Last Updated on May 9, 2022

I know you’ve heard that print is dead, but it is so far from. In fact, it’s still one of our preferred methods over any other marketing and I’ll tell you why…

Our inboxes today are overrun, our phones are filled with spam calls, and our social feeds are never-ending. In order to function properly, we have to tune some of it out. This means that things pile up and things get ignored. Something funny about print though… it always ends up physically in someone’s hand. It can’t just be ignored as easily as other forms of communication, so it actually has a real opportunity to get in front of people!

The great news is, if you know what to do and how to capture their attention in that moment, you can generate real, quality leads simply by mailing letters to people!  

Still Don’t Believe Me?

I thought we might end up here. Don’t go just yet, because I want to share something that will convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that print still has merit in marketing. 

There has been a shift happening where different types of corporations and major companies are moving towards print, even though they’ve had monstrous success with other types of marketing and advertising methods (i.e. television advertising, online marketing and inside their own platforms/apps)… but you’ve probably seen some of them in your own mailbox recently:

• Amazon
• Burger King
• Heinz
• Spotify
• … and many more!

If learning that successful online companies, brick and mortar businesses, and apps are all working to stake a claim in your mailbox, doesn’t convince you that print is an effective way to get results… just keep reading!

Direct mail budgets have also increased year over year for 3 years running and this stat comes directly from the Direct Mail Advertising Global Market Report compiled by The Business Research Company.

So, how can you capitalize on this proven strategy and growing trend?

The Best Marketing Doesn’t Feel Like Marketing

When you’re spending the money to send mail directly to a person, you want to make it count. You’ve seen your junk mail as it passes directly into the recycling bin – beautifully designed, glossy, fabulous even. But nothing in there specifically connects with you personally, gets you to pick up the phone and call someone, or send an email.

What type of mail do you pause for? This is where ‘The Letter’ comes into play. There’s something personal about a letter for several reasons: they make a subconscious physical connection with you when they hold your letter in their hand, and second, the context of a letter usually indicates a private conversation with a personal message, which turns into something only the two of you share. But not all letters are built the same.

Letters That Work Well

Historically letters have been used for everything from communicating feelings of undying love, to starting wars, to sharing family news… so how do you decide what kind of letters to send in order to create connections with people who want to do business with you? 

Here are a few types of Sales Letters that I happen to know work exceptionally well, specifically because they’ve been proven to work over the last 20 years by Service For Life!® clients I personally know: 

• Farming Letters
• One-Time Referral Letters
• Newsletters

3 Goals with Any Letter

So, you’ve made the decision to use a letter campaign in your business. Now it’s time to make sure it’s successful by hitting 3 core goals. You want people to see it before they trash it, you want people to become curious enough about it that they actually read it, and you want to get a response from them.

1. Get It Delivered & OpenedDelivered?

What? I know this is wild, but getting ‘Delivered’ is a real thing. A shocking percent of advertising mail goes missing every year and doesn’t actually get delivered. As it turns out, your chances of getting your mail delivered increase when your marketing either looks like wanted media, has welcomed content – OR if it’s personal looking.

Getting it there is one step, but now that it’s delivered, how do you get someone to actually STOP and spend time opening your specific piece?

Make it look as personal as possible! This means using tactics like First Class Mail, Live Stamps and Individually Addressed letters. If you’re looking to go a step further you can use a tactic called “Intimidating Imprints” where you include something inside the letter to make it stand out from the rest of the mail. Even something as simple as a piece of candy or small trinket can make your letter stand out.

2. Get It Read

Now that we’ve gotten your mail delivered and opened… here’s the tricky part: getting your message read. Instead of getting overwhelmed with all the possibilities, let’s just start with the headline of your letter. We want to use headlines that ideally speak to 3 main categories which deliver emotional value to the reader on an intellectual, empathetic or spiritual level.

Here are a few examples of headlines that appeal to these values:

• Who Else Wants to Own a Piece of Paradise?
• Why the Smartest Homeowners Choose Their Real Estate Professional by Referral…
• “Why Most Home Value Estimates Are Bogus… And How to Learn the True Value of Your Home”
• How to Sell Your Home for TOP DOLLAR Even Without A Real Estate Agent.
• No Sound Warms The Heart Like the Laughter Of A Child
• “Guess Who Just Moved Into the Neighborhood?”

Once you’ve got a great headline, you need to follow that up with captivating content. There are many big picture strategies to explore when it comes to engaging your readers, but the top techniques include: intimidation (limited number, only a few will qualify), demonstrating the ROI of something (selling money at a discount), appealing to someone’s ego (enticing them to keep up with Jones’), offering a strong guarantee (money-back), or telling a story (everyone loves a story).

Once you’ve picked a strategy you want to use for your content, it comes down to writing the content itself. Whichever path you choose to take for your letter, make sure you are providing welcomed and valuable content that your audience will find interesting. I cover this in great depth in the webinar replay included above.

3. Get It Responded To

Once you’ve got them hooked into reading, you can use specific tactics and calls to action to spark immediate responses from your audience. People get involved when there’s an urgency trigger like: limited availability, deadlines, or a contest. You can also increase responses just by making sure people can easily complete a response – make your contact information easy to find and give them lots of options (email, text, phone, website) 

Finally, make sure you’ve included referral programming into your letter so even if people aren’t actively looking to buy or sell – they might know someone who is and send you a referral instead. Referral programming can be as simple as asking:

• “Do you know anyone looking to move into your neighborhood soon?”
• “Do you know anyone that has kids going into their first year of school soon that might be looking to move into a good school district?”
• “Do you know anyone that’s recently retired that might be looking to move into a smaller home?”

A Special Gift from Me to You

You know I love to talk about these things in concept, but what if today I give you a free, turn-key Sales Letter from Service For Life!®, that you don’t have to do anything to – just personalize, print and send! Happy mailing!

Download Your Free Service For Life!® Sales Letter Template