Paragraphs in direct mail should normally be only one or two sentences long in order to help break up the text and make it easier to read.

But mixed up with this the fact that it is worth including the occasional paragraph that is not just only one sentence long but is actually a short sentence of maybe just ten words.

This not only breaks the reading up, but also ensures that the reader who is skipping down the page will stop at this point and read.  And if the paragraph is intriguing enough the reader will go back and read some more.

In the letter that follows you will see that the paragraphs are short, but are interspersed by even shorter paragraphs, in order to ensure that readers who are opting out, then opt back in.

Is it possible to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of your business, both at the same time?

Asking for a simultaneous cut in expenditure and an improvement in efficiency seems a bit like asking for a perpetual motion machine – a nice idea but it does rather break the basic laws of physics.

And yet it seems some businesses have found a way to do both at once.

The solution arises from the fact that it can be argued that a quarter of all staff sickness in businesses is attributable to stress.   Which means that a quarter of the money you pay out for temporary staff and to cover sick pay, is due to stress.   

Which means a quarter of the disruption that absences always bring is also due to stress.

In short, if you could get rid of employee stress you would not only save money through having fewer temps to employ, you would also improve both the morale of your staff overall and the quality of work, since regular staff inevitably perform more efficiently than temps.

Sadly few employees ever get training in coping with stress.   But on the positive side it turns out that training to prevent or overcome stress is not particularly complex, difficult or time consuming. 

The main tools required to beat stress can be delivered in a half day course as part of your staff training programme.    In fact there is probably no other form of training that can be more productive than a course in dealing with and overcoming stress.

Details of our course on stress among staff are given on the next page.   The course runs for half a day and can be delivered to up to 30 staff at a time.   As a result of taking the training, it is quite possible that you will find there is an immediate impact on staff morale after the course.  You may well also notice a long term underlying development in the way everyone in the company deals with stress-related issues.

Free analysis of your mailshot

This article is written by Tony Attwood, Chairman of Hamilton House Mailings Ltd.  If you would like to discuss the writing or design of your mailing campaign, or indeed a single mailshot, with Tony, without cost or obligation, just call 01536 399 000, or email Creative@hamilton-house.com   You can also send Tony a copy of your latest advert and he will call you back with his thoughts on how your response rate could be raised - again without cost or obligation.