Kick your marketing into high gear with these 99 ways to get customers to open your mail.

Direct mail is one of the most important pieces of your marketing plan. Developing and executing the campaign can many times be a thankless job. Today’s mailing regulations can get complicated–postage rates are changing and the flood of mail makes it harder to stand out. The right message is very important and must get to the target prospect in the right way on a frequent basis. Capturing your reader has to happen fast and your reader must be motivated to take action.

Here are 99 direct mail marketing tips to ensure that you get the right message to the right target–in the right way.

• Consult with a direct-mail specialist
• Give a free gift to increase response
• Highlight the free-gift offer prominently
• Use short copy to tease the reader to read further or respond
• Minimize the use of buzz words
• Make your offer easy to respond to
• Prove any claims with details to add credibility
• Ask for the order right away
• Use graphics and color to support the message and text
• Offer a free trial to eliminate risk
• Hire a professional copywriter for your content
• Hire a professional graphic designer
• Make your offer easy to understand at a glance
• Promise many benefits
• Give many reasons to buy
• Use all the formatting available with taste
• Have your direct mail reviewed by an objective third party
• Use colored paper to make impact and save on printing costs

Read more of this article by Al Lautenslager on Entrepreneur Magazine’s Website…