Direct Mail Marketing Company Says Sell Your Offer, Not Your Premium.

My wife received an irresistible offer in the mail the other day. So she didn't resist.

The publisher of a health newsletter offered her eight free reports in exchange for trying out the publication risk free. She could read the sample issue and, if she didn't like it or want it, simply return it with the invoice. The free reports were hers to keep.

My wife wanted the premiums but had little interest in receiving the newsletter. So she simply took the publisher up on his offer, received the free reports, wrote "cancel" on the invoice and returned it to the publisher as instructed. My wife is not a professional premium hunter and collector. But this offer was too attractive to pass up.

You can avoid premium hunters by promoting your offer and not your premium, and by using a premium that is always of lower value than the merchandise being offered.

Remember, your premium is the bribe that you offer your prospect for saying yes now. Your premium is not your offer. And because you should sell one thing in each direct mail piece, and only one, you need to sell your offer. And give your premium away.

Your premium is the incentive to act, not the reason to act. In my wife's case, the premium was more attractive than the product. So she became, for a moment at least, one of those infuriating people who responds to direct mail offers just to get the premium.

The safest way to sell your offer and not your premium is to stress in copy and visuals what you are selling, and to make images of your premium, and copy about your premium, smaller than the surrounding images and copy.

The next safest way is to make the premium a little hard to get. Insist on a minimum purchase quantity or a minimum purchase term. Require some commitment from your customers in exchange for the free gift and you'll attract more product purchasers and fewer premium seekers.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).


--
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers attract new clients using direct mail marketing. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com/newsletter