With so much marketing spend shifting online in the last decade, it can be easy to forget direct mail marketing. However, direct mail is still one of the most effective ways to make an impression on consumers and drive results. Read more about why getting your brand into peoples’ homes, and hands, should be a part of your marketing strategy.
What is direct mail marketing?
Direct mail marketing refers to any campaign sending promotional materials directly to leads or customers by mail. We can most easily contrast direct mail marketing with email marketing. On one hand, email marketing is cheaper, no materials are printed or shipped, and the design process is typically easier. Email marketing is cheap and easy, and designs can be constantly tweaked and improved based on feedback. However, because email is so easy and has been so effective in the past, it’s approaching overuse. Consumers’ inboxes are flooded with emails from hundreds of brands, and are often presorted into a Promotions or Spam folder. As a result, it’s become harder to get a consumer to open, let alone read, any given email. So what’s the best way to cut through the noise and actually stand out? You guessed it, direct mail marketing.
Creating a campaign
The number one priority for any direct mail marketing campaign is to make something novel and creative. Just because you’re in a consumer’s mailbox, doesn’t guarantee they won’t throw out your marketing materials if they’re not interesting. Whether you’re going with a postcard, a catalog, or a package, the right creative can make or break a campaign. One option is customizing all promotional materials using variable data printing so that each recipient feels that personal touch. When it comes to direct mail, good creative is only half the battle. You’ll need a quality mailing list, the more precise the better. If you pinpoint the exact type of people who might buy your product, your campaign is more likely to succeed. Finally, you’ll want to offer an enticing offer or call to action. Deciding on a clear outcome you want to drive to ahead of time makes tracking success much easier.
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