Seminar Planning - Marketing with Direct Mail

Today I received an “invitation” to an asset protection seminar. At first, I didn’t even realize it was an invitation. It has some questions and answers about personal estate planning on one side and names, dates and locations of a seminar on the other. The invitation said nothing about the presenter, who, I assume is a lawyer since the return address is a law firm.

Will I consider attending? No. First, none of the questions posed pertain to me. The sender probably asked for a very general list of names and addresses in my zip code. Second, who is presenting this seminar and why would I believe what they were saying? I’ve never heard of them. Third, the invitation is poorly done, disorganized and unclear.

Having critiqued this invitation, I’ll ask those of you who are using direct mail to get attendees a few questions:

• Are you using your own list or are you purchasing one that has been customized to reach your specific target market?

• Have you established yourself as an expert in your field so people will know, like and trust you enough to attend your seminar?

• Have you invested the time and money it takes to create a mailer that reinforces your professional image?

If you said “yes” to all of these, you are on your way to having a successful seminar filled with qualified attendees ready to spend their money on you.