According to numerous reports, Dick Benson was the most successful direct mail marketer of all time.

Simply put, Dick Benson’s take on direct mail marketing is pretty simple: The promoter’s goal is to get prospects to raise their hands and say they are interested in what you have to sell. Secrets of Successful Direct Mail emphasizes this lesson and all that Dick Benson learned in more than 40 years in business.

Benson never gave a seminar and never advertised for his clients. In fact, he didn’t need to. Most of your clients put you on permanent hold. Clients included Time Inc., Dow Jones, Hearst Magazines, and World Book, to name a few.

Benson advised on effective testing, creativity, timing, pricing, and premiums. One of its main principles was that direct marketers spend too much time on package appearance and not enough time on lists or tests. He also highlighted the power of effective creativity, noting that even minor changes to offer, copy, envelope content, or letter appearance can make a big difference in response and should be tested more than once before each new release.

And while he focused on ROI from direct marketing, it wasn’t his only goal. He stressed that marketers also try to learn. The more you learn, the better you can market to the segments that emerge as your marketing programs evolve. To that end, he encouraged marketers to value the information they learned through tests and direct marketing campaigns.

Benson’s 25 principles

The following are Dick Benson’s 25 Basic Principles of Direct Marketing, demonstrating the core ideas he proposed in his writing and consulting efforts with clients:

1. A two-time buyer is twice as likely to buy as a one-time buyer.

2. The same product sold at different prices will result in the same net income per thousand shipments.

3. Giveaways will improve results by 50 percent or more.

4. A credit or billing offer will improve results by 50 percent or more.

5. Tokens or stickers always improve results.

6. Memberships renew better than simple subscriptions by 10 percent or more.

7. The price of “department stores” always pays, except for membership offers.

8. You can never sell two things at the same time.

9. Autoship hardly ever works.

10. The more credible a special offer is, the more likely it will be successful.

11. Adding installment payments for an item over $ 15.00 will increase results by 15 percent.

12. Dollar for dollar, premiums are better than cash discounts as incentives.

13. Adding items to a mailing package is more likely to be profitable than making the package cheaper.

14. For magazines, a “soft” offer (“Try it at our risk”) is better than a hard offer.

15. A Yes-No option will increase orders.

16. FREE is a magic word.

17. Often two premiums are better than one.

18. Long copy is better than short copy.

19. Personalized letters work better for house lists than cold lists.

20. The brochures and letters must be independent and each one of them must contain all the information.

21. Direct mail must be scrupulously honest.

22. Subs sold at half price for at least eight months will convert at renewal with the same strength as subs sold for a full year at full price.

23. Lists are the most important ingredient for the success of a promotional email.

24. Supply is the second most important ingredient.

25. Letters should look and feel like letters.