Tricks to get your piece out of the mail pile and into your customer’s hands
Is there a day that goes by that you don’t have several pieces of direct mail inside your mailbox? What makes you open one letter over another? As a direct mailer, you may only have seconds to grab someone’s attention, so you better make a good impression. The best way to do this with a letter campaign is with the envelope itself. Think outside the letter!
Be a Tease 
By writing a teaser for your offer on the envelope itself, your prospect’s interest will be piqued just by glancing at your envelope. Why wait until the letter to say you’re having a sale, providing a brand new service, or currently having a great offer?
Also try creating a sense of urgency by including a ‘respond by’ date – something this good doesn’t last forever, right?
A Handwritten Touch
A handwritten note is a rarity in today’s email centric world, and its flat-out impossible to do when you’re sending out mail to thousands. But you don’t necessarily need to do it the old-fashioned way. To give your envelope this personal touch, pick a script (font) that could possibly pass as someone’s handwriting. Customers will feel you’ve really gone out of your way to send them a personal note.
Do some House (list) keeping
People have the hardest time spelling my mother’s married name, and if she gets a piece mail with her name spelled incorrectly (Pickleton is my favorite), out it goes, straight into the trash. Make sure your lists are correct: be sure that all of your Misters are really Misters, and that names are spelled correctly. And, if people have called in or responded to past mailers to correct their data, make sure it’s updated in your list – they shouldn’t need to tell you twice!
Make it Personal
Personalization grabs peoples’ attention, so including some on your envelope is always a good idea. Focus on their interests, and they’re sure to notice and want to learn more about your current campaign. And what’s more personal than a Personal website? Use PURL technology to add a Personalized URL, or PURL, to the front of the envelope. Give them a way to respond on the envelope itself, while adding personalization. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!
And to Make Sure Your Envelope Gets Delivered, Some Tips from USPS: 
- Print the delivery and return addresses on the same side of your envelope.
- For both return and sender addresses, use a legible font that can be read an arm’s length away
- Try to use a ZIP + 4 code if possible
- Use appropriate Street and State abbreviations
- To prevent surcharges, standard envelopes must be between 5 and 11.5 inches long and between 3.5 and 6 and 1/8 inches high. The ratio of length to height must be from 1.3 to 2.5. If mail goes beyond those boundaries, it is considered non-machinable.
What have you done in the past to the envelopes of your letter campaigns? What worked and what didn’t? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks!
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