What Is Direct Mail?
Direct mail is the process of mailing letters, postcards or any physical promotion content directly to pre-qualified prospects.
Highly Targeted
Direct mail is often most effective when it is highly targeted. Such examples of direct mail targeting is mailing to specific demographics. For example, if you are selling high end services, you could target only residents living in affluent neighborhoods with income levels falling in a specific range.
Additionally depending on the service being offered, you would also target prospects based on interests or stages in their lives. For example, if you were selling vitamins or gym membership you could send mail pieces to subscribers of fitness magazines.
Alternatively, if you were promoting your high end restaurant you would mail to residences within a specific mile radius and with specific income levels that have purchased from nearby competing restaurants of equal or greater quality with similar or higher price ranges.
An Effective Direct Mail Campaign
While targeting is extremely important when sending out direct mail, copy writing i.e. the content of your mail piece is also crucial for maximizing response rates. One of the most important aspects of direct mail is its “direct response” capabilities, meaning providing a response mechanism such as a phone number, web address, reply-card, etc. along with a pressing call to action to elicit a response from the prospect as soon as possible.
Typically, as with any form of direct response marketing the follow-up is also key.