No, direct mail is not dead. Direct mail marketing is one of the oldest tried and true methods, forms of direct marketing, that is still relevant today as much as it’s ever been.
Well, a lot of marketing dollars have shifted online. Direct mail done right can still be super effective for your business.
What Is Direct Mail Marketing?
You know, that thing that you have in front of your house on the street, a mailbox? Direct mail marketing is anything that you can send into that mailbox or deliver to someone’s doorstep.
All you need to have a successful direct mail campaign is the right list, the right offer, and the right copy on your creative material.
Why Use Direct Mail Marketing?
Some studies show that direct mail still has a higher ROI than digital marketing.
We like to use direct mail because your customers physically have to touch the postcard or letter and throw it away. It’s super easy to delete an email or skip over and add but they can’t ignore the mail in their mailbox.
And who knows if they see something that they like that might sit on their desk for a while or up on a corkboard, they’re saving your offer to take advantage of it. And that means they’re seeing your branding and your logo every day, their whole family is seeing it.
Direct mail can be more memorable than many of the ads they see online.
It could potentially have a bigger reach as well as if your target customers are not on social media or online as much as the millennials are.
You can also get super creative compared to digital marketing. One time we sent out a postcard that looked like a whole slab of ribs or for some high prospective catering customers, we sent out whole bottles of sauce. You better believe something like that in the mail is gonna get a much better response than a cold email or a display ad somewhere out there on the internet.
There’s also not as much competition as there used to be because more people are shifting online. So, this helps your mail stand out amongst the crowd.
Best Practices For Direct Mail Campaigns
As we mentioned, having the right list is of utmost importance before you start sending mail. You can buy these lists, or you can create them yourself by asking for your customer’s contact info.
If you’re looking for new customers, there are also cheap lists out there, such as new mover lists, that will help you identify new people that moved into your area.
Before you define your list, you should define your ideal customer. If you know where they live, how much money they make and some of their interests then you can easily buy lists guaranteed to have a higher response rate.
Test everything
Once you have your list, you may want to send out a test batch or two of just a hundred pieces to see what the response rates are. Or you could even test out different headlines using Google or Facebook ads to see which one has a higher click-through rate.
Once you’re satisfied with the testing then you can spread your money further by sending in bulk and usually get your printing and postage down to about $.50 a piece or less.
Make sure you have a strong call to action.
What do you want your customers to do when they get their letter or postcard? Make it clear that there’s a next step after they read what you have to say. You don’t want to waste all that money for them not to take action.
Have multiple people proofread your mailers
You want to make sure that your mailer looks professional as it is a representation of your company. So it’s best to have many different people. Give it a once-over to make sure it’s free of typos and everything is correct.
Track the results
With direct mail, it’s easy to set up tracking whether you have a custom phone number, a custom link or a coupon of where your customers are going next. You can easily use these metrics to track what kind of sales you’ve generated from your campaign to calculate an ROI.
You should also make it easy for your customers to contact you. Your website and phone number. Should be easy to find on the mailer, you don’t want them to have to search for your business.
It’s important to also drive people to your website so you can continue to collect their contact information and maybe get them on a newsletter so you can continue marketing to them. Or once they hit your website, a cookie will be in their browser and you can stay in touch with your remarketing campaign.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you can see why we still really like direct mail as one component of your comprehensive marketing plan. When done right it can generate a higher ROI than even some of the most effective digital marketing campaigns.
If you need help getting started let our in-house design team and preferred contractors take care of your next direct mail campaign.