1. Send a personal message. Too often business owners insert their usual brochures into envelopes and hope for the best. Make your mailing piece as personal as you can and avoid the common white envelope so often used for business mailings.

2. Communicate a benefit. Recipients want a reward for opening your mail. That reward should be a clearly defined message that expresses a tangible customer benefit. Offer a free 30-minute first-time consultation or introduce a new product or service. Enclose a coupon or offer free estimates on service. You need a clearly defined offer if your mailing is to draw customers.

3. Create urgency. You can increase your direct mail success tremendously by adding a sense of urgency to every mailing. Without a sense of urgency, recipients most likely park your mailing on the shelf or in the trash.

4. Provide sufficient information. Direct mail gives you enough space to fully describe your offer. You can go into detail, really selling and building rapport and getting your message told completely. Direct mail also gives you the opportunity to remind customers about your additional products and services.

5. Address a target audience. Direct mail possesses the unique ability to zero in on a specific group of people. So whom do you target first? Your best prospects are by far are people who already buy from you. You can zero in on specific incomes, married people, and single people, even people with children. Mailing list brokers will help you select the best list.

6. Mail frequently. A single direct mail piece is soon forgotten. Wait too long between mailings, and customers move on to other suppliers. The secret is to maintain a regular schedule of mailings. Some consultants advise mailing to current customers every six weeks.

1. Hire a graphic designer. One of the first mistakes when starting your business is trying to cut costs and do everything yourself. About half of all businesses fail within their first few years. If your marketing materials don’t stand out from those of your competitors, your sales will suffer.

2. Make your business look like a large business. Large and successful businesses such as Microsoft and Nike would never consider doing business without professional, originally designed marketing materials. The logo is very important, but I could write a whole another article about that. The business card is the first impression of your business. The client will make an imaginary picture about you and your organization by just looking at your business card. This means the more attractive and a better image, the better response you’ll get from your prospective clients.

3. The style of business cards. How do I make my business card stand out? Many companies are doing more non-traditional business cards. A card that has the information printed vertically, rather than horizontally, can also stand out. An over sized or one that folds can be an head turner as well. However you choose to make your card stand out, make sure you proof all of the content.

4. Always distribute cards seriously and with intention. Just don’t pass out your cards casually. Make sure you make eye contact and have your 30-second elevator speech ready. Also speak sincerely while promoting your services and recipients will respond to this warmly.