Making your direct mail campaign more functional and effective really comes down to three things: a personal message, clean mailing lists, and an efficient process. Consider the following tips for optimizing your direct mail when designing, implementing, or refining your direct mail campaign.
1. Personalize Your Message
In order for your direct mail campaign to see a response, your direct mail postcards have to make it clear that your business understands what the recipient wants. To convey this, your postcard’s design must be personalized with your audience in mind. This process of personalization involves:
- Creating a message that demonstrates your company’s ability to fulfill a customer’s need or solve their problem
- Customizing copy or graphics to convey your message in a way that will be clear, concise and appealing to your selected audience
Through metrics and research, any business can collect the data necessary to figure out what audiences buy their brands and why. In addition, the technological advancements of design software and digital printers has given way to:
- Customizable options with more cost-effective pricing for any size print run
- Significantly faster turnaround times following print proof approval
- The ability to create better designs that are proven to get better results
All of these advancements in the personalization process give you the tools to improve your direct mail response, encourage larger orders, and promote repeat sales.
2. Know Where Your Mail Is Going
A solid message and a great design are crucial to the success of your direct mailing campaign. But of course, no matter how visually appealing your postcard is, it won’t see a response if it ends up in the mailboxes of disinterested parties. If you’ve never taken the time to get organized with your target markets, consider making it a priority. You will need a clean customer mailing list to ensure that the people seeing your postcard meet your criteria as potential buyers. Be sure to perform regular updates on both your address system and customer list. When using commercial direct mail lists, double check your geographic and demographic criteria to confirm they are as accurate as possible. People move often, and over time the needs of customers evolve. Using the same list repeatedly without confirming its recipients are still around or even interested in your goods is a recipe for failure. Running a clean campaign will help decrease the occurrence of undeliverable and unread mail.
3. Market Efficiently
Efficient marketing should involve ROI considerations for pricing and quick output (lest your message lose relevance). If you lack the time, personnel, or experience to effectively manage your direct mail campaign, it makes sense to find a company that can do it for you. Of course, since there are many components involved in the direct mailing process, you’ll have to deal with multiple companies for design, list creation, printing and mailing. Alternatively, instead of burdening yourself with the moving of parts among firms, why not find a single-source professional to do everything for you? Experienced, full-service direct mail companies offer:
- Postcard design skills that bring consistent results
- Fast and accurate digital printing
- Up-to-date direct mail lists with the ability to target customizable groups
- Reliable addressing and post office delivery options
Marketing with direct mail postcards has been proven to help grow business – and is most effective when done with an industry specialist capable of providing practical advice every step of the way.
Luckily, Cactus Mailing is well versed in the capabilities listed above. In addition to being experts in direct mail, we have digital and direct marketing packages that can reach your targeted audience wherever they are. Take the next step and speak to one of our marketing experts today by filling out the form below, or just give us a quick call. We are here to help!