Here's an easy way to boost sagging response...

[Loren Woirhaye]

Here's an easy way to boost sagging response...

It's a known factor among direct mail pros that changing
the appearance of the mailing often can boost sagging returns.

The reason is simple. People actually don't have very
good memories for what they've read. I've started reading
books before and only realized I had read the book years
before.

People don't usually have very sharp recollections
of what they've read. What they do remember is what
they've seen.

What happens when you send the same mailing is a form
of ad-blindness. And it's not because the recipient
isn't interested in what you're selling, it's because
he has seen it before and his brain goes through a
heuristic (mental shortcut) and assumes that since he saw
it before he must have decided it wasn't for him.

The guy might have even read your whole salesletter
before, but decided not to buy right then and forgot
about it. Even though he's still a prospect ripe to
buy because he has a need for what you're selling, he
won't unless you get his attention again.

He's filtering your message out because he's SEEN it
before, not because he's READ it before.

So what do you do?

You leave the message and the offer the same, but you
change the envelope. You might tweek the envelope or
cover copy a bit or you might just have it redesigned
with different layout and colors.

Dan Kennedy's doing it with his recent book. Look:






Now perhaps ol' Dan's publisher is just split-testing
covers here but I suspect the book has been printed
with a different cover to see if it gets better
placement in bookstores.... by clerks who haven't
seen the new cover.

D.K. isn't the only business author running different
covers for the same book. I've seen several designs
for Roger Dawson's "Secrets of Power Persuasion"
(one of the best, yet lesser known, books on the
subject, by the way).

The big question is how can YOU use this new
knowledge to increase response in your own marketing?

[wolverine1971]

Thank you - I've been taking time to study visual cues and engaging my potential clients more. this looks very interesting.