Direct mail’s open rate is over 80 percent and while email’s open rates have decreased in the past ten years, direct mail has increased.  Direct mail is a valuable tool in your arsenal of marketing tools and should be used as an additional touch point amongst your other marketing messages — both print and digital.

To enhance your direct mail marketing, we’re going to share with you a few tips to ensure your direct mail not only captures your audiences’ attention, but also entices them to respond to your call-to-action.

Regularly update your database and mailing list. An interesting stat to keep in mind as to why this step is so important:  Every year, one in five Americans change their address.  So if your list is over a year old, you can assume that 20 percent of your list is no longer up-to-date.  Or in other words, you’re wasting time and resources on 20 percent of your audience if your database is not kept up-to-date.  Every time you have any form of communication between your brand and its consumer, the communication should be collected and sorted in your database to ensure it’s not only up-to-date, but that it can also provide you insight as to what type of messages you should be sending out to your core audience.

Use the right keywords in the title/header on your mailing. Using your database you’ve created a message that will entice the recipient to respond, now make sure your header is something that encompasses what you’re direct mailing is all about and why the recipient would be interested in taking the time to learn more about your product or service.

Focus on the benefits, not the features, of your product or service. Make sure that you’re talking about how the customer will benefit from your product and reasons why they should be interested in your brand.  Talk more about them, less about you!  The more you do this, the more people will respond to your marketing efforts.

The last one is simple, make sure you leave them with a call-to-action! Always  tell your audience the next step in communication; whether it’s talking to you via email, a phone call, store visit or even a purchase, make sure they know what you want them to do or how to redeem any of your promotions!

Timothy Freeman

President

Print & Graphic Communications Association