15 Tips for Direct Mail Marketing

Sending targeted Direct Mail can be one of the most successful and cost effective direct marketing methods to reach your business prospects and existing customers.

Here are 15 top tips to help you get the best out of your Direct Mail Marketing!

1. Plan – make sure you have a good plan of action so you know what you want to achieve and how to achieve it. Planning equals better results, better targeting and will help minimise any problems you may encounter.

2. Use good up-to-date mailing data. Failing this means the mail will fail to reach its intended audience and go to the wrong person or indeed no one! A highly effective waste of money and also bad for your business reputation.

3. Keep it simple. Don’t over complicate your message. You will only have a few moments in which to grab the attention of the person receiving the Direct Mail. You must make it very clear what you are offering, why they need it and how to get it.

4. Make it compelling. An offer or voucher i.e. discounts or a free trial often works. Grab your prospect’s attention and engage them to respond.

5. Format. What format will work best for your intended audience and the message you want to get across. Are you going to send a postcard, a sales letter, a brochure, newsletter, catalogue? There’s a range of formats to choose from.

6. Creative. The words and images you use. You need simple well written copy that sells rather than confuses. It isn’t expensive to get a copywriter to do it for you, but ensure you see examples of work they’ve done before. Eye-catching professional design also works but it needs to be appropriate for both the audience and the mail piece.

7. Call to action. Direct Mail works best when it includes some form of call to action. A call to action makes it clear what you want the person receiving the direct mail to do next i.e. a free trial or money off offer will give them a reason to call your number or perhaps they will fill in and send back a reply paid card you’ve included.

8. Easy. Always make it easy for people to respond by providing a variety of clear ways for them to get into contact.

9. Test. If you can, test out your Direct Mail. Send out a small quantity of direct mail, trying out different offers and timings, to see what gets the best response.

10. Think integrated. Using other methods in combination with Direct Mail works really well and will often bring you the best results. Examples of integrated include the use of multiple direct mailings, paired with phone calls, emails and follow-ups.

11. Results. Once you’ve tested your Direct Mail, you are ready to go. Before you do, always make sure that you’ve set up some processes to measure the success of your direct mail. This is where you call to action comes into play. For example, always include some sort of reference number or promo code in the mail you send. If people call or order online, you’ll be able to match their response to the direct mail you sent out.

12. Repetition. If you find your Direct Mail is working, don’t be afraid to do it more than once. However make sure you don’t become a nuisance. A one off mailing won’t deliver the results you need nor will a constant barrage of Direct Mail.

13. Follow-up. Once you’ve gone to the trouble of sending out Direct Mail, make sure that you always respond. As a potential customer, there is nothing more frustrating than replying to direct mail and then not getting any response.

14. Existing customers. Direct Mail is also a good way to keep your customer informed about what you are doing and any special deals you can offer them too.

15. Opt-out. Always provide an opt-out facility so your prospect can tell you if they don’t want to receive any further information from you.