Due to an emergency, we must polish ANOTHER postcard turd.
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!
We have a small business owner that's verging on giving up on the ultimate money machine (direct mail) and we must get him back. The original post is located here.
In a nutshell, he owns an overhead door business and spent $2600 for a mailing that returned a dismal 7 responses and ended up losing him $1,000. He also put his trust into a professional designer and copywriting 'team' so that he could maximize response -- only to find that they didn't come through with their promises.
Now he feels like postcard mailing won't work and he's better off dumping his money into other channels.
Can we help this situation? I don't know but I can guarantee you that direct mail can pull more leads than anything for his business if the right person is taking control of his mailing.
Let's examine the postcard and the main elements...
Postcard looks nice overall and definitely was put together by a pro designer. But does that mean it will PULL?
Let's look at the elements...
First of all, we really don't need a smorgasbord of garage door coupons to draw people in. It looks highly fabricated and slightly desperate.
I hate the "$65 dollars off" coupons because it doesn't actually clue the recipient in to the actual cost, which just gets them scared. Use a high percentage instead. (note: it's completely fine to use a $$ off coupon when your recipients KNOW what the cost should be).
The FREE installation of the garage doors is a much better selling point than the $599 low price, so that should be emphasized instead. Also, if you want to promote the $599 price, make sure to put the normal price above it with a big red "X" through it. They have to see the tremendous savings is if you're going to list prices.
The free estimate is nonsense. No one pays for estimates and no one is going to rush to call in for one before the coupon expires. If it expires, would you really start charging anyways? Too much clutter.
The picture has to go. The impression I get from looking quickly at the card is you're some kind of super high priced high end company that works with upscale clients. That picture will not strike a chord with the recipients this is going to.
Don't waste giant space on proclaiming the "owned and operated since the dawn of time" stuff. You can weave this in to the copy (you'll see).
My thoughts
If you want high response, you've got to snap up the people who are early in the buying stage, not the ones who are just conveniently looking around for garage door companies to fix their door at the moment.
Send EDDM to the area's you feel are the best fit and lure everyone with a remote need for a door in with a sweepstakes. Give away a low end door and put in your legal fine print that it only includes the door and not labor. You'll get a boatload of response that you can convert to estimates and put into your back end. Those will convert to buyers and upsells easily.
By including a couple coupons as well, you can capture the people who are in the buying process and don't care if they win or not, who just want to jump in on the offers before they expire.
The designer's/copywriter's you used designed this to please their client, not to generate maximum response. The attractive design, professional look, and emphasis on "owned & operated since..." makes it very clear that they were more focused on stroking their clients ego.
My version:
If this was my project, I'd want every recipient with a remote chance of needing a garage door or repairs done to it, to TAKE ACTION. I'd want this thing to scream at them to do something before it's too late.
If someone even has a slight problem with their overhead door, believe me it's a big problem. No one wants a door that's rickety, unsecure, unreliable, unoperable, or unattractive. All it takes is getting in front of that homeowner.
The point of this post is: you can generate response via direct mail that can tremendously outperform other channels. Postcards can reach prime targets who you'll never have a chance of reaching via other channels and it can drive people to take an action very easily when the design, copy, and offer is on point.
I wouldn't be suprised if $2,500 worth of these postcards sent EDDM bring you in truckloads of response and tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.
We have a small business owner that's verging on giving up on the ultimate money machine (direct mail) and we must get him back. The original post is located here.
In a nutshell, he owns an overhead door business and spent $2600 for a mailing that returned a dismal 7 responses and ended up losing him $1,000. He also put his trust into a professional designer and copywriting 'team' so that he could maximize response -- only to find that they didn't come through with their promises.
Now he feels like postcard mailing won't work and he's better off dumping his money into other channels.
Can we help this situation? I don't know but I can guarantee you that direct mail can pull more leads than anything for his business if the right person is taking control of his mailing.
Let's examine the postcard and the main elements...
Postcard looks nice overall and definitely was put together by a pro designer. But does that mean it will PULL?
Let's look at the elements...
First of all, we really don't need a smorgasbord of garage door coupons to draw people in. It looks highly fabricated and slightly desperate.
I hate the "$65 dollars off" coupons because it doesn't actually clue the recipient in to the actual cost, which just gets them scared. Use a high percentage instead. (note: it's completely fine to use a $$ off coupon when your recipients KNOW what the cost should be).
The FREE installation of the garage doors is a much better selling point than the $599 low price, so that should be emphasized instead. Also, if you want to promote the $599 price, make sure to put the normal price above it with a big red "X" through it. They have to see the tremendous savings is if you're going to list prices.
The free estimate is nonsense. No one pays for estimates and no one is going to rush to call in for one before the coupon expires. If it expires, would you really start charging anyways? Too much clutter.
The picture has to go. The impression I get from looking quickly at the card is you're some kind of super high priced high end company that works with upscale clients. That picture will not strike a chord with the recipients this is going to.
Don't waste giant space on proclaiming the "owned and operated since the dawn of time" stuff. You can weave this in to the copy (you'll see).
My thoughts
If you want high response, you've got to snap up the people who are early in the buying stage, not the ones who are just conveniently looking around for garage door companies to fix their door at the moment.
Send EDDM to the area's you feel are the best fit and lure everyone with a remote need for a door in with a sweepstakes. Give away a low end door and put in your legal fine print that it only includes the door and not labor. You'll get a boatload of response that you can convert to estimates and put into your back end. Those will convert to buyers and upsells easily.
By including a couple coupons as well, you can capture the people who are in the buying process and don't care if they win or not, who just want to jump in on the offers before they expire.
The designer's/copywriter's you used designed this to please their client, not to generate maximum response. The attractive design, professional look, and emphasis on "owned & operated since..." makes it very clear that they were more focused on stroking their clients ego.
My version:
If this was my project, I'd want every recipient with a remote chance of needing a garage door or repairs done to it, to TAKE ACTION. I'd want this thing to scream at them to do something before it's too late.
If someone even has a slight problem with their overhead door, believe me it's a big problem. No one wants a door that's rickety, unsecure, unreliable, unoperable, or unattractive. All it takes is getting in front of that homeowner.
The point of this post is: you can generate response via direct mail that can tremendously outperform other channels. Postcards can reach prime targets who you'll never have a chance of reaching via other channels and it can drive people to take an action very easily when the design, copy, and offer is on point.
I wouldn't be suprised if $2,500 worth of these postcards sent EDDM bring you in truckloads of response and tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.
What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
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➨ Here's How to Make Your First $177 Online
This Week Using the Piggyback Method...
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What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt
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Ron Rule
http://ronrule.com
Growing older but not up!
Deliver Bigger.
In a moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing. ~ Theodore Roosevelt