Have you ever gotten a mail-order catalog, a postcard with a discount, or a coupon from your grocery store? We all get to receive those and many more via mail in the United States. As much as the internet and technology have taken over people’s time and attention spans by introducing a more convenient means of marketing, physical marketing remains relevant across the globe. Aside from building trust and confidence in your brand, it helps you build relationships with your customers, and trust me, everyone loves attention. Direct mail marketing can help build your brand and your business, whether you’re just getting started or want to attract new customers. If you are hoping to introduce direct mail marketing to your real estate business or any other kind of business, you need to identify the strategies that really work as well as decide whether you’ll be outsourcing these services.
What Is Direct Mail Marketing?
Most of the time, this is a more traditional way of marketing in which promotional materials or even products are sent directly to people who might buy them. Direct mail marketing’s offline client engagement tools include printed mailers, three-dimensional parcels, perishable goods, corporate swag, and other physical items. Inbound and outbound sales, marketing, demand generation, growth, recruiters, and others use it. Direct mail marketing helps you interact with prospects, leads, and clients.
Over the years, marketers have increasingly resorted to the efficacy of digital communication to expand their customer bases. According to Tech Times, about half of all American adults use their phones in bed. This has led to an increase in digital advertising reaching the general public.
Yet, with this meteoric rise of digital advertising comes to a corresponding rise in digital overload. Almost three-quarters of consumers report feeling overwhelmed by email advertising, while more than a quarter report adopting ad-blocking software to enhance their digital experience, per a survey by Edison and Statista, respectively.
People are getting less and less tolerant of digital ads, which makes it hard for businesses to get people’s attention. It’s getting harder to be heard above all the background noise. As a result, more and more businesses are taking their messages directly to consumers’ mailboxes.
Why Is Direct Mail Marketing Effective In a Digital World?
The average American spends 2/3 of their daily lives online, and to a great extent, personal relationships with customers are neglected. On the basis of this, direct mail marketing tends to be more effective even in a digital world. Therefore, direct mail marketing strategies are effective because:
#1. Direct Mail is Memorable
Perhaps the most effective aspect of direct mail is the personal connection it fosters. Rather than a typical business gift, a personalized letter or carefully chosen item is usually used.
#2. Direct Mail Has a Better Response Rate
This physical interaction is a big reason why direct mail marketing has a response rate that is 30 times higher than the most effective digital medium, email. When used as part of a larger campaign, it can increase the return on investment by 20%.
#3. There’s Less Competition With Direct Mail
The fact that so few businesses allocate resources to direct mail is also noteworthy. This makes a direct mail marketing piece stand out from the rest.
#4. Direct Mail Offers Many Ways to Be Creative
There is no limit to how much you can surprise and amuse your customers with direct mail. Marketers can send handmade cards, creative swag, personalized gifts, candies and delicacies, e-gift cards, and so much more using this strategy.
What Is the Difference Between Direct Mail and Direct Marketing?
One big difference between email marketing and snail mail is the content of the message. Email is a way to talk that uses technology, while direct mail is a physical way to talk. However, the efficiency and timing of each tactic are unique. If you want to get the most out of your marketing dollars, it’s important to know how email and direct mail campaigns differ.
Direct Mail Marketing Strategies
Results come with principles and it’s no different with direct mail marketing; if it must work, you must be willing to follow the following strategies duly;
#1. Clean Your Email List
In email marketing, delivery to inboxes is a major concern. That’s what we call “deliverability” in the world of electronic communication.
Regularly cleaning your email list will help you prevent deliverability problems.
The meaning of “list cleansing” The term “list cleaning” refers to the process of eliminating inactive email addresses and contacts who have opted out of receiving further communications from your company.
Perhaps you’re wondering, “What good will it do to delete contacts?” I put in a lot of time and effort to expand my contact base.
Sure, that makes perfect sense. Remove inactive subscribers occasionally to maximize email list growth. You can improve your contact list by getting rid of inactive users, unsubscribers, spam reports, and emails that were sent but never received.
#2. Provide Value Every Time
The second key to successful email marketing is giving something of value to your readers. Customers are more inclined to read your emails on a regular basis if they find something of value in each one. In fact, they may begin looking forward to receiving your messages.
So, how can one actually “give value” to others? Plan your email strategy around satisfying your clients’ wants and needs. If you sell clothes online, the fact that customers can’t try them on could be a source of frustration for you. This is something that can and should be addressed in your email marketing plan.
Promotional emails and email newsletters could include articles that help readers shop for clothing online. You can do the same thing with your size guide by turning it into a size finder and promoting it via email.
When we talk about offering value to your subscribers, we’re talking about email content like this. Consumers have come to expect this kind of content, so it no longer comes across as very helpful when presented in the form of promotions or new product features.
#3. Optimize Your Calls-To-Action
The success of your email campaigns is highly dependent on the quality of your CTAs. (And by extension, your conversion rates.) Spending effort making sure your calls to action carry a punch will pay off in the form of more traffic and conversions.
Try several call-to-action formats, such as buttons and text CTAs, and pay special attention to the copy to ensure subscribers will want to click.
#4. Share User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is akin to digital word-of-mouth marketing in its potency. Subscribers are more inclined to learn more about your business and its offerings if they see evidence that other clients are pleased with the services they have received.
You can boost engagement with your emails and foster a feeling of community by including customer-generated content like images, videos, reviews, and personal stories. Research shows that the use of user-generated content increases click-through rates in emails by 73%.
Consider launching a hashtag campaign if you’re having trouble finding user-generated content. It’s a terrific method to get the word out and collect UGC in one spot if you encourage customers to tag you on social media when they feature your products.
Showcasing user-created content has many benefits for your business, including increased traffic, sales, and brand loyalty. Initiating this type of conversation with your clientele opens the lines of communication in both directions.
#5. Connect With Social Media
In this context, it’s important to note that social media is an integral part of every successful email marketing campaign! These two forms of online advertising can complement one another in several ways.
To begin, make sure all of your email marketing and newsletters have clear calls to action that direct readers to your different social media profiles.
It may be appropriate to promote the campaign using social media posts that replicate the email’s content. Sendinblue makes it simple to accomplish this. A shareable link is available at the touch of a button.
Direct Mail Drawbacks
While we highlight the various pros of direct mail marketing, it isn’t all luck and no stress. This simply means, it has its own limitations, and as such, it’s better you understand each of these limitations before kick-staring your campaign. Some of the drawbacks of including direct mail marketing in your overall advertising strategy are listed below.
#1. It’s Quite Expensive
The high price tag is typically the biggest drawback of direct mail marketing campaigns. The expenses of direct mail include but are not limited to advertisement creation, print run, postage, mailing lists, and more. Postage is a major expense because the price is predetermined and cannot be lowered. A single direct mail campaign might easily cost thousands of dollars due to rising postal prices.
#2. Results Are Not Entirely Measurable
Information like ad clicks and conversion tracking numbers may be easily gathered from digital marketing campaigns. Direct mail has the disadvantage of not providing feedback on how many recipients actually looked at the mail piece as opposed to tossing it in the trash.
#3. They Are Not Editable
After sending out a direct mail piece, you cannot make any changes to it. You no longer have control over your advertisement once you have signed off on the final proof. You can’t make instantaneous adjustments to a direct mailer as you can with digital marketing if it’s not doing well. Because mail is sluggish, your advertisements will not reach their target audience right away, and you will have no idea how well they are doing until a considerable amount of time has passed.
#4. Mailing Lists Can Be Inaccurate
Many mistakes can be made when compiling an address list. Mail that does not have the correct ZIP code or city name may not be delivered. Every undelivered mailing is money down the drain.
Direct Mail Marketing Companies
The use of direct mail in advertising efforts is a fantastic method to fortify connections with clients and potential buyers. This is due to the fact that, unlike email, direct mail allows you to give hyper-targeted information and develop deeper ties. A few of the best direct mail providers are listed below.
#1. Gunderson Direct
Gunderson Direct has sent over 1.5 billion pieces of mail, so they know a thing or two about getting their customers’ letters to open. The company provides more than just direct mail services; it also provides strategic alliances that let you tweak and develop your advertising campaigns over time.
From its nearly two decades in the industry, Gunderson Direct offers proven, strategic insight and innovative thought leadership to put together winning initiatives that get reactions.
If you want your mail to get to the correct people, this business will use its extensive network of data suppliers to do just that.
You can count on Gunderson Direct to generate high-quality mail within your budget and on-time requirements because they streamline the manufacturing and sending process.
The company’s data team also keeps track of how well each mailing does and gives relevant information about performance.
#2. PsPrint
PsPrint offers direct mail advertising services that are of the highest quality and don’t cost too much. They are also completely reliable. The company has an easy-to-use website where you can manage all of your personalized printing needs for a wide range of direct mail items. It’s as simple as selecting a product, adding a mailing list, and uploading artwork.
PsPrint can generate a mailing list for you in under 15 minutes. Just answer a few questions based on your target audience’s demographics like age, ZIP Code, and income.
The service offers a speedy turnaround of two to five days once your order has been printed. If you order more prints than would fit in one box, you will receive the extra prints for free.
#3. Cactus Mailing
When it comes to direct mail marketing, Cactus Mailing is a straightforward service provider. While Cactus Mailing doesn’t offer a design tool like some of its competitors, you can still speed up your marketing campaign by uploading your own designs and using targeted mailing lists.
The firm also offers professional printing services for promotional brochures and direct mail brochures. These are highly sought after by a wide variety of enterprises across industries and are frequently seen at restaurants, office buildings, and shops.
Cactus Mailing stands out from the competition thanks to its innovative Smart Marketing approach. This function allows you to enhance the effectiveness of your direct mail marketing campaign by incorporating internet resources such as landing pages and Google display ads.
Cactus Mailing provides discounts and a free, no-obligation direct mail marketing strategy if you choose the combined service.
#4. MailShark
All aspects of your marketing campaign, from layout to printing and shipping, are taken care of by MailShark, making it feel like an extension of your in-house marketing team. MailShark also allows you to have printed copies of your marketing materials sent directly to you.
Besides the aforementioned, the company also provides free design services, saturation mailing lists, Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM), a new movers mailing program, and targeted direct mailing.
With the help of MailShark’s direct mail and printing specialists, launching and maintaining a successful direct mail marketing campaign is a breeze.
In addition, they tailor direct mail marketing solutions to your specific requirements and financial constraints, all with the end goal of boosting your business’s revenue. This will allow you to spend less time on marketing and more time on running your business.
#5. Vistaprint
Vistaprint is an option to explore if you’re searching for a direct mail marketing service that doesn’t require you to sign a contract or pay anything upfront.
Despite its reputation as a business card printer, the company also provides a direct mail marketing service. Select from more than 4000 premade postcard designs, or collaborate with Vistaprint’s in-house design team.
Vistaprint offers highly targeted mailing lists for sale if you don’t already have one to distribute your designs to. Both ordinary customers and commercial enterprises can benefit from these lists, which are compiled using demographic information.
Faster turnaround times, an in-house design team, a drag-and-drop creating the platform, twin printing facilities, and round-the-clock customer service are just some of Vistaprint’s many appealing features.
Real Estate Direct Mail Marketing
A recent study found that real estate firms could increase their ROI from direct mail campaigns by 29% or more. Modern real estate agents, investors, and marketers use fully automated direct mail campaigns. Listings, buyers, and leads can all be found at an unprecedented scale with the help of such a solution. Finding a trustworthy marketing channel that is fully capable of lead generation is essential for any real estate marketing professional. Real estate agents, investors, and in-house marketers would be overjoyed to discover such a promotional avenue.
Real estate direct mail is still your best bet for having a nearly perfect marketing channel, but only if you put in the time and effort necessary to see the results we’re talking about. If you use direct mail to advertise real estate and you really nail the marketing part with interesting content and tempting deals, you might be able to achieve unbelievable results.
Direct Mail Marketing Services
Most businesses outsource their direct mail marketing campaign to companies that offer these services. There are several companies in the United States that offer direct mail marketing services. Each of them has unique and affordable plans, however, they mostly have one thing in common. Most direct mail marketing companies offer design and printing services.
Best Direct Mail Marketing Services
The following are some of the best direct mail marketing services providers in the United States;
- PrintingForLess.com
- PostcardMania
- Next Day Flyers
- Vistaprint
What Are the 4 Main Types of Direct Marketing?
The following are four of the most prevalent types of direct marketing:
#1. Telemarketing
Telemarketing is the practice of making phone calls to potential customers in an effort to close a sale. Businesses can save time and money by using this method of direct marketing to reach out to large numbers of people with the help of either human agents or automated systems. This is helpful since it facilitates rapid communication with many people, which in turn can increase output.
#2. Email Marketing
Sending out emails to potential customers is an example of email marketing. Both consumers and businesses can join a company’s email list by signing up for it or buying an email database of verified customers from a mailing list service.
#3. Text Marketing
In text marketing, customers are contacted using text message campaigns. Due to the prevalence of cell phone usage among the general public, text marketing often receives a greater volume of responses. Companies can use a variety of phone plans to send customers text messages for as little as $0.01 to $0.05 per text, depending on the plan.
#4. Direct Mail
Using the postal service, a business can distribute promotional materials for its wares, deals, and services directly to a target audience’s physical address. The ability to tailor messages to individual customers and the adaptability to accommodate varying mail volumes are two of direct mail’s chief selling points.
What Is a Major Disadvantage of Direct Mail?
Many people view direct mail as “junk” mail. Most of it will end up in the trash, but some of it may make it to potential clients’ inboxes, where it will only serve to annoy them and make them think less of your business and its offerings. Sometimes mail is delivered to the homes and flats of the deceased or unwell due to outdated mailing lists, which can be upsetting and disrespectful to the recipients’ loved ones.
Conclusion
Direct mail marketing that works involves strategies that help businesses build relationships and trust with their customers. Most of the time, businesses hire other companies to do these things for them.
FAQs
Is direct mail good for marketing?
Although direct mail has fallen out of favor due to the rise of digital marketing, it remains an efficient means to get your message out to consumers. The term “direct mail marketing” refers to the practice of sending printed materials to prospective and existing business clients.
What is direct mail and give example?
In direct mail marketing, a company or group physically mails promotional items to its potential customers. Postcards, letters, brochures, catalogs, periodicals, and other printed media fall into this category.
How successful is direct mail?
Because direct mail can be used for so many different objectives, the percentage of return you experience will vary greatly depending on your goals. Return rates for direct mail marketing campaigns typically range from.5% to 2%, as reported by JWM Business Services.
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