Research has shown that 65% of the people who open your direct mail, if they are inclined to respond, will do so because of your letter.

What does this say? It says you better have a letter ... and it better be good ... in your direct mail!

Here are the 8ight golden guide lines for writing the better direct mail letter:

1. Write it like you say it. Don't worry about grammar. Don't concern yourself with punctuation. And don't word-smith every sentence. Make it human.

Now that I have said that, let's back-up a step or two. If you tape record yourself and then transcribe it and read it, most of the time it is unreadable. Why? Because, even though I highly recommend that we write like we talk ... that is not really how it happens.

What I recommend is that you use a language that is comfortable for your audience. And speak in a style and format that the audience will understand. And be likely to respond to. Most often that is writing like you speak.

2. The best direct mail is very personnel direct mail. Multiply it and mail it to everybody. Write to the person you know best, say the things to them that you know are important about your property, and then send it to everybody you feel is a prospect and a customer.

And do it again and again over and over. Because it works. Personal direct mail is the best direct mail.

On the other side, trying to be personal and missing is absolutely horrid. All of us have received direct mail where our name was mispelled. That takes away from all the personalization ... and destroys the impact you are trying to make on the marketplace.

Maybe the best thing to do is not personalize your mail. What I mean by that is you don't use information that you have to guess at ... you only use information that you know is accurate.

So in place of a dear name, you do something that is interesting. Such as dear boating enthusist. Or dear business traveler. Or dear perferred customer. These things work -- because they are out of the ordinary, and more interesting to your audience.

If your audience is business travelers, pretend you are a business traveler. It's not to hard ... you are one.

If you are trying to get a group of doctors to stay with you, then you need to write to them in a fashion that is going to appeal to a doctor. The same thing goes for plumbers. Or sky-divers. Or a woman's organization. Or a youth group. You need to write to the audience at a level that makes them comfortable with doing business with you.

When you write, talk with them about benefits. Not the features that you offer ... but the benefits that they gain from these features.

Also, make sure you write to them about your offer. The specials over and above the ordinary that you offer that the other guy doesn't.

Always talk to your audience throught direct mail the same way you would talk to them in their office.

This may seem silly to have to say. But, frequently I receive direct mail that doesn't really say anything. When you beat around the bush ... or the message roams or rambles, you are never quite sure what the point is. Make sure you have something very specific to say -- and then present it in such a way that the audience can read it and understand it.

Some of the things you might want to do to make sure your direct mail is more readable and understandable are these:

• Indent the first line of every paragraph.
• Make sure that at least 70% of all your words are 5 letter words or less.
• Never have a paragraph of more than seven lines in any direct mail letter.
• Try to keep all your sentences short ... make certain the average of all is 14 words or less.

By the combination of short words and short sentences and short paragraphs you make it easier to read. Research indicates that when sentences begin to become 15 words or longer ... a certain percentage of your audience falls away. They do not get the message. The longer the sentence, the fewer people understand what it is you are really trying to do.

7. Make me an offer I can't refuse. Make the very best possible offer to your audience that you can. Because, if the best offer you have doesn't succeed, nothing less will even begin to work.

Making the best possible offer you can, many times will make the difference between success, or lack of success.

Again, what is a offer? An offer is over and above your features and benefits. It's the extra. It's the what's in it for me philosophy and attitude. Meaning, what is the customer going to get if they do business with you. Make the very best offer you possibly can.

Ask the people to call. To come into your property. To make a reservation. To send money. To do whatever it is you want them to do ... be sure to ask for the order.

As you are doing this, one of the best places to repeat your offer and to repeat your A. F. T. O. is in the P.S. Yes, you must have a P.S. in the letter. Why? Because 4 out of every 5 people who open your direct mail will read the P.S. before they read your letter! Four out of five!

What does this mean? It means you better have a P.S. And it better be a good one. It better repeat the offer, repeat the call to action. It tells people what to do and how and when and where and why to do it. Make sure you have a good P.S. in your letter. As you A. F. T. O. -- ask for the order.