Billions of direct mail solicitations are delivered to mailboxes across the country every year.  This marketing medium is ubiquitous for a simple reason—it works.  Called “junk mail” by some detractors, direct mail is—for those smart about using it—more gold than fool’s gold.  Many a major business has been created by this so-called “junk,” including Sears Roebuck, L.L. Bean and The Sharper Image. 

            Direct mail is essentially a call to action.  Its goal:  motivate the prospect to buy right then and there, or take other action such as requesting a catalog.  More conventional forms of advertising, including television and much of print, primarily build awareness of a business or product (think of the advertising for Coca-Cola or a Hollywood movie).  While it’s not impossible for direct mail to do the same, its primary purpose is to get prospects moving.

             Direct mail is also, in some ways, less creative than other advertising media.  The success of a mailing is largely independent of how attractively designed is the letter or brochure, or how snazzy is the writing.  Other, more prosaic, elements are far more important, as covered below.  For the entrepreneur, this is a plus—the little guy doesn’t have to worry about lacking the creative talents found at large ad agencies that cater to big and more affluent companies.

             Be warned, however:  If you don’t know what you’re doing, direct mail marketing can make off with your money fast.  Bill Harrison has a writing service, Harrison Consulting Group.  He finds sales letters that list a number of services—writing of proposals, policy manuals, brochures, advertisements—pull better than those lacking specifics.  By identifying what’s offered, he’s appealing to the prospect’s needs.

 Where are they located?  If you sell a house cleaning service, you probably want to target higher income neighborhoods.  Not every service or product sells as well in every location, or you may not be able to service customers from a distance.  Harrison’s writing service operates in Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, and when he mails to target groups, which include associations, health care and marketing communications companies, he rents lists of prospects only from those two metropolitan areas.

 Are buyers reachable? Do mailing lists exist of prospects in your target market?  Tom Vitelli of Salt Lake City tried marketing a genealogy book to Vitellis around the country, only to find that while he was able to get addresses of people with his surname, no lists existed that told him if these prospects bought by mail or were interested in genealogy.  Bartel once tried to market a newsletter that used an innovative cash flow apan the most adept pickpocket—but it is not.