Add Testimonials to your Sequenced Mailings

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on
your web site as long as the byline is included and the
article is included in it”s entirety. I also ask that you
activate any html links found in the article and in the
byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you
publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com
Add Testimonials to your Sequenced Mailings
By Abe Cherian
? 2005
Using direct mail to help market your products or services
must employ sequenced mailings if you want better response.
To increase the response of your sequenced mailings, you
can add more testimonials to each sales letter in the cycle.
You can tell the reader, “This is what this reader has done
since the last time you received a mailing.” It reminds
them that they could have gotten similar results if they
responded. Then remind them they lost out since they didn”t
take action.
The recommended method is to provide separate sheets of
testimonials. Also, spot testimonials throughout your sales
letter.
If you”re selling a product with a high profit margin, you
might include an audio or videotape in the subsequent
mailings. This will lend credibility and authenticity to
your testimonials because they are from your customers.
Please keep in mind that the function of this sequenced
mailing process is really to move the relationship along
and create familiarity with you and the sales process. Once
they feel comfortable with you, then they will open up and
buy from you.
One key point is that there are different types of buyers.
Your first mailing will pull the aggressive responsers that
are willing to take a little more risk even though you have
a risk free guarantee, but they”re ready to buy right now.
There are just as many people who aren”t ready yet as there
are who are ready to buy. They”re interested. They wouldn”t
have responded to your lead generating if they were not.
The second mailing brings in the stronger “maybes.” These
are the ones who kind of like your product, but weren”t
sure about it or the timing wasn”t right.
Subsequent mailings bring in even more of the “maybes.”
These were originally skeptical, but now you”ve created
some familiarity and reinforced yourself with testimonials
or an audio tape and now you”ve broken down their buying
resistance.
The big question here is how many mailings are right for
your product or service? The answer is, I don”t know. You
want to keep mailing until it”s no longer profitable. If
you make money by sending out that second letter, you
should send out a third. If that third makes money, you
shou]d send out a fourth.
You want to factor in that if you know your customer”s
value and you know how much back end you are going to be
able to sell, then you know how much you can spend to get a
customer and you can keep sending letters even if it might
become unprofitable.
For the most part, continue sending the letters. Remember
to test and find out how many cycles make the best sense
for you.
You will be more profitable by increasing the number of
mailings that you make to your prospects. In fact, some
very successful direct marketers are doing 8,9,10,11, 12
steps before they stop sending out letters.