Key Takeaways

• By changing the formatting, delivery and perspective, Russell took what could’ve been an ordinary promotional email & turned it into an effective physical mailer.
• You don’t have to be fancy when it comes to direct mail. In fact, oftentimes, the plain white handwritten envelope format is what gets opened the most. A cheap trip to a supplies store for envelopes, computer paper, post it notes & stamps is all you need (and of course, a mailing list).
• Russell combined online with offline. There was no order form or complicated response mechanism. You could call or visit the site. At the core of it, this piece was a way to grab attention amongst the sea of emails we receive everyday.
• Because so few people use direct mail, there’s a big opportunity to stand out. I’ve rarely if ever, received something simple like this from another online marketer.
• There’s great power in delivering your sales message from another person’s point of view. Hearing from the seller carries a certain resistance because we know they want to profit. The less affiliated someone seems, the more we feel like we’re talking to another consumer.
• The first thing Russell does in the letter is justify a price increase. It’s a reminder that you should always seek to justify a price change. Even if your product is high-in-demand & you have flexibility, an explanation helps erase the idea that you’re just trying to milk customers as much as possible.

Analyst Spotlight

Mike Schaueris the founder of Swiped.co and the main analyst in the swipes section. After intently studying & building conversion-focused websites for 6+ years, he started Swiped to help others master marketing & copywriting through the analysis of great examples!