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August 30, 2010

Eye Contact in Graphic Design

Category: Design, Marketing — Tags: , , — Sarah @ 10:31 am

Let’s say you’re sitting on the subway one day and you get that strange feeling that someone is staring at you. What’s your first reaction?

Our guess is that approximately 98% of people will naturally look in the direction of the stare-er and, even for just a moment, make eye contact. (We also guess that approximately 1% will pull out their phones and nervously send themselves a text message to make themselves look busy. And the other 1% are probably split between diving under the seat in fear and making obscene gestures.)

The point is, when people look at us, it gets our attention. Regardless of whether we’re receiving a friendly look or a scary stalkerish look, the overwhelming inclination is to look back.

Ads That Make You Want to Look

This explains the huge number of advertisements that include pictures of people. One of the main reasons people are so central to many designs is that they can do something that words can’t – make eye contact.

That’s right – models on the covers of brochures and viewbooks and pamphlets are staring at you – and inviting you to stare back. And even though a picture of a person may not be quite as effective as an actual person, it still works very well…and is a lot easier to mail.

Start a Staring Contest

So during your next marketing campaign, including photos of some friendly, happy people in your marketing materials can be a good way to catch your targets’ eyes. And getting their attention is the first step to getting their business.

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August 23, 2010

Success With Direct Mail – The Target List

Category: Marketing — Tags: , , , — Sarah @ 8:22 am

How well do you really know your targets?

In truth, probably not all that well. After all, if these people are just potential customers, you may not even have laid eyes on them yet. So you probably know them about as well as you know…say…your coworker’s mother-in-law, the lady who rented your apartment before you did, Justin Bieber, or someone else you’ve heard of but never actually met.

But to put together a great marketing campaign using VDP and PURLs, it’s essential to have specific details about the clients you’re looking to attract.

Luckily, you can fake it.

Big Brother Makes A List

When you buy mailing lists for your direct mail campaigns, you can get more than just names and addresses. There are lists available with more specific details about each person on the list. Do you need to know makes and models of their cars? Their shopping habits? Chances are, there’s a sneaky list maker on the prowl right now compiling the information you need. And through effective list buying, you can obtain this information easily and use it to improve the effectiveness of your campaign.

You’ve Got The Details…What Now?

After you’ve got a magic list with lots of specific details about your targets, there are lots of ways you can put this information to work. One way we recommend is putting together a marketing campaign involving VDP coupled with PURLs.

Picture this. Your target, who we’ll call Sammy, is sorting through his mail when he comes across a postcard that says “SAMMY. We Know How Much You Love Your Labradoodle. Our Pet Supply Store Has A Special Deal Just For You.” Sammy’s intrigued, not to mention happy and chill because he’s thinking about his beloved labradoodle.

As he continues reading the postcard, he discovers that it invites him to visit his own personal webpage – www.yourpetstorenamehere.com/SAMMY – where he can download coupons just for him. He’s intrigued. He’s never been invited to his own personal website for a pet store before. He hangs onto the card. He goes to the site. He takes a survey there that gives you even MORE information about him and his darling labradoodle. He gets his coupons, visits your store, and becomes a lifetime customer. And all thanks to a little V to the DP and a little P to the URLs.

Specific Details & VDP & PURLs Come Together to Rule the World

Or, at least to help you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to direct mail campaigns. Campaigns that use specific details about targets do really well, and campaigns that use VDP do really well, and campaigns that use PURLs do really well, so putting them all to work can get you the results you’re looking for.

And the best chance at turning your co-worker’s mother-in-law, the former renter of your apartment, and Justin Bieber from people you’ve heard of into your clients.

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August 16, 2010

PURLs – What They Are and How They Deliver

Category: Marketing — Tags: , , — Sarah @ 7:18 am

Put yourself back in school for a moment. Fourth grade would be super.

Let’s say your teacher is giving a boring lecture on a warm September afternoon. If you’re anything like us, you find yourself in a daze, focusing on everything but the lesson. Then suddenly, out of the blue, the teacher calls on you. And, BAM. You’re back in the zone.

That’s what personalization does. In school, little Johnny pays much more attention to Mrs. Stuffenburger when she is addressing him directly than when she is talking to the whole class. And in marketing, people are much more likely to respond to a campaign when it seems to be reaching out to them personally than when the message is less personal.

Valuable PURLs

In previous posts we’ve shared our enthusiasm for variable data printing and talked about how awesome it can be for your direct mail campaign response rate. But that’s not the only personalized marketing solution out there. We’ve got more fun tricks – like PURLs.

PURLs are “personalized uniform resource locators” – we prefer to think of them as “personalized URLs” so they don’t sound so scary. (In case you’re not sure, a URL is just a web address – the terms “URL” and “web address” work interchangeably.)

That’s right. Personalized web addresses – meaning that there’s a special web page designed for Johnny that’s different from the ones that have been designed for each of his classmates and different from the one that has been made for Mrs. Stuffenburger.

You Can Do That?

Totally. And we find that when our clients use PURLs, they end up with websites that yield more sales.

Yes, indeedy. We love to personalize things, and we love the results personalizing things gets for our clients. Whether you’re looking to personalize URLs, mailers, or clown fish squeeze toys, we’re up for the job.

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August 9, 2010

Direct Mail That Gets Opened

Category: Marketing, Print — Tags: — Sarah @ 8:15 am

Getting your target to open a piece of direct mail is half the battle. Every day, poor, innocent pieces of mail make the long journey from mailbox to post office to mail truck to mailbox and then, just as their life goal of delivering a message is about to be fulfilled, their hopes and dreams are squashed by mail murderers who are too busy to open, let alone read, all the mail they receive. As they are whisked into the trash or the recycle bin, never to be seen again, these unfortunate brochures and letters scream, “WHY ME?!”

Well, unlucky discarded mail pieces, here’s why it was you.

Interesting Mail Survives…

The typical mail opener is on a serious time budget. So he’s only going to open the mail that piques his interest for one reason or another. We’ve talked before about how clutter busters and self-mailers can give your direct mail the intrigue factor that it needs to make sure it gets some attention.

And interesting mail isn’t the only mail that typically makes the cut.

…And So Does Important Mail

While most Americans probably fantasize about throwing away all of their bills, they don’t go through with it. Bills fall under the category of mail that’s too important to throw away. Other things that belong in this department? Account statements, checks, new credit cards, letters from the government, and official correspondence from important-looking companies, to name a few.

So besides making your direct mail look interesting, making it look important can also help it to avoid the circular file.

Make It Look Official

There are lots of ways you can give your direct mail that “important mail vibe.” Someone we know gets coupons from a restaurant that arrive in a very official-looking envelope stamped with “Handle With Care.” The first time the coupons came, she opened the envelope believing it was a bill, but was pleasantly surprised to see that the envelope contained something good.

Another pal recently received a brown envelope with very little writing on it. His instinct was to toss it, but after more careful examination, he discovered that he could feel a sheet of bubble wrap inside the envelope. Assuming that there would have to be something significant in there to require bubble wrap, he tore it open.

In both cases, creative design of the direct mail helped it to get read.

Interesting, Important…We Do It All

So when it’s time for your next direct mail campaign, let us work with you to come up with a strategy that will package your marketing message in an irresistible way. Whether we make it look too unique to pass up or too official to throw out, we’ll give it the best chance of joining the “keep” pile.

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August 2, 2010

We’re Direct Mail Pros

Category: Design, Marketing — Tags: , , , , — Sarah @ 5:33 am

Everybody has a thing.

A butcher’s thing might be preparing a delectable cut of meat. A baker’s thing might be baking the perfect cupcake. A candlestick maker’s thing is, well, fantastic candlestick making. (Quick side note – although we’ve got a handle on the essence of each of their professions, we’ve never been quite sure why these men were caught rub a dub dubbing in a tub together.)

Anyway, what we’re getting at is this – things work out best when the right person does the right job. When the butcher needs a cupcake, he should consult the baker. When the baker needs a candle, he should leave it to the candlestick dude. And when that candlestick maker is hungry for a steak, he should pay the butcher a visit. And if they do, all three will find themselves satisfied and free to devote more time to their own businesses.

Our Thing? Marketing Materials

We love designing marketing materials. From promotional items to brochures to postcards, we’ve got our clients covered when they want to get their messages out there.

One thing we’re particularly fond of is writing copy for direct mail. Writing direct mail is an art that definitely benefits from the skills of a professional. For a direct mail letter to do its job, the tone, format, and content need to be just right – and we know just how to make that happen.

What a Professional Can Do

At imPress, we have a keen awareness of the audience for a direct mail piece and take these readers into consideration as we write. Through years of experience with this medium, we’ve picked up on a lot of tricks of the trade that increase the odds that our clients’ direct mail pieces will make an impact.

For instance, a strongly written “P.S.” can be hugely persuasive. While a reader might skim the body text of a letter, a “P.S” section that is succinct and packs a lot of punch is likely to be read in its entirety. So adding a good one can make your letter much stronger.

There Are More Writing Tricks Where That Came From

From your salutation all the way down to that all-important “P.S.”, we know the powerful, subtle cues to include that will increase the success of your piece. We know what to say and how and when to say it to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing materials.

The butcher certainly could pop some Betty Crocker cake batter into a muffin tin and buy a make-your-own candles kit from Michael’s, but he’s going to end up with stronger results if he leaves the cupcake and candle production to his friends. And when he needs to develop a great direct mail campaign with a high response rate, he’ll get the results he’s looking for if he leaves the writing and designing to us.

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