Direct-Mail Testing: Your 3-Step Guide to Better Response Rates

As direct marketers, we’re all looking for an edge, even just a slight adjustment to the offer, copy or design that will lead to better response rates. Would you believe me if I told you that something as simple as one sentence, just five little words, has the power to lift results by 20 percent? The key is direct-mail testing.

When we engage with clients, the bar is typically set at achieving double-digit improvement in response rates compared to past campaigns. While this number varies by the client’s test volume and his or her appetite for risk, most of our clients consider anything below 10 percent a disappointment. How do we achieve double-digit improvements? We test, test and test again. Consider this your three-step guide to achieving better response rates.