Sneak Up

Last week we picked up our discussion on getting past the gatekeeper when using direct mail. The first thing I suggested is you may want to enlist the help of the gatekeeper, a novel idea. Here’s my blog entry on that discussion. Next, I suggested that whatever you send, the gatekeeper must fear block it. Here’s that entry today we’ll touch on another strategy is dealing with gatekeepers.

I’ll call this the ‘sneak up’ approach. This involves putting “teaser copy” on the outside of the envelope, box, or whatever it is you decide to send. The teaser copy on the outside will usually say one a few things like:

• Personal & Confidential
• For John’s Eye’s Only (assuming your prospect or client’s name is really John)
• Confidential Report for John
• Or any number of phrases that indicate that the contents is only for the recipient.

This is a great way to get past the gatekeeper as they usually fear opening, filtering, or throwing this type of material in the trash.

Another great way to get through is to send mail that looks, acts or hints that it’s from a person or company thing that already gets through. Here’s an example. Let’s say you have a product for dentists. You can purchase a list of dentists who also subscribe to a specific magazine. For this example let’s say they subscribe to “Muscle Car Monthly.” On the outside of your envelope you would want to write:

Gift and Special Invitation Enclosed for VIP Readers of Muscle Car Monthly

Since most gatekeepers know and recognize the magazine title, whatever you send will likely be sent right on through.