Alix Bell Associates

07/09/2026

Looking forward to seeing the incredible businesses ARRACAN CONNEXIONS - HEATHFIELD tomorrow. It has been a while and perfectly timed for me to get my branded umbrella from Creation

If you want to meet with great like minded local businesses that want to support and inspire you to do more, then book your ticket now.

Tickets are now available for Arracan Connexions Heathfield - Business Networking Group at Arracan Group Heathfield Office, East Sussex on Tue 8 Sep 2026 at 10:00AM. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!

06/09/2026

If you want to know how to grow your business using Direct Mail, follow Practice What You Print and message to be added to the invite list.

Launching 1st October 2026

02/09/2026

I've been quietly building something for an industry I have spent more than 25 years working in, print and mail.

Because I'm tired of hearing “print is dead”. It isn't.

But sending one leaflet once and hoping something happens isn't a strategy either.

It's time we got better at showing businesses what print can actually DO.

Practice What You Print.

1 October.

28/08/2026

DIRECT MAIL 101 - DAY 10: CONSISTENCY BEATS THE ONE-HIT WONDER

One mailing isn't a marketing strategy, neither is one Facebook post, one email, one networking event or one sales call.

Marketing works when people repeatedly see you, understand what you do and begin to trust you.

Direct Mail should be part of that process and many businesses do not know how to use it properly, you are already ahead of your competitors if they are not in this space.

Choose your audience, get the message right, plan the follow-up, measure what happens, learn, refine and repeat.

YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE:

Take everything we've covered over the last 10 days and answer these five questions:

WHO am I going to contact
WHY should they care
WHAT am I going to say
WHAT do I want them to do next
HOW am I going to follow it up

If you can answer all five, you're no longer just thinking about sending some letters, you're starting to build a campaign.

Right message. Right customer. Right time.

That's our first 10 days of Direct Mail 101 done.

Now tell me in the comments:

What would you like me to cover next to help you build your business using Direct Mail!

27/08/2026

DIRECT MAIL 101 - DAY 9: DON'T JUDGE SUCCESS BY QR SCANS ALONE

We sent 200 letters and only three people scanned the QR code.

OK, but what happened next. Did anyone visit your website later, reply to your follow-up email, mention the letter when you called, search for your business, connect with you on LinkedIn, come back three months later when they actually needed what you sell!

Direct Mail doesn't operate in isolation, your letter might not get the final click but it might be the reason someone recognises your name when your email arrives.

Here are some statistics for letters driving digital interactions in Q2 2025:

9.2% of mail (including Direct Mail, Door Drops, and Business Mail) prompted a visit to an advertiser's website, a five-year high.
5.9% of mail prompted consumers to look up their account details, another five-year high.
The overall proportion of mail prompting a purchase increased by 15% year-on-year, with half of these purchases made online.
The average interaction frequency for Direct Mail was 4.56 interactions per item, also a five-year high.
Mail continues to play a significant role in delivering omni-channel customer engagement, with a lifespan in the home of 8.73 days.

These statistics highlight the effectiveness of mail in driving digital interactions and engagement.

SO TRY THIS TODAY:

Before your next campaign, decide what you're going to record.

Letters sent, replies, calls, website enquiries, QR scans, meetings, quotes or sales.

And one I think is really important: I remember receiving your letter, which if you follow up and keep the process going, you will hear.

Don't wait until the campaign is over and then decide how you're going to measure it. Decide before you send.

Measure the entire campaign not just the piece of paper.

Tomorrow is Day 10, and we're finishing with the thing that makes ALL of this work: consistency.

26/08/2026

DIRECT MAIL 101 - DAY 8: TEST BEFORE YOU SCALE

Thinking of sending 5,000, send 50 first. You will find out if anyone responded, did they understand the offer, did the call to action work, what happened when you followed up, what questions did people ask, what objections did you hear. That information is gold.

Use it to improve the message, offer and follow-up BEFORE spending money on a bigger campaign.

TRY THIS TODAY:

Before launching a campaign, decide what you're testing.

It could be:

Your headline.
Your offer.
Your audience.
Your envelope.
Your call to action.

But don't change everything at once, otherwise, if results improve, you won't know why. You may have to do this a few times over, but it will be worth it. Sending large volume letters with the wrong message, call to action etc is what costs money and then a channel that has a response rate of

7.2% for Warm Campaigns
0.9% for Cold Campaigns
0.5% for Door Drops

Is said not to work, it does work, we just need to make sure we are doing it right.

Test small. Learn. Improve. Then scale, but only if you have the resources to follow up!

Tomorrow: how do you know whether your Direct Mail actually worked?

Hint: it isn't just about counting QR scans.

25/08/2026

DIRECT MAIL 101 - DAY 7: MAKE IT PERSONAL

Personalisation isn't: Dear Alix, we've been doing mail merge for decades. Real personalisation is demonstrating that you understand who you're talking to.

Their industry, their customers, their location, their challenges, the reason your product or service might actually be relevant to them.

That's when a letter starts feeling less like advertising and more like a conversation.

Here's an example

❌ PERSONALISED

Dear Sarah,

We help independent businesses with their marketing and would love the opportunity to discuss how we could help your business grow.

It has Sarah's name on it but it could have been sent to 5,000 businesses.

Now compare it with:

✓ RELEVANT

Dear Sarah,

I noticed you've recently opened a second salon in Horsham. Growing from one location to two is exciting, but it also means you now need to attract and retain enough customers to keep twice as many chairs busy.

Now they know why you are writing to them. You've demonstrated that you understand something about their business and you've created a natural reason to explain how you might be able to help.

That's personalisation. It could be their industry, their location, a new branch, a new service, a change happening in their market or something they've publicly said they're trying to achieve.

But there is a line.

Relevant = useful.
Knowing far too much = creepy.

TRY THIS TODAY:

Pick one of the prospects from Day 1.

Find one relevant piece of information about their business, then write your first two sentences based on that information.

Finally ask yourself:

Could I send these exact same two sentences to another 100 businesses, if the answer is yes, you probably haven't personalised it enough.

Tomorrow: before you spend a fortune sending thousands - TEST IT.

A quick data reminder: Personalisation doesn't mean collecting everything you can find about someone. Only use personal data you have a lawful basis to use, keep it relevant to your business purpose, and make sure your Direct Mail activity complies with UK GDPR and PECR.

24/08/2026

DIRECT MAIL 101 - DAY 6: YOUR ENVELOPE IS PART OF THE CAMPAIGN

Before anyone reads your brilliantly written letter they have to open the envelope.

Think about what lands on your own doormat, what gets opened immediately, what gets put aside (usually the brown envelope), what looks interesting, what screams mass marketing.

Your envelope isn't simply there to get your letter from A to B, it's the first stage of your communication.

Sometimes plain works.
Sometimes intrigue works.
Sometimes putting something unusual inside makes it impossible to ignore.

You do not need to spend a lot of money on colour envelopes, test with the envelope too. Did the colour envelope get a greater response. Did the handwritten font generate more calls, or did people prefer 'lumpy mail'...

Make sure you follow Royal Mails guides (yes another eye roll needed here, but bless them... ) you can find all you need to know here... https://help.royalmail.com/personal/s/article/How-to-address-your-mail-clear-addressing-tips

TRY THIS FOR A FEW DATS:

When your post arrives, don't immediately open it, look at it as a marketer, which piece do you pick up first, why, what is the size, is it coloured, was it a handwritten address or window envelope with a printed letter inside, was there something inside. All of these things matter and the beauty of starting small, is you can accommodate all of these. Imagine hand writing 4,000 envelopes.

Start noticing what gets your attention because the first job of your Direct Mail is simple - get opened.

Tomorrow: personalisation and why adding someone's first name isn't really personalisation.

23/08/2026

Just TWO days to go… and only a few tickets left!

Who’s going to grab them?

Did you know 55% of UK SMEs still rely on word of mouth and repeat custom to grow?

Which is exactly why getting into a room with other local business owners still matters.

This Tuesday at Mid Sussex Momentum, we’ve got:

Dee talking about business disruption
A FREE copy of Dee’s book for every attendee
Two hours of genuine networking, learning and new connections

You never know which conversation could lead to your next customer, introduction or opportunity.

Tuesday 25th August | 10am–12pm | Burgess Hill Town Football Club

Last few tickets remaining so come and join us.

Connect. Learn. Grow.

Book your ticket now...

Join us and become part of a growing community that believes business is better when we support each other.