Many business owners and managers rule out direct mail because they assume it will just be thrown away. Indeed, many people consider “junk mail” and “direct mail” to mean the same thing. Companies with high-end products are especially concerned that mailings might actually hurt their reputation.
Yet direct mail has been proven to be one of the most cost-effective marketing channels around. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity. The right idea is to go right ahead and use mailings, but make sure that they’re effective, and perhaps even appreciated by the recipient.
Apply Best Practices
Experienced direct-mail professionals know how to make mail campaigns as cost-effective as possible, and that means that very few pieces are casually tossed away as unwanted junk. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind.
- Start with a great mailing list that laser-focuses on only those people that are interested in your product or service. They’ll recognize the mailing as something relevant to them.
- Keep the mailer’s message, both graphics and text, relevant to the target audience. You can also set an appropriate mood and make the recipient comfortable and in-tune.
- Demonstrate quality with professional graphics, copy, and printing.
- Grab attention, but in a way that doesn’t seem pushy.
- Have a compelling offer that’s clearly presented, and in a way that the recipient knows exactly what to do next.
- If you carry a recognized brand or have a logo that’s known in your area, be sure to use it.
- Above all, personalize. And in more places than just the address. If you don’t have a person’s name, it’s probably best to just remove that address from the mailing list. Any personal tidbit you can include from the mail list database will be extremely powerful. But don’t freak them out by including information such as recent purchases from other companies!
Learn From email Spam
Everyone hates spam emails, and nowadays most mail software has filters to try and keep it out. By considering what those filters look for you can learn about a few things to avoid in order to keep your direct mail from being perceived as junk.
Avoiding spam words is at the top of the list. These words include things like “free,” and even “money back guarantee.” Using all capitals, exclamation points or repeating symbols are as bad as red fonts. SAVE $$$ ACT NOW!!! is just about the worst thing to include. In the past few years email campaigns have included special formatting, including logos and pictures. It has been found that using loud colors as well as standard stock colors are a good way to get ignored.
Let Dynamicard Help
We bring all the best practices together for you. Dynamicard die cut plastic postcards mailers truly stand out. People notice and hang on to them. The laminated thick plastic stock makes them look and feel just like a gift card. Our special printing capabilities allow you to include names and other text messages even within the graphics. Our in-house advertising and marketing design team are experts in direct mail graphics and delivering exactly the right message. We’re also mailing list experts to laser focus your campaigns with an abundance of demographics and other recipient information that will simply amaze you.
