Martin Worldwide’s Mailing List Blog

Author:
Omark A. Holmes– Sr. Marketing Specialist

I was fortunate to land my first marketing position right after graduating from college; however, the position wouldn’t start for another 10 months. During my hiatus, I got a seasonal position as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service to help with relocation expenses. What does this have to do with direct mail tips? Everything!

During my time as a postal carrier, I delivered thousands of pieces of mail, a good portion being direct mail pieces. I often witnessed which pieces people kept and which ones they trashed. This sparked my curiosity – what factors contribute to the success or failure of a direct mail piece?

To this day, I still address (no pun intended) this question when creating direct mail pieces. Drawing upon my experience as a mail carrier, as well as my career as a graphic designer and a direct marketer, I have been able to assemble useful tips to help develop successful direct mail campaigns that increase business leads response rates.

Development

The process begins with brainstorming over the piece…

• Know your target! Make sure your message is as personalized as possible. The personal touch greatly improves response rate.
• Determine your objective(s) for the direct mail piece and how you plan to accomplish them. Although direct mail objectives are unique for each initiative, common purposes for direct mail are:

1. To promote your business.
2. To acquire new customers.
3. To increase sales.
4. To promote and generate interest in new products and services.
5. To nurture customer relationships. Your plan should be realistic, measurable,
6. To include milestones to stay on schedule.

• Determine the Offer. Simply sending out a direct mail piece to your customers isn’t enough. The offer you include in your direct mail piece must be attractive enough to grab their attention. It should be different than your competitors’ offer. The offer must be relevant and meet the perceived or actual needs of your target. Popular offer tactics include:

1. Offering free delivery or free sample of product.
2. Including a coupon.
3. Create a sense of urgency with a limited time offer.
4. Sending a follow-up mail piece.

• Call to Action. Your direct mail piece must have a call to action. This is arguably one of the most important factors in a successful direct mail piece. Your piece must answer the question, “What do I want them to do when they read my direct mail piece?”
• Figure out what your budget is for your direct mail campaign. Factors that can determine budget include:

1. Designing and writing the mail pieces (example: the size of the pieces)
2. Sourcing the mail pieces (example: finding paper stock, a printing house, etc.)
3. Building, buying, or renting a mailing list
4. Sending your direct mail pieces (example: mailing 500 pieces versus mailing 5,000 pieces)

Design

Now that you know what the mailing piece will be about, it is time to design it. Items to consider in its design…

• Keep It Simple. In designing direct mail pieces, ultimately, it’s often a matter of leaning towards simplicity. It doesn’t mean that the quality of design must be sacrificed for the sake of simplicity. Remember that direct mail pieces have a functional purpose to them: to build interest and encourage responses. Its design elements must be quickly discernable to the eye as well as visually pleasing.
• Use fewer fonts and be sure your type is easy to read. Don’t overlook the use of canon fonts like Arial and Helvetica. Maximize the color contrast between the text and the background and be careful with your text placement. Avoid placing type over busy backgrounds or complex patterns when possible.
• Restrict your palette to fewer colors. Experiment with complimentary colors (example: blue and orange, red and green), and don’t forget the impact of monochromatic (meaning variants of the same color) dynamics. Take a look at the creative in grayscale so you can get a sense of how it translates in B&W.
• Magic Color is Red. The psychological effect that red has in advertising is well documented. It is said that red attracts attention, inspires impulsiveness, and generates excitement. It’s no wonder that red is the most used color in the world of advertising design.
• Step back and look at the “big picture.” Throughout the design process, it is easy to be drawn into the details. Don’t forget to balance your attention to the finer details with an equal amount of stepping back to experience the overall composition.

Delivery

• When you buy quality business leads, use a targeted mailing list that includes at least the following information:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Phone
4. Date of Birth
5. Gender
6. Occupation
7. E-mail Address

• Maintain your mailing lists to ensure that duplicates and bad addresses are eliminated. This will reduce your number of returned mailing pieces and reduce postage costs.
• Make sure that your pieces are in compliance with postal delivery standards. Most mail houses are current with the regulations. If you employ a mail house or will be mailing the pieces yourself, be sure to research the guidelines.
• Make sure the address is as accurate and complete as possible. The following will also improve speed and deliverability of your mail pieces:

1. Print address labels. This reduces legibility issues. If you use transparent labels, make sure color of the piece or envelope doesn’t hide the visibility of what is written on the label. If you will be writing the addresses by hand, write clearly and neatly in print.
2. Use Appropriate Postal Suffix: ST (Street); BLVD (Boulevard); AVE (Avenue); LN (Lane); CIR (Circle); RD (Road); PKWY (Parkway); ALLEY (ALY); SQ (Square); APT (Apartment); BLDG (Building); FL (Floor); STE (Suite)
3. Use ZIP+4 Code: A more detailed zip code description of the location you are mailing.

• Track the response. Whether including a tracking or promotion code on the mailing piece or using the plethora of CRM and electronic tracking methods available, the ability to track where your responses are coming from is extremely useful for subsequent mailings.
• Send a post card to your entire mailing list once a year via First Class postage. If there are any undeliverable addresses, the US Postal Service will inform you. Since they do this for free, this is an economical way to help maintain the accuracy of your mailing lists.

Good luck!