direct mail swipe file.

To find out what various kinds of direct mail pieces are being sent out today, not only should you get on as many direct response / “mail order” mailing lists as possible, but you should also enlist the help of family and friends. Have them save the direct mail they get.

But do not stop there.

You might even ask your customers to save their direct mail ads. One of my clients who is into business-to-business solutions wanted to see what other B2B mailers were using. So, he asked several good customers who were in various lines of business to start keeping, not tossing out, the ad mail they received.

Bear in mind though, that when I say “swipe”, I am not recommending that you slack off in your own creative thinking. Not by a long shot. There is no direct mail swipe file that ever existed that is as good as a sudden insight.

But it does make good business sense to grab ideas wherever you find them – even if they are only thought starters.
Look what your competition is mailing. Then see if you can improve upon it.

Also, look at what your non-competitors are sending. The beauty of a direct mail swipe file is that a business totally different from yours may have used an idea that you can noodle around with, improve on and put to work in your next marketing campaign.

When a client who is selling through direct mail, for instance, insurance, asks me to create a direct mail package, I will look into my insurance swipe file. But then, I will look in the direct mail swipe file of totally unrelated products and services. Why?

The reason is simple. If you create an insurance direct mail package that looks like every other insurance package, you are just being a copycat. However, if you check through other types of direct mail packages, you are more likely to come up with an original approach to the insurance package.

Aside from finding unique gimmicks in the direct mail swipe file you create, you can also find adaptable art and design, making the cooperation with your client and the graphic designers as easy as showing them examples of what you mean.

Look at color, type of paper, font styles, types of folding, use of pictures, etc., always asking yourself what techniques stand out that you could use in your own direct mail materials?

With a good direct mail swipe file, it is the experience of many marketing experts – not just yourself – that works on your project.

Building your own swipe file of direct mail ideas is time consuming. This is why you may start with my collection.