Three New Direct-Mail Envelope Tricks

Direct-mail marketing is perhaps the most highly effective strategy available to businesses, especially when you can develop a can't-refuse offer and get it in the hands of a well-targeted customer base. There are countless articles out there that reveal direct-mail envelope tricks – techniques that motivate recipients to open envelopes to read what's inside – and many deal with teaser copy, printed addresses and involvement devices (such as stickers). These are all excellent ways to increase your direct-mail envelope open rate. Read on for three new direct-mail envelope tricks that will also help increase your open rate and boost profits.

1. Print solid color envelopes

Notice how almost all mail comes in plain white envelopes? There's nothing special about them; in fact, they can be a bit boorish. They look like bills, which nobody wants to open. Instead of white, why not send a red, blue or green (or any solid color) envelope and test the results against your white envelopes? Color is exciting, and it piques the interest. Moreover, most greeting cards are sent in colored envelopes, which reinforce the excitement and motivates customers to take a peek inside. At the very least, your envelope will be noticed and not tossed aside with the junk mail. Humans are a curious species by nature, and we must investigate what is not normal. Thus, deploying solid color direct-mail envelopes is practically guaranteed to increase your open rate – which, in turn, should increase your return on investment.

2. Place the address on the back of the envelope

We've established that humans get exceedingly curious when they see something that is out of the ordinary, and an address printed on the back of a sealed envelope undoubtedly qualifies. It might look like a mistake, but your prospective customers will want to know at the very least who made the mistake and why it was made. Sending such an oddity will increase your envelope opens, for sure, but if you really want to harness the power of direct-mail envelope printing you'll have to tie your interior pitch in with the obvious address error somehow. Make a poignant point that resonates with your customers, and you will boost sales.

3. Place an irregular-shaped object inside

You've certainly received direct-mail envelopes with something inside. Similarly, you can boost your envelope open rate by placing something that is irregular-shaped inside, so that your prospects can tell there is something in there but they can't tell what it is until it is opened. They'll simply have to open it to see. Choose an item that is not only cheap for you, but also useful for your customers – and then tie it in with your product or service pitch – to motivate direct response right away. As you can see, crafting odd designs can work wonders for not only your open rate, but also your response rate as well as your profit margin. Remember to always test new ideas against a “control group” - in this case, whatever you're currently using – to see which performs best so you can maximize your return on investment.