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| 1. |
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IMPROPER
PLANNING
Dozens of errors are included in this category, but most of them
occur by trying to rush into the mail without sitting down, thinking
first, and asking for outside input. |
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| 2. |
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IMPROPER
TRACKING
Often a result of inadequate coding or improper planning, but
usually a byproduct of poor employee morale or training. Example:
"I forgot to ask her what her priority code was". |
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| 3. |
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FAULTY
ANALYSIS
Usually the product of an "I want this piece to be the
winner" or "We think this version best describes our
company's image" attitude, but often the result of fondling and
admiring the spreadsheet instead of examining its figures. |
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| 4. |
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TRUSTING
SOMEONE ELSE TO DO WHAT YOU SHOULD DO YOURSELF
Yes, I do have a Judeo-Christian ethic, but I know better than to
trust anyone on a final check of artboards or repros on my direct
mail campaign. Even I make errors in final checking. Someday, I'll
write a treatise on what can go wrong from the time you issue
project instructions until ready-for-camera stuff isn't really ready
but is released anyway. |
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| 5. |
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FAILING
TO SEE LISTS BEFORE MAILING
Did you look at the labels or a tape dump yourself? Why not? How do
you know whether you got the right selection? |
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| 6. |
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BELIEVING
YOUR FAITHFUL PRINTER
Something will go wrong, even if it's not his fault. My guideline is
to allow every printer enough time to do the job over again. I wish
I always had that much extra time. |
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| 7. |
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NOT
ALLOWING ENOUGH TIME TO DO A GOOD JOB
When we have a solid idea for a mailing, we want it out almost
instantly. That causes us to place undue stress on those who are
trying to help us get the mail created and mailed. |
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| 8. |
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TRYING
TO DO EVERYTHING AT ONCE
Pause a bit. Let good thoughts mill around in your mind in the
shower, at your desk, as you lunch in the park. Take breaks. Give
yourself a chance to create your masterpiece. |
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| 9. |
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RUMINATING
ABOUT WHAT MUST BE DONE
Fretting about your workload, intricacies of design, production
schedules, and the too many things that must be done in too short a
time leads to errors. Relax. Then get it done. |
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| 10. |
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LETTING
SOMEONE ELSE ORDER LISTS
Yes, someone else - like a good list broker - can and should make
recommendations, but the person in supreme charge of the mailing is
the person who should make the final list determinations. |
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| 11. |
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FORGETTING
THAT DIFFERENT PEOPLE WORK AT A DIFFERENT PACE
You may be able to write an entire self-mailer in a weekend, but not
everyone can. Get careful estimates of required job performance time
and then add some slack in your schedule - when you can! |
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| 12. |
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NOT
ALLOWING ENOUGH FINAL REVIEW TIME
When everything's ready for the printer, you need a day or so to do
double-checking. Make it triple. Then, have others help you check it
again. |
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| 13. |
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REINVENTING
THE WHEEL
You don't need to create every variety of mailing test. We already
know that self-mailers pull best for impulse items, supplies, and
seminars, so there's no need to test envelope packages against them. |
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| 14. |
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ASSUMING
ALL IS WELL
Sorry, all is not well. Triple-check every vendor so your mailing
gets printed and mailed correctly and on time. |
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| 15. |
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PLAGIARIZING
YOUR COMPETITION
If you copy the NBC peacock or the words of the Budweiser frogs, or
a competitor's mailing, most people will recognize your theft and
their confidence in you will drop. |
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| 16. |
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USING
WEAK OFFERS
Start with as strong an offer as you can afford to acquire as many
new qualified leads or sales as possible. Then trim the offer by
testing packages with lesser offers. Of course, this would be a
side-by-side split test. |
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| 17. |
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DECIDING
NOT TO TEST
You always need to test something to get back useful information for
your next mailing. Not testing is a good way to get lower results
than you might otherwise obtain. |
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| 18. |
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OVERESTIMATING
RESPONSE
This is common when planning and budgeting a campaign. My guideline
is to budget high and go low on response predictions. |
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| 19. |
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UNDERESTIMATING
COSTS
Please add 20% to your budget for such things as author's
alterations, last-minute price changes, paper stock substitutions,
etc. |
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| 20. |
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USING
WEAK COPY
Write your copy to be a strong, in-your-face presentation, and then
edit it to fit your audience. If you start with weak copy, you can't
strengthen it easily. |
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| 21. |
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FORGETTING
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
Too many advertisers worry about demographics -- age, income,
employee or sales size -- instead of the real sales stimulators:
psychographics. Appealing to how people want to be, even in a job
situation, works much better than talking about what may be a
distressing fact, like a smaller customer list or a rut job. |
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| 22. |
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RELYING
ON ART TO GET RESPONSE
Unless you're promoting a museum or Tahiti vacations, don't be too
arty. Art attracts attention, but copy makes the sale. |
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| 23. |
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NEGLECTING
INTERIM REVIEWSE
You need to review a campaign at the beginning, at the end...and, at
mid-course. Most of us forget the mid-course review, preventing us
from making corrective or newly-aggressive moves. |
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| 24. |
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OVERLY
PRAISING YOUR COMPANY
I need to know you'll back up your claims and serve me well if
something goes wrong, but I don't need a bucketful of rah-rah
wording. |
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| 25. |
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PUSHING
INAPPROPRIATE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO YOUR MARKET
Often we get advice on how to get more revenue from our customer
files. The idea you've heard is "why don't we also sell them
whatchamacallits." If your add-on products aren't affinity
oriented to the main line, customers may think you've changed your
business. They may go away. |
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| 26. |
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BELIEVING
YOU'RE RIGHT
I've had clients who believed they knew how to market to their
markets better than anyone. Some of them no longer are in business.
A business manager should take the view that he knows his market,
but a professional marketer should do the marketing. Think of it
this way: you know your tooth hurts, but you wouldn't drill it
yourself. |
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| 27. |
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NOT
LIVING UP TO PROMISES
Don't you get fed up when a store sign proclaims a great deal on
your favorite product, and then in small type says "only for
members." A major grocery chain lost me because the promise was
large while the disclaimer was small. Today, the courts hold that if
a promise is perceived, even if it is disclaimed, the marketer must
make good. |
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| 28. |
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USING
COLOR INCORRECTLY
You don't need oceans of color that confuse readers. Use splashes to
highlight and inform. |
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| 29. |
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DOING
TOO MUCH INTERNALLY
The more work you do internally, the more staff you need. The more
staff, the less control and the higher the incremental cost of your
mailings. Use external resources to maximize your administrative and
creative time. |
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| 30. |
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RECREATING
WHEN UNNECESSARY
General Motors executives once told me they were tired of their
"blue beast." It was a tri-fold flyer selling Motors
Insurance Corporation policies, and no matter how they tried -- and
how much money they spent -- the blue beast kept on pulling better
than anything else. So why recreate it, I asked. It's still in use,
18 years later. It's as my plumber said, "if it ain't broke,
don't fix it." |
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| 31. |
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PROMOTING
WITHOUT SELLING
I once received a four-page letter from the Direct Marketing
Association of Washington that told me all about a new conference,
who would speak, what the topics would be, and what great networking
was possible in the exhibit hall. But it never suggested that I
attend. I didn't. |
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| 32. |
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FAILING
TO STOP AND THINK ABOUT WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
You raise Duroc (red) and Hampshire (black and white) pigs. Your
customers want Yorkshires (all white like Babe). No wonder you're
not selling! Your goal should be to discover exactly what your
customer wants, and then give it to him at a good deal. |
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| 33. |
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NOT
RECOGNIZING THAT ALTERNATE OPTIONS DO EXIST
Norelco came to me with a tiny (for them) budget. I came up with
some unusual self-mailer formats to produce sales at a low cost and
they objected because self-mailers weren't enclosed in envelopes.
"That would sully our image," they said. They were willing
to mail to far fewer targets in envelopes even though they might not
make their sales goals. After testing my self-mailers, Norelco
decided its image -- and bank accounts -- were just fine. |
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| 34. |
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FAILURE
TO INNOVATE
Sure, you need innovative products and services. But innovative
positioning and marketing are just as important. Maybe more so. |
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| 35. |
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PRICING
TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW
Consider the competition when setting your price. Pricing too low
may mean you're less competent or less desirable. Pricing too high
could mean you're not worth it. Consider a middle range until you're
established, and then go to the highest attainable price level. |
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| 36. |
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FORGETTING
PREMIUMS
Every mailing that does not offer a free gift can be improved by
adding a premium to the deal. Always! Provided you're not giving
away fishing gear to sky divers. Gifts must be aligned with your
main products or services and of interest to the specific audience
you approach. |
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| 37. |
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DESIGNING
FOR AWARDS
Design awards are far less important than bank deposits. Design for
pulling power. You don't need another plaque. |
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| 38. |
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USING
INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE
Inexperienced newcomers should be encouraged and nurtured. But many
companies let them select mailing lists, deal with creative people
and printers, and otherwise make decisions that scuttle results or
budgets. |
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| 39. |
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RATING
CREATIVE/PRODUCTION COSTS HIGHER THAN RESULTS
I quadrupled the mailing costs for a Canadian steel building
manufacturer, but that led to almost double the response at a
minimum order of $40,000. Your goal is the profit factor, which
doesn't always mean curtailing expenses. |
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| 40. |
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SPENDING
TO SHOW YOU CAN AFFORD TO SPEND
While you should be willing to spend more to make a better sale, you
also shouldn't toss money away. The higher quality stock or slick
brochure may indicate to some that your deal is too costly. "If
they spent that much plotting and planning to catch me, maybe I
can't afford their whiz-bang." |
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| 41. |
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USING
TOO MANY STOCK PHOTOS
Stock photos and clip art have their times, their purposes, their
glories. I learned the hard way that stock items can be used by many
advertisers at the same time. A stock photo that I put on a cover of
a catalog selling health aides and food supplements was used a month
later by Blue Cross health insurance. Mix your stock photos with
original photographs. |
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| 42. |
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DO
NOT FALSELY BEAUTIFY YOUR PRODUCT
If you sell packing cases to ship exhibits, please do not photograph
them with blue satin in the background and pretty red roses all over
them. Be realistic. Your prospect is. |
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| 43. |
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FILLING
ALL AVAILABLE SPACE
The reader needs some clear space on each promotion, even if it's
just an inch or so with nothing on it. We call it "white
space," but it can be lilac or any other color so long as the
many graphics and lots of words on your piece are accompanied by
some visual relief. |
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| 44. |
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SAVING
MONEY ON REPLY FORMS
Whether it's an application form, order form, pledge form, inquiry
request form, or savings certificate, don't save money on it by
using tiny type, or only one color or saving the huge cost of
perforating it! Every time I've tested this -- for business and
consumer audiences -- upgrading the reply form helps. |
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| 45. |
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SAVING
MONEY ON POSTAGE
Yes, take every saving possible if you mail millions. If not,
perhaps you should test First Class against Bulk Advertising Mail.
The forwarding benefit can more than repay the extra cost. Try it if
you feel you have a first class company. |
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| 46. |
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OMITTING
A DELUXE VERSION
If your flipchart pads sell at $20 each, could they be worth $35
each if they come with a carrying case or a cover with a label
showing my logo? Often you can upgrade your sale by creating a
higher-priced version. The same concept applies to service
businesses. Example: buy a one-year service contract at $200, or get
two years' service and supplies for just $365. |
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| 47. |
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FORGETTING
OPTIONS
Your mail will always pull better if you give the reader a choice of
two or more options, like blue bags vs. red bags. Or, 144 blue bags
vs. 288. Promoting without options is known as the KISS principle --
Keep It Simple Stupid. Options outpull stupidity. |
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| 48. |
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INSERTION
SEQUENCE
Don't let your mailing service determine the sequence of inserts in
your outgoing envelope. The name and address on the order form
should show through the address window of the envelope. Facing the
back flap should be the most important headline on any one
component, be it brochure, letter, or whatever. Since part of your
audience opens envelopes from the front and part from the rear, this
technique gives you major impact for both groups. |
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