Envelopes for direct mail purposes can be an incredibly important asset to your marketing approach, but most important is making sure you’re using an envelope that has a chance of actually being seen and interacted with by a potential customer.
Capturing people’s attention is the single most important part of marketing. With the average individual’s attention span being 8 seconds, you only have a few precious moments to stand out. A customer is going to decide to either directly open your envelope, leave it out on the side, or (worst case scenario) chuck it straight in the bin. We, as consumers ourselves, have done this on multiple occasions. Boring envelopes that use dull colours will always come across as non-important for potential clients. With this, comes to need to produce high quality, attention grabbing envelopes in order to get your message across to your ideal clientele. We can make sure the choice is easier for the customer by taking into account a number of factors.
A recent study revealed 70% of consumers are more likely to open a personalised printed envelope rather than a generic, bland one. Overall, branded envelopes and packaging are 80% more likely to be opened by your target audience than regular envelopes. With this being the case, we thought it would be a good idea to run through the things you can do to make sure you have a stand-out envelope worthy of your business.
A Stand-Out Design
Your design can either incorporate heavily eye-catching material (images, colours, fonts etc) or a more minimalist approach like using your brand’s logo or colouring your envelope in your company colours. By sending these out on multiple occasions, you will start to become a recognisable face to your customers.
Designs that stand out might incorporate graphics emblazoned on the outside and multi-coloured print or imagery, essentially creating an envelope that is easy to identify in the heap full of direct mail that a customer might inevitably receive. The clearest colours that have shown previous success are blue, orange and yellow. Red can be related to danger, therefore it is advised to stay away from this colour palette.
Minimalism, on the other hand, has forced many business owners to realise that there is sometimes great benefit to be found in leaving space between certain design elements and picking out striking yet solid colours to achieve a fantastic impact within print media. This concept implores business owners to only focus on the essentials of the design process. Here it is reiterated that too much disorder or clutter on the envelope design will not make for an attractive marketing device. You need to make sure your design is clear and concise, whilst also following your key marketing strategy. If you overdo the design in an effort to make the envelope stand out, you may risk producing something that looks overly stuffed and is consequently discarded. Try to achieve a design that incorporates elements of minimalism while standing out to the customer.
Personalisation & Copy
A personalised envelope that includes the name of a brand or customer will instantly be more enticing than any other direct mail that person is receiving. In this way, direct mail marketing can be a powerful and cost-effective way to achieve a sense of familiarity between you and your customer. Personalisation ultimately transfers over into higher conversion and retention rates, so when considering any envelope design, make sure you take into account the benefits of personalisation!
Variable data and personalised print is nothing new, the most basic level involves changing the recipient’s name in a word document using the mail merge function. Adding digital printing and the use of full versioning, an extreme version of variable data personalisation can be created using both graphic and message to attract people’s attention. What better way to make a customer feel valued than showing them their name at the centre of a printed leaflet.
Compelling copy is absolutely essential also, and this can go hand-in-hand with the personalisation element of your envelope design. This is because once the design has been established (as the first thing that the customer will perceive) it’s then vitally important to draw them in with some fantastic copy. Here you can use the different marketing buzzwords and appeals and transform them into effectively persuasive words to grab the attention of the reader. Especially if you are looking to sell products, keywords such as ‘sale’ are a go-to followed by many businesses. Calls to action will make it more likely that the consumer will open your envelope and read on with what you have to offer.
In summary, you must remember that an envelope effectively acts as the subject line to the direct mail email enclosed. The envelope is the first step a consumer takes when they receive your marketing. It is the FIRST thing they see about your brand and what you have to offer, playing a vital role in catching someone’s attention and forcing them to engage with the content. When considering the design of the envelope, it might be worth remembering the 3:33 rule, taking into account the:
- 3 seconds you have to catch the attention of the reader
- 30 seconds you have to maintain the reader’s interest
- 3 minutes you have for the rest of the direct mail to be read
By following the steps labelled above, you can start your journey to direct mail success, taking your business to the next level when attracting the business of your ideal clients. Whether it’s for your business or personal correspondence, printed envelopes will elevate your posting solution. If you need to make a brand statement, printed envelopes are the perfect marketing tool to make your company stand out. When comparing other media, especially digital, nothing compares with the touch, feel and texture that a quality printed product conveys to your recipients. As the facts show, there is nothing better than having something personalised for your brand, whether you’re a new start up or internationally known. Put simply, this is the power of print.
If you’d like to know a bit more about how we can help you turn your transactional documentation into highly efficient marketing tools, then take a look at our website www.alpharesponse.ltd or give us a call on 03300 563 980 – we’d be happy to help!
