21 Powerful Words That Boost Direct Mail Response Rates
By Paul Bobnak | November 15, 2017
Words are fascinating. Wherever you use them in your marketing – an envelope teaser, a headline, a call to action – they can carry enormous meaning.
The best one is to use – yes, even more than “free” – is “you”. Whether it’s “you”, “your”, or “yours”, you’re telling your prospect what they really want to hear: “What’s in it for me?”
Nothing else that you can say or show in your direct mail matters nearly as much; not your branding, your pricing, or your fancy mission statement. Customers don’t want fake promises, they want solutions to problems.
People make decisions based on emotional, not rational grounds. What you want to do is use words that trigger an emotion in your customer, and then, get them to act.
Did you notice? I used one great action word in the headline for this post: “boost”.
It works so much better than “help”, doesn’t it? “Boost” is more precise.
You think of an object already in motion that is raised up, like a rocket soaring into space.
Finding the right action words can propel your sales case, and persuade people to buy from you, or donate money to your cause. As long as you keep in mind that specifics work better than generalities, you’ll be on your way to strong direct mail response.
Here are 21 verbs to help increase your direct mail response rates:
1. Boost
2. Build
3. Choose
4. Connect
5. Deserve
6. Discover
7. Grab
8. Improve
9. Invest
10. Join
11. Learn
12. Master
13. Protect
14. Reduce
15. Save
16. Share
17. Start
18. Think
19. Understand
20. Update
21. Visit
Bonus: If you need a refresh on your direct mail planning, head over to simple but powerful direct mail planning starters.
Try incorporating one of these 21 words into your campaign. You might be surprised by how much your direct mail response increases with a small tweak to your verbiage. Want to learn more about how you can improve your direct mail response rates for your next campaign? Discover our proven direct mail process that will set your next campaign up for success.
