In the right situation, a visual involvement device or gimmick used as part of a direct mail campaign, can dramatically increase your responses (double and in some cases triple them).
Having said that, it’s vital that the gimmick is relevant to the product being sold, and there is direct tie-in in the first paragraph of the copy. Here are some ideas:
Example 1: A gold painted egg (plastic)- “Wouldn’t it be neat if this egg was made of solid gold and together with 1000 more, formed your retirement nest egg?”
Example 2: Peruvian currency – “Most people believe that to make money you need a considerable amount to start off with but the truth is a different story”.
Example 3: $1 casino chip – “Imagine it’s Saturday night and you turned this $1 casino chip into $2 and then turn that $2 into $4 and then $4 into 8 and before long you’ve built a bank of a whopping $xxxx”
The good news is that through traditional investment avenues, it IS possible for you to double your money in a relatively short space of time without experiencing anywhere near the levels of risk associated with gambling. Other ideas include:
* Fake cheques that can be exchanged for a free consultation to the value on the cheque – if executed correctly, this can have a dramatic impact. The key is to make the cheques look real without contravening any forgery laws;
* Modelling clay in the shape of a dollar sign – we have used this to sell a wide variety of consulting and professional services;
* Matchbox Ferrari – “Imagine this was a real Ferrari and it was yours”;
* Real $1 Instant Scratch Tickets – we used this in conjunction with a feedback campaign and got an 84% response on the campaign;
* Campaign-specific scratch tickets – (where you’ve created your own). Reader’s Digest along with Sweepstakes businesses use this tactic with great success;
* Paper plane with a message on it: We created a campaign that utilised a hand folded paper plane with a message inside. The responses went wild. It was a huge success. The theme was “profits soaring”.
* 3 minute egg timers suggesting time is running out for building a retirement nest egg;
* Used (losing) lotto tickets;
* $1 casino chips;
* Child’s maze;
* Whistle;
* Jigsaw piece or an entire Jigsaw puzzle;
* Key – key that will unlock etc. etc.;
* Playing Cards … and many, many more.
I hope this gives you some ideas to run with. If anyone has an example of a visual involvement device they have used with great success, I’d love to hear about it.
A final note: Please avoid using minties and teabags as these gimmicks have been done to death and are now seen as quite “cheesy”
Kristina Mills is a respected direct response copywriter based in Brisbane, Australia. Visit her “Words that Sell” super-site for thousands of free tips on advertising, direct marketing and internet marketing. Go to wordsthatsell.com
