9 Tips for Making Your HVAC Direct Mail Marketing Material Pop

Byplusroi

September 2013 Issue

9 Tips for Making Your HVAC Direct Mail Marketing Material Pop

Well-timed and attractively designed direct mail marketing pieces have a significant impact these days, in the era of less postal mail. Since fewer envelopes, flyers and postcards land in the mailbox—yours will get even more attention, especially when personally addressed to the recipient’s name. Direct mail marketing materials are easy on your budget and they get results with customer retention, reactivation, prospecting and more.

Make your mailings irresistible and bring in new business with these tips:

  • Create a memorable, powerful title: Make that headline a grabber, using stimulating and time-limited terms. Words that work include “simple,” “easy,” “free,” “special discount,” “get the secrets to,” “how to,” “bonus,” “proven” and similar positive, problem-solving words.
  • Clearly state the advantages: Outline the chief benefits of your product or service and show specifically how it will solve their biggest problem or make life easier. Don’t write “we” or “us,” but instead focus on “you” and “your.” Be succinct and use attractive and action-inspiring words like “free,” “discount,” “save” and similar terms. Avoid a wall of words—it’s off-putting. Use bullets, surrounding them with a separate box, for example, and write short paragraphs with white space in between.
  • Leverage testimonials and case studies: Case studies illustrate past success and show how you’ve solved similar problems recently. Testimonials work just like good reviews except they pack more power since they’re personalized. Testimonials are recommendations from real people telling real stories, which carry lots of weight. Include your endorsers’ first and last names, their company name and location for added credibility.
  • Provide an irresistible discount with a deadline: Create a large coupon with offer details and any restrictions. For mail-in offers, make sure to create a form field for all key information you need from the customer or prospect. Use a strong call to action to get your recipient to call, visit your website or mail in the information.
  • Present info in an organized way: Divide your page using borders, information boxes and bright colors. Don’t forget the white space for focus and easier readability.
  • Use an evocative image for drama: One big image or photo will grab the viewer, creating more interest and excitement than several smaller, crowded images. Choose or create an illustration that tells your story and conveys the meaning of your message.
  • Make your key points scannable: Make key benefits and product features easy to see and understand, highlighting important info, using subtitles with bold and italics if they’re large enough to be read clearly. Don’t use all capital letters, because these create blocks of text that are hard to read, especially since most everyone scans text these days!
  • Keep it simple: This is true in much of life and especially in any type of marketing message. Use a simple page layout and don’t get too fancy with fonts—use only one or two different ones. Leave generous margins at the edge of your text and images, otherwise the printer may cut off your content. Follow your printer’s template and determine if you want your design to bleed (over the edge of the paper) or leave a margin—and how much.
  • Proof and proof again: Ideally, have two others check your work for grammar and spelling errors. Double-check your web address to make sure the dot is in the right place and it’s spelled properly. Verify the contact info, too. It’s easy to gloss over these everyday pieces of information but these are crucial.

For expert, economical, professional assistance with direct mail marketing, including mailer design, copywriting, printing, data gathering and marketing systems—customized for the HVAC industry – contact Halo Programs today.