Unless the direct mail envelope is opened, even the most powerful letter copy and offer will fail.

But without a convincing envelope, even the strongest offer and best-written copy will take a quick, one-way trip to the trash.

When creating a new direct mail package, I try to think like a door-to-door salesperson. The outer envelope is the knock on the door and its effectiveness will determine the mailing's success.

ELEMENTS OF THE ENVELOPE

As documented by eye-study research, the mailing's recipient will take no more than 7 seconds to decide whether to trash the mailing or look inside.

1. Address piece (label, window, personalization)
2. Teaser
3. Return address
4. Postage type
5. Color and stock of paper, and the graphics

According to Professor Siegfried Vogels' "Eye Flow Studies Provide Clues for Improving Your Direct Mail," here's how people look at an outer envelope.

The first thing they notice about the envelope is the mailing address€"their name and address. Next, their eyes moved to the left of the address. From here, the reader's eyes move upward to the return address and then over to the postage. The final thing people noticed were the envelope's color and paper stock.

Here's how to make each of these four elements work for you.

1. The mailing address is the first place people look. They like to see their name, so invest in good, clean mailing lists and get the name right!
   
   
2. After seeing their name and address, people's eyes move to the left so put your most powerful teaser copy here. But don't force it. No teaser copy beats a bad teaser.
   
   Use your choice of type styles to make the teaser more effective. Sometimes big, bold type is best. Other times, a €handwritten€ font works better. But recognize that you have choices, and make your choice based upon the look and feel of the entire mailing package.
   
   
3. Vogel's study shows that a return address on the outer envelope is a vital factor when people are deciding if they should open your mailing. You can use a €handwritten€ or Courier type for a personal look. Or you can print the return address in a formal type along with the company logo. It all depends on the look and feel of your entire package. For acquisition mailings--especially when you're repeatedly re-mailing the same people--you may want to test using the return address without the company's name. But when mailing to repeat customers, showing the company name will typically add credibility to the mailing. (If it doesn't, you have a bigger problem.)
   
   
4. How you affix postage makes a difference. If you invest in First-Class postage, multiple stamps typically out-perform a commemorative stamp. A commemorative stamp will usually beat a regular postage stamp. And a stamp often out-pulls a postage-meter indicia. When you use a pre-printed indicia, use the style that resembles a postage-meter--not the indicia inside a square box. Print the indicia red to make it look as if it went through a postage meter.
   
   Even if you have to overpay postage by a penny or two-when the denomination of available stamps doesn't exactly meet the actual postage cost-live stamps typically more than pay for themselves.
   
   When choosing postage, however, know that it must match the image of the entire package. For example, live stamps are the most personal-especially multiple stamps-while preprinted indicia are the most impersonal. For an official looking envelope, a preprinted indicia fits the image far better than a stamp. You have choices, so use them to your advantage.
   
   A final note on postage: First-Class postage adds perceived value to the correspondence. When using live stamps, pick stamps with colors that contrast with the envelope. And anytime you are mailing First Class, make sure the recipient knows you're investing extra money to deliver your message. Don't keep it a secret. In big, bold letters imprint:
   
   FIRST-CLASS POSTAGE
   
   Let the recipient know that you consider them special and that you are investing extra money to deliver your message.
   
   
5. Stock and Color may be two of the most over-tested features of a direct mail package but they do help convey the overall image of your package. For example, for €official€ packages, I like to use a brown kraft stock. When I'm using a teaser to promote a free offer, I like yellow or white stock because of its contrast with the type. Overall, I try to stay away from cool colors when choosing paper stock.
   
   
6. Don't forget about the back of the envelope. Of the seven seconds the prospect might spend examining your envelope, more than half of that time will be looking at the backside as they open the envelope.
   
   
7. Test new outer envelope designs regularly. New envelope designs are the easiest and most cost-effective way to keep a control fresh.
   
   
8. And perhaps most important, the outer envelope is only one part of the total package-not an independent component. You wouldn't use an official-looking envelope with a handwritten letter inside. Likewise, you wouldn't use a live stamp with most official letters. All the envelope's components must work together, and the envelope must work with the entire package.
   

Follow these guidelines and you'll have a better chance of getting the envelope opened and your message read. The envelope is your first contact with the prospect and, when designed properly, it will make a positive first impression and lead you to greater success.