In a world that has gone digital in so many ways, direct mail still stands out. That’s because while email inboxes are over-saturated with subject line after subject line, mail pieces are fewer and far between. When done correctly, they have the opportunity to stand out and effectively reach your audience. It can be a highly effective part of your marketing strategy, especially if you marry it with your digital marketing efforts. Or, in fancier terms, we’re talking about integrated marketing.
However, crossing your fingers and mailing your marketing pieces blindly will not boast the type of return you’re looking for. It involves more strategy than that. Use these five easy tips below to maximize your direct mail marketing strategy and get the response your carefully crafted mailpieces deserve.
1. Regularly update your mailing list database.
Did you know that in 2020 alone, nearly 36 million address changes were processed (USPS)? If your mailing list is even over a year old, you can assume that a significant percentage of your list is no longer up-to-date. Even the best direct mail pieces never stood a chance at success if they don’t make it to your intended audience’s mailbox. It’s critical to your marketing campaign’s success to ask for current contact information when you communicate with your constituents or customers and update your database regularly.
2. Keep your messages about them, not you.
Sometimes there’s a fine line between the two, but the difference is huge. When you talk about you and your company or organization, the focus is on, well, you and your success. To be frank, your audience may not care about all the details of your success like you do. So what do they care about?
For nonprofits, they care about how you used their money. The people you’ve helped. The impact they’re making through your organization. For-profit audiences care about what you can offer them. They want the best deal. They want quality work. When you write your marketing messages, keep your audience front and center in your mind, not your own accomplishments.
3. Personalize your direct mail efforts by celebrating milestones.
If you’re able to capture information about special events in your supporters’ and customers’ lives, you can send “congratulations” or celebratory postcards. Think about occasions like birthdays, graduations, home moves, weddings and anniversaries. This helps turn your audience into more than just a supporter or customer, it turns them into friends who appreciate you thinking about them during these times. This is a great way to create loyalty and build brand evangelists. The success of your marketing campaign often relies on the relationships you’ve built, and this is one way to strengthen your bonds.
4. Marry your direct mail and digital marketing efforts.
Direct mail is a great traffic driver. One study found that direct mail response rates are five to nine times higher than any other advertising channel (fundera). Imagine how those numbers can go up with multiple touchpoints. That’s why it’s important that you don’t market to your audience in silos—bring the offline and online worlds together by using your direct mail pieces to send visitors to your website.
When we’re talking about driving traffic to your website, we’re talking about a personalized experience. Use a personalized landing page with a unique URL to ensure you can track the success of your direct mail campaign. A landing page is the perfect way to give your audience the least amount of clicks, and use your online presence to tell them exactly what you want them to know. Sure, your homepage is great, but a unique landing page will offer the extra details you want them to know about a specific campaign.
5. But be clear about the next step.
There should be no confusion about what you want your recipients to do. Are you sending a postcard to promote an upcoming event? Send your audience directly to a landing page on your site for event registration. Are you raising money for a special project? Direct recipients to a landing page where they can donate immediately. Do you want your customers to shop a sale now? Take them to your site where the sale code is already applied to their cart. Create a seamless flow between your direct mail and your website with clear messaging and one focused call to action on a specific landing page.
Ready to get started? Luckily you don’t have to do it alone. We can help you engage your audience with direct mail, whether it’s printing the perfect piece or starting from square one with design. In a world of digital, together we can help your marketing campaign stand out in the mailbox.