"How To Get More Business In The Next Month Than You Now Get All Year... And Keep It"   Marketing Strategy #7  Direct Mail   Direct mail is one of the most powerful ways to market your trucking business there is. Here are some facts & figures that demonstrate just how powerful: Direct mail is growing. The ad medium is expected to make one of the highest gains among national advertisers this year – jumping by 8.5 percent to $56.6 billion. That’s according to a Universal McCann Insider’s Report.   Look for an even peachier outlook for direct mail – despite postal rate hikes. Marketers will continue pouring in money on direct mail efforts – about $60.9 billion on it next year.   Last year it represented more than $686 billion in sales, supporting jobs at more than 300,000 small businesses across the country.  There wouldn't be that much money spent on direct mail if it didn't work.   Some Other Amazing Direct Mail Marketing Statistics You May Not Know Did you know: 85% - say they open, sort, process and read selected pieces from their mail everyday. 15% let it accumulate unopened for 2 or more days. Did you know: 55% report "greater enjoyment" from reading their regular mail vs. e-mail? This includes the 18-39 age group. Did you know: 75% of consumers say they are examining their mail more closely in recent months for coupons and special offers that save them money? Did you know: Close to 40% of consumers say that they have tried a new business after receiving direct mail from that business … and 70% report renewing a relationship with a business they’d ceased patronizing, as a result of receiving direct mail from the business inviting them back? Sources: The Print Council and DM-News/Piney Bowes 2008 Direct Mail Survey and seen in Glazer Kennedy’s No BS Marketing Letter.  Wow! For all the trucking businesses struggling right now, this is incredibly powerful information. Start, or get back to, communicating with your clients and prospects. The chances of your letter, postcard or newsletter getting noticed and read, compared to that of email, (or you getting in the door to see them) are huge and potentially very lucrative. Success is never on sale. So why do most small businesses, especially trucking companies, think of direct mail as a waste? 1. They don't know how to use it. They've never had any instruction on how to use it. 2. They send a flier - as you know by now, fliers don't cut it. (We'll cover more on this later in this program). 3. They send it to a "bad" list. The list, the people who you send your letter to, is just as important as the letter itself.   Many people overlook this. A home heating & A/C service company had written a sales letter. It was pretty good, not great but pretty good. It was getting zero response, not low, not one but zero. Zilch. Nada. Who was he sending his letters to? He didn't know. He had bought a zip code zone. Finally he went to look at the houses in the zip code he purchased.   Let us describe it for you: A good two-word description would be: "Run-down". They were tiny houses with broken porches -at least one plank of wood was missing. Junk strewn across the front yard. In the driveway there was a car on cement blocks with half the engine removed. Both the husband and wife were wearing stained t-shirts. Were these the types of people most likely to buy their services? If they ever do need service (which is highly doubtful), they'll call their landlord. These people are not good prospects for them.   The list is very important. In Trucking, investigate the "niche" you want to haul for. You can get good leads by getting a list of Manufacturers, Organizations (MFGR's, Shippers, Distributors, etc.), Community Organizations. Build a list of Brokerages & Shippers from loads listed on this load board & others. Keep in touch with them every month with a good direct response mailer (even a postcard). To recap, here is why most businesses fail at direct mail: 1. No direct mail expertise. 2. Bad sales letter. 3. Bad list.   How To Do Successful Direct Mail 1. Have an irresistible offer. The more enticing your offer the better you will sell. 2. Attention getting headline. Your headline is really an ad for your sales letters. 3. Interest- create interest. The first paragraph should emphasize the benefit to the reader, this gets your prospect interested enough to read the rest of the letter. 4. Desire- make your prospect really want what you're offering. 5. Action - must have an irresistible offer. 6. Must have a deadline. If you don't have an expiration date you don't have direct response. 7. Learn how to get it to the person that will make the buying decision. And- learn how to get the letter opened. We will cover both of these techniques in the near future. There is also alot of information available online on how to do this. We'll be providing you with examples & ideas of direct mail letters right here shortly. Use them as-is or modify them to fit you. Learn from them and start writing your own! And remember to never underestimate the power of a well-written sales letter. For many trucking companies the difference between being rich and being broke could be one good sales letter.    To go back to your member control panel, simply minimize or close the marketing pages.