A direct mail copywriter learns the features and selling points of the product or service being offered and uses them to create a compelling advertisement targeted towards a specific audience. When sent by email, it is sometimes also referred to as opt-in email to distinguish it from spam. A direct mail copywriter might be an employee of an advertising firm which requires a large volume of direct mail writing, or he or she might be hired by companies in a freelance capacity for occasional direct mail campaigns.
The first step a direct mail copywriter takes toward creating a compelling ad is to determine the subject line or title of the offer. As the subject line will be the first part of the ad that the recipient sees, it needs to be written in a way that will garner both the interest and trust of the recipient. If the recipients have “opted in” to receive the direct mail, they are most likely to open the email if the subject line features the name of the product or service that they signed up to learn about. A professional direct mail copywriter will usually refrain from using excess punctuation, all caps, and other telltale markers of spam email.
In the body of the email, the copywriter states the most compelling benefits of the offer, in order of greatest to least. Throughout the rest of the email, the direct mail copywriter might create links to the product or service’s website using HTML. The copywriter might work in tandem with a designer to format the email, or use a web-based service such as Constant-Content to automatically format and manage a mass-emailing. At the end of the email, the direct mail copywriter should include copy which informs recipients of how they can remove themselves from the mailing list if they wish to discontinue receiving direct mail. Although most companies are hesitant to include this option on their mailings, in recent years, it has become recognized as a gesture of honesty which distinguishes direct mail from spam.
