The basics of effective envelope design. (The DM Notebook).

With current concerns over mail response during and after the anthrax scare and with New York Times headlines like,

"Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman, New Yorkers Take Their Mail cautiously, If at All,"

I found myself rethinking the basics of newsletter marketing envelope design. Remember, in the last analysis, the carrier envelope has only two jobs:

* To keep the contents from getting lost before arrival at the recipient's address;

* To get itself opened.

But to achieve the latter, there are a number of basics that can assist in getting the prospect inside your envelope. The current upheaval in mail delivery is no reason to ignore the basics.

Teaser copy

It's been tested a bajillion times. Envelopes with teaser copy almost always outpull the plain vanilla approach, regardless of what publishers may think about the nature of their audience ("senior executives," for example, turned off by "promotional envelopes").

Blank envelopes

If you decide to test this, do it all the way. Full return address, ink-jetted address, First Class metered indicia. I tend to remember the late Bill Jayme's dictum, "Any competent secretary can recognize advertising mail, the 'trick' is to design advertising mail that looks interesting."

First Class vs. Standard

First Class almost never pays off. I guess it doesn't "fool" the mail screener mentioned above.

Return address

I like it for launch mailings and for new lists. There you are reaching a large number of prospects offering them the newsletter they didn't previously realize that they had always wanted.

On the other hand, if I'm mailing to funeral directors, a stable industry, about Funeral Service Insider, a newsletter for which they've received three or more mailings a year for more than 20 years, I'd definitely skip the return address.

Size

I've seldom seen oversized envelopes pay off. I'm tempted to offer a prize to the first person who finds a 6 x 9" envelope that is not advertising mail. When I go to my P.O. box I find I do a preliminary hand-sort. I shuffle through the mail looking for the #10 business envelopes-those are the ones which contain orders, checks, "real business mail"-and I look at those first.

Windows

The address label showing through a window creates, as one of my mentors, Rene Gnam, liked to say, as sense of mystery about "what is in there with my name on it?" A second window cut to reveal the mouth-watering premium executive report can also be effective.

Colors

Eighty percent of business mail comes in white #10 envelopes. This "ought to" make envelopes that stand out by reason of color or size more effective. It doesn't seem to. (Remember, direct mail is not a "why" business, it's a "what" business.) At United Communications we always did have success with red envelopes for "quiz packages" that we used for many titles. Also, Kraft envelopes are effective for any publication that can use the "quasi-official" approach in its marketing.

Tilted stamps and split-gum envelopes

These are two of my favorite direct marketing urban legends. Did Publishers Clearing House or some other giant mailer ever actually test "tilting" the stamp on a live-stamp mailing and see that it increased response?

A split-gum envelope has only a series of segments of glue on the envelope flap, rather than a continuous strip--thus making it easier to open and increasing response. I'd have to see the test results to believe it.

Novelty envelopes

They have their moments in the sun. Mylar colors, the "zipper" envelope where the prospect pulls a tab and the contents fall out in his or her hand. These tend to have a short shelf life. After the prospect has seen a couple, the "mystery" is gone.

Footnote

Observing P.O. box customers at my post office, some 300+ miles from New York City I have not seen a single customer appear to hesitate even a second in handling and opening mail--although for marketers it can be depressing to see how quickly much of the mail is "scanned" and discarded without opening.