January 2020 - Modern Mail

Archive for January, 2020

Mailbox Masters: 5 Direct Mail Examples to Take Inspiration From

Posted by ModMail on January 22, 2020

When your business has a campaign that needs solid advertising, what do you do? Buy a radio spot? Shoot out an email blast?

A direct mail campaign is proving to be one of the best ways to advertise. Studies show that while only 20 to 30 percent of emails get opened, approximately 80 to 90 percent of direct mail is cracked opened.

Furthermore, direct mail has a 3.7 percent response rate compared to the 2 percent for mobile campaigns, 1 percent email, and 1 percent social media.

Keep reading to learn about effective direct mail examples.

Direct Mail Examples

Direct mail is advertising sent to customers through the mail. Companies can research and then target customers they believe would best benefit from their service. You can make the cost of direct mail worth it by knowing how to grab people’s attention from the start with these ideas.

1. Postcard Campaign

Postcards take up less space, cost less to send, and advertise fully for anyone who touches them. Thus, they sit among some of the best examples of direct marketing mail.

A typical postcard costs 35 cents, but with bulk mailing, direct mail postcards will cost less. Furthermore, anyone from the postal clerk to the sorter to the carrier to the actual recipient will see what your business is all about. So, you’re spreading the word while saving yourself money.

2. Go Big

Picture your direct mail among a stack of mail on a counter. What will make yours stand out?

In short, size matters. Make your mailer stand out by making it bigger.

You can even do this with postcards. Some USPS programs allow you to mail postcards as large as 12 inches by 15 inches.

If you do not want a big card, make a thick card. Use thicker stock to make sure your card withstands the shipment process.

If you’re using an envelope, make it bulky. Curious people want to see what you have inside that envelope.

3. Content: Sell the Offer

Other examples of mail idea involve content. Make your content focus on selling the offer and not the product. If you have a great offer for your recipient, center the message of the mailer around that offer.

For example, if you have a massive sale coming up, focus on that more than you focus on what you sell.

4. Don’t Forget Anything

Direct mail only works if you have all of the information on the mailer. Remember to include important dates, places, and contact information. Center your message around the customer.

Direct mail ideas like this one are critical for ad campaign success

5. Enhance the CTA

The CTA is the call to action at the end of your direct mail content. It directs the reader to do something.

Make your CTA bigger and bolder than the rest of the text.

Also, make the response format clear. Should they email you? Call? Come down to the store in person?

Direct Mail Success

Direct mailing examples like these will make your direct mail stand out among all of the other pieces in a recipient’s mailbox. If you make your piece big and bold and focus on the client, you will win.

For all of your mailing needs, contact us.

Posted in: Campaigning Help, Design Tips

Direct Mail Response Rates: What Mail Marketers Want You to Know

Posted by ModMail on January 15, 2020

What’s one of the biggest challenges with sending out direct mail? Getting a response.

The response rate is the metric that marketers use to determine the success of a mailing. The higher the response rate, the better the chance you have to grow your business.

Increasing your response rate will give you more bang for your marketing dollar. On average, advertisers spend $167 per person in direct mail. If you want to get a great return on that investment, read on for the top tips from mail marketers.

1. Know Your Market

What is it about your target market that would make them need your service? That’s what you want to address in your mailer. You need to address the “pain points” of your target market.

A dentist’s office can send out a mailer that addresses the fears of potential new patients. Many people fear going to the dentist. In this instance, the dentist can show how their approach helps patients overcome that fear.

2. Use a Good List

There are a number of things that will impact your success rate. The quality of your list is one of them. A list from three years ago might be inexpensive to purchase, but it won’t do you any good.

Before you send out your direct response mail, process the data you have to make sure your mail pieces are being sent to the right place.

For example, if you’re running a political campaign and you want to remind Democrats who is running for what office. You want to send it to registered democratic households. People move frequently and there’s a chance that you could be sending your campaign lit to registered Republicans.

3. Have a Call to Action

What’s the next step someone needs to take after they read your mailer? That’s a call to action. You need to communicate that with your readers.

A restaurant might include a coupon to invite people to visit. A plumber or a landscaper may have people call for a free estimate.

Whatever that next step is, make it clear and stand out in the design. Remember, people are going to look at your direct mail piece for a few seconds.

You only want to have one call to action. Trying to jam several calls to action into a mailer will only create inaction.

4. Have a Clean Design

You have to resist the urge to put everything great about your business in a direct mail piece. Think like your target market. They get the mail, flip through it, and look at it quickly before they decide what to do with it.

You have to get your point across in just a few seconds. The design of your direct mail piece will have a huge impact

You want to have a headline that stands out – that should be enough to get their attention. Have a couple of images, but not too many as that will clutter the mailing piece.

Mail marketers approach design in a way that encourages the reader to take the next step. The purpose of the headline is to look at the text and images.

The text and images are done in a way that brings readers to the call to action. The call to action is crafted to get people to convert.

Top Tips From Mail Marketers to Increase Response Rates

When you invest in a direct mail campaign, you want to make sure you get the best response rate possible. The tips that the best mail marketers use to increase response rates include understanding the target market, using a call to action, and having a clean list.

Are you ready to start your next direct mail campaign? Contact us today to find out about our direct mail services today.

Posted in: Campaigning Help

Don’t DIY: What to Look for In Direct Mail Marketing Companies

Posted by ModMail on January 8, 2020

Did you know direct mail marketing companies can save you money on your mail advertising campaign? It’s true. Hiring the right company is cheaper than handling the campaign yourself.

But beware. Hiring the wrong company can actually increase the cost instead.

So how can you know what to look for in a direct mail marketing company? Just keep reading.

In this guide, we’ve listed all the factors of a great direct mail company. For a successful campaign, hire a direct mail provider that meets these criteria.

In-House Designers

As crucial as graphic design is to your direct mail campaign, it should be a standard feature of direct mail marketing companies. But it isn’t.

Many direct mail companies don’t offer design services at all. That leaves you to find and hire yet another company to design your mailers, in addition to the company you’re paying to mail them. What a waste of time and money!

Other direct mail companies do offer design services, but not their own. With the money you pay for “their” design services, they outsource to a third party graphic design company anyway. You’re literally paying them to pay someone else to design your ads.

That means you don’t even have direct communication with the person who determines what your mail ads look like. This disorganized approach leaves way to much room for error.

Unless you already have a graphic designer on your payroll, never hire a direct mail company that doesn’t design.

Marketing Skills

Secondly, your direct mail company should also be experienced in marketing. Yet, surprisingly, many direct mail providers know very little about this.

They mostly just print and mail—how does that help you? You could do that yourself.

A good direct mail marketing company is one that has years of experience processing hundreds of campaigns for various industries. They’ll have the wisdom and insight to know the best type of direct mail advertising campaign for your business. This wisdom includes which postcard size is best and how to target, or retarget, the right audience.

Also, direct mail companies with marketing skills will be able to track the success of your campaign. One of the biggest benefits of direct mail marketing is how easily and accurately the results can be tracked. However, that won’t matter if your direct mail company knows nothing about tracking marketing metrics.

Mailing Lists

Furthermore, your marketing-savvy direct mail company will provide you with relevant mailing lists. Or, better yet, they’ll create a custom mailing list for you based on your company/campaign and their own extensive pool of resources.

To reiterate, that’s a list of qualified leads from an experienced direct mail marketing company in your local area. There is no better mailing list you could possibly wish for than that.

Pricing

The pricing of direct mail services depend on a lot more than the products and services you choose. Here are a few hidden costs to watch out for.

First, if you’re paying for design services, how much will it cost to revise a design you aren’t satisfied with? Some companies will allow a certain number of revisions for free, while others charge a fee.

Also, how much will the service save you on postage? Many long-established direct mail companies get special postage rates because of deals they’ve made with the postal service. This way, they can charge you less postage than you’d pay if you mailed your advertisements yourself.

Meanwhile, other companies charge you the same postage the post office would. Steer clear of these. There’s no reason you should have to pay full postage plus all the fees the direct mail provider charges you.

Know What to Look for In Direct Mail Marketing Companies

Don’t let the knowledge you’ve gained today go to waste. Bookmark or print out this page for reference. Then, use this checklist when comparing direct mail marketing companies to ensure a successful campaign.

Now, read How to Make a Direct Mail Marketing Budget.

Posted in: Community, Company News

News from Your Direct Mail Manager: 3 Innovations from the Last Year

Posted by ModMail on January 1, 2020

Technology is the way of the future—or is it?

There’s no doubt that the digital world makes it easy to connect with people, but does that mean direct mailing services are irrelevant?

Absolutely not. 77% of Millennials take the time to read any direct mail advertising they receive. And direct mail requires 21% less brainpower to process than email—something everyone in our digital age can appreciate.

If you have a direct mail manager, you’re probably up to date on the latest trends from last year. In case you don’t have one (yet), here are 3 important innovations in direct mail from 2019.

1. Retargeted Direct Mail

Imagine if you could see what your target customers are doing online. Imagine you could track their email, social media, and web browsing usage to see what they’re most interested in.

Now imagine you can use that information to send them highly personalized direct mail within 24 hours of those initial actions.

Sound like science fiction? As of 2019, it’s reality. In as little as 12 hours after digital interaction, you can create a personalized piece of mail to send directly to the user’s home.

This hyper-targeting allows you to reach your potential customers while your brand is still fresh in their minds. No wonder the current ROIs for these campaigns average nearly 30%.

2. Informed Delivery Notifications

What if you could combine your digital marketing and direct mail strategies? USPS is now offering informed delivery notifications that allow you to do just that.

Customers can access a daily “preview” of their incoming mail—including your direct mail. They can view an image of their mail’s exteriors from an app, email, or online dashboard.

But wait—it gets even better. You can include digital content as part of your campaign, allowing them to connect to your website, app, or social media pages. They can do all of this before they even receive the physical piece of mail.

This powerful one-two punch gets your brand in front of customers up to three times before they ever open your envelope. Imagine how your conversion rates could soar with this new technology!

3. Informed Visibility Tracking

A final innovation we love from 2019 is the informed visibility tool from USPS. It allows you to track every piece of mail from barcoded envelopes to bundled packages.

Why is this important? You’ll know exactly when your mail has been delivered, allowing you to coordinate the timing of your marketing efforts.

You can use this delivery information to plan the best time for paid ads and other marketing tactics on Google and your social media channels. This ensures your campaigns are both timely and perfectly optimized for maximum conversion rates.

Do You Need a Direct Mail Manager?

As a savvy business owner, you might be tempted to tackle your own direct mail campaigns.

Wouldn’t it be better to enlist the help of a professional marketer who understands the latest trends? If you want to reach your direct mail campaign goals, our direct mail managers can help you get there.

Click here to learn more about our direct mail marketing services and how we can help your company grow.

Posted in: Business Resources, Campaigning Help

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