Here's a fun marketing idea

Here's a fun marketing idea.

While the hey day of direct mail marketing is quickly receding into the ethernet, perhaps it is just reseeding. The principles will sprout up in use elsewhere.

Take this idea. I used to put into direct mail letters a return envelop. Usually it would be a Business Reply Envelop or BRE that had the bar code indicia so no stamp was needed to send us a reply. It made it easier for a customer to respond.

But, whenever I could get the budget, I would put "live" or real stamps on the envelop. Why?
1. They were colorful and got noticed.
2. I never put one stamp but always at least three... if one gets noticed, three get thrice the notice. And one stamp is easy for someone to peel off and use elsewhere. They throw your envelop away. But three smaller denomination stamps are just not worth the effort.
3. Put a picture of the product or a selling line boldly on the face of that envelop. Because all of us human beings love to waste money, we're too cheap to throw away a stamp. We're bizarre. By putting three, hard to remove, impossible to throw away stamps on a blatant piece of advertising, I had just bought advertising space in a potential customer's desk or drawer. Every time they see that envelop it calls to them "use the envelop so you don't waste the stamp."

Sure enough the live stamps always increased sales immediately but they also put a long tail on further responses. Months later I'd get responses. My envelop had nagged them into responding. They just couldn't throw me away.

When you send a resume, an inquiry letter, or use a direct mail format, try the live stamps. The allure is more than they can bear.