What is Direct Mail Marketing?

In our modern cut-throat world of marketing, sellers need to use every tool at their disposal to get noticed. While there are new, innovative tools appearing all the time, sometimes simple, tried-and-tested methods are best. This means mail marketing. So, what is mail marketing? Can it work for you? Let's find out.

Mail Marketing Definition

Direct mail marketing refers to the correspondence you have with your customers. For example, email marketing is where ads, deals, and information about your product or service are sent to someone's email address. Direct mail marketing is when that information is sent via the postal service to customers as physical mail. The type of correspondence you use is up to you. A good deal on an item or service can tempt a customer, or you might prefer to use informational updates. Essentially, it depends on your business and what you want to offer. However, it's important to have a CTA - a Call To Action. This is something that encourages customers to do something after absorbing your marketing copy.

Is Direct Mail Marketing Still Popular?

With all the modern methods of marketing, especially via mobile devices and computers, you might wonder whether direct mail marketing still works. Isn't it a little old-fashioned? Actually, no. An effective direct mail campaign can achieve the kind of nostalgic, physical interaction that social media and digital marketing simply can't replicate. Scrolling past an ad on a social media page takes a second, but physically picking up a leaflet or flyer from your doormat requires you to interact with it.

Can Direct Mail Campaigns Work With Other Forms of Marketing?

Direct mail advertising can go hand-in-hand with social media marketing, text, email, and other forms of online marketing.  Most advertisers include QR codes on their direct mail postcards, which take users directly to their website. This can help to funnel sales towards your website, and even towards specific pages on your website. Door direct mail usually needs to work alongside some kind of online facility.

Will A Direct Mail Marketing Campaign Work?

Done properly, there's no reason why a direct marketing campaign shouldn't work. A successful direct mail campaign requires innovation, creativity, and a touch of audacity. Create an ad that makes people think, that piques their interest, and herds them towards your website. However, competent direct mail marketers know all about the dos and don'ts of mail marketing.

Do:

• Include a CTA in your marketing campaigns. Without a call to action, your customers will read your ad and do nothing. Think about what you want from your prospective customers. Do you want them to purchase something? Visit your website? Spread the word?
• Proofread your direct mailers. Even one typo or grammatical mistake will make your whole ad campaign look cheap and rushed, like the dreaded junk mail flyer.
• Target the correct audience with your marketing strategy. Just as you would with a social media or digital campaign, direct your mailers to the people who will want to see them. You'll need to put work into researching your prospective customers. This is part of the essential direct mail marketing work.

Don't:

• Forget to drive traffic to your online website and measure your direct mail's response rate.
• Forget to follow up on your leads (and don't forget that all-important CTA to make your physical marketing efforts worthwhile).
• Contact people who have requested to be kept off your mailing list.

Get a custom direct mail or EDDM® campaign setup the right way. AlphaGraphics is your local partner that is more than just a print shop. We have the talent and experience you need to create and execute