Whether you're putting together your very first Direct Mail campaign or just fine-tuning your existing one, you're bound to have some questions. And we've got the answers you need.

In this section, we've gathered together the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on various Direct Mail topics.

Please click the questions to see how we can help.

•	About Direct Mail
•	About Planning
•	About Creating
•	About Deliveries
•	About Post Campaign Activities
•	About Other Uses For Direct Mail

About Direct Mail
1.	What is Direct Mail?
	Direct Mail is one of the most significant, influential and effective forms of marketing communications. It gives you many competitive advantages in building and strengthening your business, to help you stay ahead of the competition. The most important difference between Direct Mail and other forms of marketing communications is that you get to know your customers as individuals and, as a result, develop a deeper understanding of their needs and interests. This allows you to employ very personal, targeted and persuasive methods of selling.
2.	How can Direct Mail help your business?
•	Confidentiality: two big advantages here: firstly, you can talk to your customers without your competitors knowing, and, secondly, your customers can see your message without the distraction and clutter common in mass media. For example : If you're running a TV commercial offering a 5-day holiday in Bali for HK$8,500, your competitors will see it and may respond by cutting their price to HK$7,750 and possibly adding extra benefits such as room upgrades and complimentary breakfasts. When you use Direct Mail, only you and your potential customers know and understand the deal you are offering.
•	Flexibility: you can mail your potential customers at any time you choose, using a wide variety of designs. You can mail letters, postcards, colour brochures, product samples and even joint promotions, all of which contain a response device. It's entirely up to you to decide what to use, and the only constraints are your budget and your imagination.
•	Targetability: decide exactly whom you want to reach, and then speak to them one-to-one in the privacy of their own homes or offices. For example: If you want your target audience to sign up for a prestigious golf club where membership costs HK$400,000, a Direct Mail piece should be sent to people who earn more than HK$1,000,000 per year. You could do a TV commercial instead, but this would also be seen by many people who are neither interested in, nor able to afford, a golf club membership
•	Measurability: nothing is left to chance. The success of a Direct Mail campaign can be easily measured by counting the number of responses, unlike a TV campaign in which you may have no clear idea of how effectively your marketing money was spent. For example: You're building circulation for a new lifestyle magazine. After testing several different targets and formats of Direct Mail, you discover that by mailing high-net-worth individuals in Kowloon with a personalized letter offering a 6-month free subscription, you get 3 times the response rate than for an offer of wine at a reduced price.Your calculations prove that you will get a lower cost per response by using the 6-month free subscription offer to high networth individuals on Hong Kong Island.
•	Accountability: as soon as you've seen just how well Direct Mail can work, it becomes a "self-financing" medium. You can actually identify a cost per response and fine-tune your future budgets and targets accordingly.

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About Planning
1.	How do you get started with your first Direct Mail campaign?
	Step 1: Setting Your Objectives
	For example, do you want to:-
•	Sell one product or a range of products?
•	Promote a service or a range of services?
•	Generate leads for future mailings, follow-up phone calls or for your representatives to make a sales call?
•	Increase brand awareness?
•	Build loyalty or undertake other forms of Customer Relationship Management?
	Because commercial success is measured by results, it's vital that you know precisely what results you're trying to achieve.
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	Step 2: Defining Your Targets
	Just as there are many types of objectives, there are also many different types of targets. Depending on whether you wish to communicate with individuals, or with organizations such as businesses, clubs and government departments, the type of information you need to gather to clearly define your target will differ.
	For example:
•	Individuals: here you will need information about age, gender, income, spending patterns, geographical area, type of accommodation, hobbies and interests, specific needs and so on. If you have difficulties in terms of time and/or budget for collecting all this information, the most important piece of information that you should not miss out is age.
•	Businesses: the type of data required here could include nature of business, number of employees and company structure, as well as information relating to your objectives, such as the brand name of the product or service they're currently using.
	Detailed information of this nature will allow you to create a Direct Mailing piece that is more relevant to your targets and therefore more likely to get good results. The success of your campaign depends on an accurate market profile.
	Locating and Reaching Your Targets At this stage, you should know precisely what your objectives are. You should also have a clear picture of the type of individual or organization with which you wish to communicate. The next task is to gather information on where they are, and to marshall and process that information for commercial advantage both now and in the future.
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	Step 3: Databases and Lists.
	Simply put, lists comprise raw information. They contain basic data such as the target's name and address. Most lists are generally either response lists (people or organizations who have responded to your, or other people's, offers) or compiled lists (people or organizations who subscribe to certain magazines or who hold a particular credit card). By contrast, a database can provide you with vital insights that will increase the effectiveness of your Direct Mail activities. A good database is a very powerful tool and is, without doubt, the most important component of the Direct Mailer's armoury. Apart from just a simple name and address, your database should contain every single piece of information you need to make your mailings more relevant and better targeted. For individuals, you can also add your targets' hobbies and interests, favourite shopping spots, regular holiday destinations and spending habits. For organizations, you should include job titles as well as names, the identity of key decision-makers and product-relevant information, along with anything else that you think will help you to communicate better. With a good database management system, all of this information can be customized precisely to your needs, mailing by mailing. But remember, before you can set about building your database, you must first compile your list.
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2.	How do you compile the mailing list?
	Step 4: Compiling your list
	In addition to the lists that you already have as a result of your previous mailings, other lists can be rented from a list broker for a specific period of time (normally one year) and for a limited number of uses. These lists can be as comprehensive as a telephone directory; or as narrow as a listing of couples aged 23 - 31, both of whom work in the airline industry and who have 2 children being educated abroad. No matter how obvious it sounds, when you're compiling your list, always keep in mind exactly who you're trying to target. Most competent list brokers can be found through the Yellow Pages or ads in Direct Marketing publications. They will either supply you with lists they've compiled themselves or act as agents for lists compiled from other sources. However, in order to make the best use of your promotion money, you have to clearly define who your targets are, and ensure that the list broker matches your requirements carefully. You should also negotiate with them for taking a sample for testing, before committing to rolling out the entire list. You can also compile your own lists from easily accessible public records, such as the Register of Motor Vehicles, or the Lands Registry. Magazines, as well as trade and professional associations, are another great source to consider, especially for reaching targets that share the same interests, pastimes or commercial activities. A word of caution. In Hong Kong today, it's vital that you make enquiries about the exact source of the information you're about to rent or buy, in order to avoid any complications under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, which came into effect in December 1996. On a more general note, it's also important that you check into the freshness and frequency of updating of any data you're planning to acquire. Any list that hasn't been de-duplicated recently or contains "dead" information could adversely affect your production and postal costs, and detract from your company's image.
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3.	How do you turn the mailing list into a database?
	Step 5: Building Your Database
	Now's the time to take all the information you've accumulated in compiling your Direct Mailing list and turn it into a database. In simple terms, in building a database you take hard, dry data and breathe life into it. Your database should be much more than just an electronically stored list of information relating to individuals or organizations. It must also be able to stand updating and interrogation by a cross-section of users. This is what makes a good database the single most important component of the Direct Mail mix. A good database will not only tell you your target's name, address, sex, age, occupation, income and lifestyle habits, it will also give you vital information regarding each individual's reaction to your previous mailings. This important segment in the database is usually marked as PSTs, or "Promotion Sales Trailers". For example:
•	Did they ignore those promotions?
•	Did they respond to any of them?
•	When was the first time they responded to your mailings?
•	Of those three different formats you tested in your last mailing, which did they respond to?
•	If one of your mailings included a questionnaire, did they complete and return it?
•	Has their response been converted into a sale?
•	What are your next steps with this individual or group of individuals?
	In many cases, marketers invest in keeping "Purchase Histories", but forget about the importance of tracking their targets’ response to previous mailings. There is an almost infinite amount of information that your database can give you, depending on how it is designed. Building a database that suits your requirements precisely is a complex business, and you should seek advice from a professional Direct Mail Marketing consultant, rather than just talking to the list broker alone. To get the best results, here's a checklist to consider before you brief an outside specialist:
•	What are your objectives and precise requirements?
•	What will the data be used for?
•	How frequently will you be updating your database?
•	How many, and what type of, people will use your database?
•	What is the anticipated size of your potential customer base?
•	Are there any compatibility requirements with existing infrastructure?
•	And last, but not least, what is your budget?
	A final thought. Having spent a lot of time and energy on this important project, always remember that your "relationship" with your database is a two-way street. For it to give you everything you ask of it, you have to keep it constantly updated with the results of your Direct Mail activities. Old data is useless data. Fresh data will help you make money by out-thinking and out-marketing your competitors.
	An Important Option – The Hongkong Post Circular Service In addition to building and using databases for your Direct Mail activities, you should also consider the advantages of The Hongkong Post Circular Service. This highly efficient and cost-effective service allows you to target geographically clustered demographic groups such as high-income or high-net-worth individuals. Hongkong Post has the ability to identify and locate such groups and to deliver your message directly to their letterboxes for as little as HK$ 0.90 per item - much less than the postage cost of mailing a standard letter. Recently, this service has been enhanced with the incorporation of the MOSAIC data management system, to improve on the selectivity of the targets and hence the response rates of Direct Mail promotions. Please visit The Hongkong Post Circular Service for more details.

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About Creating
	Now let's discuss what a Direct Mail pack consists of. Basically, there are a few core elements. Let's take a look at them individually and see how we can make them work effectively.
1.	What elements should you consider when preparing your Direct Mail campaign?
	Production Guidelines - A Word from Hongkong Post First things first. Even before you start creating your Direct Mail piece, we suggest you visit the Postal Solutions section of the Hongkong Post direct mail website for a sneak preview of the many systems Hongkong Post will use to get your Direct Mail campaign into the hands of your potential customers. The reason we recommend you do this is that, depending on which delivery system you opt for, there may be certain size, weight and sorting restrictions in place. These are designed to ensure that your Direct Mail campaign is delivered as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. You'll also discover that by sticking to these guidelines there are some very gratifying cost savings to be had. And the money you save here can be usefully applied to other aspects of your campaign. Once you arrive at the Postal Solutions section of the Hongkong Post direct mail website, simply click the delivery method you've chosen for full details of guidelines and savings.
	Designing and writing your Direct Mail piece Now we come to the interesting part - preparing your own Direct Mail programme. Before you begin, please take into account the following important points:
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	Step 6: The proposition
•	Analyze the market.
•	Find out what your competitors are doing. That way, you can be sure that you'll be saying something fresh and different
	Step 7: The message
	The message is the most important element in your Direct Mail promotion. It will significantly influence your customers' responses. It is absolutely essential to create the right message for your Direct Mail campaign.
•	Work out your objective.
•	Work out what you want to say. Visualize your audience and determine how your product or service matches their needs.
•	Work out what the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of your product or service is. Example: Are you selling a knife that can cut through steel, or glue that can pull a freight train? And if there isn't a USP, invent one — add a guarantee, or a service, or a product update, etc.
•	Make it conversational. And, keep it simple, short and friendly.
•	Stress the consumer benefits rather than the features of your product.
•	Focus on the recipient: use "you" more than "me".
•	Don’t forget to create a compelling "call-to-action" so more customers will respond.
•	Make sure that you tell your customers how to order (accept your offer) and how to reply.
•	Keep it legal and honest.
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	Step 8: Pricing and Offers
•	If your campaign is based on price, make sure it's an attractive one.
•	If you have a good offer, e.g. free gifts upon purchase, make it prominent.
•	If it's an exclusive offer, use phrases such as "One-time" or "Limited offer".
	Important Don't forget the importance of testing different offers, messages, creative executions and timings. The results will have a dramatic effect on both the response rates and profitability of your Direct Mail activities.
	Step 9: Encouraging Responses
•	If you want people to order, or to contact you for more information, give them an easy way to do so, e.g. via a reply coupon or envelope.
•	Make telephone and/or fax numbers prominent.
•	Make sure your coupon has enough space for customers to complete all the details you need.
•	Offering an incentive tends to increase response. Your incentive could be a free gift, a discount or a lucky draw chance.
•	Urgency — make your incentive to respond time-sensitive, in order to induce faster responses — and more responses.
•	For greater efficiency you can make use of Hongkong Post's Response Service. Options include Freepost, Business Reply Service and International Business Reply Service.
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2.	How do you approach Direct Mail budget estimation?
	Step 10: Budgeting
	How much will your Direct Mail programme cost? It's vital that you spend time working out your budget before you begin your programme. Consider the following
•	Postage costs — the number of customers you're mailing out to.
•	Material costs — the quality of paper you're using, the number of pieces, etc.
•	Printing costs — choose a printer you can rely on. Discuss the cost of materials with your printer to save more money. Caution: always check paper weight carefully to ensure that your Direct Mail pack does not unintentionally exceed the weight limit of a postage class.
•	Miscellaneous costs — temporary staff wages, extra phone lines, transport, lettershopping, etc.
•	Be honest with yourself. Do you have sufficient cash flow to pay for the campaign?
•	Ways to be more cost effective
a.	Bulk mailing.
b.	Consider a lower quality paper stock.
c.	Reduce the number of elements in your mail pack, e.g. print the letter on 2 sides, cut down the number of pages in the brochure, or incorporate the response form into the brochure.
d.	Rework your target market profile to create a smaller, more precise target.
e.	Test before bulk mailing the entire list.
	Useful Templates are provided in Hongkong Post's direct mail website to help you with Profitability Analysis and Break Even Analysis for your Direct Mail campaigns. Please visit Analysis Templates to download them.
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3.	What elements will a typical Direct Mailer consist of?
	Step 11: Envelopes
•	Use standard-size, ready-made envelopes for cost efficiency.
•	Personalize your envelope - either a sticker on the front or a window where the name and address on the letter can be seen.
•	Allow mail-opening incentives shown through front and/or back windows.
•	Use a teaser line when you have a compelling offer. A teaser line has these advantages:
a.	It encourages the reader to find out more.
b.	It gives a hint of what's to come.
c.	It arouses interest
	Teaser Line Examples: "10 ways to make more money." "How to earn up to 10% interest for your time deposit." "Exclusive privileges you deserve." "The information you requested has arrived." "You could have already won $1,000,000." "Imagine what would happen to your family if you were no longer able to work." "The secrets to profitability - explained."
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	Step 11: Letters
	LETTERS SELL. The letter is the "heart" of the mailing. It does most of the "selling" and "persuading".
•	Make sure they are personalized. Personalized letters seem more special and get more attention. Remember, Direct Mail is all about being personal with your customers.
•	Select the right kind of paper. Cheap paper may look like a saving, but it's the kind of thing that people notice, and it can adversely affect their response.
•	Make it friendly and conversational - in most cases, except in an official corporate letter, letters should be written as if you are talking to a friend.
•	Use the right tone and manner for each different target group. Example: If your letter addresses students or teenagers, use a tone that is casual, friendly and employs simple words. If you are writing to a CEO or Managing Director, use a more formal tone and be professional without losing the friendliness.
•	Use highlights, e.g. headings, indents, bold and underlining.
•	Don't forget to include a compelling "call-to-action" with time-sensitive reply incentives, so more customers will respond and reply more promptly.
•	Always use a P. S. at the end of the letter. The P.S. sums up the gist of your proposal and it is what most busy people will read first.
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	Step 11: Brochures
	BROCHURES TELL. A brochure gives you a chance to put in ALL the details of your products or services. An effective brochure should incorporate the following features:
•	Information must be organized in an easy-to-read structure.
•	Keep it concise and relevant.
•	Make sure the brochure is talking in the right way to the target market.
•	Emphasize the benefits to the customer.
•	Keep it simple. Don't confuse your message or bore your audience.
•	Always include a Hotline number. It will encourage your potential customers to make enquiries.
•	Make sure that the most important USP is presented in the front panel of the brochure. This is the first message to be presented to your customer when they open your mail and read the brochure.
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	Step 11: Response Form
•	A return pre-paid envelope or postcard will increase response. It is a cheap and easy way to reply, and conveys an image of your organization as being customer friendly.
•	You may want to pre-print (personalize) your customer's name on the reply device, making it even easier for them to fill in and simpler for you to process their response.
•	To make it more convenient for your customer to respond, you could also consider using Hongkong Post Response Services. Options include Freepost, Business Reply Services and International Business Reply Service.

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About Deliveries
1.	Which type of Delivery service is best suited for your current Direct Mail campaign?
	By now you've already invested a considerable amount of time and effort in planning and executing your Direct Mail campaign. You've fine-tuned your offer. You've defined and identified your target precisely and built your database. And you've spent many hours designing, writing and producing your Direct Mail pack. What counts now is to ensure that your campaign is delivered into the hands of your potential customers in the most efficient and cost-effective way. At Hongkong Post, we've spent many years listening carefully to the needs of our commercial customers. As a result, we've re-shaped some of our traditional services and introduced a number of new services, all of which are designed to help you get the very best out of your Direct Mail campaigns. Hongkong Post Mailing Services We offer five clearly defined delivery methods, which will ensure that your Direct Mail campaign works as hard as possible. Depending on your precise target, the size of your database, and the weight and dimensions of your Direct Mail piece, you can choose between:
•	Non-Bulk Mail
•	Bulk Mail
•	Local CourierPost
•	Hongkong Post Circular service
•	Hongkong Premium Post Circular service
	Having decided which of these methods is best suited to your current Direct Mail campaign, you should also consider employing one or other of the following additional services which will dramatically increase the response rate from your chosen target:-
•	Freepost
•	Business Reply Service
	As a final thought, if you wish to consolidate your Direct Mail responses, or keep your business address confidential, you can also consider opening a Post Office Box. For exact details, simply click on the service that interests you. What follows is a general description of each service and how it will help you to maximize the results of your next Direct Mail campaign.
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	Step 13:
	Non-Bulk Mail In simple terms, this service refers to the normal postage procedure of addressing your Direct Mail pack, putting a stamp or franking mark on it and posting it at a stand-alone Post Box or Post Office. With Non-Bulk Mail there is only one delivery standard, 1st Class, and your mail is guaranteed to arrive the day after posting. Non-Bulk mail can cost as little as HK$1.40 per item and is a cost-effective way of handling small to medium-sized mailings of less than 2,000 pieces.
	Bulk Mail Bulk Mail is the most cost-effective way of delivering large mailings of more than 2,000 pieces. With Bulk Mail you simply deliver your Direct Mail packs to a Post Office. There is a choice of payment methods, including Franking, Postage Prepaid and Permit Mail. Bulk Mail has two delivery standards — with 1st Class, your mail will arrive the day after posting, and with the more cost-effective Bulk Economy Class your mail will arrive within 3 working days. There are further discounts available if your Direct Mail packs are of a standard size and if you are willing to pre-sort them. You could enjoy a postage discount up to 20%!
	Local CourierPost Some of your Direct Mail campaigns may require faster delivery. Local CourierPost provides you with high-speed, reliable and price-competitive delivery service throughout Hong Kong, supported by a money-back guarantee. This service comes with multiple features, including Delivery Service, Counter Collection Service and Postage Prepaid Envelope Service. Local CourierPost Service serves both account customers and non-account customers. Choose the service that best suits your needs. Register as an account customer to enjoy preferential rates. A monthly invoice will be sent to account customer for settlement with no pre-payment of service fee required. Local CourierPost is ideal for small to medium-sized mailings that need to arrive immediately, and our pick-up service is also available on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays. For Local CourierPost items destined to major commercial and industrial areas, the guaranteed delivery time is by 1pm on the next working day. Items sent to other service areas will be delivered by 5pm on the next working day. Please refer to service terms and conditions for details.
	Hongkong Post Circular Service This service is the most cost-effective way of reaching highly targeted groups out of a population of over 6.8 million throughout Hong Kong, with a cost per delivery as low as HK$0.90. Whether you're introducing a new product to the whole of Hong Kong, promoting new stationery to offices in Central or announcing the opening of a new shop in Kowloon East, you'll find the Hongkong Post Circular Service simple, convenient and economical to use.
	Hongkong Premium Post Circular Service With our new Premium Circular Service, customers can target their end users by choosing two socio-economic indices from a list including household income, household rent, property ownership, education level, occupation, gender, marital status and age. Applications can be completed by fax within one working day. You can lodge your campaign and pay by cash, cheque, credit card or EPS at 19 different Post Offices. Deliveries arrive within 4 working days, and there's no need for address labels. With an additional volume discount of 5% available on quantities between 200,000 and 500,000, and a 10% discount for quantities over 500,000, Hongkong Post Circular Service and Hongkong Premium Post Circular Service are the most convenient, low-cost ways of reaching your potential customers.
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2.	How do you encourage response?
	Increasing Response Rates of Your DM
	With competition increasing every day, Hongkong Post offers you 2 important ways of staying ahead: Freepost and the Business Reply Service.
	Freepost With Freepost, your potential customers can be easily encouraged to respond to your Direct Mail campaign. All they have to do is simply quote your Freepost number. No postage is charged to your customers. And there's no need for a pre-printed reply envelope. The fee for a new licence is $98. Your application will be processed within 4 workings days after verification of your information and Freepost licence will be issued within 3 working days of receipt of licence fee. If you are determined to increase your response rate, with handling fee of just 80 cents in addition to the normal postage, Freepost is an ideal option for your next Direct Mail campaign.
	Business Reply Service Our Business Reply Service is the most cost-effective way of improving your Direct Mail response rates. You simply enclose an unstamped reply device (card, envelope or folder) with your next Direct Mail campaign, which your potential customers can use to respond to your offer at no cost to themselves. The fee for a new licence is $150. Your application will be processed within 4 workings days after verification of your information and a licence will be issued within 3 working days of receipt of licence fee. At only HK$0.70 in addition to the normal postage rate, Hongkong Post's Business Reply Service is the lowest-cost method of dramatically improving the response rate of your future Direct Mail campaigns.
	Post Office Box Many companies who use Direct Mail as an integral part of their marketing communications activities make use of a Post Office Box. They're great value for money and provide a convenient, dedicated collection point for all responses to your Direct Mail campaigns. Annual charges are not expensive, ranging from only HK$370 to HK$650, depending on the sizes and the locations chosen. Post Office Boxes are available at most Post Offices throughout Hong Kong.

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About Post Campaign Activities
1.	How do you analyze responses?
	Analyzing Response As the results of your Direct Mail piece come in, you'll need to analyze its effectiveness. This will make it easier (and more cost-effective) to produce a successful mailer next time around. To make this analysis, you need to ask a series of simple questions:
•	How many responses are being converted into sales?
•	Is one method of fulfilment working better than any other? For example, are pre-paid reply cards working well, or did it pay for someone to telephone the respondent?
•	How long does it take for you to fulfil a response (i.e. send out what you've promised the customer)?
•	How long does it take to turn a response into a sale?
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2.	How can you make use of the responses?
	Using your responses In addition to generating orders, another benefit of using Direct Mail is to generate information about your customers. It's very important to use this information wisely. That way, you'll know:
•	That your Direct Mail piece successfully hit its target audience.
•	That you can use that information to add to your database.
•	That you can create more effective mailers in the future.
	Here are a few of the points that you'll need to cover:
•	Who on the mailing list responded?
•	Know who was receptive to your message.
•	Use that information to refine your target market profiles for the future.
•	What do you know about these respondents?
•	Record all the useful information.
•	If you need to know more, follow up with a telephone call or a simple letter.
•	What did they actually respond to?
•	Use your analysis (or a follow-up phone call) to discover exactly what it was about the mailer that caught their attention.

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About Other Uses For Direct Mail
1.	How does Direct Mail help establish better customer loyalty?
	Customer Loyalty How does Direct Mail help establish better customer loyalty? Well, Direct Mail is the start-point to customer loyalty. It helps to establish the relationship between you and your customer. Customer loyalty helps you:
•	Better understand your customers with each communication through the data gathered.
•	Build the relationship by understanding their needs and meeting or exceeding their expectations.
•	Build long-term sales, because customers are loyal to companies that care about them and their feelings, and deliver value in a way that is meaningful to them on an individual and personal level. It costs most companies six to ten times more to get new customers than it does to keep the ones they have happy — and loyal. And without your realizing it, losing customers might just be your biggest cost! Remember, it is easier and costs less to sell to your own customers than trying to acquire a new one.
	How to turn customer loyalty into long-term sales
•	Consistently deliver a level of service that exceeds and even anticipates the customer's expectations.
•	Provide experiences that shout, "WE CARE" through each customer touch-point.
•	Keep your offers competitive.
•	Keep up with market trends and customers' demanding and discerning needs.
•	Match these new trends to your customer's changing needs with relevant products and services.
	A good example of the potential of customer loyalty would be this: Let's say you're selling insurance to a customer. As a single person, he probably needs a hospital plan and perhaps an endowment plan. When he gets married and starts a family, he will need some insurance for his spouse, his house and perhaps later on, an education policy for his children. By constantly keeping up with his needs and his status throughout the years, you are meeting his needs in a very relevant way. He grows loyal to your services and your business inevitably grows.
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2.	What makes a great Direct Mail pack?
a.	The one-minute Direct Mail checklist:
b.	What makes a great Direct Mail pack:
	Personal Nothing is as intriguing as seeing your own name on a mailer. Variable Data Printing technology allows you to select different colours or visuals for different data subjects. Make the best use of them. They'll pay off in much higher response rates. Insightful Asking a question like "have you ever?" shows that you know and understand your customer. Attractive "What's in it for me when I respond?" - this MUST be answered. Intriguing A story or a case history will keep the reader interested. Entertaining There's no reason why a Direct Mail piece can't both amuse and intrigue your customer, e.g. "This is why you should never eat food on an aeroplane." Valuable Save your customer money. People find it very hard to throw away a valuable certificate, a cheque or a premium showing through an envelope. Rewarding People like to feel as though they've achieved something - so why not give them a puzzle to solve or, of course, an application form to complete?

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