Since we are living in a new Internet driven world, Direct Mail Marketing is dead right? Not true. In fact, because of the Internet, Direct Mail Marketing is stronger than ever. Direct mail, coupled with a great website is a great combo. Consumers are more apt to visit sites when direct mail is received first. Studies show this results in 25 percent more traffic, 31 percent more page views when on the site, and 19 percent more time spent on the site when lead to the site from direct mail. Most consumers still view traditional mail as a more personal way of introduction then through online means.

We have created a great template to get you started on having an effective Direct Mail campaign.  

First things first, you need to decide what your goals are. Are you trying to generate leads or direct sales. It’s tempting to try to both of these at the same time. We suggest sticking with one. It’s more focused and your consumers will feel that. It will lead to a more successful campaign.

One of the biggest reasons for failures is frequency. It’s hard to find success with a one-off. The Direct Market Association recommends a minimum of 4 times.

The last part of your plan needs to include what your return on investment projections are. Successful campaigns yield a 1 to 3 percent response rate. So account for what your returns will be based on 1, 2, or 3.

THE LIST
Half of your campaigns success relies on having the correct list. Make sure you are doing the correct profiling of your contact lists. You need to make sure your mailing list is large enough for you to be able to attain your business goals.

Next thing that is needed is the checking of the correctness of your list. Are all the addresses complete? Have all duplicates been removed? This step will save unnecessary wasted money.

The last step in avoiding wasting valuable money is on checking the accuracy of of your list. Your delivery rate will not be 100 percent but you surely want to be in the 92-98 percent range. You can use address verification system to help remove invalid addresses.

WHAT IS THE OFFER?
This one thing many campaigns forget to right. What is the offer? Try to be upfront with the offer. Don’t try to hide it. Make sure the fits the list you have chosen.

You want to have a specific call-to-action for the consumer to follow. Avoid being vague with directions like, “for more info, go here”.

Make sure it’s an offer a consumer is likely to respond to. 2 dollars of a service isn’t likely to garner a response.  


MEDIUM
Next step is picking what medium to mail. The options are: postcards, catalogs, flyers, letter envelopes, and large letter envelopes. The response rates are roughly the same for each medium with postcards having a slight edge over the rest.

Your choice will depend on what you are mailing and what demographic you are mailing to.  


CONTENT
We recommend shying away from overly produced pieces. Super glossy with extravagant graphics could actually have a reverse effect when it comes to direct mailing.

Have your title read like a newspaper headline. Short and powerful.

Keep content as clean and as possible with. Less is more. You don’t want your reader to get lost in a pile of text.
Lastly, and most importantly, have AT LEAST two other people proof read. Nothing can kill a direct mail campaign faster than typos... Been there, done that.