Identifying Good Direct Mail Copywriters

A good copywriter is vital to the success of direct mail companies and their ability to deliver a succinct, targeted, and effective product for their clients. Direct mail companies endeavor to fill this key position with writers who not only have the ability to understand the client’s objectives from a broad, conceptual perspective, but also possess the skills to visualize a strategic and comprehensive approach in delivering the client’s message via direct mail.

Understanding the client’s end goals involves understanding the company’s brand identity and target customer demographics; a good copywriter will research these important elements before developing a direct mail concept. Direct mail companies also look for writers who can wear many creative hats: a good copywriter will be able to compose traditional, toned-down, and serious pieces, as well as take a more unconventional approach to direct mail strategies. The copywriter will be able to tailor the direct mail piece to the specifications of the client, the product or service being marketed, and to the target audience. Direct mail copywriters must also possess ingenuity in developing new, avant-garde direct mail strategies to deliver their client’s concept; writers do not simply write text, they create a direct mail experience for their clients and their client’s targeted consumers. Copywriters are thus routinely asked to provide several alternatives such as a few different headline or sub-headline options or a few copy decks to ensure the most effective direct mail campaign will be utilized. Direct marketing companies, however, are usually working under tight deadlines. A good copywriter will master the art of delivering viable options in a short amount of time.

Direct mail pieces should first catch the customer’s attention with a bold headline; a good copywriter will understand the direct mail experience for the reader and the significance of that first impression. The bold headline should then be followed by a sub-headline, supporting information to provide further details of the initial headline. Then a clear and concise block of copy should further develop the sub-headline, explaining the company and the offer or promotion. Within the text, there should be a clearly denoted “call to action” directive, upon which the customer can act within the time frame outlined. This could include such instructions as “call,” “click (to go online),” or “visit” the client’s preferred destination or destinations. The exact amount of text within the copy block should correspond directly with the physical size of the marketing piece so as not to overwhelm the reader or the overall feel of the piece. Direct mail pieces are a resourceful way of combining promotional and informative details about the company, with the overriding goal of incentivizing the customer or potential customer to want to act on the offer listed.

The client’s brand identity, needs, and target audience will determine the look and feel of the direct mail piece. The overarching theme, however, must be to answer: what does the client’s company have that others in the marketplace do not? Depending on the client’s branding strategy, the direct mail pieces that are delivered directly to consumers can be clever, catchy, fun, colorful, exciting, and can utilize images to convey ideas and trigger emotional responses unlike plain copy can. Business to business direct mail pieces tend to be more serious in tone and have a more formal writing style; however, depending on the brand, the copywriter can still successfully deliver a creative yet effective message through intelligent and smart wording.

Regardless of the audience, the copywriter’s challenge is to deliver the client’s message in such a way that the end consumer does not identify the piece as “junk mail” and subsequently pay it no attention. The main point or promotional offer of the direct mail piece must stand out and be very clear to the reader. The offer must be specific enough and compelling enough to entice the consumer to want to continue reading and ultimately want to act on the offer presented. Direct mail is moot without follow up action on the part of the recipient, and it is the copywriter’s job to ensure that all has been done to create the best possible scenario for a positive return on investment for the company.

There are a variety of direct mail formats, and a good copywriter will be able to assist with each kind. The mail formats include self mailers, which are traditionally folded pieces, multiple paneled pieces, and other unique formats within the folded category; postcards, which include the traditional 3x5, 4x6, as well as oversized varieties of non-folded pieces; and letters both with and without insert slips. The copywriter should be knowledgeable about each of these types of mailers and be able to use this knowledge to ascertain which type should be used for which purpose: to which audience, to speak to which product or service, and to what end result the piece should garner. Budgetary and design constraints should also be taken into account when choosing the direct mail format.

In addition to the different physical styles of direct mail, there are different intentions driving the need for the piece, and a copywriter must marry the purpose with the appropriate intent. The intent of the direct mail piece will directly correlate to the target audience. Acquisition pieces are used to target new customers, perhaps announcing the opening of a new business or business location or targeting a new demographic within a geographical area. Acquisition pieces are also used to potentially pilfer competitors’ customers. The copywriter would need to be familiar with the company’s competitors and their direct mail marketing strategies in order to effectively create a competitive acquisition piece. Retention pieces are intended to target the company’s existing customers, ideally to sell them on additional products or services the consumer has not yet experienced and to encourage customer loyalty by showing the customer that the company has not only remembered them, but is reaching out especially to let them know about a deal or special promotion. When composing this type of direct mail piece, the copywriter would need to craft the copy to express both gratitude to their existing customers and elicit excitement about future loyalty to the company. Business to business direct mail pieces are intended to create opportunities between businesses to support or introduce wholesale services; however, these vary by business size: generally small businesses do not receive the same types of direct mail pieces as larger ones. The small businesses may receive a more personalized message or offer, sympathetic to the limitations that small businesses generally have, while larger businesses may have a more direct and bold strategy, needing to be noticed above the competition.

Regardless of the style and intent, however, the overarching purpose of sending a direct mail piece is to remind the target audience of the company’s presence and to make the audience act on acquiring more information about the product or service advertised in the mailer. The most effective way of conveying this message is through the communication of a promotional offer. For existing customers, the promotional offer should be centered on the theme of customer loyalty and offer perks such as an upgrade option, a special discount, or priority access to a product, service, or event. To gain a new customer, however, takes more effort, so the copywriter must research the demographic, understand what is attractive to them, and hypothesize what offer will entice the audience enough to take action.

The copywriter has only a small window to appeal to a particular audience and effectively communicate the company’s brand, relevance in their lives, and why they must act upon the information presented to them. It takes a special kind of writer to keep to an economy of words and yet pack a powerhouse of ideas into a single marketing piece under these inherently limiting constraints. This makes a good direct mail copywriter different from any other type of copywriter. With often little space to convey a big idea, a good copywriter must understand that the first and most important role they have is to design the piece in such a way that the customer will want to read the piece; a direct mail piece that is copy-heavy, dull, or confusing to look at will not be read, but rather, will simply be discarded by the potential reader. A good copywriter understands that there is a very short timeframe allotted to capture the audience’s attention and designs the marketing strategy accordingly, based upon the makeup of the audience. Bulleted information, bolding important words, and using clever, intelligent, and informative headlines are all key components to a successful direct mail marketing piece.

The ultimate barometer for effectiveness, however, is whether or not the audience acts upon the offer presented. Knowing the company’s brand, target audience, and purpose of the direct mail piece inside and out is crucial to the success rate of the piece. Understanding the company’s competition will also help the copywriter to determine what marketing strategies have worked before within the particular industry and direct the copywriter to either develop original content or to amend and improve what has worked in the past. The copywriter must be aware not only of the brand identity of the company, but also of the company’s position in the marketplace. This often determines the style, tone, and voice for the piece; there are countless types of products and services, even within the same market, and choosing the variables correctly will ensure a successful rate of return for the company. A younger, hipper company catering to teenagers, for example, should not enlist a monotone voice, a formal copy, or a dull theme, but rather, colorful graphics, idiomatic and slang phrases, and an exciting, energizing theme.  Conversely, an older luxury brand should remain true to the brand’s trademarks and style, keeping to a more sophisticated and muted tone and color palette, while using more intelligent language and a softer voice. Arriving at the perfect direct mail marketing campaign, however, is not so black and white. Since so many variables present themselves in each marketing situation and since most companies do not fit perfectly into any one category, the copywriter must develop multiple alternatives to present to the client based on comprehensive knowledge of the company and the industry.  These different ideas or formats should be compiled as finished products to present so that there is no room for error in the client’s final decision.

The wordsmith that is the direct mail copywriter has a challenging role in the marketing world. Copywriters in general must understand the purpose of the piece, but direct mail copywriters must specifically comprehend how to communicate that purpose within the confines of small spaces and a small window of opportunity to appeal to the target audience. Also, direct mail marketing pieces, unlike other conventional marketing pieces, are sent for the sole purposed of eliciting an immediate “call to act” response by the audience member. A good direct mail copywriter must remain sensitive to the company’s brand, market positioning, and offer or service being provided. The copywriter must also remain focused on an efficient yet powerful strategy to drive all of those factors into an enticing and target audience-appropriate piece so that the company’s marketing dollars are invested wisely into the direct mail company’s hands.

Marketing companies look for direct mail copywriters who embody the attributes necessary to produce effective content for their clients: a brand-savvy marketing researcher who can match and mirror any multitude of companies’ tones and voices, an artist who can graphically design an eye-catching layout for the piece, an influencing sales guru who can entice the audience member with an offer so attractive that it compels the reader to act upon the promotion. The copywriter remains at the core of the direct mail company.  It is imperative that the talent level and comprehensive skill set necessary to deliver effective strategies are maintained, as the pieces produced by copywriters are the essence of the direct mail company and paramount to the continued success of the business as a whole.