Postcards

• Design your direct mail postcard around an upcoming event or a special offer that you are promoting. Include the specific dates and times of your offer as well as the expiration date. People respond favorably to offers that are only valid during specific times, so it is wise to highlight those facts in your headline. Construct your postcard in the form of a gift certificate, coupon or ticket, and have your responders present them to you at the time of service. This will help you keep track of your postcards' effectiveness and leave you with the contact information of the customer so you can send them a thank-you card. Leave a counter-invitation on the card that states that you will be happy to assist them if they are unable to take advantage of your offer at this time.
  
  

Envelopes

• Use a blank envelope if you mail your direct mail marketing piece to businesses. The blank envelope looks personal, businesslike and important. Businesses receive many embellished envelopes daily and usually separate them as "junk" mail. Your blank envelope will probably go straight into the hands of the recipient.
  
  However, if you are targeting your direct mail letters to home recipients, use more creativity on the envelope to get your message across and your letter opened. Alert your reader to the free, discounted or exclusive offer you are personally extending to them inside of the letter. Use direct language such as the words "see inside" or "open immediately to receive this limited-time offer." Communicate with photos, tokens, stamps, coins, seals and teaser words such as "free," "lowest prices of the year" or "two for one."
  
  

Fliers

• Brainstorm the objective and prospective audience for your direct mail flier. Consider the exact message you want to display and whether the people who will receive it are already familiar with your business or whether it will mainly go to people who have not yet been introduced to your products or services. Decide if you want to use a highly embellished theme or a subtle, understated theme. Break the flier into small columns of type and sprinkle in photographs, graphics and illustrations around generous amounts of white space to ensure that your flier is readable and eye-appealing. Lay out the individual pages of your flier as one unit, spreading the headline out over both pages but not running the actual text over the page dividers.