Comments on: Why Didn’t My Martial Arts Direct Mail Postcard Work?

By: Matt Williamson

Matt Williamson — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:03:17 +0000

I agree with all the above points. One other thing is to make sure your direct mail piece isn’t too cluttered. A lot of times I see either no call to action or multiple call to actions. For instance, creating a piece that is selling a summer program, an adult program, a kids program, and an after-school program is too varied. When you’re targeting using your list selects, you also have to target using your cards.

When I send out direct mail, typically for just my summer programs, I ONLY include information about the summer program and I target the list to people with kids, money, and good location. I only include one call to action with an odd percentage: Call us today to recieve 23% off your first month!

One other important element: “Space is limited to 75 students this summer. Hurry! We were completely FULL the last two summers!” Make sure you create that sense of urgency, or people will put the card away and possibly forget about you.

Good luck!

By: Don Tepper

Don Tepper — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:01:12 +0000

Very good advice regarding selection of the mailing list. But I wouldn’t assume that’s the only problem. Often, the offer isn’t clear. Or it doesn’t have the required urgency (“Call Now.” Or “This offer good for only the next 10 days.” Or “This offer good for the next 5 students ONLY.” All too often, there’s not even a clear call to action. There must be a call to action, and that call should be for immediate action.

The problem of someone not signing up after the trial is an entirely different issue. In that case, you’ve overpromised and underdelivered. People were expecting to get more out of the program than they actually did. And there isn’t enough incentive for them to pay up to continue. Make sure the prospects feel they’ve gotten something good from the free trial, and make sure that there’s some incentive for them to stick around as paying customers.

By: Scott

Scott — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:30:09 +0000

Initially reading this I would say a whole lot of things went wrong; hard to be accurate without the whole picture though.

Direct mail for a retail store/business is local (yes your dojo is retail), there should be no ‘list’ purchase, just go to the local post office and send a direct mail piece to each box in your community.

The largest issue I have with direct pieces is the layout of the flyer and the message; how are you grabbing the attention of the reader?

The old “Karate Registration” ad is tired and doesn’t do anything useful. The best response rate can be worked on with any direct mail piece by wording to target a specific audience. This makes it easier for testing ads as well.

Just a few thoughts…

By: Brady Cameron

Brady Cameron — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:41:58 +0000

First determine clearly who you are talking too. Next what is your message, whats the offer.Be very specific in your list that you purchase and know as much about the list as possiable. Then look and see the common denominators to your list and your offer. Do not stop finding the common denominators until you are loaded with the connections between your list and your offer.