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What does it take to get out of a sales slump or rev up sluggish response rates? Branding and product awareness campaigns work best for big companies. The cost for radio and newspaper advertising are generally too pricey for home business budgets. And although sign twirling certainly has its benefits, it’s not always appropriate—especially long term. So, to answer the question I’ll paraphrase James Brown, “get a brand new bag.”

In this case, your new bag is a marketing kit that contains the right mix of promotional tools. Every business, whether new or established, knows they must have promotional tools. But what’s not so obvious is how to put together the right mix that delivers specific, measurable, and speedy results.

Chances are you’ve heard of direct marketing. Although it’s commonly thought to be synonymous with direct mail, it goes far beyond items that appear in residential and commercial mailboxes. Direct marketing is all about personalized promotional communications. It includes email, newsletters, telephone prospecting, catalogues, brochures, and many other forms of promotions in which you engage directly with your audience. What’s ideal about direct marketing is that it enables you to reach a narrowly targeted audience, and each direct marketing piece is designed to do a unique thing. For this reason, you save money because you have better control over your spending. Plus, you can test your promotions’ effectiveness, and you can measure results with high accuracy.

Let’s say you wanted to purchase radio advertising. A 30-second spot during evening drive time could cost you several hundred dollars and the possibility of you reaching your intended audience would be iffy — just think how many times you’ve changed the station at the sound of a commercial — particularly while stuck in rush hour. Yet, with direct marketing, the odds are reversed. A newsletter, for instance, goes directly to subscribers who have intentionally chosen to receive your messages. Therefore, your opportunity to reach them and get them to listen is much greater.

If your sales and response rates are slow, then speed them up with a marketing kit that has the right mix of direct marketing tools. But before I go into what components you’ll need and how to make them effective, I want to emphasize that your key objective is to get customer prospects to take immediate action. This could be an instant purchase or an inquiry for further information. Therefore EVERY promotional message you send must overtly ask the recipient to take a specific course of action. Additionally, your promotional tools will be more effective, too, if you already have these three things in place:

1. A target market. (The infamous rule of know thy customer applies here.)

2. A list that contains your target customers' contact information. (If not, don’t worry I’ll show you how to get a list started.)

3. An offer that is unbeatable, hard to resist, or both!

Give Your Envelope a New Role

If you’re sending a direct mail package, don’t dismiss your envelope as purely a mailing requirement. The envelope is an integral part of your promotion, because it influences your recipient’s next step. Use the envelope space to entice your reader to explore what’s inside. You can do this more easily by promising a benefit. Phrases like “Try this new…Free inside… and Save money on” have a strong history of being effective and work even better when they are paired with a deeper benefit. For example: “Free Inside! Your wet-dog odor eliminator.” Or “Save money on groceries. Have dinner on me.” Keep in mind that deadlines inspire action, so whenever possible include them. Here’s how going the extra step can make a difference when using pairing it with a benefit: “Better hurry, dinner offer good only the week of October 1^st.”

Here are more tips based on my own personal experience: Choose envelope size and construction with care, giving consideration to how it will help your materials hold up during mail processing and delivery. Stay away of trendy neon colors — they might appear too gimmicky for businesses and risk the chance of being tossed by the mail room or receptionist.

Make Your Mail Lumpy

An envelope that contains moving items arouses curiosity. If you can include a sample of what you’re selling or something that closely represents your product, you can significantly boost your response rate. For example, a package of seeds has both lumps and noise and sends the message about growth. This makes sense for a business dealing with gardening or related products, but it would also convey the appropriate message for a financial advisor. One word of caution: Ensure the lump ties in with your business, and you won’t alienate the customer prospect by making them feel duped.

Sell With a Letter

Start your sales letter by selling from the onset, starting with a title that gives a compelling benefit or addresses a gut-wrenching problem you will solve. Then in the following sentences prove how your product or services provides the ultimate solution. Always talk about what’s important to the customer, and strive to write from their perspective. If you use more personal pronouns such as “you” and “your,” as opposed to “I” or “me,” then you’re on the right track. Remember that direct marketing pieces are about personalization, so the more you use the person’s name, the better. 

Here are other sales letter pointers:

·      Build trust and likeability between you and the reader by using a conversational tone. Write as if you were speaking face-to-face. For example: Keep paragraphs short. Don’t be afraid to use one-word sentences, and make use of dashes and italics to stress a point.

·      When in doubt, follow this structure:

1) Get attention.

2) Identify a single problem that’s vital to your customer.

3) Promise a solution.

4) Prove your product’s capability.

5) State your offer clearly, succinctly, and powerfully.

6) Tell the reader what you want them to do next: Go to your web site (sending them to a landing page if this is the case), email you for more information, or call you today.

·      Finally, include a P.S. at the very end of your letter. Give an additional worthwhile piece of information or a bonus offer. 

Tell With a Brochure

The purpose of a brochure is to support the claims you made in your sales letter. So leave out the sales pitch and focus on educating and informing customers about the particulars of your product. Avoid vagueness. Explain features. Illustrate how your product is used. Demonstrate results in the form of testimonies and use images to enhance meaning. Remind readers of benefits and boldly state your guarantee or promise. Restate your call to action and be sure to include all of your company contact information. 

Introduce With Purpose and Confidence

I included this because so many of my own clients have told me they are uncomfortable about introducing themselves and talking about their business to others they don’t know. Elevator speeches are opportunities to qualify and generate leads. All you have to do is practice, so you say it with confidence.

Instead of introducing yourself by name first, start off with a statement about a benefit you provide. For example: bypass the usual "Hi, my name is Chris Sharpe, I’m a financial advisor.” A more memorable alternative — one that will resonate with your listener — is, “I advise small-business owners on investment options and tax reduction strategies. I also keep them out of trouble with the IRS. Hello, my name is Chris Sharpe.” At that point you would hand out business card. Then close by saying, “Keep my contact information handy, because I’m giving a free seminar on how to reduce your tax bill next week. If you like, I can email you all the details.” Bingo. You’ve just did the work of a direct mail piece that didn’t cost you a dime. HBM 

Sonya Carmichael Jones is an independent copywriter, marketing strategist, and author of the “Art of Smart Marketing, What Small Business Owners Must Know to Get Customers and Sell Products.” Got a marketing question? Reach her at .