Direct mail can be an incredibly powerful marketing tool. It can also be a black hole into which you pour money without a return on your investment. Below are five tips to help you ensure that you remain on the right side of the ledger.
Related: 4 Reasons to Use Direct Mail Marketing Instead of Email Marketing
1. Identify your mailing list.
- First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail with different payment methods, 705.5.0 Media Mail and Bound Printed Matter, 703.9.6 multiple editions or publications of a periodical, 207.27.0.
- Priority Mail Express Letter 8.5 x 11; EDDM Products; Unaddressed Mail Products; Every Door Direct Mail; EDDM Mailer 6.25 x 11; EDDM Mailer 6.5 x 9; EDDM Mailer 7 x 10; EDDM Mailer 8.5 x 11; EDDM Mailer 8.5 x 12; EDDM Mailer 12 x 4.5; Print and Ship to You; Select a product from the list below. Brochures; Brochure 11 x 8.5 - Shipped; Flyers.
If you're going to mail, an obvious factor is your list of names and addresses. There are many sources here. If you're offering a credit product, the credit bureaus are an excellent source of names. However, there are rules about the types of offers you can make, and the penalties for non-compliance can be severe. So, know and follow the rules. Beyond that, you'll find literally hundreds of vertical lists that you can purchase.
Direct Mail 5.7.1 macOS 51.7 MB. Direct Mail-an easy-to-use, fully-featured email marketing app purpose-built for OS X-lets you create and send great looking email campaigns. Start your newsletter by selecting from a gallery of professionally-designed templates, then customize to your heart's content.
2. Test and learn.
Direct mail should be a never-ending cycle of testing and learning. Dimensions you'll want to test include:
- Market segments. Blindly mailing a list of names will not likely be fruitful. Instead, identify segments of the list you expect to perform better than others, based on the specific offer you are making. When you buy a list, it may lack the data you need to ensure effective segmentation. There are services, such as Epsilon, that allow you to append additional information to the lists you purchase to enable segmentation. For example, you may have names and address, but still want to add income or net worth to improve targeting.
- Offers. Test multiple offers, all substantively different. For example, if you reduce your price by 10 percent, does volume increase enough to cover the lost margin? Remember: One offer may be more profitable with a particular segment, while another may win in a different segment.
- Creatives. Does a 'stealth' envelope (whose contents aren't discernible) deliver better results than one that highlights the offer on the outside? Continuously test your current champion against new challengers. Even champions' performance will degrade over time. Ultimately, you need a group of proven winners that you can rotate in and out, testing new challengers at each step.
- Cadence. How often do you plan to mail? Since you are driving response to a call center, you'll want to create a relatively smooth volume of calls. Response models can be built that will allow you to predict call volumes based on a particular mail-drop strategy. You'll want to test re-mail strategies. How long should you wait after you have mailed a non-responder to mail recipients again?
Related: 4 Ways to Integrate Direct Mail Into Your Digital Marketing Landscape
While testing, choose your sample size carefully. Testing a very large sample can be expensive. After all, the fact that you are testing means that performance is unproven. On the other hand, if your sample size is too small, results may not be statistically meaningful. You'll need to strike a balance.
3. Analyze your results.
If you are going to learn from your testing, you'll need to analyze the results carefully. Make sure you understand the full economics of your testing. It is great to have a high gross-response rate, but you'll need to understand your close rate and the amount of money you make from each closed sale. Consider all of your costs, not just your mail costs. We suggest building a profitability model to ensure that your direct mail program is profitable when all costs are considered.
4. Roll it out.
- Creatives. Does a 'stealth' envelope (whose contents aren't discernible) deliver better results than one that highlights the offer on the outside? Continuously test your current champion against new challengers. Even champions' performance will degrade over time. Ultimately, you need a group of proven winners that you can rotate in and out, testing new challengers at each step.
- Cadence. How often do you plan to mail? Since you are driving response to a call center, you'll want to create a relatively smooth volume of calls. Response models can be built that will allow you to predict call volumes based on a particular mail-drop strategy. You'll want to test re-mail strategies. How long should you wait after you have mailed a non-responder to mail recipients again?
Related: 4 Ways to Integrate Direct Mail Into Your Digital Marketing Landscape
While testing, choose your sample size carefully. Testing a very large sample can be expensive. After all, the fact that you are testing means that performance is unproven. On the other hand, if your sample size is too small, results may not be statistically meaningful. You'll need to strike a balance.
3. Analyze your results.
If you are going to learn from your testing, you'll need to analyze the results carefully. Make sure you understand the full economics of your testing. It is great to have a high gross-response rate, but you'll need to understand your close rate and the amount of money you make from each closed sale. Consider all of your costs, not just your mail costs. We suggest building a profitability model to ensure that your direct mail program is profitable when all costs are considered.
4. Roll it out.
Once you have identified which segments are clearly profitable, you'll want to roll them out with the maximum volume you can handle operationally. This is why you need to be sure that you fully understand the economics. You may go from dropping 15,000 pieces of mail in a test cell to rolling out with 1.5 million pieces. If you thought you were going to make 10 cents per piece mailed, but instead lose 10 cents per piece mailed, the results may be devastating.
5. Work with an expert.
Pitfalls surround direct mail. We strongly advise you not to go it alone. Work with someone who knows what to do and not do. The money you spend on good advice will be worth every penny. Once you learn the ropes, you may find that there are pieces of the process you will want to take over. There will also likely be parts of the process you will continue to outsource.
In the right industry, a well-managed direct-mail program can be very profitable. Unfortunately, a mismanaged rollout can bankrupt your company. The tips above will help you have a successful campaign.
If you're like most business owners, you probably don't have lots of cash on hand or the time to plan and execute marketing campaigns week after week. Let alone for an entire year. Our owner stumbled upon this problem a decade ago, and both The Weekly Mailing Strategy™ and The Annual Mailing Program™ were born.
- The Weekly Mailing Strategy™
- The Annual Mailing Program™
The Weekly Mailing Strategy™
was developed to make direct mail as affordable and stress-free as possible for business owners who spend most of their time running their businesses. It works by taking the total number of mail pieces, as well as the total cost of your campaign, and spreading them out evenly over a period of up to 8 weeks. Each week your pieces are mailed out, you make a small weekly payment. Pretty simple.Choose a Product
Example: Oversized Postcard(5.5″ × 10.5″)Choose A Mailing Area
This determines your quantity.(Example: 5,000 Addresses)Choose A Schedule
Number of weeks to mail & pay over.(Example: 8 Weeks)
Example Weekly Mailing
Based on the example above, we would take the total cost and quantity of your mailing and divide it evenly over an 8-week period. This means we'd mail 625 postcards per week and bill you $269 per week for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of mailing, all 5,000 addresses have received your postcard. Keep in mind, you can choose any direct mail product, quantity, and mailing schedule you want.
Oversized PostcardsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 8Month 1 Week 1: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 2: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 3: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 4: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Month 2 Week 5: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 6: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 7: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 Week 8: Mail 625 Postcards to Area & Pay $269 The Annual Mailing Program™
works by applying our Weekly Mailing Strategy™ to multiple mailings throughout the year, allowing you to target your prospects each and every week with a variety of unique direct mail pieces. This program is also 100% customizable: you pick the number of campaigns, the pieces, the quantities, and the mailing schedules that fit your budget and mailing area. Best of all, we apply our deepest discounts for clients who use the annual program, so you pay the absolute lowest price for your direct mail.Example Annual Mailing Program™
A business with a budget of $257 a week could choose the following mix of campaigns, products, mailing areas, quantities, and mailing weeks. To determine the weekly payment, we would take the total cost for all 6 campaigns and divide it evenly over 52 weeks. We'd then spread each 5,000-piece campaign over 2 months. At the end of the year, all 5,000 addresses would receive 6 different mailers.
Campaign 1Oversized PostcardsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 8January Week 1: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 2: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 3: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 4: Mail 625 & Pay $257 February Week 5: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 6: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 7: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 8: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Campaign 2Medium Plastic PostcardsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 9March Week 9: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 10: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 11: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 12: Mail 556 & Pay $257 April Week 13: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 14: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 15: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 16: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 17: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Campaign 3Jumbo PostcardsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 9May Week 18: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 19: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 20: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 21: Mail 556 & Pay $257 June Week 22: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 23: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 24: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 25: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 26: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Campaign 4Original Postcard MagnetsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 8July Week 27: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 28: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 29: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 30: Mail 625 & Pay $257 August Week 31: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 32: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 33: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Week 34: Mail 625 & Pay $257 Campaign 5Oversized PostcardsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 9September Week 35: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 36: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 37: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 38: Mail 556 & Pay $257 October Week 39: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 40: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 41: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 42: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 43: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Campaign 6Oversized Scratch-OffsQuantity: 5,000Mailing Weeks: 9November Week 44: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 45: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 46: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 47: Mail 556 & Pay $257 December Week 48: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 49: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 50: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 51: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Week 52: Mail 556 & Pay $257 Additional Quantity Price Options
Mail 5,000/Campaign Mail 10,000/Campaign Mail 15,000/Campaign Mail 20,000/Campaign $257/Week $436/Week $626/Week $802/Week
Benefits of Weekly Mailing
- No Money Down We finance the cost of your mailing area analysis, mailing list, artwork, printing, postal sorting, and delivery. You don't pay a dime until we pay the post office for your first week's mailing.
- Steady, More Manageable Returns By spreading your mailings out over several weeks, you can rely on a steadier, more predictable return over time, instead of a rush of new business all at once.
- Affordable Weekly Payments Splitting your direct mail costs into small, weekly payments makes it easier to fit into your weekly budget. This is invaluable for businesses that run on a week-to-week basis.
- Fits Any Budget We work with you to pick the right piece, mailing area, quantity, and mailing schedule to get you the best results without going over your budget.
Benefits of the Annual Program
- Our Lowest Pricing We apply our deepest discounts for customers using the annual program, so you pay the absolute lowest amount possible for your direct mail.
- Consistent, Effortless Marketing Busy? No problem. We'll handle the marketing and you'll have fresh, relevant advertising hitting your target audience every single week of the year.
- Flexibility You can change the products, update pricing and promotions, or adjust quantities and mailing areas with each mailing.
- Frequency By mailing on a weekly basis all year, you'll hit the same groups of people 6 times, increasing the likelihood that they'll purchase and enhancing their lifetime value.
Our Strategy Works
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After posting our worst annual growth of any non-recession year since we opened for business, we signed up for Mail Shark's Weekly Mailing Program. It had taken several months and two to three mailing cycles before we started to see a return. Then, literally overnight, we experienced a 20% jump in gross revenue. Once the flood of calls began, it was our job to keep the customers coming back. However, it was the Weekly Mailing Program that was directly responsible for the overwhelming majority of first-time callers. Our growth continued through 2016, our second year using Mail Shark, with our revenue increasing by six figures. We are now in our third year using the program, and we have decided to make it a part of our business model.
