Open Sesame! How to get your direct mail opened & read

Remember those dreadful school papers where you had to submit a minimum of 1,000 words or you’d fail? Well throw that notion out the window when doing direct mail! Statistically, people lose interest about 10 seconds into reading something, so you better catch their attention right away!

The best chance of having your mail opened is by having an interesting envelope. Whether it’s a handwritten font or a captivating logo, your envelope is the first thing a prospective client will see, so if it’s not impressive, they won’t bother finding out what’s inside.

Once your envelope is opened, the next step is to impress them with your letter. Imagine you have just 8 seconds to grasp your reader, what should you do? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is typing out a long, drawn out letter that doesn’t convey something useful for the client.

The best rule of thumb is to look at your mail piece objectively. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Would I open this envelope?

• Does this look like spam? Or is it genuinely worth my time? Take into account your envelope size, color, and font.