Among its many other advantages, mail possesses the unique quality of physical presence. Your message gets through the front door. You’re in the house (not on some computer screen). You’re in their hands. They touch you and feel you.
Wherein lies its creative power. So the ideal way to start a mail pack is to think about the format before you put pen to paper. What’s it going to look like when it gets through the door? A tacky pizza leaflet? Or a personal letter deserving proper attention?
I’ve had most success with envelopes that look important. I hate the C5 window envelope, simply because almost every mail pack ever printed arrives in one. Yes, I know they’re cheap and you (or your printer) have probably got a stock of several million. But if you’re shouting that you’re just another advertising leaflet, you might want to think again.
D/L envelopes are a bit uncommon and maybe suggest something interesting might be inside. And nothing says ‘advertising mail’ as loudly as the window. Try closed face. These days you can laser the name and address on the outside before it’s cut and folded. And you can make it look (convincingly!) like real handwriting. Oh, and you can also print real stamps on the envelope and still get the postage discount.
So when you arrive in the hands of your supporter or prospective donor or your potential legatee, you start by making it clear you’ve taken the trouble to write to them personally.
Of course it costs more (but not as much more as you think). And I’m not going to claim that it always works in terms of ROI. But if your story is important, shouldn’t your message be important too?
Then there’s what to put inside the envelope. But that’s another story…