3 Things to Keep Your Mail From the Junk Mail Pile

The previous few weeks we have been discussing getting more return in your advertising budget with a series of mailings or more than one form of media. Now let's talk about how exactly to format your direct mail. There are two basic categories...plainly set, those that can be found in envelopes and those that do not.Those that don't can be found in envelopes are typically called self-mailers and they contain postcards, tabbed tri-folded leaflets and catalogues. Self-mailers are usually cheaper but also prone to be thrown out as File Sharing.So just how do we employ this much cheaper form of mailing while avoiding the risk of having 90% of it thrown out as junk mail, by the recipient, without even a glance at it?You need to make your direct mail offer leap out of the junk mail pile and in to the curiosity pile. You've to avoid them from throwing it in the waste without first looking at it. How would you do that?There certainly are a few ways to make low priced mail leap out at your prospects:1. Handwritten note--No it's possible to discard a handwritten note without learning what it's about. They simply can not! But bear in mind, don't use some fake looking font but both a real handwritten note or use a technology that's quite reliable looking (beware...there are starting to be described as a large amount of fake looking, handwritten fonts available now. )2. An extraordinarily interesting or lovely picture around the front--People simply love pictures!3. An unusual size or shape--Using an over size card or a card cut into an unusual shape will make it feel and look distinctive from the other junk mail so it doesn't get lost.You can still get an unbelievable return on investment with the less costly postcard form mailings if you do them right.Doing them right implies that you write an excellent subject, you know just what your goal is with the mailing and you keep it out of the junk pile.Next week I will spend a bit more time speaing frankly about what you should actually devote the backup to get your prospect to act.