In a world where everything is digital, direct mail marketing may seem like a thing of the past. However, companies like Google, Amazon, and LinkedIn still use direct mail as part of their marketing campaigns. It’s a great tactic to get new customers and keep your current ones.
Whether you’re sending out newsletters or coupons, there are certain custom mail marketing techniques you can utilize to stand out in someone’s mailbox. You don’t want your mail to go directly into someone’s trashcan.
This guide will go over five mail marketing tips that’ll result in your direct mail marketing being more appealing to customers.
What Is Direct Mail Marketing?
Direct mail marketing is physical materials that are delivered directly to someone’s mailbox. Catalogs, flyers, and postcards are some examples. You send this correspondence to people with the goal that they’ll shop from your business.
Your direct mailers should include the following information:
- Identification of you or your company
- A call-to-action (CTA)
- Ways for your customers to contact you or find you on social media
Direct mailers are a way for you to get creative and showcase your business. Your customers will physically handle your direct mailer, looking at it before they decide to keep it or throw it away. If your direct mail includes a strong CTA, coupon, or promotional offer, they’ll be more apt to keep it and bring it into your restaurant or store to redeem it.
Below are our five top tips on how to set your direct mailers apart from everyone else’s.
1. Make Your Direct Mailers Unique and Large
Studies have shown that oversized envelopes have a higher response rate at around 5%. Large envelopes are attention-grabbing but making the envelope unique takes it one step future. Sending customers a custom envelope in the mail will get their attention, leading them to open the envelope to see what’s inside.
Mailers are a great way to get creative. You’re able to send physical goods to a customer and use design ideas that wouldn’t translate the same in digital marketing.
One way direct mail personalization tip is custom stamps. Customers will notice if the envelope has been hand-stamped. It will add a “human touch” to the mailer, and they’ll be more apt to open it.
2. Target the Right Customers
Targeting the right audience with your direct mail marketing is an essential component to being successful. Sending direct mailers to people who won’t ever buy your product or visit your business is a waste of money.
It’s more challenging to target the right customer base with direct mail marketing than it is with digital marketing. The data isn’t as readily available as hitting a button on a social media platform to target certain demographics.
When determining who to send your mailers to, you need to figure out who your audience is. Figure out the ages of your customers and what their interests are. Once you determine who your customers are, you’ll be able to craft the right message that will appeal to them.
3. Create a Tempting Offer Your Customers Can’t Resist
Informational direct mailers are great but unless there’s a direct CTA, your promotional material will likely go directly into the trash. You want to give customers a compelling reason to head to your website, store, or restaurant. You need to offer them something beneficial, exciting, and relevant to their lives.
Don’t make the offer too complicated either. They don’t need to jump through multiple hoops to redeem the coupon or participate in what you’re offering.
Focus on the benefits that you offer for your customers. Communicate the value that your company and products offer clearly. You should be able to sum up the value in a few words, and they should be evident as soon as someone looks at your direct mailer.
4. Use Real Stamps
This may seem like an odd tip. The United States Postal Service provides businesses prepaid envelopes with the stamps already printed on them. It makes it easy for businesses to send out large quantities of mailers since they don’t have to stick the stamps on themselves.
There is a problem with those types of stamps though. When a customer sees one on a postcard or envelope, they already think that they’ll be getting a corporate message. They may toss the mailer before they even look inside without seeing what you’re offering.
Using a real stamp can cut down on the automatic response of throwing away the mailer. When they see the stamp, they’ll assume that it’s personal correspondence. It’ll change their attitude toward the mailer.
5. Make Your Offer Urgent
Creating a sense of urgency is a tried and true marketing strategy. When you create a deadline, you motivate your customers to act quickly and not put things off. Let your customers know they have a limited time to participate in your offer or they’ll miss out.
People get countless things in the mail. If you target the right audience and have a solid CTA, giving them a deadline to respond will encourage them to respond faster.
It’s not a ploy to get them to buy things from you. It helps the customer as well. You want them to remember to take part in your offer so they can benefit from it.
Letting them know there’s a deadline or a limited supply will get them to act immediately before they forget.
Implement Direct Mail Marketing Into Your Marketing Strategies
Physical mail isn’t dead. Is there anything more exciting than getting something in the mail? Adding direct mail marketing to your overall marketing campaign is a great way to offer something substantial to current and potential customers.
For other custom mail marketing techniques or small business marketing ideas, check out one of our other articles.