How to Create a Successful Direct Mail Campaign Timeline

So much to do, so little time! At least that’s what it feels like when you’re gearing up for a new direct mail campaign. Between the time you decide a new campaign is in order and the moment your DM pieces hit mailboxes, there’s a lot that needs to happen. How can you help manage stress and stay on track? Keep your campaign organized with a well-planned timeline. Here’s how to create your own:

1.) Look at the Big Picture

When planning a new campaign, the first thing you should do is consider the timing. What are you selling or promoting? Air conditioning services, for example, are best marketed just as the weather starts warming up. Always keep seasonality, as well as holidays, in mind.

2.) Get Creative

About four months from the time you plan to send mailers for your new campaign, gather your team or grab a strong cup of espresso - whatever your method is of brainstorming - and get those ideas generating. Think about the goal of your campaign. Is there a promotion or event you can organize to help you attain it? Do you want to use a unique feature or freemiums to draw attention to your mailer? Get creative and take good notes!

3.) Brush Up Your Database

Did you know that it costs roughly six times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an old one? That’s why it’s so important that you make sure to include any and all past customers on your mailing list, in addition to reaching for new audiences. A well-made mailing database is vital to achieving campaign success. If you’re not sure how to build or enhance your database, a qualified professional can help you create a comprehensive list and find the most cost effective way to deliver your pieces.

4.) Get the Deliverables In Early

After you’ve decided what the goals of the campaign will be and how you plan to achieve them, get in touch with us at least two months in advance of the target delivery date. The success of your mail campaign relies on perfect timing, and that means timely delivery of mailing lists, due dates, target delivery dates, and artwork sent in a compatible format. It takes time to review those materials and generate a time estimate. You don’t want to procrastinate and miss your target delivery date, or end up compromising quality in order to meet time constraints.

5.) Check and Double Check the Blueline

After receiving your artwork and files, you’ll receive a blueline and color proof that will need to be reviewed and approved. Be sure to carve out the time you need to thoroughly review it, because any errors on the blueline will end up on your printed materials. Pay attention to everything you see – copy, line breaks, page breaks, borders and cropping. Aim to have the blueline reviewed and approved about 45 days before it’s due to be sent out.

6.) Measure the Responses

Congratulations! Once your mailers hit the post truck, the tough part is over and done. Now all that’s left to do is measure the response rates. Expect the biggest boom in the first two weeks after delivery, but leads may trickle in for up to six months afterward. Use your measurements to gauge how successful your campaign was and how you can use those results to improve your next one.

How do you organize a campaign timeline? If you have any other tips or suggestions, tell us in the comments! 

The Marriage of Print and Digital Marketing

(Photo courtesy of sxc.hu)

Enough with the debate over print or digital marketing already! We know that direct mail marketing is still the king and digital marketing is coming in strong, but the newest theory is that together they’re a powerhouse of success. And it makes sense. Think about the fact that direct mail still boasts the lowest cost-per-lead and the highest conversion rates. Now, consider the creativity and personalization that digital marketing can provide. Bring them together and boom! You have an unstoppable marketing campaign.

Understanding the Union

We could ramble off a dozen reasons for choosing a mailer with digital elements vs. strictly digital, but honestly, the truth is in the numbers. Generation Y is much more greatly affected by traditional media than digital. In a recent poll, nearly half of the Gen Y’ers surveyed better retained information from a print ad, whereas not even a quarter said the same about digital. However, with 62% of young people accessing the internet daily, it would be unwise not to at least consider the growing power of incorporating a digital element into that mailer.

How to Make the Jump from Traditional to Tradigital

Right about now, you may be saying to yourself “That’s all well and good, but what does it mean? How do I make this marriage work for my campaign?” Well, the answer comes in the form of relatively new technologies like QRcodes and PURLs (Personalized Uniform Resource Locators).

Even Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, is quick to address the benefits of incorporating digital elements into direct mail pieces. He notes that these technologies have the ability to actively engage mailer recipients with the product or company by allowing receivers to use their smartphones to make quick purchases from a catalog or launch a video.

The generations that marketers need to appeal to now are of a different breed than those in years past. Millennials and Gen Y are clearly still affected by traditional print marketing, but they crave a certain level of personalization and engagement that print can’t always achieve on its own. The integration on new technology bridges that gap, thus creating a world of tradigital marketing.

So, you see, the future of B2C marketing relies not on replacing one material with another, but on evolving current methods. With new found knowledge and the help of an experienced print company, you too, can find yourself ahead of the curve with profits to show for your efforts. Contact us today to get discuss how we can help you’re business embrace the tradigital future!

Fact or Fiction: Busting Direct Mail Myths

(Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

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!