Give a Reason for Your Deadlines to Boost Direct Mail Marketing Results with Time-Limited Offers

There are only two kinds of deadlines. Legitimate. And bogus.

Your goal as a direct mail marketer is not only to create legitimate deadlines, but to persuade your readers that your deadlines are legitimate. Here’s why.

Buyers are sceptical. They don’t believe much of today’s advertising. And that’s because plenty of advertising today is false. For example, I was once hired by a man who runs a job-placement service for job seekers in the oil and gas industry. His website makes his service sound involved and impressive, but, basically, you pay him a fee and he faxes your resume to the hiring managers at hundreds of oil and gas companies.

The problem I had with my client, apart from the fact that he eventually refused to honor our letter of agreement and pay my fee, was that he had a sham deadline posted on his website. The deadline was today. If you didn’t take advantage of this deadline and order today, said the copy, then you would have to pay full price tomorrow. “If you place your order after the deadline we will return your money,” warned the deadline.

The problem I had with my client was that his guarantee was bogus. I returned to his website each day for weeks after I terminated our agreement only to see that my client’s “deadline” rolled over each day. The deadline was always for “today only.” I doubt that anyone believed that this man would send their money back if they missed his arbitrary deadline. But he offered that false deadline anyway to make a buck.

So here is the lesson with deadlines. If you make a time-limited offer, give a reason for it. And make it a good reason. An honest reason. A believable reason. Otherwise your readers may doubt you.

Your deadline shouldn’t make you look greedy. Stores that are going out of business, selling their inventory at reduced prices, can offer plausible deadlines. Retailers who must sell their seasonal product before time runs out (Christmas trees, for example) can offer plausible deadlines. If your sales letters offer deadlines that are just as authentic and believable as these deadlines, you should boost both your response rates and your orders. Consider that a piece of timeless advice.