Direct mail is dead. Or is it?

A study from the Envelope Manufacturers Association Foundation found that 75% of Americans are most likely to pay attention to direct mail sent to their homes. They are three times more likely to pay attention to a direct mail piece as they are to an unsolicited email, Internet banner, or pop-up ads.

Calls to their homes, door-to-door sales reps, and mobile phone text messages also rank considerably below direct mail for getting respondents’ attention.

The study also offers insights about what product categories sell well through direct mail solicitations. Those surveyed say that they buy books (43%), clothing (40%), movies/videos/DVDs (29%) and music (25%) because of direct mail offers.

If you choose to add direct mail to your marketing mix, here’s how you can make your mailer one that gets opened and acted upon:

o Use an envelope. 41% of survey respondents said they value and pay more attention to marketing materials mailed to them in envelopes, versus 16% who said they value and pay more attention to postcards or fliers without envelopes.

o Personalize it - sometimes. Personalize the envelope if you are sending to a mostly female list. Women are more likely, the study found, to respond to personalization than men.

o Clearly identify yourself.  59% of respondents said they always or usually open an envelope if the purpose and sender are identified on the envelope.

o Create compelling copy.  Tell an interesting story; give examples of people using your product or service successfully. These draw people into your letter and are remembered later.

o Include a call to action. What do you want readers to do after they read your letter? Visit your website? Take advantage of a free or discount offer? Make sure you tell them.

o Keep it clean. If your letter is dense with text, people will often say to themselves, “I’ll read this later.” Then they get busy and never get back to it. Use lots of white space, and bullet points in your letter. These make it easy for recipients to skim your letter, and retain your main messages.

o Proof, proof and proof again. There is nothing that destroys your company image more than misspellings and poor grammar. If editing is not your forte, ask a friend or colleague to review your letter before you send it.  

The Marketing Advantage is published monthly in Union County Voice magazine, www.unioncountyvoice.com. 

Ms. Kasprzak, principal of Advantage Marketing & Associates, is a certified management consultant who specializes in helping B2B clients connect with their customers to achieve greater sales revenues. She can be reached at LKasprzak@advantage-marketing.com or 908.233.6265.

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