No surprise to those of us who still work in the direct mail world, but the high cost of commercial mailing lists, print production and almost annual postage hikes (with yet another bump, perhaps as early as this May) tends to force creative testing to the back burner. That’s why, if you’ve checked your marketing mail lately, you’re seeing more streamlined packages with few components as compared to earlier days when an envelope was stuffed to the flap with all sorts of inserts.

There’s a time for the stripped down package - a strong letter and reply device many times is all that you’ll need. But sometimes, you want the extra push, the additional voice that a buck slip or lift note offers — even if it means a little extra cost upfront.

Here are some ways to use lift notes and buckslips in your next promotion:

• Summarize your offer, restate your primary benefit in a different way. So if your main letter is heavy on the emotives, perhaps your lift note could take a more rationale approach or vice versa.
• Reinforce your offer "sweeteners" - free trial, money back guarantees, no-hassle return policies, etc.
• Highlight a strong testimonial or two. Add photos if it makes sense.
• Print on an eye-catching bright, neon stock so the reader finds it right away.
• Make it look like a coupon, certificate or money itself to highlight money saved and savings earned.
• Consider checklists, tables and other visual helpers that can help the reader more clearly understand the benefits of your offer. 
• Lift notes work best when they have a different voice than the main letter. So if your main letter is signed by the Marketing Director, the note can be signed from the Customer Service Manager who brings a different but still valuable perspective. Or, as mentioned above, turn a strong testimonial into its own lift note, signed by a satisfied customer.

BONUS TIP:

• Write your buckslip a little more generically and you can use it as a product or invoice stuffer and get some additional mileage for the design/print investment.

(Oh, in case you’re wondering, there’s really very little difference between a buckslip and a lift note except that a lift note is generally written as a mini-letter. Buckslips can be any sort of additional insert.)

Maven’s Maxim
Remember, your prospects will read your package in any number of ways. Some start with the main letter, others go right to the reply device. Some look for the mini-info because they want to get right to the punch line. Adding these kinds of low-cost elements can make a real difference to your response rates, so test them and let the numbers do their magic for you..