Yesterday, we made a big announcement…we are now offering all clients free proofreading.

Before their direct mail campaign goes to press, we’ll proofread their artwork for spelling and grammar errors.

We always aim to over deliver for our clients and this is proven by our client testimonials. Any direct mail vendor can offer good pricing, but project support is what REALLY makes a difference. If you’ve ever received poor customer service from a vendor, then you know how crippling it can be.

Offering our clients free proofreading is our attempt to give them additional peace of mind. They already know their direct mail is in the right hands…and now they know a second set of eyes (at no cost to them) will be looking over their artwork for spelling and grammar errors that could hurt their mailing.

Here’s the press release we issued if you’re interested:

http://www.send2press.com/newswire/2009-02-0203-002.shtml

Sorry for the “promotional” post…we’re just excited by this announcement…but we’ll be posting a new direct mail video early next week so STAY TUNED.

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At first thought, you might think Google Adwords and direct mail are two completely different monsters — and they are — but Adwords can play a critical role in testing copy.

Here’s how…

Google Adwords is a pay per click engine. You set up some ads and then bid on which keywords you want your ads to appear when searched for.

For example, if Ballantine used Google Adwords, we would bid on the keyword phrase “direct mail services”. So whenever someone does a search on Google for “direct mail services”, our ad would appear in the search results (in the sidebar)

Well, within Google Adwords (under Campaign Settings) you have the ability to evenly rotate and test different ads.

And an add is comprised of a main headline and 2 lines of copy. So you can set up two different ads with different headlines and copy and see which one gets the most clicks.

You can probably see where I’m going with this…

I’ve read that copywriters are now using Google Adwords to come up with winning headlines for direct mail copy.

For example, say you’re writing a letter for a client and you have two headlines you really like, but you’re not sure which one to use.

Convert both headlines into Google Adwords ads and send targeted traffic to them. Once you have some decent data, plug the numbers into this free tool to see which ad is the definite winner:

—> http://www.SplitTester.com

It’s safe to say the winning ad is the better of the two headlines.

I’ve also read that you should have at least 20 clicks on each ad before you determine a winner…and the more clicks the better obviously.

If you’re only bidding say 25 cents per click, this testing method of using Google Adwords translates into a very inexpensive way to turbocharge your copy’s headlines.

The key to effective direct response copywriting is to get the reader INVOLVED. 

You have approximately 10 seconds to hook the respondent before he tosses your piece in the trash.  What you need is a headline with immediate IMPACT. 

Something short, sweet, and utterly compelling. 

And that’s where the 13 most powerful words in direct mail come in…

1. You
2. Save
3. Money
4. New
5. Easy
6. Results
7. Health
8. Guarantee
9. Love
10. Proven
11. Discovery
12. Safety
13. Free
 
Each of these 13 words has a uniquely personal and positive association for virtually everyone.

Work these into your headline and you’ll get the reader’s attention. What you do with it after that is up to you!