5. Ride on the coattails of current events (energy crisis,

elections,, cold winters, etc.) When inflation increases, have an

"inflation-cutting" special, etc.

6. Look for other products you can successfully sell to your

customers.

7. Include more offers in your mailing package than you already

are.. Study the mailings firms such as the Haband Company who

pack a volume of material into their envelopes and see if you can

adapt the idea to your own mailings.

8. Think about using simulated handwriting for emphasis in your

letters. Occasionally test a handwritten letter...particularly if

you're soliciting funds for charity.

9. Try an unusual format that you've never used before.

10. Test selective distribution to your list. Maybe only a

portion of your list should receive more mailings. Other mailings

should go to the entire list.

11. Stimulate off-season business by asking for it.. If you

normally have a summer slump have a special "summer sale" mailing

in the summer. You can boost your sales any time of the year you

need a boost through effective direct mail.

12. Word your offer differently - put a unique twist into it by

offering a baker's dozen instead of a regular dozen.. Or sell 110

instead of 100.

13. You can even add a smell to your envelopes. Check with your

envelope manufacturer about special inks that can be used to make

your envelope "smell" the way your product does.

14.. Change the size of your mailing package frequently to create

interest and appeal.

15. Test credit terms.. You'll find that Master Charge or Visa

Bank Americard will result in larger orders than cash terms.

16. Let people "peek" into your envelope with multiple windows

on the face and back.

17. Test buck slip routing for addressing...and use it to reach

multiple prospects.

18. Try using illustrated letterheads and test them against

conventional letterheads.

19. Put a simulated check into your mailings to emphasize a

discount..

20. Consider using stamps, coupons, early bonuses, etc.

21. Pack order starters - a special offer that will get a person

started on his order - into your catalog..

22. If you can sample your product, test including a sample in

your mailing..

23. Make more sophisticated use of your own list and the lists

you rent by looking for those segments of people in a list who

buy.. and forget the rest of them.

24. Test simulated telegrams. Mailgrams, other imitation formats

similar to the Mailgram.

25. Test a tiny letter with a tiny pencil accompanying it. Test a

jumbo letter in your envelope...maybe even mail it in a jumbo

envelope.

26. What is your "wastebasket readability factor" and what can

you do to get people to read your mailing piece when it is

sitting on somebody else's desk... or has already landed in

his/her waste basket?

27. Put a wraparound on your catalog. It gives you two covers

instead of one.

28. Test your catalog mailing and mailing dates.

29. Use teaser copy on your outer envelope and test its vs a

blind envelope.

30. Acknowledge orders promptly, and include additional sales

literature with your acknowledgement.

31. Periodically send a statement to your customer that shows

he's been missed - even if he doesn't owe you any money.

32. Follow up inquiries promptly and persistently. Make it easy

to buy from you by giving the inquirer a return envelope to send

his order back in.

33. Tie in with a timely topic (current events, special problems,

etc.).

34. Get to know your printers - not printer, printers. Every

direct marketer needs different types of printers with different

capabilities to come up with different printed pieces.

35. Test multiple premiums with your offer and give your prospect

a choice of the one (s) he prefers.

36. Put your letterman on your team - make your best selling

products sell most..

37. Remail your mailing to your best customers three or four

weeks later.. You'll do 60-75% as well on the second mailing as

you did on the first.

38. Look for creative new ways to increase catalog sales.

39. Remember the five basic rules - test, test, test, test, test.

40. Don't be afraid to run without a test if your gamble is

small.

41. Use good judgement in planning your direct mail and you won't

go wrong.

42. Use a bounce-back package enclosure to get an extra order.

43. State your guarantee in the strongest possible terms..and

state it often. 44. Spotlight your message on your envelope and

lead your reader inside.

44. Spotlight your sales points in your headline.

45. Start your message on your envelope and lead your reader

inside.

46. Feature last-minute merchandise on the back of your envelope

or on a separate flier enclosed in your package.

47. Offset delays in mail delivery by extending cutoff dates.

48. Cultivate customer with special savings, bonuses or premiums.

49. Use lightweight paper to save postage and allow you to put

more in your envelope.

50. Use a "Publisher's Letter" to give the prospects an extra

reason for buying.

51. Put distinctive differences in your catalog to add interest.

52. Check dimensions of your envelope to make sure they'll

conform to new postal requirements.

53. Stimulate action by featuring a time limit at the top of your

letter.

54. Show how merchandise solves problems and enhances the stature

of the user among his contempriaries.

55. Use a full-view envelopes to display attractive literature.

56. If buying your product spells numerous benefits, spell them

out by number for maximum impact.

57. Increase customer goodwill and purchases with advance notice

of sales.

58. Use stock photos for much less than the cost of making

original shots.

59. Cultivate customers with special catalog offers directed

exclusively to customers.

60. Use unusual techniques to get your customer to open your

envelope.

62. Dramatize big news by using a big format to present your

message.

63. Can you use the inside of your merchandise carton as part of

your media mix?

64. Increase the impact of your advertising with clip art- at

minimum expense.

65. Express appreciation to your customers for their past

business! And enclose some extra sell material with your thank

you message..

66. Use match-up and comparison tables to increase selection ease

and accuracy.

67. Offer premiums that are unusual.

68. Include smart-selling stuffers in envelopes, packages, etc.

70. Update your catalog with supplements or newsletters. 71. Use

a second letter in the package to increase the impact.

72. Use a second letter in the package to make a second offer...

73. Notify the customer if there is going to be a delay in

fulfillment - and include additional merchandise offers with the

notification.

74. Test post card deck mailing as an inexpensive method to get

leads/customers.

75. Put an unusual message on the outside of your envelope.

76. Put an alternative offer in the reply envelope to create

bonus sales.

77. Try a massive display of stamps on the outside of your

envelope to emphasize a fact.

78. Tray a 3-dimensional package for unusual effect.

79. Tray a pre-holiday mailing to invite a former customer back.

80. Try a customized response vehicle to get your customers to

respond.

81. Offer to provide specific benefits to the customers.

82. Offer potential gift lists to both customers and prospects.

83. Use customer gift lists as future mailing lists for your

prospecting..

84. Test selling your product by phone.

85. Use an in-watts line to get more orders.

86. Call on your business reply order by some other name! Such

as, trail order card.

87. Can psychographics help you build sales from neighbors of

your customers?

88. A double coupon in your package could double your response.

89. A reply envelope plus loose stamp might be more effective

than a B.R.E.

90. If a postcard can tell your story ...test it.

91. If a postcard's too small, step up to a self-mailer.

92. Follow-up your prospects inquiries promptly with hard sell

material.

93. Make the space on the inside of your mailing envelope work

for you by using it to sell your product.

94. Prove to your prospect that your free gifts are really free.

95. Combine promotion with your shipping and service information.

96. State your guarantee boldly, in strong words .. and repeat it

often.

97. Teat allowing mailer in your envelope and you in his..

98. Test simulated gram formats.

99. Develope a distinctive personality for your business.

100. Make a major anniversaries a plus factor in your promotion..

101. Have your reply envelope emphasize your prompt shipping

service..

102. Present outstanding testimonials in a big way for big

impact.

103. Never stop selling the advantages of direct marketing to

your customer.

104. Consider using special formats to make ordering easier.

105. Test different length trial periods.

106. Promote seasonal products in off-season times - and offer

alternatives.

107. Ask customers their opinion of a proposed new product.

108. Test the plastic record message in your mail formats.

109. Us e the negative to accentuate the positive.

110. Use simulated handwriting in your messages. And just like

every good direct mail package should offer something : a little

extra" to the prospect here is one more a total of 111 ideas - to

add to the list.

111. Use the telephone aggressively - both outgoing and incoming

- to stimulate business, customer activity and salesmen's