This\u00a0morning\u00a0I opened a 8 1\/2 by 11 envelope\u00a0received\u00a0in the mail.<\/p>\n
The address and return address were hand written in pen and I\u00a0recognized\u00a0the town as one about 45 minutes away.<\/p>\n
Naturally my\u00a0curiosity\u00a0was working from the\u00a0beginning, as junk mail normally does not come hand addressed. \u00a0I thought maybe it was an \u00a0invitation to a show.<\/p>\n
Upon opening I found a single sheet, ink jet photo and nicely printed, showing some concrete castings. \u00a0On the bottom of the sheet was an address, phone number, website and minimum order declaration. \u00a0Nothing else was in the envelope.<\/p>\n
My first\u00a0thought\u00a0was, what a waste. \u00a0Someone spent the time to find our address, address the envelope, take nice photos and print a nice catalog sheet but they did not find the time to include anything else.<\/p>\n
Normal I would expect a letter of introduction; Hi, were the Foghorns and we make these really nice sculptures right here close to you. \u00a0Here are our hours, here is a photo of our studio, this is how long we have been\u00a0making\u00a0these and so on.<\/p>\n
Direct mail costs is expensive so it makes\u00a0sense\u00a0to maximize the impact. \u00a0Here are a few ways to do just that.<\/p>\n
1. \u00a0As stated above, include a letter of introduction including the names of the principals, the nature of the business, and any other interesting details. \u00a0If you participate in retail or wholesale shows include a list of the shows you will be attending, and include the booth number if you have it.<\/p>\n
2. \u00a0Nicely done catalog sheets showing your wares, well printed. \u00a0These need to be of the highest quality. \u00a0Poorly shot photos using your telephone will not do. \u00a0If you have trouble get some help here. \u00a0It is of the\u00a0utmost\u00a0importance that your goods look good. \u00a0If you use a crappy photo your items will look crappy and you might as well forget about making any sales. \u00a0Make the photos large\u00a0enough\u00a0to\u00a0high lite\u00a0any details. \u00a0Do not use cluttered photos showing too many items in one shot.<\/p>\n
3. Include a business card. \u00a0Some customers keep these in a file for future\u00a0reference. \u00a0There are differing opinions on whether to include a Rolodex card. \u00a0I still use the\u00a0Rolodex\u00a0for speed and\u00a0efficiency. \u00a0It seems much quicker than fumbling with the computer to get an important phone number.<\/p>\n
4. \u00a0Photo of the artist(s). \u00a0If you can not be there in person at least you can be there in photo. \u00a0Make it a nice one. \u00a0If you can you might have a photo taken while you are working or in your studio with your work\u00a0visible.<\/p>\n
5. \u00a0Complete prices and terms of sale. \u00a0This would include payment options, return policy, shipping details and so forth.<\/p>\n
6. \u00a0Call to action. \u00a0A special item, specially priced to go\u00a0along\u00a0with the mailing campaign. \u00a0Or maybe an invitation to visit the web site for a special deal.<\/p>\n
7. \u00a0References\u00a0or\u00a0recombination\u00a0from other customers. \u00a0Not customer feedback that can not be verified but bona fide \u00a0customers who agree to have their names listed.<\/p>\n
8. \u00a0Hand addressed envelopes and real stamps get attention. \u00a0Use them to keep the envelope from ending up in the trash before it is even opened. \u00a0Try to find big interesting stamps that match the theme of the mailing. \u00a0Also use a\u00a0tasteful\u00a0colored\u00a0envelope\u00a0or envelope with interesting printing to get the\u00a0recipients\u00a0attention.<\/p>\n
9. \u00a0Return addressed post card to rate your product and marketing. \u00a0 At the time of this writing a small post card costs 32 cents for a 4 by 6 card. A bulk mailing permit might lower that cost. \u00a0Check with your post office. \u00a0Merchandise return service allows the post office to charge you only for the items returned to you so you do not need to pay for a stamp that is going to end up in someones trash. \u00a0You need a bulk mailing permit to utilize this option.<\/p>\n
10. \u00a0If the mailing is not too large, and you can afford the time, you might follow up with a phone call or an email. \u00a0Don’t spam or annoy\u00a0potential\u00a0customers. \u00a0Just make a friendly call to remind them of the special and to see if they have any questions. \u00a0Don’t push it. \u00a0If they do not want to talk or they are busy, thank them for the time and hang up. \u00a0You do not want to spoil a future opportunity by alienating a potential customer.<\/p>\n
Good luck and keep plugging.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This\u00a0morning\u00a0I opened a 8 1\/2 by 11 envelope\u00a0received\u00a0in the mail. The address and return address were hand written in pen and I\u00a0recognized\u00a0the town as one about 45 minutes away. Naturally my\u00a0curiosity\u00a0was working from the\u00a0beginning, as junk mail normally does not come hand addressed. \u00a0I thought maybe it was an \u00a0invitation to a show. Upon opening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts-and-crafts-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsandcraftsnetwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}