How to Succeed With Direct Mail

A lot of business owners are mystified and frustrated by direct mail marketing. The fact is, small and medium businesses can benefit so much from direct mail that they can hardly afford not to market this way. If you are looking to get into direct mail or are trying to increase your success rate with an existing campaign, this article is aimed to give you the tips you need to move forward and succeed in your efforts.

First, it is most important to understand the functions of direct mail. There are several things you can do with a postal campaign, such as lead generation, clearance of old product, broadening of your market base, creating repeat business with existing customers, branding and rapport building. Think about this when organizing your marketing and ask yourself, “How can I get the most out of a single mailing?”

Second, and almost equally important, is what your advertisement itself looks like. If you have a generic looking mailer that doesn’t stick out of the pile of junk mail the potential customer is bringing into their home every day, they’ll never even see your offer. The response rate for mailers is usually in the 1.5-3% range, but if your mailer is invisible, you can bet it will be lower. Use colors that contrast but enhance the overall message of the offer. Bold, sans-serif fonts are easy to read from a distance and really stand off a page. Find a designer who can create visually appealing designs that make sense to you. Before you print, show the proof to a friend or colleague and ask their opinion without giving yours first.

Third is information hierarchy. If you are selling a $10,000.00 product, it is not often a good idea to make the price the largest part of the design. Think about the order in which the user will absorb the information you are giving them. We live in an online era where short, relevant paragraphs separated by white space are the norm, and it is what your target audience will likely be accustomed to and expect from products they buy online all the time. Mimicking the web in your designs can assist in creating a comfort not often associated with print media anymore.

Finally, you must carefully choose your mailing list. If you aren’t targeting your leads right,  you won’t even get your foot in the door. Make sure you pay close attention to your demographics both at a regional and state level. Take into account local foreclosure rates and other financial factors in the areas you target. They may be in different shape than they were just a year or two ago, so know your mailing zones. Additionally, you may consider purchasing a dialer to hit your leads twice, once in the mail and once on the phone. Often, mailing lists include data such as email addresses and telephone numbers, so make sure to ask your broker if your records will include that info.

If you follow these guidelines, your mail response rate should increase in time. Best Rate Referrals has decades of combined experience in the direct mail industry, and we put these concepts into practice every time we do a mailing of our own. We want  you to succeed and see a great return on your investment, so we provide custom tailored direct mail solutions with hand-picked lists sorted and configured to your needs. Visit our homepage for more information on mortgage direct mail or to order leads, lists, dialers, mailers, telemarketing training resources and more.

Comments are closed.