To develop a successful direct-mail campaign, you now need serious smarts and meticulous planning more than ever. Use these tips and your next direct-mail campaign is sure to bring sales.
Prospect lists and testing packages alone are expensive and postage usually costs more than an entire e-mail campaign. Direct mail can cost at least 15 times more than e-mail marketing and it takes longer to see results, too.
So why bother with direct mail, you ask? There are many compelling reasons. Using direct mail you can:
- Drive foot traffic into a retail shop
- Generate traffic for a web site
- Target customers who distrust the web or aren't online yet
- Showcase products and services in ways email cannot
- Send content or news, like a brochure
- Shift consumer perception of your brand
... and much more.
Here are six tips for improving your direct-mail campaign:
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Send a personal message
Use names on mail outs! This will have a huge impact on your audience. Nothing says "throw me away" like "Dear Home Owner", or "To: Resident".
Use postage stamps and handwriting on your piece. Studies show that the use of stamps and handwriting, or writing that appears to be handwritten, increase responses because the recipients don't consider these pieces to be junk.
- Make your campaign attractive
Avoid the common white envelope so often used for business mailings. Pick an attractive paper with an off-white or another color to stimulate interest, or use an interesting shape that relates to your business. If you sell automobiles, your piece could be in the shape of a car. Try unique envelope sizes, as long as they conform to postal regulations. Could you use a tube?
- Communicate a benefit
Recipients want a reward for opening your mail. That reward should be a clearly defined message that expresses a tangible customer benefit. Here are some ways to focus your message:
- Enclose a discount coupon, to be used within 30 days
- Offer a free, 30-minute, first-time consultation
- Announce a special event, such as a reception for your best customers or a special sale on certain items
- Offer free estimates on services
- Create urgency
Without a sense of urgency, recipients will most likely park your mailing in the garbage or on a shelf where it will be forgotten. With a call to action and a deadline in mind, they know they must take action or lose their advantage.
List a discount during certain dates, give a date that a sale ends, ask for a response by a certain date in order to receive a free gift, state that the first X amount of customers will get a gift or tell the recipients to call by a certain date to receive a free consultation.
- Provide sufficient information
You've got enough room on your direct mail piece to fully describe your offer, so be sure to include all relevant information (Who, What, When, Where, Why and How).
And last, but certainly not least...
- Address a targeted audience
Pick your niche carefully. With direct-mail, you can zero in on a specific group of people. So, who do you target first?
Your best prospects by far are people who already buy from you and know you.
You can also target specific incomes, married people, single people, even people with children. Mailing list brokers will help you select the list that best suits your needs.