Why don't more small companies try do-it-yourself direct mail? Many of us are anxious to get started and get noticed. That's not a bad trait, but one that should be tempered in the beginning. The tendency to spend lots of money on glitzy designers and direct marketing promotions is common. And it's a good way to wipe out a small business marketing budget in a flash.

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

I once worked with the president of a company who was a real nut for slick mailers. He couldn't stand the idea of something junky or amateurish being mailed to thousands of prospects. He thought our direct mail should compete with IBM and Microsoft in terms of its content and flair.

When it came time to approve budgets for such high-class materials, however, he balked. Sound familiar?

Once you find out how much it costs to have a design firm design, print, and distribute a mailer for you, you might just change your mind about using a do-it-yourself approach.

The fact is, many companies achieve great results with a simple, and sometimes junky pieces. Direct mail needs to grab attention and make somebody want to keep reading. It's intention is not to actually perform the sales job. Direct marketing succeeds best when it is used as a lead generator or in conjunction with other forms of marketing, such as telemarketing, catalog sales, Internet sales, or trade show attendance.

Consider Your Experience and Your Budget

If you're just starting out, or if your budget is limited, start small. In fact, it's more effective to send four pieces a year that are simpler, two-color jobs, than to blow your wad on one massive showpiece. The showpiece gets thrown out as quickly as the two-color piece, but once it's gone, you have nothing to fall back on.

Create Your Own Design

You can drop a load of cash on high priced graphic designers. I'll tell you a secret: most of them don't know a thing about direct mail. In fact, they know less than you do. Scary? You bet. Especially when you're paying them by the hour.

• Decide on the message. Just what is the point of this direct mail campaign? Do you want people to call you? Do you want them to try an evaluation copy of your product? Do you want them to go to your website and fill out a form? Know the answers to these questions before you take another step.
• Decide on the offer. Are you giving them a freebie in return for their agreement to evaluate your product? If so, you need to make that condition perfectly clear on the mailer, to avoid legal hassles.
• Keep it simple. The simpler your design, the bigger your fonts can be. Make the piece stand out with one or two large graphic elements. Use black ink with a colored paper or use two colors of ink for visual variety.

The U.S. Postal Service provides detailed instructions for direct mail designs. You can visit a USPS business center or just check out their website for a number of templates.

Understand the Scheduling

Make sure you provide enough time for the printing, mailing, and response in your deadline. In other words, if you're just getting started creating your piece on May 1st, don't set a deadline of June 1st. That's just not enough time. It will take you at least two weeks, and more like three or four to get your piece designed, put together, and printed.

Now you know why most small companies only send one piece a quarter. Eventually, you'll perfect a system that cuts down a lot of the initial time (for example, by using the same layout, just different messages and colors). But for your first few mailers, expect a two to three month process.