A lot of people think that printed and hand-mailed post is a dead art, that people no longer want to receive mail in their postbox. While this is probably true of bills, the same can’t be said of direct mail marketing items.
Here, we take a brief look at direct mail marketing best practices, and share some top tips on how to succeed with your marketing campaigns in an offline environment:
Catch my YouTube short on direct mail marketing, or scroll to continue reading the expanded version now…
What is Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct mail marketing is a strategy that marketers use to make potential offline customers aware of special offers and discounts. This may be delivered in the form of printed mailers, brochures, pamphlets, and newspapers which are hand-placed in people’s mailboxes or sent via the postal services.
Why is Direct Mail an Important Tool for Marketers?
Direct mail as a standalone marketing endeavor is not really an effective way to market your product or service unless your business runs entirely offline. In this day and age, how is that even possible?
Great marketers understand that direct mail marketing is a tool that should be used in conjunction with online, outdoor, and in-store marketing campaigns. Combining your marketing efforts makes you stronger, allowing you to send one single message in a number of ways.
Who is Direct Mail Marketing Especially Useful For?
- Businesses with lots of addresses from existing customers
- Businesses restricted from online advertising
- Local businesses serving specific zip codes
But it can also be just as effective for almost any other business type.
I’ve worked on marketing campaigns for tons of products with restricted advertising methods online, and run direct mail marketing campaigns on almost all of them.
Here’s What I’ve Learned About Direct Mail Marketing
- I’ve found jumbo mailers and fold-outs outperform normal mailers 3:1
- You can ask mail providers for hand-written addresses for mail in envelopes. This costs more but increases conversion much better (Who doesn’t open a hand addressed letter?)
- For high-end projects, want to guarantee an open? Send it signature-required. This is a high ticket sales major ! You can always get an executive to open a signature-required envelope.
- Catalogs get REALLY cheap at scale if you negotiate with printers… like sub $1 to print. That’s why you see so many new DTC brands embracing them. They are highly likely to be browsed before being thrown away.
- Icon (motorcycle gear company) does catalogs that fold out into a poster. I’ve seen these in everything from kids rooms to offices to police lockers. Send posters, build the brand!
- A/B test call to actions and formats! Treat your mail like you do your digital campaign – use links and CTAs, plus deals from referencing mailer to track ROI.
Let me know in the comments below how your own direct mail marketing campaign is doing.
BONUS MATERIAL!
Catch the Builders.Build podcast with my best friends, Colin and James, to discover more about our individual TikTok perspectives and entrepreneurial journeys across brands, products, websites, and more.
Thank you for reading this guide to direct mail marketing!
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– Oren
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