Grabber Letters Can Boost Your Response

As a copywriter, I've learned firsthand about the effectiveness of grabbers. What is a grabber? It's simply an item that you attach to the top of a sales letter that "grabs" your reader's immediate attention. It may be a dollar bill or a bill of higher denomination. It could be an "admit one" ticket of some sort, a penny, a foreign coin, a photograph, or just about anything. The key is to make sure it ties in to your letter or offer. It usually replaces the headline (or sometimes supplements it), and it's purpose is the same as the headline: to get your sales letter read.

Don't confuse a grabber with dimensional mail, or "lumpy mail," as it is sometimes called. A lumpy object inside your package is designed to get your package opened, although a lumpy grabber can be affixed to the top of your sales letter to get your letter both opened and read.

If you do any type of direct mail (or write direct mail pieces for your clients), I highly recommend testing both lumpy mail and grabbers, as they can significantly boost response.

To learn more about grabbers, check out this issue of the Gary Halbert Letter:

http://www.thegaryhalbertletter.com/newsletters/zakk_grabbers.htm

In one of the first direct mail letters I wrote for a client, I used a dollar bill as a grabber. The letter began like this:

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Dear Mr./Ms. LASTNAME,

As you can see, I have attached a crisp $1 bill to the top of this letter. Why have I done this? Actually, there are two reasons:

1. This letter is very important, and I needed some way to make sure it would catch your attention.

2. Since this letter is about making money, I thought using a $1 bill as an “eye-catcher” was a good idea.
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Note how I explained the reason for the grabber in the lead, and tied it into the theme of my letter. You don't want them to have to guess why it's there. It's designed to get them to read your letter and advance the sale. Now is not the time to be vague or mention it as an afterthought.

Now compare that to a letter I just received last week, reprinted here (the red circle is my addition):

The small token of appreciation was a crisp dollar bill.

Now aside from the copy used and the offer, I have to give them credit for mailing a dollar letter. But there are a few things that they could have done that wouldn't have added significantly to their costs, but would have likely boosted their response by a decent margin.

• 1) The grabber would have better served them if it was affixed to the top of the letter where it could be seen. As it was, when I opened the letter I didn't see the dollar. It wasn't attached to the letter. It was stuck in the envelope almost as an afterthought. In fact, if I didn't read that last line and know what to look for, I would have probably thrown the bill away with the envelope. The fact that they didn't mention it until the end of the letter is probably not helping them.
  
  
• 2) The dollar was not tied into the offer or theme of the letter in any way. In fact, they don't even mention the fact that the "token of appreciation" is a dollar. While still better than nothing, I have to wonder how many prospects threw the dollar away without realizing it. Or of those that did find the dollar, how many just pocketed it and threw the letter away without even reading it? This has the effect of raising the cost of their mailing, while at the same time lowering their potential response rate.
  
  
• 3) Similar to the first point above, the dollar was not used to entice their prospect to read their letter. That means I'd wager a lot of their prospects opened the letter and simply threw the whole thing--letter, envelope, dollar and all--in the trash. You need a very compelling headline to do the same work as an effective grabber. I don't think their headline qualifies.

The bottom line is grabbers can boost response tremendously if done right. But if they're thrown together haphazardly, they can also cost you a lot in your mailing with little to show for it in return.

Five Great Lessons for Life

As we move through life, we encounter many opportunities to make a difference. Having been thrown some life-changing curve balls as of late, I thought I would share with you some life lessons that I received several years ago from a friend of mine. They are already making a difference for me, my mindset, and overall outlook on life. I hope they present an opportunity for you to stop and think for a moment about what are the most important things in your life.

You see, recently I suffered a few setbacks (we all do sooner or later), and I became more determined than ever to bring my business to the next level. I worked even harder, longer, but in the process stopped doing the very things that meant the most to me.

I started thinking about why I became an entrepreneur. It wasn't just about being self-sufficient or making lots of money. No, the real reason was the financial freedom it could offer so that I can spend more time with my family, friends, and doing the things that are most important to me.

I finally realized that I didn't need lots of money to spend more time with my wife and my family. I could do that right now.

This one difference in my mindset has completely changed me for the better. Now it's not just about profits and the bottom line anymore. Sure, they're important, because we have to eat and pay the bills. But by taking the time to look around and really take notice of everything (things that have been there all along), I feel as if I am seeing them for the first time. It's quite an exciting time for me. My only regret is that I didn't "get" this earlier.

But no matter. I have the rest of my life ahead of me now. And now I'd like to pass along some interesting lessons.

As I've said, a friend sent these to me several years ago. In fact, it was early 2001. And they sat around, just waiting for me to read them again more than 5 years later.

These are not my stories. Nevertheless, I can imagine myself in these situations. Would "the old me" have done the right thing? I don't know. I only know how I would handle them now.

• First Important Lesson
  
  During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one:
  
  "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
  
  Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
  
  "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."
  
  I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned that her name was Dorothy.

• Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
  
  One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry but wrote down his address and thanked him.
  
  Seven days went by, and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read:
  
  "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
  
  Sincerely,
  Mrs. Nat King Cole

• Third Important Lesson- Remember Those Who Serve
  
  In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
  
  "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
  
  "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
  
  The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
  
  "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
  
  By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
  
  "Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
  
  The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
  
  The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

• Fourth Important Lesson - The Obstacle in Our Path
  
  In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
  
  Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
  
  The peasant learned what many of us never understand: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

• Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts
  
  Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."
  
  As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks.
  
  Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"
  
  Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her. You see, after all, understanding and attitude, are everything.
  

Have your own story to share? I'd love to hear about it.