1. What response can I expect from your
mailing?
Response is determined by these variable factors:
Your offer, Your card design, The demand in the industry for your product
of service, A competitive price point that is affordable, and the timing
in which you advertise. We work closely with each of our advertisers to
insure success. Specific numbers are hard to predict as now a days replies
from advertising come in the form of leads back in the mail, call-ins,
e-mails, and website hits. Not everyone can accurately track returns. That
is why we offer a special test price, so you can handle and feel and see
for yourself the quality of our mailing list and the flow of leads that
comes your way. However, your offer is the most important aspect in
determining the number of replies from any advertising. We suggest you
consider things like a free sample, free shipping, a free report, a
discount coupon that can be redeemed by a retailer, distributor or direct
sales force, or a free catalog. These elements of your offer provide a
reason to respond which is what the prospect is looking for.
2. Where did your mailings list come from and
how is it different that other similar mailings?
There are many different types of mailing lists.
They include Magazine subscription lists, catalog request lists, customer
(buyer) lists and so on. You can buy or rent them on the open market. All
industry advertising on a national basis can be boiled down to a list of
some sort. When you buy advertising, you are indeed buying a list. The
quality of that list will determine the quality of your leads and
subsequent sales. Our list is harvested from the customer and prospect
files of major direct mail marketers to the agricultural industry. See “Audience
Profile” for further demographics. We operate on the premise that those
who market through direct mail should communicate with those who buy
through direct mail. This is the perfect environment for success. This is
why we are different form all others and why our advertisers enjoy a high
degree of satisfaction.
3. Is there a way to determine my risk and
potential from a mailing like yours?
Here’s how you determine the risk and potential
of a card deck mailing.
- How many leads does it take to close one sale?
- How many sales do you need to break even?
Knowing these two points, you can accurately
forecast both risk and profits. Let’s say you need 10 leads to close one
sale. This is a 10% close ratio. Let’s say you need 10 sales to break
even. (This figure should be copulated by customer lifetime value, not
just the initial sale.) If you close 1 out of every 10 sales and it takes
10 sales to break even, you must pull 100 leads from any given mailing. On
a 100,000 mailing, 100 leads (call-ins, e-mails, cards back in the mail,
etc) is only one tenth of one percent. This determines your risk and to do
better is all profit. A one-time test will prove out these numbers and
develop a history that can be used in future planning.
4. What is the true advantage in a card deck
mailing opposed to placing an ad in a magazine?
Magazines are great when you are developing brand
awareness. However, when looked at from a list-to-list comparison, they
often fall short in several areas.
- Magazines are subscriber based, meaning that
not everyone in the market gets a copy. This inhibits true market
penetration.
- Magazines are not truly direct mail responsive
because most are free subscriptions that were obtained from a booth at
an industry show or are a newsstand purchase.
- Magazines often sign up several in the same
location, creating a shortfall in market coverage.
- Magazines are editorially driven, meaning
people pick them up to read not buy. Advertising is a secondary
consideration.
- Magazines tend to create clutter by mixing
editorial with classified, space advertising and all the other
additions that make up the publication. It is easy to get lost in the
shuffle.
Card deck advertising focuses the prospects
attention on your sales message. You are the primary reason they open the
deck. There is no editorial copy, only great offers and discounts that
help them in their daily business efforts. There are no duplicates, making
the circulation a deeper reach into the marketplace. Our list is
determined by the prospects past use of direct mail and their proven
history of direct mail preference. We are a quick and easy reference for
the busy buyer. Your ad is not lost or overshadowed by larger ads. Our
list is always expanding to communicate to new direct mail buyers. This is
a huge difference from the slow growth rate of a trade publication. We
reach a different 100,000 every time we mail.
6. How do I go about getting a postcard
designed?
Card designs for direct mail offers should be
placed in the hands of those who do this sort of things on a regular
basis. Otherwise you may miss one or more of the key elements that make it
work. Here are a few elements that make up a good card design.
- A strong benefit oriented headline
- A photo or illustration that supports the
headline
- A call to action that gives the prospect a
reason to reply to your ad
- Multiple channels through which the prospect
can communicate with you such
as e-mail, fax, mail back cards, website access, toll free numbers.
- A good strong offer that peaks interest and
beckons response
Hobby Farm Lifestyles will design your ad so it
meets all of the above requirements that you desire to incorporate into
your layout. Leave it to the professionals. Don’t try to create when you
are not sure how to communicate for maximum response.
7. How do I know you actually mailed to 100,000
hobby farm owners?
First of all, you will start getting calls and
cards back in the mail. Then you will see a spike in your web hits, and
finally, you can request a copy of the postal 3602 forms that are filled
out and stamped by the post office when processing the mailing. 50% of
your leads will come in the 1st 3-4 weeks from the date of your 1st reply.
The other 50% will come in a steady flow of leads, call in and web hits
over the next 4-6 weeks. We have had reports of leads trickling in for
almost 90 days from the drop date.
Other important things remember
You benefit from two different marketing channels
every time you advertise for the same low price.
You enjoy a stead flow of mail-in replies, e-mail
inquiries, website hits, and daily call-ins that are sure to build
consumer confidence, product preference and new business sales.
You can support your direct sales force, dealers,
or distributors network with pre qualified sales leads that lead to sales.
You can test new products, different price points,
and branding success through different offer oriented, affordable, direct
mail campaigns.
