Direct Mail Strategy: Write for Different Kinds of Readers

by Brandon Cornett

Whether you're writing a multi-page direct mail letter or a simple postcard, you should consider the different types of readers.

In general terms, people read in one of several ways. Some only skim, and some read thoroughly. Some skim first to see if they should bother reading thoroughly.

People's reading habits also change from medium to medium. For instance, you might read an email from a friend in a deliberate, line-by-line fashion. But when perusing a magazine, you may only notice headlines and images -- until something draws you in.

You can account for this by writing on different levels. Write your headline, sub-headers and other prominent text areas in a way that conveys a complete message. If somebody read those parts and ignored the body copy, they should still be able to get the gist of your message.

Then use your body copy to reinforce or restate the message conveyed in the headers. In this way, your message will carry through when skimmed as well as it does when read carefully.

Good luck and good marketing!

-Brandon from PostcardSmart.com