Why Direct Mail Should Still Be A Part Of Your Marketing Campaign

In these days when most people communicate through email, direct mail marketing may seem hopelessly old fashioned. After all, isnt snail mail on the way out? But there are actually many reasons why you should try out this tried and true marketing technique, such as:

Many people still respond to tangible mail. Particularly with older individuals, people will still appreciate having something physical in their hand that they can read. By creating an attractive piece of print advertising, you can make your pitch more effective than by using online ads. You can also provide more information and go into more detail about what you’re offering.

Direct mail is versatile. You have a wide variety of formats available to you when you send direct mail, which ranges from postcards to brochures. You can choose the format that you think will give you the best results based on your target audience.

You can easily design your own mailers using desktop publishing programs. Or you can hire a direct mail expert to design one for you.

But you’re not limited to just using printed material for your direct mail. You can send selected customers actual sample products that you’re selling. You can use 3D printers to create three-dimensional mailers. You’re limited only by your imagination and creativity.

Direct mail is easier to personalize. You can more readily add the recipients name and other personal information to printed material, in a way that makes it seem that you’re actually addressing it directly to them.

It’s cost-effective. This benefit is something that might surprise people, since they may believe that sending direct mail is expensive. But Bulk Mail rates, and programs such as Every Door Direct Mail of the US Postal Service, make direct mail campaigns more affordable through discounted postage rates, while allowing you to target your marketing mail audience.

It makes an effective addition to a cross-channel marketing campaign. For instance, you can send your leads an initial email inviting them to join a mailing list, and then mail them brochures with redeemable coupons. Studies have shown that brand recall is 40% higher if marketing emails are followed up with direct mail.

It’s easier to measure the results of direct mail campaigns. You dont need complicated analytics to measure how effective your campaign is. For instance, if you send out mailers with coupons, you can check your campaign’s success by counting how many of them were redeemed.

Despite the convenience and wider reach of electronic mail, you should still consider adding direct mail as one of your marketing channels. You might be surprised at the results you get.