With Christmas Eve around the corner and lots of churches planning to do direct mail, I thought I'd share 5 things about effective direct mail that was NOT in the direct mail piece I received at my house yesterday:

1. It wasn't in English (even though I speak Spanish fluently, English is still my first language)

2. There were 5 dates on this postcard (it was letting me know the title of every week of the series and the date they would be taught). Instead, give me the big picture of the series, write copy that will pique my curiosity and give me one date for when I need to show up.

3. The map was impossible to decipher. I don't know where you are, so I'll need a map. 

4. There were 2 denominational references on a 6×9 postcard (which seems like a bit much, especially when I had never even heard of the denomination). 

5. There was nothing on this postcard that made me want to attend. They didn't take the time to craft copy that would speak to me. Instead, I got dates and sermon titles that made no sense outside of their series. Somehow that is supposed to rouse the masses. 

I don't mean to come off like a movie critic, but churches spend so much money on direct mail, only to do it poorly. If you're going to do direct mail badly, save yourself the money and don't do it at all.  

The whole reason we released resource "Direct Mail Secrets" is to help church leaders use their outreach dollars wisely and reach more people. 

That's why I even gave a "no risk" guarantee. It states that if you pick up Direct Mail Secrets, listen to it and believe that none of it is helpful, just send it back for a refund. That's how strongly I feel about this.