As the legendary direct marketing expert Dick Benson said, “There are two rules - and two rules only - in direct marketing. With an envelope feeder attachment on your laser. To arrive at a definitive answer about which strategy will work best for you, test. Envelopes can be printed as needed or automatically as part of a Microsoft Word mail merge document.

However, 63 of the 71 direct mail packages that Denny Hatch reports have been actively hauling in profits for three or more years take the “billboard” approach. Others, like the great copywriter Bill Jayme, have used “billboard” envelopes to generate billions of dollars in sales.

“I don’t know,” Nicastro candidly admits, but, “I’ve had success using both approaches.” Highly successful direct marketers like Ted Nicholas and Gary Halbert swear by the “personal” approach. Don’t give away too much information up front. When writing your headline, stress the chief benefit you are offering and make it grab attention. If you are offering something free, tell your printer that you want the magic word “FREE!” printed on your envelope in a second color, looking like a rubber stamp. In fact, as the name implies, using this technique means that you treat your envelope as a billboard- actually printing an arresting headline on the outside. In the billboard approach, you make no attempt to disguise the fact that your mail is advertising. Treating your outer envelope like a billboard Not available with Flat Rate envelopes and small Flat Rate boxes or when shipping to certain destinations. Instead, print a name and address such as “ Joe Johnston, 914 South Hoover Street, Suite 250, Los Angeles, CA 90006” on your envelope’s return-address corner card. For details regarding claim exclusions, see Sections 609.4.3 (Non-payable Claims), 609 (Filing Indemnity Claims for Loss or Damage), and 503.4 (Insured Mail) of the Domestic Mail Manual. Consider leaving your company’s name or logo off the envelope. A postage stamp, not printed or metered postage. Using this technique, you use a heavy, high-quality paper stock, closed-face, #10 envelope with the recipient’s name and address printed on it. Nicastro of the Positive Response company, that aim to impel a mail recipient to open your envelope: Making your envelope look personal

There are two basic envelope styles, writes Ernest W.

Mailings envelopes