The Direct Mail Solution: A Business Owner's Guide to Building a Lead-Generating, Sales-Driving, Money-Making Direct-Mail Campaign

Fact: More commerce and wealth is created by direct mail than by any other media (true before the internet and true now) Reported in 2013 as the marketing channel that "delivers the best ROI for customer acquisition and retention" by Target Marketing's Seventh Annual Media Usage Forecast survey of B2C, direct mail is surprisingly outdated and under-represented on the marketing bookshelves for small business owners -- authors Simpson and Kennedy change that. Millionaire-maker Dan S. Kennedy and direct mail marketing specialist Craig Simpson urge small business owners to drive the momentum built via social media and other marketing avenues into the mailboxes of their target consumers. Unlike other direct mail marketing books on the shelf that specialize in one aspect of preparing a campaign such as copywriting or design, this comprehensive solution covers all -- the organizational, technical, and creative including designing, budgeting, tracking, and assessing effectiveness. Also covered is how direct mail can be used in today's online marketing funnels. Benefiting from the authors' combined 30 years in direct marketing, business owners are given the guidelines for what works and what doesn't, illustrated by real-life business campaigns that show step-by-step how to build a results-producing promotional campaign.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: How I Started Making Money in Direct Mail -- And How You Can Too! My Life in Direct Marketing - A summary of the author's experience and lessons learned Now It's Your Turn - A motivational message to the reader Chapter 1: Direct Mail Basics and Creating the Perfect Sales Piece AIDA - Famous sales piece formula: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action How Long Should a Sales Piece Be? - Discussion of pros and cons concerning length The Elements of a Sales Piece - Analysis of essential parts of a sales piece Make the Most Out of Every Part of Your Sales Piece Adding Spice to Your Sales Piece What If You Don't Want to Write Your Own Sales Piece? - How to work with a professional copywriter Chapter 2: Mailing Lists and Segmentation Types of Mailing Lists House File Rented Lists How to Find the Right Mailing List List Brokers / Managers / Compilers - Working with list professionals The Data Card -- Your Source for List Information - How to find the information you need to decide whether to rent (or buy) a particular list How to Turn a Marginal Mailing List Into a Great One - Getting the most out of a mailing list by knowing how to select names Chapter 3: Expanding Your Mailing Universe Increase Lifetime Value By Building an Ongoing Relationship With Your Customers - An explanation of what Lifetime Value is all about Issues Concerning Lifetime Value How Lifetime Value Can Directly Impact the Size of your mail Campaigns Expanding Your Lifetime Value Cost Per Order / Cost Per Acquisition - How to calculate these critical numbers The Secret to Rolling Out to Millions of Names by Increasing Lifetime Customer Value Chapter 4: Tracking Your Mail Campaign Track the Number of Leads/Orders - How to track responses to a campaign to see what worked, what didn't work, and whether the campaign was worth the effort List Segmentation - How to divide a list for testing purposes Mailing Costs - Determining the cost of a campaign List History - Digging into list performance to see which list works best and when Lifetime Value - Taking Lifetime Value into account when determining the success of a campaign Individual Mailing Totals - Keeping a record of the history of campaigns Chapter 5: Sales Piece Format and Design Formats and Design - Options for designing sales pieces How a Simple Design and Copy Change Can Have a SIGNIFICANT Impact on Your Direct Mail Campaign Printing Your Mail Package - Options for printing and production Chapter 6: Technical Details That Help You Create Better Mailings -- And Save You Money Too! Cleaning Up Your Mailing List: How Merge Purge and Data Hygiene Can Save You Thousands Working with the Postal Service Huge Postage Discounts That Can Save You Thousands! First Class Versus Bulk Mail: Which Class of Mail Should I Use? Making Sure Your Mail is Delivered Chapter 7: Putting It All Together -- The Details of Scheduling a Direct Mail Campaign SWOT - Analyzing your campaign's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Steps of a Direct Mail Campaign How Long Will it Take to Get a Mailing Ready and Into the Mail Stream? Now You Have All The Facts You Need to Start Planning a Direct Mail Campaign Chapter 8: How to Use Direct Mail to Drive Traffic to Your Website Top Online Companies Use Direct Mail Using Direct Mail to Build Your Email List The PURL Postcard How Catalog Companies Use Direct Mail to Generate Online Sales. Chapter 9: Creating Promotional and Backend Products That Build Your Business Creating White Papers Designing a Sales Funnel Putting Together a Course Coaching Programs

About the Author :
Craig Simpson is the owner of Simpson Direct, Inc., a direct marketing firm based in Oregon. Since beginning his career in direct mail nearly 20 years ago, he has managed thousands of direct mail campaigns, helping to gross hundreds of millions in revenue for his clients. His direct marketing company sends out nearly 300 mailings per year for his private clients. He works in practically every industry, marketing everything from courses on the benefits of drinking water, to technical software, retail stores, real estate investment, financial services, health products, diet programs, insurance, and even wholesale clothing. He lives in Grants Pass, OR. Dan S. Kennedy is a strategic advisor, consultant, business coach and editor of six business newsletters, and he directly influences more than one million business owners annually. He is a champion of small business owners and entrepreneurs with a long track record of taking entrepreneurs to seven-figure incomes and multi-millionaire wealth. He lives in Phoenix, AZ.

Review :
Craig Simpson and Dan Kennedy paint a powerful picture of the 'A to Z' you need to know about direct mail. Whether you are just about to do your first mail piece, or you're a seasoned pro mailing millions of pieces per year, there are valuable 'gems' in this book for you. If you'll stop tweeting and checking your Facebook account long enough to read this book, you just mat add another million to your portfolio in the years to come! -Dr. Tom Orent, CEO, Gems Publishing, USA Direct Mail Marketing is the hidden secret of many entrepreneurs and small business owners, yet most waste tons of money because they don't understand the 'science' behind it. Craig Simpson and Dan Kennedy walk you step-by-step through this amazing, and highly efficient marketing tool, in The Direct Mail Solution. I believe this powerful, practical road map is a must for every business that is looking to grow their sales volume. -Ben Glass, Great Legal Marketing Craig Simpson and Dan Kennedy have written a masterpiece on direct mail. Every hospital, physician practice and healthcare facility should have this book on their desk to follow as the authority on acquiring new patients and reaching new markets through their proven strategies. I have personally seen the results of Craig and Dan's direct mail work and they are REAL and deliver RESULTS! -Lisa T. Miller, MHA, Founder & CEO VIE Healthcare Whether you market an industrial B2B business or a main street retail store, The Direct Mail Solution will walk you through the steps of creating your own direct mail program. Using Craig Simpson's methods our business has experienced three consecutive years of double-digit comparable sales growth. Avoid the costly mistakes and learn from the master of direct mail by reading this book. -Steve Adams, CEO, U.S. Retail, Inc. Franchisee of Pet Supplies Plus Alabama, Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin