Over the years, companies that provide print and mailing solutions have expanded their services to match the convenience of digital marketing schemes. Their efforts ensure that direct mail advertising remains a great tool for expansion and maintenance of customer interest for companies, regardless if their marketing is directed towards customers or other businesses.
If you’re the owner of a new company, you might be asking the following questions:
What is Direct Mail Advertising?
Simply put, direct mail advertising uses mail services to deliver marketing materials to your customers. These items can be samples, teasers, brochures, or other types of physical mail. Direct mail has been around for centuries, and even in the digital age, sending direct mail to customers remains a popular practice.
Why Market Through Direct Mail?
It’s tempting to advertise exclusively online, seeing as people are always on their phones or laptops. The problem with this is there is an over-saturation of advertisements on any given social media page or website. Every video, gallery, or flick up a feed presents an ad that consumers most likely ignore or even block.
Savvy entrepreneurs can deduce what direct mail means to their promotional plans with regards to the information above. Direct mail marketing in the form of catalogs, informational booklets, product samples, and other materials can capture audiences directly. Think about it: A makeup brand can advertise their latest product on a 30-second video ad that viewers can skip five seconds in, or send a full product catalog with contact details to a list of beauty aficionados.
What are the Elements of Direct Mail Advertising?
Mail has to reach a destination. This destination can be a suburb in Milwaukee, an apartment complex in Illinois, or offices at Baltimore—or all of them, if they’re part of a targeted list. Targeted lists consolidate mail in areas where your business can actually deliver its products or services.
Direct mail marketing campaigns also live or die by their message. Sending a bunch of samples will never be as effective at carrying your message out as a letter or form of published material that says directly what your business offers. Make the packaging of your mail as attention grabbing as possible, so it won’t get junked. At the same time, don’t go overboard and disguise it as utility bills or you may face an undue backlash.
And before you carry out a multi-thousand dollar campaign, you should do test mailings. Test every part of your mail, from its packaging, price, content, or even the lists that you’ll send your mail to.
Is Renting a Mailing List Possible?
If your business can afford it or if you would rather focus on your competencies, you can rent mailing lists from reliable sources. Direct marketing list sources provide directories of mailing lists that you can peruse per category and other relevant characteristics.
List brokers do the research that direct marketing list sources do specifically for your needs. These professionals collate information about marketing lists that can help your business in the form of recommendations. If you take up one of these offers, they can also help you negotiate rental rates.
Ultimately, it’s up to you if your business needs direct mail. Creative minds can make print and mailing solutions work for their companies regardless of their business model. Study your options and make the best of your research.
