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This is the last part of our 5 part series featuring Dean Rieck's whitepaper, Getting Response in a Down Economy - 4 Key Principles to Boost Your Direct Mail Profits in Today's Difficult Market. This part vocuses on how to add value to your offer to increase response.

Offers are the sin qua non of direct marketing — of all business in fact. Strip away all the technique and insightful psychology, and you’re left with people accepting or rejecting offers. But your offer is far more than your asking price, it’s the deal you’re making — what the customer gets plus what the customer has to do or pay to get it. An offer is saying, “You do this for me, and I’ll do this for you.”

Here are some of the best direct mail offers that have proven successful time and time again:

Offers to Raise Response

• Free trial
• Money-back guarantee
• Free gift
• Limited-time offer
• Credit card payment
• Sweepstakes

Offers to Reduce Price

• Dollars off coupon
• Refund towards next purchase
• Sales
• Introductory price
• Relationship discount
• Early bird discount

Offers to Increase Urgency

• Last chance
• Limited edition
• Enrollment period
• Price increase announcement

Offers to Improve Terms

• Bill me later
• Installments
• Reservation option

Offers for Extra incentives

• Free "Keeper" Gift
• Free Gift with Payment
• Choice of Free Gifts
• "Stepped" Free Gifts (based on size of order)

Offers to Increase Sales

• Offer a Deluxe Version
• Offer a Good-Better-Best options
• Do-It-Yourself Offer with several choices or fill in the blank

Offers to Generate Inquiries

• Free informational item
• Free samples
• Free gift for inquiry
• Free Demonstration
• Free cost estimate
• Free subscription to magazine or newsletter

For more offers that generate responses, and for more details, download Dean Rieck's whitepaper from his website, www.directcreative.com . It's filled with relevant information about how to sell in a down economy and is worth the read!