Direct mail campaigns aren’t as different from other sales and marketing strategies as you might think. The most important is the need to optimize your mailings. The key to succeeding in this is to stick with it and keep testing. DM novices or those will little experience seem to get stuck.
Optimizing Your Strategy
The key to getting up and over the wall is to be persistent, firstly, and then to keep testing and improving until you get it right. If you expect to succeed on your first try, then you will be sorely disappointed because it’s very rare. The exceptions are with highly experienced DM professionals. The reason they got to where they are, though, is because they persevered and learned everything they could through testing and optimization.
Budget Considerations
Choosing between a sealed envelope, and a postcard is something you need to do when doing direct mail. Your budget, experience level, and also your comfort level, play a large role. Going with postcards is probably your best bet simply because it can do a lot more with a limited budget. Getting small 4.5″ x 6″ postcards is okay, but you may want to use something different. You might want to use glossy professional postcards that are larger in size. You need to get the attention of the person holding a postcard. Great sales copy will help you do this every time. Adding a call to action, plus your strongest benefit can help you achieve success. It will seem like too much work when you are shopping around for good mailing lists. You will find established businesses that are reputable and glad to help you. Or, go through the SRDS to find the market that you are looking for. This service has existed for decades and has been used successfully long before the internet came about. There are certain things that you want to consider when it comes to your list. Some examples include the age and older lists should be tried and tested. But, make sure that your list is filled with targeted leads for your company.
Conversion Rates
If you think about book authors that make it overnight, direct mail campaigns are similar. The overnight success part is fun and exciting, but most people don’t realize how much work goes into the actual process. There are several key points about direct mail and the first is campaigns need to be optimized. If you can get more than 1% on your conversion rates, that’s high! But this will only occur when you test in a competent manner. Then you have to remember that people need to see your message about five or slightly more times. All of this comes down to building brand awareness and overcoming their resistance.
When you come into your own about direct mailings, then you will be ready to begin your own direct mailing campaigns. But, don’t get stressed about this. The first mailing can be compared to building your first website. Even though you are stressed out about the whole thing, it is still going to be a while before you start to see good results. The second website will not seem as problematic and will not take as long to create. The same thing will happen with direct mailings, so just do it.