These Internet Marketers Wasted a Stamp to Me - Here's Why
Have you heard that a lot of Internet marketers are using direct mail?
Here's an example, along with my analysis of what they did right and wrong.
When I picked up my mail, one envelope intrigued me. It was hand addressed (good!), had several stamps on it (also good) rather than metering or a bulk mail indicia, and it had a color photo of two young guys sitting on a rock with blue sky behind them, a company name and address. I did not recognize the guys in the photo or the company name, so that part was completely neutral, neither good nor bad.
The most intriguing thing about the envelope was that it contained something lumpy that by feeling it through the envelope I could not determine what it was (brilliant!), and the envelope was stamped in red, NON MACHINABLE (very good).
I opened the envelope, interested to see what it contained. So, overall, so far so good. Direct mail is supposed to be opened.
The lumpy object turned out to be a little mint encased in plastic, and I started laughing. Cheapest lumpy mail enclosure ever! Very, very good.
But from there on, there was nothing even remotely good about the mailing. The rest of what was enclosed was a double-sided flyer. There was nothing personally addressed to me, nothing that explained even in a general way why this was being sent to me. It seemed to be trying to get me to participate in some joint venture, but nothing was explained clearly or appealingly in the text, and there was no clear call to action - what they wanted me to do.
It was also folded in such a way that the side that was hardest to comprehend, and which I believe was intended to be the back side, was what I saw first.
The text contained a lot of acronyms and first names I didn't recognize and overall was completely baffling, though I did not read it word for word. It did not entice me to read it carefully and in fact seemed completely misdirected to me - seemed designed more for someone who was already enrolled, literally or figuratively, in these two guys' program.
All in all it was a waste to send this to me because it didn't say why I was receiving it, it didn't take into account that I'd never heard of these guys and needed an introduction, it didn't have a clear, obvious purpose and it didn't tell me what to do.
It just occurred to me while writing this that I do not know for sure that these guys are Internet marketers. However, I suspect so because of the style of the writing, the assumptive first names and because of some of the acronyms used.
In any case, sending this to me was a waste of their money. Hopefully there's a lesson there for some of you!
Marcia Yudkin
Here's an example, along with my analysis of what they did right and wrong.
When I picked up my mail, one envelope intrigued me. It was hand addressed (good!), had several stamps on it (also good) rather than metering or a bulk mail indicia, and it had a color photo of two young guys sitting on a rock with blue sky behind them, a company name and address. I did not recognize the guys in the photo or the company name, so that part was completely neutral, neither good nor bad.
The most intriguing thing about the envelope was that it contained something lumpy that by feeling it through the envelope I could not determine what it was (brilliant!), and the envelope was stamped in red, NON MACHINABLE (very good).
I opened the envelope, interested to see what it contained. So, overall, so far so good. Direct mail is supposed to be opened.
The lumpy object turned out to be a little mint encased in plastic, and I started laughing. Cheapest lumpy mail enclosure ever! Very, very good.
But from there on, there was nothing even remotely good about the mailing. The rest of what was enclosed was a double-sided flyer. There was nothing personally addressed to me, nothing that explained even in a general way why this was being sent to me. It seemed to be trying to get me to participate in some joint venture, but nothing was explained clearly or appealingly in the text, and there was no clear call to action - what they wanted me to do.
It was also folded in such a way that the side that was hardest to comprehend, and which I believe was intended to be the back side, was what I saw first.
The text contained a lot of acronyms and first names I didn't recognize and overall was completely baffling, though I did not read it word for word. It did not entice me to read it carefully and in fact seemed completely misdirected to me - seemed designed more for someone who was already enrolled, literally or figuratively, in these two guys' program.
All in all it was a waste to send this to me because it didn't say why I was receiving it, it didn't take into account that I'd never heard of these guys and needed an introduction, it didn't have a clear, obvious purpose and it didn't tell me what to do.
It just occurred to me while writing this that I do not know for sure that these guys are Internet marketers. However, I suspect so because of the style of the writing, the assumptive first names and because of some of the acronyms used.
In any case, sending this to me was a waste of their money. Hopefully there's a lesson there for some of you!
Marcia Yudkin