4 Ingredients of Direct Mail that Sell

When asked what he thought was the greatest slogan he’d ever seen, an advertising expert responded, “Farm-Fresh Eggs Sold Here.”

Cutting through the serenity of a backcountry road, the sign demands your attention. If your favorite breakfasts come in sunny-side-up and scrambled varieties, “farm-fresh eggs” provokes your interest and fills you with desire. Meanwhile, the words “sold-here” command you to stop the car and take action.

In five short words, ”farm-fresh eggs sold here,” captures the four-part formula for letters, flyers and brochures that sell.

1. Attention
2. Interest
3. Desire
4. Action

Attention – If you know what your customers want, it’s not hard to get their attention. Just think about the biggest benefit your product or service can provide and dramatize it.

Interest – Now that you’ve got your customer’s attention, don’t disappoint. Hold their interest with important, relevant details about what you’re selling. Short, simple sentences keep a reader’s interest best. So does believable, everyday language.

Desire – This is where you really excite the customer for what you’re selling. It’s giving your customer an opportunity to imagine what it’s like to own and use your product. The key to building desire is to focus on benefits, not features. A feature tells you what the product has. Benefits, on the other hand, tell you how that feature improves your life.

Action – Now that you’ve got people’s attention, interest, and desire, don’t forget to ask for the order. It isn’t enough to say, “Buy now.” Give a compelling reason to visit your store or call your company immediately