Devin Bull - On Direct Mail Layout

Effective layout is just as important, if not more so, than an effective
message. You may write a terrific letter or have a terrific message for
your potential clients, but if it's not laid out properly, they'll never
read the message. To illustrate this point we have included, for your
reference, the same well-written letter laid out in two different formats.
Your letter probably has about two to five seconds at most to grab the
reader's attention. If they can't look at it quickly and understand the
basis of your message, you are probably wasting good time and money by
mailing it. It's quite obvious when looking at the examples which one has
the greatest likelihood of being read and which one will probably go
straight into the rubbish can.

As an optional additional level of service we may have included several
sample letters in a supplemental manual. You may use them as they are or
adapt them to suit the local needs of your particular business venture. If
you develop your own materials, remember that your letter probably has about
two to five seconds at most to grab the reader's attention. Therefore, be
sure to include an "attention grabber" which tells them what the contents
are about as soon as they glance at it. This is usually done through a
title, through bolded or enlarged type in the text, or by 'bullets'
summarizing the benefits of your services.

Another name for direct mail is 'junk mail.' Of course when you're sending
it you prefer to refer to it as 'direct mail advertising', but when others
receive it they consider it junk mail. Any unsolicited piece of mail which
is poorly laid out has a very small chance of being read by the targeted
audience. As previously stated, you have just a few seconds to make your
message; that's all the attention time you can expect from most clientele.
You must let them know what the content of your direct mail advertising is
about within this short time period. It has been determined by experts who
have studied direct mail advertising that most people will look at a letter
or an advertisement for just a few seconds. If it has a lot of
information-typed material-on it, and none of it stands out, it will
probably end up in the trash can. The reason for this is that when an
individual looks at a letter with a lot of content in it, but no header or
highlighted portion which lets them know what is contained therein, they
realize that it's going to require a time commitment on their part even to
find out about the message. Most busy people are not prepared to make this
commitment for an unknown, and they therefore throw the letter in the trash
can. To avoid this, you should make use of effective layout methods to
ensure that as soon as somebody looks at your letter, within two seconds
they will know what it's about.

You can do this by using a header at the top of the page which says, for
example, "Cut Your Costs" or "Looking For A Great New Job?" Or you can use
bullets or numbered statements in the middle of the text which are in large,
bold type and which stand out to the eye of the reader. The bullet might
include a benefit summary of your program, for example:

Improved Cash Flow
Overnight Confirmation of Acceptance
Reduction of Errors
Reduced Paperwork
Lower Overhead

A partial list of layout or design tools you can use to capture people's
attention and let them understand the contents of your letter at a glance
includes:

Personalized Opener or Greeting
People enjoy seeing their own name. Don't send out letters that say "Dear
Doctor," "Dear Office Manager" or "Dear Businessperson." Instead, find out
the doctor's or office manager's name and use that. By personalizing your
letter, you'll increase your response rate.

Use Subheadings
Introduce key points and emphasize or introduce new points with subheadings

Vary Margins and Indent Paragraphs
This makes it easier on the eye and draws the eye to changes in the regular
margin.

Highlight Benefits with Bullets
This has been expanded upon in the paragraphs above.

Use Bold Type and Underlining
Key points can also be emphasized or explained through the use of bold type,
underlining or a combination of the two.

One word of caution about layout: Don't try to use all of the above
techniques or ideas in one letter. Jumping back and forth between one style
and another will simply confuse the reader and muddle your message. The
overall point you want to understand is that you want something that is very
sharp, clean and presents the message at a glance. When they look at the
letter and see what it's about and they're interested in the contents, they
will then read the entire contents of the letter, and your whole message
will be conveyed to your potential client.