Direct mail allows your brand’s message to be delivered directly into the hands of your target audience.  Through database management and variable data printing, direct mail offers a way to send relevant and personalized message that will more likely entice the recipient to respond to your call-to-action.

Multiple studies have shown that personalization offers a 33 percent higher return on your investments.  But, to achieve a successful personalized direct mailer, you must include more than just the recipient’s name.  Using your consumer database, you need to segment your audience into groups with similar likes and buying habits and then create a message that relates to the needs of that particular group of your target audience.

Including a personalized URL, or pURL, offers a way for recipients to interact with personalized content on a URL designed specifically for their likes and buying preferences.  Personalized URLs offer more than just an increase in your response rates and recipient engagement.  PURLS are also an easy way to collect additional consumer data through surveys on the individualized landing page.  Each survey should be only a few questions because, as with most digital media, the person’s attention span only ranges from two to three minutes.  Many companies chose to offer a special discount or small token in return for taking the survey.

Finally, personalized URLs offer businesses an easy way to track, measure, analyze and use the results of your campaign.  Because each pURL is unique, you can track precisely who visited their URL, what they clicked on, what they spent the most time with — and what they spent no time with.  Collecting and understanding the data they ignored, is just as valuable as understanding the content they did click on and spend time with.

After each campaign is sent out and measure and tracked, it’s important to utilize the data to follow up with stronger personalization in the future and offer your sales team the information so they can follow up accordingly as well.

Ultimately, personalized URLs are giving you “the best of both worlds.”  Your target audience receives a tangible mailer that cuts through digital clutter along with personalized digital content that they can instantly access via their pURL.

Timothy Freeman

President

Print & Graphic Communications Association