make direct mail work for you

bonus: several sample letters.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

one of the first things a new business owner asks me about is direct mail. i don’t know why so many people go there first, but they do.

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twenty years ago, the response rate for direct mail was pretty good. out of every 100 pieces you sent, you would get three responses back. it didn’t matter how bad you were at direct mail.

today, that’s no longer true. if you do everything right (and there is a lot to get wrong along the way), your response rate might be one in 1,000 pieces mailed.

bottom line, using direct mail to send to a list of people who don’t know you at all is not a good idea. the reason is there’s no implied trust. as a stranger, you are mailing a stranger a postcard. it probably won’t get noticed. for small business, it’s unlikely to pay back.

but there are certain times when direct mail will work. here are a few examples:

1. for bookkeepers who send letters to cpa firms looking for clients. i’ve seen this work, and i include a sample letter below.
2. for accountants looking for startups
3. mailing your own client and prospect list
4. sending a mailing after someone has opted in to your online request
5. using direct mail as one of many steps in a warm-up process

most common mistakes

to save you some money, i’ve listed some of the most common mistakes people make in direct mail marketing:

1. mailing only once. you should mail three times minimum, and your best response will start after five or six mailings.
2. using a generic list and mailing to everyone
3. not hiring a professional copywriter to write the letter or design the postcard
4. using a plain envelope that doesn’t get opened
5. writing too much
6. not including a call to action
7. asking for the sale (instead, offer something free.)
8. sending it bulk mail
9. sending it too late (after the offer has expired or the event is over)
10. sending it to arrive at a time of the year when everyone is too busy

ok, so what should you do if you want to use direct mail?

your mailing list

i recommend you mail to a very targeted list. here are some things that have worked for me in the past:

• i’ve mailed every state society with a list of courses i offered for cpe. my response rate was about 37 percent – this was in 1998-1999.
• i’ve mailed cpas, however, i’ve made the mistake of including retired cpas when the board did not tell me they were on the list. this response rate was very low.

i suggest a few things:

• if you have an industry specialty, narrow your list by naics code.
• also narrow your list by the five or six zip codes closest to your office.

go to your local library, get a library card and log in to their website. search for referenceusa and you can download 250 names and addresses at one time for free.

• if you are going after startups, you can get the names of companies that
• have just incorporated or registered assumed or fictitious names (dbas).
• if you are going after people who need licenses, you may be able to get the names free or for a small expense reimbursement fee through the freedom of information act. for example, i can get the names of cpas in texas through the texas state board of public accountancy. the same list would cost me thousands of dollars if i went through the aicpa.

try your local city business journal for startup names, and go to the state comptroller’s office for the corporate list.

better than all these ideas, use your own list.

direct mail letter samples

here are a couple of letter samples you can try. this one is generic.

[your letterhead]

date

abc company

dear [your city] business owner:

are you spending too much time or money on your bookkeeping? were your taxes a huge hassle to file in april (or maybe they’re not even filed yet for 20xx)? are you a little lost trying to understand how much you’ve really made this year?

i’d like to introduce my company xyz accounting. our specialty is helping businesses like yours maintain and understand your financial numbers better so you can make smarter business decisions and bank more profits. we can help you:

maintain your books and payroll so that you’re not up at 10:00 pm every night trying to reconcile the day’s receipts,

lower your taxes with excellent tax planning, and

stay in compliance with the irs, the state, and all the other regulatory agencies you must comply with.

xyz accounting’s clients say that they benefit from us by having:

no surprises at year-end. we review your financial records monthly or quarterly so there are never any surprises to you.

a quick and painless tax time. we make it super-easy for you.

availability to us on evenings and weekends. you don’t have to take time out of your shop hours to see us.

peace of mind because all those compliance deadlines are taken care of.

as a free gift, i’d like to share with you my free report, “the 7 biggest misconceptions business owners have about their returns.” [include a handout or delete this line]

we’d love to talk more with you about how we can mutually benefit one another. we offer a free, 30-minute, no-obligation consultation to find out more about our accounting and tax services. please call us anytime at 888-555-1212.

we hope to see you around our community.

all the best,

xyz accounting

direct mail sample for new business

[your letterhead]

date

abc company

dear new business owner:

congratulations on starting your new business, [abc company]. i want to be one of the first to welcome you to the [your city] business community.

i’d like to introduce my company xyz accounting. our specialty is keeping businesses like yours on track with all of the required reporting when it comes to the irs, the state of [your state], and [what your sales tax agency is called] so you can spend your time running your business instead of keeping your books. we can help you:

1. understand your financial numbers better so you can control expenses and improve income,
2. lower your taxes with excellent tax planning, and
3. maintain your books and payroll so that you’re not up at 10:00 pm every night trying to reconcile the day’s receipts.

a few ways that xyz accounting stands out includes:

• no surprises at year-end. we review your financial records monthly or quarterly so there are never any surprises to you.
• tax time is quick and painless. we make it super-easy for you.
• in compliance and on the right track with all of the government agencies.

if you haven’t chosen an accounting firm, we would consider it a privilege to talk with you. we offer a free, 30-minute, no-obligation consultation to find out more about our tax services and to get any immediate tax or accounting questions answered that you might have.

as a free gift, i’d like to share with you my free report, “the 7 biggest misconceptions business owners have about their returns.” if you’d like to find out more or schedule your free consultation, please call us at 888-555-1212.

thank you for reading, and we hope to see you around [your city].

to your success,

xyz accounting

for bookkeepers looking to get work from cpa firms: three samples provided

dear [client],

are you looking for an accurate and affordable bookkeeping service for your clients?

if you feel like you are always doing low-level work in your practice and would like to work on more challenging and strategic accounting and tax issues with clients, then let us take your bookkeeping burden away. i’d like to introduce my company, bookkeepers on call. we offer:

• full-service bookkeeping for small businesses using quickbooks software, all versions and editions
• twelve years small and medium-sized business bookkeeping experience
• a staff that is 100 percent certified quickbooks proadvisors
• microsoft excel experts
• money-back satisfaction guarantee

you’ll find us to be dependable, on time, hard-working, and accurate in our work. our experience includes restaurants, construction, health care, professional services, and retail clients.

we will work for you (you take a markup and bill the client) or directly for the client (we will pay you a referral fee), whichever you prefer. references are available for your review.

we love paperwork, so please let us know how we can reduce yours! call us today to discuss how we can best work together for the mutual benefit of your clients.

sincerely,

bookkeeper

* * *

dear [client],

in 2005, we helped 350 businesses become more efficient with their bookkeeping. we’d like to do the same for you and your clients. we have been admiring your firm’s accounting and tax leadership in the lima area for several years now. perhaps it’s time to see how we can help each other.

the abc bookkeeping company was founded in 1987 to serve small businesses in lima, ohio. we are now the largest bookkeeping agency in lima and serve customers in eight surrounding counties.

what makes us successful is our attention to detail and our exceptional customer service. we offer many value-added services such as express document delivery, two-day turnaround on projects with tight deadlines, and seamless interface with our clients’ tax professionals.

i’d like to invite you to a tour of our offices and to lunch where we can discuss how we can mutually benefit from working together. i’ll call you next week to see if you are agreeable to setting up a meeting.

thank you for your time and consideration. i look forward to getting to know you better.

sincerely,

bookkeeper president

* * *

dear [client],

have you struggled to find just the right bookkeeper for your firm and your clients’ businesses? do they all have too many personal problems, quit after a short time, or don’t really understand debits and credits? are you tired of spending your valuable time on something you can’t bill very high for?

meet xyz bookkeepers. our company hires career bookkeepers who know their stuff, are mature and hardworking, and love to work with a variety of companies. our staff has a combined 200 years experience in bookkeeping for all sizes of businesses.

services include:

• onsite or remote services
• complete data entry, including cpa journal entries
• excel spreadsheet work
• quickbooks software
• additional services:
  • supply management, forms ordering
  • collection letters and calls
  • software installation
  • data backups
  • phone support and training

save time and make money by outsourcing all of your bookkeeping to us. call us at 555-1212 for a free, no-risk consultation and a customized quote for your firm or your clients’ businesses. call before january 31 and we’ll take 15 percent off your first month’s bill.

sincerely,

bookkeeper

costs and limits of direct mail

typical costs of a campaign include:

• copywriting or design fees
• printing costs
• the cost of the list or to compile the list
• postage
• labor to stuff, stamp and seal

multiply that by three mailings minimum, and you will want to make sure that you will at least break even on a response rate of one in 1,000, which is 1/10^th of 1 percent.

if you are mailing individuals, please be sure you honor the do not mail lists. you can find out more here: https://www.dmachoice.org/

review questions

1. times when direct mail has a better chance of working include:

1. mailing one piece out to a list
2. sending to a list of people who don’t know you
3. sending a mailing after someone has opted in to your online request
4. when direct mail is used alone with no other form of marketing

2. one of the common mistakes people make in direct mail marketing is:

1. mailing a minimum of three times
2. mailing in a plain envelope
3. including a call to action
4. writing it themselves

3. the typical cost of a campaign includes all the following except:

1. newsletter cost
2. copywriting or design fees
3. postage
4. printing cost

solutions and suggested responses

1. times when direct mail has a better chance of working include:

1. incorrect. mailings should always be repeated or in a sequence for best results.
2. incorrect. sending to a list of people who don’t know you at all is not a good idea.
3. correct. sending a mailing after someone has opted in to your online request is when direct mail will work.
4. incorrect. using direct mail as one of many steps in a warm-up process is when direct mail will work.

2. one of the common mistakes people make in direct mail marketing is:

1. incorrect. mailing only once is a common mistake.
2. incorrect. mailing in a plain envelope is a common mistake.
3. incorrect. not including a call to action is a common mistake.
4. correct. not hiring a professional copywriter is one common mistake in direct mail marketing.

3. the typical cost of a campaign includes all the following except:

1. correct. newsletter cost is not a typical cost of a direct mail campaign.
2. incorrect. copywriting or design fees are typical costs of a direct mail campaign.
3. incorrect. postage is a typical cost of a direct mail campaign.
4. incorrect. printing cost is a typical cost of a direct mail campaign.

posted on may 4, 2018