(if youre providing good service). Sending referral letters includes asking your customers to refer you on to their friends and associates.   But no matter how much your customer loves you, they usually need to be bribed to action. Offer a free service or product that is low-cost to you and high-value to your customer for referring on their friends.   Strategy # 5: Community-Based Mailing   If your market consists of local neighborhoods, then a local neighborhood mailing may be successful. The odds of it being successful go way up when your business is highly visible from the street. If you include a picture of your business, your readers will connect the letter and your business and you will have instant credibility.   Strategy # 6: Highly Targeted Mailings   Sending to very highly targeted prospects immensely raises the chance of success. For instance, I do direct mailings to spa and pool business owners. Because the content of my letter is all about spa and pool stuff, I get a big response.   The closer your mailing list matches the demographic, psychographic, and geographic characteristics of your target market, the higher your response rate will be. Hence, the importance of having a good list broker to help you select a winning mailing list.   The Power of Sequential Direct Mailings   Its said that a marketing message has to be seen at least seven times before a consumer takes action on the offer. This might be true, but its the principle behind the tactic that is important. People buy from people they have a relationship with and trust. In the "Low-Risk, High-Response" section I talked about using someone elses relationship to be introduced. However, what if that isnt possible? What if you have no relationship with the person we are mailing to at all?   To get an above average response, you need to build a relationship with your readers the same way you would in person, which is through an introduction and repeated interactions. Once you have a relationship with your reader, the barriers of mistrust and fear will vanish and your response rate will shoot up.   Many times people dont respond on your first contact - not because they didnt want what you were offering, but simply because the time might not have been right or the they got distracted. They might very well want what you have, but just forget and never take action. Its nothing different than having to remind someone every once in a while to get something done.   10 Tips to Remember When Doing Sequential Mailings