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How to Score Big With Direct Marketing

Allegra Marketing Print Mail Corona Direct Mail LettersDirect mail is no longer the last resort for desperate business owners who don’t have the money for television or print ads. Savvy owners understand the value of direct marketing as part of their overall marketing plan. At Allegra Printing Corona, CA, we want to help you design and implement an effective direct mail campaign to reach out to customers and grow your business. Here are a few tips to help you score big with direct marketing.

1. Stick to the Essentials

Most people skim text looking for the key points they need to know. With this in mind, trim your message to include the most important information you want to share and refrain from writing large paragraphs of information. You can always send out a follow-up mailer if you need to say more. When possible, use bulleted lists and highlight your offer with bold or italicized text.

2. Choose a Reader Friendly Layout

Help your customers navigate your mailer by choosing a layout that is easy for them to read. Keep in mind that people read from left to right and top to bottom, and they tend to remember the first and last items they read. The most valuable real estate on your mailer is the top right corner and bottom. Use these spaces to catch their attention and your call to action. Designers at Allegra Marketing Print Mail in Corona, CA can help you design an attractive, easy-to-read mailer that generates results.

3. Stay Focused on Your Audience

You want your customers to know what makes your company different from the rest, but resist the temptation to talk about yourself. Your customers want to know how they will benefit from taking advantage of your offer and doing business with your company. Instead of telling them about the latest industry certification you earned, explain to them how you will use your new knowledge to improve their lives.

Direct_Mail_Is_Not_Dead_Eugene_Montanez4. Personalize the Pieces

If you want to attract and retain lifelong customers, you have to build relationships with them and make them feel valued. Avoid sending the same form letter to everyone on your mailing list. Instead use variable printing to make sure each piece is addressed to a person (not “current resident”) or address envelopes by hand for added appeal.

5. Always Include a Call to Action

In his book, “Direct Mail is NOT Dead,” Eugene Montanez explains the importance of an effective call to action. Not only does it urge your prospect to respond to your offer, but it also gives you actions to track. When they visit the website or call the phone number you supply, you can count the number of people who respond and use the information to improve the effectiveness of future mailings.

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Ten Ways to Cut Your Printing Costs

1. Stick with standard finished sizes to reduce paper waste and minimize your costs.

2. Be careful when using bleeds, that is, color or images that run to the edges of the paper. Sometimes they require larger sheets that need to be trimmed, resulting in higher costs and longer production time.

3. Use color to print a large quantity of “shells.” Then, customize the text as your projects come up throughout the year with one color of ink.

4. Similarly, spread the cost of color between several jobs. For example, design a series of brochures that share the same colors, and print them at the same time. It can be cheaper than paying separate setup charges for each.

5. Before placing a special order, ask if there is a paper stock in inventory that might be right for your project.

6. Choose the right type of binding. Saddle stitching (stapling the piece along the center fold) is one of the least expensive and most popular types of binding.

7. On larger quantities that are printed on two sides, lay out both sides on one larger sheet. This is called printing “two-up” and can reduce costs by about 25 percent since press time is cut in half.

8. If you are designing your materials on computer disk and/or providing a digital file, make sure your printer outputs a sample to check the accuracy of the layout and any color separations. In addition, make any revisions before you turn your layout or digital files over to the printer. Revisions are costly once a job is in production.

9. Consider digital color output. Though printing small quantities (under 400) of a full-color brochure is usually cost prohibitive for many organizations, consider short-run digital printing instead. If set up correctly, your project can be output directly from your digital files and the press time is cut in half.

10. Avoid rush charges. Find out what length of time is required from your printer for production printing and added processes like folding, paper- and die-cutting. Stay on deadline to avoid rush charges, which can be as high as 50 to 100 percent above the normal quote.

 

To get more information and to let us help you implement a complete marketing program,

give Eugene or Paula Montanez a call at 951-734-8181, today!
Allegra, your Corona, Norco and Inland Empire printing and marketing experts.