Fact or Fiction: Busting Direct Mail Myths

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All too often we hear the proclamation that direct mail is dead. In fact, this statement is a complete and utter fallacy. The reality is that direct mail marketing is alive, thriving, and expectedto grow by 1.1% this year. You may have known that, but if you didn’t, you’re just one of the many who may have heard the myths of direct mail. Well, we’re here to educate and clear the air. This is your guide to direct mail fact and fiction.

Myth #1: Self-Mailers Are Guaranteed to Fail

This is indeed a myth. Self-mailers can bring great success in reaching customers. The key is crafting an effective piece, which not all marketers know how to do. This is where a professional print company is worth their weight in gold. They understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to go about crafting a self-mailer. The right piece incorporate the goldenrules of direct mail and brings results, the wrong piece, well, that’s how this myth was perpetuated.

Myth #2: Direct Mail Could Never Trump Digital

Incorrect. Sure, digital marketing pieces have their place, but let’s take a moment to think about how you react to horde of emails in your inbox each day. Chances are you receive a mass amount of emails promoting this store or that promotion every single day. And what do we do with the bulk of them? Send them straight to the trash bin without ever opening them up. In the onslaught of digital pieces, a well-planned, personal, and eye-catching mailer comes as a nice reprieve and is far more likely to get a second look. Myth debunked.

Myth #3: Direct Mail is Old-Fashioned

Just because direct mail a tried and true marketing tool does not mean that it is an out dated thing of the past. It’s a long standing tactic because it works. Why would you want to do away with something that brings results? The trick to updating this faithful tool is very simple – integrate QR codes, web, or mobile apps. Boom. Modernized.

See, don’t you feel better now being able to decipher the fact from the fiction? With your new found knowledge and the help of an experienced print company, soon your direct mailers will be bringing in results for your business!

Have you heard any other direct mail myths? Tell us about them in the comments!  

Give Direct Mail Due Credit

Poor, direct mail. Another year, another Google search proclaiming the death of print marketing. The fact of the matter is those claims are less trustworthy than the latest supermarket gossip rag, and here’s why:

1.)    According to the 2013 Direct Mail Association Factbook, 65% of consumers, of all ages, made a purchase as a result of direct mail. Those are promising statistics. Now do you want to know what the average response rate for electronic mail was? Ready for this? 0.12%. Direct mail came in at 4.4% for both B2B and B2C mailings.

2.)    Direct mail yields the lowestcost per lead. That’s right. Lower than pay-per-click advertising, lower than print advertising, and yes, even lower than email.

3.)    Socialmedia and web marketing are popular and certainly have their perks, but we tend to overestimate their capabilities. Because social is a commonplace medium today, we think everybody must use it, but that’s just not true. An estimated 55% of senior citizens do not rely on internet messaging, so if that’s an audience you’re after, you need to reconsider your marketing priorities. We’re not saying to abandon your web efforts, but combining them with print efforts could reach a lot of potentialcustomers that you could be missing.

4.)    It’s creative. For example, one gimmicky marketer reports that he has, in the past, attached a cheap watch and asked consumers for a bit of their “time” or a mirrored mailer asking how consumers “see” themselves. Cheesy? Maybe to some, but it is creative and creative is what gets people interested.

5.)    39% of customers say that they decided to try a business for the first time becauseof a direct mailer. It accounts for an average of 78% of non-profit donations, and 44% of people will visit a company’s website after receiving direct mail.

So next time you see a headline reading  something like, “Is This the End for Direct Mail?”, you can rest assured knowing what the answer will be. Talk to us about how we can work together to ensure your marketing efforts are turning out the best results for your business. We’ll get you setup the Tray way!

Direct Mail Marketing for Non-Profits

Unfortunately, non-profit organizations often do not have the budget that privately owned for-profit organizations have to work with. This means that your marketing efforts have to go further and be more effective in order to lure in the largest amount of potential donors without blowing a tight budget. With nearly one-fifth of all donations attributed to direct mail, it’s important that non-profits have the know-how to deliver an effective direct mail marketing campaign.

1.)    Reach Out to Former Donors

In the marketing world, this list of former contributors is called a ‘housefile’. Make sure that anytime your organization is set to run a direct mail campaign that the housefile list is always included. These are people who have clearly cared about your goals and cause in the past and, more than likely, still do. Stay in touch.

2.)    Write a Newsletter

This is important for all non-profits, but especially smaller or new organizations. Write a semi-annual or quarterly newsletter including information about current events and activities, donor contributions and how they’ve helped, and donation information. Be sure to include an addressed return envelope with the newsletter to encouragedonations.

3.)    Personalize and Connect

It may seem like writing broad letters, newsletters, etc. is the best approach to reach many different types of people. However, honing in on a certain target group is more likely to get a tangible reaction out of prospecting. Write for the target audience. Add personaltouches where you can further connect with potential donors, whether it be hand written signatures or a short letter from the president of the company. And don’t forget to send holiday cards and a thank you note to donors and volunteers each year!

4.)    Measure Success

Rather than spending the money to send your mailers out to, say, 30,000 prospects and hoping for positive return, choose a small portion of the group to send the mailers to first. See what the reaction is. If it’s not what you’d hoped for, revise the mailers wording, theme, appearance, etc. You’ll learn what works and what doesn’t and you’ll have saved precious marketing dollars.

Effective direct mail marketing is vital to the health and longevity of any business, so for all of your direct mail marketing needs, seek out the help of qualified professionals, like the experts at Tray Inc., for the best results.