A few months ago direct mail hit the headlines again when a major organisation sent a letter to a 'Mr Deceased'.

There are other horror stories about direct mail.

For many small law firms, direct mail is often beset by similarly embarrassing problems or by a lack of success.It may seem that law firms should not bother with direct mail, but there are several good reasons why it should be explored.

-- Targeted communication.

Direct mail is a means of contacting a very large number of clients, referrers and potential clients on a regular basis in an inexpensive way -- and keeps the firm's name in front of a wide audience.

It is also ideal for targeting specific groups of clients and potential clients very precisely.

Direct mail does not have to encompass huge mailings; some of the most successful campaigns have involved 100 letters or less.

Its selectivity allows you to address the specific needs of a specific audience and to 'design' a service to match those needs precisely.

-- Added value for existing clients.

The majority of a firm's work comes from existing clients.

Direct mail helps lighten the load of regular contact with all of your clients.

It can also be used to alert clients to the need for further advice (eg cross selling).

-- A tool to learn about your clients.

There are techniques that will turn a one-way communication (eg a newsletter) into the start of a dialogue.

Direct mail can be used to capture feedback and comments from readers about a subject's interest or their level of awareness or satisfaction.

-- Measurable.

Direct mail is one of the few marketing techniques that allows you to measure results.

You know how many letters you mail out, you know how many responses are received and you know how many of those responses are converted into instructions.

-- Effective.

Direct mail has an important role to play in increasing the effectiveness of any newsletters or publications produced by your practice and in encouraging clients to attend seminars, briefings and other events.-- It works.

Studies have shown that it is fast replacing traditional forms of advertising and that business-to-business mailings generate an average response rate of 8%.

So how do you increase your response rate and produce effective direct mail campaigns? Direct mail is a marketing discipline in its own right, with its own industry association, academic experts and theories.

It has even generated a series of EU Directives.

It encompasses many skills including database management, effective targeting, needs identification, persuasive writing and selling.

The effectiveness of a direct mail campaign depends on several elements: the list, the letter, the enclosures, the 'offer' and the response mechanism.-- List management.

Database management underpins direct mail effectiveness.

But be aware that a list of names and addresses is not enough.

To extract an appropriate list for each mailing you need to capture other information: whether the person is a client, a potential client or a referrer; their job title (sometimes the finance director is the target and at other times it might be the managing director or estates manager); whether they are a commercial or private client; their industry sector; the type and size of their business; their personal wealth and circumstances; their former dealings with the firm; their attitudes to receiving mailings or invitations to the firm's events; and the subjects in which they have expressed interest or responded to in the past.

It is essential that this information is kept up to date and that responses from mailings are incorporated to allow better future targeting.

Letters that are personalised are more effective than those that are not.-- Focus.

Many direct mail letters offer the reader a menu of different services.

This lacks focus.

Put yourself in the reader's shoes.

Try to identify one specific and topical issue that will be uppermost in his or her mind.

Include the topic in a striking headline or phrase it as a question to grab the reader's attention.

Two key motivators are greed (eg save tax) and fear (eg avoid litigation).-- AIDA formula.

An effective direct mail letter uses the AIDA formula: attention, interest, desire and action.

A short, punchy headline or question will get the reader's attention.

The letter should encourage the reader to do something in response.

It should also provide a mechanism to allow the reader to respond easily, for example, a pro forma fax or a reply paid card.You must be clear about the specific topic of interest and what you want the reader to do in response.

List the key points, keep the message simple, keep sentences short, avoid jargon, avoid technical references and be as practical as possible.

Try writing the letter with just one reader in mind and get someone else in your practice to review it.-- Responses.

Many direct mail letters ask the reader to telephone the writer with the implication that the next step is a meeting.

This is a high commitment response.

Think of a direct mail letter as the first step.

Each letter should move the reader closer to the ultimate goal of a meeting.

Therefore, in initial mailings offer much lower commitment responses; for example, to request a copy of a briefing note, a detailed booklet on the subject or a 'do-it-yourself' checklist.Although information about your firm is important to you, it is unlikely to be of interest to the reader unless you have engaged his or her interest sufficiently to make him or her want to contact you.

If necessary, prepare a single side of information about your firm that is tailored to the specific interests of the audience for the mailing.

-- Follow-up.

A one-off direct mail letter is unlikely to be successful so plan a series of follow-up letters to be sent over a period of time.

Each 'campaign' needs to be specific to a particular audience, even though some mailings (eg your practice's newsletter) may be sent to all audiences.