Direct mail letters are wonderfully curious beasts. On one hand they are labeled as ‘junk’ by society at large, and yet without a doubt direct mail letters are still one of the most effective ways to bring knowledge of your product or service right into the hands of consumers.
The trick is to get a potential customer to have just enough curiosity and belief to open that envelope. And once they do, they become part of the story of your business. Because that letter tells the consumer their own story, one that has a very happy ending, thanks to your service.
A story like the one I’ve told below. I wrote this sample direct letter for my Business Writing class given by the Gotham Writer’s Workshop. The company in the letter, Caring Hands, is completely fictitious, though companies that offer similar services exist.
Dear Reader,
It’s time to free yourself of all that guilt. All that guilt that you feel for not being able to give your elderly parent the comprehensive care you know they need.
I know how you feel. I know how the guilt can keep you up at night and cause tension between you and your family. When my father died, my 75-year-old mother was alone.
She was slightly frail but had no serious medical conditions and a strong mind. However, a few years of living alone in her house turned her into a woman I had never met. She was bitter and angry, often with me. She waffled between forgetting simple things and living entirely in the past.
I knew I needed to spend more time with her. I tried to spend as much time as I could. Juggling the needs to check in on her, to take care of my kids, to handle my career, and to do my share of the household work felt more like drowning than time-management.
When I couldn’t make it over I worried that she might have had an accident and was lying there hurt. Worse, when I did make it over I felt like a helpless witness to my mother’s slide into depression.
She didn’t need nursing or health care. It was her emotional needs that I couldn’t fulfill, until I heard about therapeutic recreation programs.
Recreation therapists are trained professionals who work with the elderly by engaging them in tasks, forming a connection with each individual and helping to stimulate their mind.
A 1983 article in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry showed that activity-based therapies re-awaken seniors’ creativity, playfulness, and imagination, which brings them back in touch with themselves. Also, learning a new craft gives the elderly feelings of productivity and control over their lives.
I knew this was exactly what my mother needed, but recreational therapy is usually found only inside hospitals and nursing homes. It was through my efforts to fulfill her needs that Caring Hands was created.
Caring Hands is my business that provides in-home, personalized recreational therapy sessions for seniors who are housebound. Trained recreational therapists will engage your elderly relative with gentle assessments. Therapists will then devise a strategy of arts and crafts activities to positively aid their clients mentally and physically. Caring Hands professionals will organize appropriate and stimulating outings, and help their clients stick to doctor-recommended fitness programs.
Imagine knowing that you have provided the sort of professional care your parent needs, care that will increase their happiness and health.
Imagine the relief of knowing that a trained professional will be checking in on your parent regularly.
Imagine having the part of your life back that the stress of being unable to help your parent has stolen away. Imagine knowing that you are truly fulfilling your parent’s needs by giving this service.
Please, call us at 888-123-4567 Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 6 pm Eastern for a complimentary evaluation and let us tell you what we can do for your family.
Or, fill out the enclosed reply card to have a free brochure and informational DVD shipped out to you right away.
Don’t waste another minute on worry or guilt. Call us today and take the first step to improving the quality of your parent’s life, and the quality of your own.
