Direct mail, whether postal mail or email, continues to impress advertisers with its ability to reach a highly targeted audience, impress them with a company-specific message, and convert them into lifelong customers or clients. Getting to this point, however, requires quite a few details that some companies get wrong. If you want your promotion mail marketing to succeed, keep these six methods and tips in mind when creating your next campaign.
1 – Make the Offer Compelling
No matter what carrier you dangle in front of your audience in a direct mail piece, it needs to be interesting enough to make that audience take action because of it. Every promotion mail you send should be full of pertinent information and a touch of entertainment as well. However, the real reason people call you or click through to your website is that they will receive something they value.
This could be a free offer, additional information, or a special discount on a purchase. No matter what type of business you operate and the ultimate goal for the mailer, you must include a compelling offer that entices the recipients to act.
2 – Target the Ideal Audience
Any company, freelance professional, or association should understand who their ideal audience is. If you sell luxury watches, marketing to men who make over $250,000 year makes a lot more sense than sending an email out to low income housewives.
Not only should your list include people in the right demographics, you must also design the direct mail piece with their interests and personality traits in mind. Men in the market for luxury watches will not respond to a primary color postcard with cartoon graphics and car lot style banners proclaiming “Sale!”
When purchasing a list, use search terms and filters that make sense for your particular needs. A reputable list broker like Bethesda List allows you to pinpoint target the contact information that will best suit your needs.
3 – Send Only Top-Quality Content
It goes without saying that spelling and grammar should be pristine on any promotion mail. It is equally as important to match the content to its readability. Information or entertainment can be part of the benefit that the target audience gets from your postal mail marketing piece. Do not be stingy when it comes to sending the type of content that people will find of value.
Also, avoid clickbait style headings, slick salesman phrases, and vacuous claims that cannot be backed up with data. Today’s consumers are savvy to marketing and will not respond favorably to an attempt to get away with not providing value.
4 – Forge a Personal Connection
Success in business these days comes down to growing professional relationships that also speak to a personal connection between the company and consumer. Direct mail does not need to be bland and impersonal anymore. From the envelope to the inserts, digital printing options and specific software programs can help your marketing team create personalized brochures, letters, and postcards that attract attention and speak directly to the recipient in a way they can appreciate and trust.
5 – Combine With Alternate Channel Marketing
The majority of consumers need multiple “touches” from a company before they decide to do business with them. Postal mail sent once with no other advertising channels used is much less effective than multiple mailers backed up by social media, ad placement, and online marketing. All of these things work together like parts of a well-oiled machine to build brand recognition, improve your reputation with consumers, and encourage them to take action on your offers.
Multi-channel marketing means a greater opportunity to customize the approach you take with different members of your target audience. Promotional mail is just one facet of your overall marketing efforts. Using it in conjunction with the Internet and other media ads can attract more attention more effectively than you have ever accomplished before.
6 – Plan to Follow Up With the Sales Funnel in Mind
A piece of marketing postal mail sent out to a large group of people, if designed correctly and targeted effectively, should garner a considerable response. As these people begin placing phone calls your company or visiting the website, the last thing you want to do is leave the rest of the marketing to chance. Understand the sales funnel and plan a method that leads people down into it from the first promotion mail to a sale or contract.
While online marketing attracts a lot of attention with its new methods and opportunities, postal mail still delivers the types of results that companies need to succeed. Know your audience and what they will respond to best. Then, combine techniques to develop a marketing powerhouse that includes direct mail and more to get you the results you want.
