Oops!

Avoid common direct-mail mistakes, and your message may makeit past thewastepaper basket.

"Avoid mistakes before seeking brilliance." This maysound a bit on the safeside, but when it comes to creating aneffective direct-mail piece, it's also asure way to avoidcreative catastrophes. To avoid mistakes:

1. Don't be cutesy. Pun-laden copy combined with agarish design, wildcolors and hard-to-read type hides your messageand is a recipe for thecircular file.

2. Don't rely on an "artiste." Designersshould never lead the creationof a direct-sales message. Imagesentice, impress, demonstrate, dramatize,amuse and suggest, but theydon't sell. Words sell. And words come from thewriter.

3. Don't spend two weeks on the brochure and two hours onthe letter.Although brochures may be sexy, the letter is whatwill clinch the sale. Makesure that letter isn't afour-paragraph snoozer.

4. Don't create a "Burma Shave" brochure.Burma Shave once ran anoutdoor ad campaign that presented a rhymingmessage with each line on adifferent sign posted along the highway.As people drove past the series ofbillboards, the message wasslowly revealed, saving the product name for last.A clever idea,but it's not right for a direct-mail piece. If youhavesomething to say, say it clearly on the cover.

5. Don't play hide-and-seek with the order form,guarantee andtestimonials. You don't want the order formhidden on the last panel, theguarantee to appear only once in themiddle of some text and the testimonialsto act merely as filler fora flawed design. Each is part of the skeleton ofyour direct-mailmessage--without that skeleton, the body of your mailer andmessagecollapse. Whenever possible, make your order form a separate piecethatfalls right into your prospect's lap. Highlight yourguarantee on every piece.And group your testimonials together sothey make a strong impression.