6 Direct Mail Do’s and Don’ts

Jan 29, 2021

Whether direct mail has always been a part of your marketing strategy, or you’re just looking to get started, there are some very important key variables to consider when pulling together a campaign. Designing the perfect mailer with captivating visual elements to targeting your best audience and conveying a message that drives recipients to take action are just a few of the considerations your business will need to focus on to get the most out of your marketing budget and your campaign. We’ve put together a list of the 6 best direct mail do’s and don’ts to help you get started with campaigns focused on garnering leads, boosting sales, and elevating your brand’s visibility with your audience in our latest blog.

Getting Started With Your Direct Mail Campaign

Direct mail is often overlooked in marketing campaigns due to the access to digital platforms we’re all inundated with on a daily basis. Choosing the perfect elements to really make your direct mail pieces stand out among the steady flow of every household’s mail is one way to set your direct mail pieces apart from all the rest.

It’s important to consider that on average, a US household receives about 17 pieces of direct mail a week. That may seem like quite a few, but when compared to the 600+ pieces of digital mail an individual may receive weekly, it’s no wonder the return rate on direct mail is significantly higher than that of its digital counterparts. With American’s opening, or at least skimming, an astounding 90% of the advertising mail pieces they receive, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak.

In order to get started on the right foot, we’ve put together a few of the top direct mail do’s and don’ts to help drive quality engagements with your mail pieces, and bring in those sales inquiries, service appointments, donations, and even political responses to help drive your marketing goals and elevate your business and brand.

One of the most relevant direct mail tips we have is to ensure your mailer’s design helps it stand out from the rest – creating captivating messaging and graphics is key for the highest ROI.

Direct Mail Do’s – ProList Recommended Elements

Do use audience targeting – While services like EDDM® can help you deliver your non-personalized mailers to entire mail carrier routes, if you’re looking to target specific spending habits or demographics, be sure to ask our experienced staff about more refined targeting methods. Whether your goals require a purchased mailing list or you plan to target with your own consumer data, we’re here to help you get your direct mail pieces to the right people.

Do use cross-platform marketing to boost CRM – Cross-platform marketing consists of pairing all of your marketing efforts to create a cohesive and fluid campaign. ProList works in conjunction with SnailWorks, a multi-channel marketing resource that links your digital efforts with your direct mail strategies. This offers businesses the opportunity to create digital triggers that engage when consumers interact with your mail pieces, allowing for additional touch-points like date triggered follow up communications, and even the capture of more detailed information from your audience with detailed tracking options.

Do use an experienced print and direct mail service provider – When searching for the most qualified and efficient production partner, look no further. ProList’s experienced and professional staff makes coordinating the most impactful direct mail campaigns easy. We’ll help you create and design the best mailers for your specific goals and needs, and we’ll help you understand which options are right for your business and target audience.

Direct Mail Don’ts – Actions to Avoid

Don’t limit personalization – Even in situations where your business has opted for EDDM®, your mail pieces should speak directly to the audience you’re sending them to. Crafting the perfect message, imagery and engaging visual elements is going to take a bit of market research to nail down. In order to stand out amongst all the others, enticing your audience to read your whole mail piece and then take action should be two of your top priorities.

Don’t forget a call to action – Whether your mailer includes a QR code, a number to call for service, a coupon code, or drives someone to a unique landing page on a website, asking your audience to take further action is the name of the game. Not only does this help you gauge your return, but it also helps capture interested recipients across multiple channels. That type of response information can eventually be used to loop back into analytics and back-end data modeling. This also translates to additional value for your audience – give them something to respond to!

Don’t overlook your design elements – Take the time to truly evaluate your mail piece and ensure that it not only represents your brand, but also your organization’s “voice” as well as your campaign goals. One of the most crucial things in any direct mail effort is that your professionalism and messaging relates effectively to your consumers.

At ProList, we’ll not only walk you through the planning, targeting, list selection, and subsequent production of your direct mail pieces, we’ll help you understand the very best strategy and options available to you for the ultimate success of your campaigns. To get started on your next direct mail campaign, give us a call at 1-888-PROLIST or head to our contact page to submit a contact form. We can’t wait to help you with your direct marketing efforts, and propel your business to the next level of success!