I often get asked about how to make sure the reader opens the envelope in a direct mail campaign.

I say – “To tease…or not to tease”

That is the question, isn’t it?

When you mail out sales letters or fundraising letters, your first challenge (and sometimes biggest hurdle) is to get the prospect to open the envelope before they toss it in the trash can.

So what’s the best way to get them to open it?

Well – it depends.

You could try the plain envelope approach with no teaser copy at all, making sure it looks as much like a personal letter as possible. Most people will open an envelope if they think it’s personal in nature.

Or you could put some teaser copy on it that screams “Open ME to see what I’ve got for you. This obviously is a sales pitch, but if the copy is powerful and intriguing enough, they have to open it to read more about it.

In this approach, the only purpose of the tease is to get people to open the envelope. That’s it!

So which one works best?

Like I said before – it depends. There is no cut and dry answer. The only way to know is to split test using both ways and see which one pulls more, making sure everything else is identical except the envelopes.

I’d like to get your comments and experiences about using or not using teaser copy. Just let me know how it’s worked for you.

To get more information about writing effective sales copy, about this post, marketing advice, or about my direct response copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

Also visit www.webcontentNH.com for help with Website design, writing SEO copy, e-mail marketing, or other online marketing strategies.

To your marketing success!

Merrill Clark
Website and Marketing Copywriter
Crestview Marketing Services LLC