the seminar.

Client is billed at cost for all out-of pocket expenses including long-distance telephone calls, fax transmissions, Federal Express, and messenger service.

Client provides prepaid hotel reservations and prepaid round-trip plane tickets from Newark Airport (Newark, NJ) for all out-of-town engagements.

Students receive numerous article reprints, checklists, samples, and other study materials as part of the seminar, and there is no extra charge for these materials. The hand-outs cover all important aspects of the seminar, so no textbook is required. However, much of the material in the seminar is based on my manual, Direct Mail Profits, and you may wish to purchase these separately for select attendees (or all students) to reinforce the learning process. This book is available from us at $50 per copy plus shipping and handling.

Follow-Up Programs

To maximize the effectiveness of training you may want to consider one of these three follow-up programs:

Telephone Hotline: Telephone consultation is available for $200 per hour. However, the seminar fee provides for up to 4 hours of FREE telephone consultation (an $800 value) for attendees who call my hotline within 30 days of the session. Callers get specific advice and information on how to solve copywriting problems; however, I do not write or rewrite copy for you under this arrangement.

Copy Critiques: For up to one year following the seminar date, attendees can send me sales letters, direct mail packages, self-mailers, post cards, and other marketing documents for review. critique, and analysis. They will receive specific, detailed suggestions on how to improve offers, strategy, and copy. However, I do not write or rewrite copy for you under this arrangement. The critique fee is $200 per critique (a discount from my regular copy analysis fee of $600 per direct mail package).

Clinics: Some clients request a follow-up clinic at one or more locations. The clinics typically have 6 to 25 attendees and provide hands-on analysis and problem-solving for specific projects in progress. Fee and logistics are the same as for the full-day training seminar.

About the Seminar Leader

Bob Bly is an independent consultant and copywriter specializing in business-to-business and direct response advertising. Clients include Value Rent-A-Car, Edith Roman Associates, Sony Corporation, Timeplex, Associated Air Freight, and Philadelphia National Bank.

Mr. Bly is the author of 45 books including The Copywriter’s Handbook and Direct Mail Profits. He has taught copywriting at New York University and is a winner of the Direct Marketing Association’s Gold Echo Award. Mr. Bly’s articles have appeared in such publication as Direct Marketing, Express, Writer’s Digest, Business-Marketing, and Direct Marketing.

For More Information

To discuss the specifics of your seminar or reserve a date, call or write: Bob Bly at The Center For Technical Communication, 22 East Quackenbush Avenue, 3rd Floor, Dumont, NJ 07628, phone (201) 385-1220.

Client/Attendee Comments

“Your presentation for our seminar was sparkling, enthusiastic, and informative. The audience response was wonderful to see and hear. Our group benefited greatly and were quite vocal in their praise of you.”
— Wendy Ward, Women in Communications

“I wish to thank you for an excellent program. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and your comments and expertise were greatly appreciated. This was the largest turnout for a seminar this year. the program was full of good solid and serious advice, and you made it a very lively presentation.”
— Zephyr Cooper, Women’s Direct Response Group

“We greatly appreciate your lending your expertise to make the seminar a success. Your information on the Do’s and Don’ts of direct mail was most helpful to all.”
— C. Joyce Wilson, American Marketing Association

“Your talk was well prepared and excellently presented. Not only was it extremely informative, but you succeeded in offering some startling insights that many of us failed to realize about our busi–ness-to-business communications.”
— Walter Lewis, Business/Professional Advertising Association

“Thanks for your seminar. Besides clarifying some technical points, you gave me insight into my position, and my abilities, as a writer. And, observing you in action was excellent training.”
— Mike Goldscheitter, Loveland Controls

“Thanks again for joining us in Atlantic City on Thursday. I, and the entire group, found your thoughts insightful and right on target.”
— Edward H. Moore, communication briefings Newsletter

“Well balanced, interesting, moved right along. Everything you promised and more.”
— John Pfister, Del Haven, NJ

“I just wanted to thank you personally for the energy and effort you put into your two days with us. When we were in the process of selecting a seminar leader, it was your energy level and focus that convinced me that you could respond effectively to the questions and challenges of our people, whom I expected to be eager to gain all they could from your ideas, and still maintain their own creative philosophies.

With very little coaching by me, you bridged that chasm gracefully, and we profited from it. We are now far better equipped to do direct mail for our clients and ourselves that will have a greater impact and get measurable results.

I also appreciate your high level of responsiveness. Whenever I asked a question or requested information, your material was on my desk in just a few days. I think I learned as much from you about how to win and keep customers in a service industry as I did about direct mail.”
— Greta Bolger, Sefton Associates Inc.

Bob Bly
Copywriter, Consultant and Seminar Leader
22 East Quackenbush Avenue, 3rd Floor, Dumont, NJ 07628
Phone (201) 385-1220, Fax (201) 385-1138