How to Create a Direct Mail Letter and Reply

Contrary to popular belief, direct mail is far from dead. In fact, it’s surprisingly effective: According to the Data and Marketing Association, businesses are 9 times more likely to get a response from direct mail marketing campaigns than they are from email campaigns.

One of the most common (and most fruitful) forms of direct mail is the direct mail letter. Paired with a reply device, they’re incredibly effective and a great way to reach your target audience. 

Direct mail letters allow you to present a more personalised and professional touch than other forms of direct mail, such as postcards or flyers. They also give you more space to make your pitch and sell the benefits of your product, service, or organisation.

So, how do you create a “good” direct mail letter campaign? With a little help from a direct mail team, it’s easier than you think.

Table of Contents

How to Plan Effective Direct Mail Letters

Writing Your Direct Mail Letter

Designing a Direct Mail Letter

Creating a Direct Mail Letter Reply Device

How to Plan Effective Direct Mail Letters

Creating an effective direct mail letter and reply device takes a bit of planning. To start, you need to define your overarching intent.

Start by identifying your goal. 

As with all marketing campaigns, determining your desired outcome is essential before doing anything else. 

First, pin down what you’re hoping to achieve with your direct mail letter: 

Are you aiming to educate potential customers and build trust in your business or organisation? 

Are you attempting to generate a more qualified list of leads or generate more traffic (online or off) by including a clear call to action? 

Are you hoping to induce increased sales for the quarter or donations to your nonprofit organisation?

Whatever your intent, be clear about it with your team so you can craft your letter in a way that helps you meet your goal.

Identify your target audience.

The second most important step before actually creating your letter is to identify who you’re trying to reach. 

Does your company sell and appeal to consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B)? Who will be the ultimate decision-maker when it comes to pulling the trigger and deciding to work with you? 

Knowing who should read your letter is equally as important as determining your goal; they go hand in hand. For better results, your letter should be addressed to someone specific.

Choose the right format.

In this digital day and age, letter writing is a bit of a lost art. Did you know there’s more than one way to write and structure a letter?

While most of us probably think of informal letters to friends and family, business letters generally always include 3 things that informal letters don’t:

• A letterhead or your business name and return address

• The recipient’s address (also called the “inside address”)

• The date the letter was written (or, for your purposes, the target mailing date)

You’ll also need to choose how you want your letter arranged:

• Block format: All paragraphs and information blocks are aligned along the left margin of the page. Letters using block format tend to look very formal.

• Modified block format: Like the block format, the sender and recipient addresses and all body content are aligned on the left. However, the send date and closing are aligned in the center or on the right side. This is a step down from the ultra-professional appearance of a block-formatted letter.

• Semi-block format: Everything in your letter is still aligned along the left, but each paragraph is indented. This gives your letter a more informal appearance.

The format of your letter will depend on your target audience and your ultimate goal. 

Writing Your Letter Message

While you should certainly follow the usual letter-writing rules and include the sender and recipient addresses and a date, you’ll also want to include 3 other important elements.

1.  A short (but powerful) headline

Including a subject line – or headline – just above your greeting helps grab your reader’s immediate attention. 

Just like a newspaper or online article, a headline lets your recipient know exactly what they’re about to see or read and piques their interest.

2. Short and concise paragraphs and points

Don’t be afraid to use shorter-than-normal paragraphs and sentences to make it easy for your reader to scan your letter. 

Avoid being over-wordy and get to the point as clearly as you can. Including too much “flowery” language may cause you to lose their interest.

In addition, say “yes” to using bullet points in your body text when possible. This further simplifies your message and makes it more enticing to your recipient.

3. A call to action

A call to action is the single most important portion of your letter. After informing your recipient about why you sent your letter, tell them exactly how to take the next step.

The important thing here is to choose a single, clear call to action. Humans are easily overwhelmed when there are too many choices, so make it easy for your recipients by offering only one option. 

Designing a Direct Mail Letter

Once you’ve determined your goal, to whom you’re sending your letter, how it should be formatted, and its contents, it’s time to get to work on actually designing it. 

Be intentional about your colour palette. 

According to Canon Solutions America, marketing materials printed in colour are 55% more likely to be read than those printed in plain black and white. Likewise, going with colour can stand to increase your response rate by as much as 135%.

In addition – and regardless of how formal or informal you want your letter to appear – it’s important to stay on-brand. 

Check your letter’s colour palette and ensure you’re choosing the text colours that match or align with your branding and that your logo uses the proper hex codes.

Choose professional fonts.

Now is not the time to get creative and try new, fancy fonts. Stick with tried-and-true professional fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, or other simple-to-read fonts. 

Make sure your font is also large enough to read. Use 11- to 12-point font so your recipients don’t have to squint. 

Should you use images in direct mail letters?

Direct mail letters are no strangers to images. In fact, they may help you get your point across to your recipient. 

Images help recipients visualise the result of working with you. They may also help create a stronger connection between you and your reader.

Depending on the goal of your letter, you may or may not choose to include images. Your direct mail team will help you decide what’s best for your individual direct mail letter campaign.

Don’t forget the envelope!

Small as it may be, the envelope is arguably the most important piece of your direct mail letter campaign. 

Why? Because it’s the first (and maybe only) opportunity you have to catch your recipients’ attention and avoid your mail piece dropping into the garbage.

Envelopes that aren’t designed to stand out… won’t stand out. Take some time to think about the size of your envelope as well as its colouring. Consider including an image on the front that matches your theme or goal. Add a catchy headline that entices people to open it.

Whatever you do, don’t forget the envelope. 

Creating a Direct Mail Letter Reply Device

Now that you’ve written and formatted your letter, you’re halfway to the finish line. There’s just one more piece of the puzzle remaining: your reply device.

What’s a reply device and why do you need one?

A reply device is what it sounds like – something you include with your letter that your recipient can simply act upon. 

Here are a few common letter reply devices:

• Party invitation RSVPs

• Nonprofit donation envelopes

• Mail voting ballots

• In-store coupons

Reply devices offer a very clear call to action and invite your recipient to act immediately. Including a reply device creates a sense of urgency and takes the guesswork out of what to do next. 

What to Include in Your Reply Device

When you include a reply device with your direct mail letter, you ultimately end up directing your recipients’ attention away from your letter and toward your reply device. 

This means your reply device needs to include the most important pieces of information from your letter in the most concise way possible. 

The best reply devices include:

• A headline – either the same or similar to your letter’s headline.

• A single, concise summary of your letter.

• A photo or image to help your recipient visualise what they’re gaining by replying.

Preparing Your Reply Device Envelope

Depending on the type of reply device you include in your letter, you may need to enclose an envelope. Don’t skip this – most folks don’t keep envelopes around the house these days and expecting them to track one down to return mail to you could be the difference between you receiving a response or not.

Successful reply device envelopes are personalised and include your recipients’ return address. Show them you’ve thought of everything and save them the trouble of writing their own return address. 

Finally, ensure your reply device will fit properly in the envelope without requiring any (or much) manipulation. This may seem like a “no brainer,” but it’s often overlooked and under-considered. 

How to Make Your Reply Device More Appealing

Your reply device should make it easy for your recipients to take a single action to reply. 

You may direct them to call a phone number, visit a specific web address, walk into your brick and mortar business, or drop the reply device back in the mail to you.

If the last option is your intention, consider factoring in the cost of prepaid post with your budget. Prepaid return-mail devices are more likely to make it back to you than requiring your recipients to attach postage themselves. 

Commerce Press Can Help with Your Next Direct Mail Letter Campaign

Direct mail marketing can be a lengthy process. Going it alone might lead to costly mistakes or lower-than-expected response rates. 

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started with direct mail, Commerce Press can help. Our direct mail team has extensive expertise in the direct marketing realm and will help you craft your letter from start to send. 

We’re here to ensure things are done in the most timely and cost-effective way so you can achieve the best results and return on investment.

Contact us today to get started on your next direct mail letter campaign.