Why Snail Mail Will Make You Money

Word count for this issue: 520 Approximate time to read: ~2.0 minutes @ 250 words per minute

Do you think that sending a direct mail piece (postcard, lumpy mail or envelope) to market your business is a waste of money? Think again as it CAN BE A GREAT complement for most businesses - including yours.

Why YOU Should NOT Give Up On Direct Mail.

Direct mail is a great way to get a prospective buyer to learn more about what you are selling. And with e-mail marketing open rates running 10% to 25%, you need to know that 75% to 90% of your subscribers (the people that represent your future sales) are NOT reading your e-mail campaign with any degree of comprehension. All this said, complement your e-mail marketing strategy with direct mail - do this and YOU WILL SEE sales magic happen.

How To Maximize The ROI From YOUR Direct Mail Campaign.

Smart business owners know that e-mail marketing and social media are great venues to market their business. However, they also know that they aren't the end-all when it comes to marketing. And this is why they blend in a direct mail strategy as well. Although mailing a postcard, letter or lumpy mail campaign is a lot more expensive that e-mail marketing, they also know that it can produce huge results.

The Keys To Your Direct Mail Success Are:

• Review The List You Are Mailing: Maximize your direct mail dollars by targeting your best prospects - these could be prospects who are already using a competitor (buying what you are selling) or fit a radius profile of your best customers.
• Be Consistent: In most situations, it is better to mail 250 people ten times than mail 2,500 people once (although a lot is based on what you sell). Because if you do the latter, you are trying to find the people who are the "immediate buyers" in your database - which is an extremely low percentage (.5% to 3%).
• Provide A Risk-Free Offer: Best in class direct mail pieces use a risk-free offer that invites prospects to take the next step in the buying process.
• Develop A Great Design: Help prospects to find the value you have to offer. That said, create a great headline that makes them want to read more and a risk-free offer(s) that stands-out.
• Know Who You Are Targeting: If you are targeting CEOs of larger companies, don't waste your money on mailing them a postcard or #10 envelope campaign. Use a lumpy mail campaign as they will be your best bet in getting past someone's gatekeeper.
• Develop A Follow-Up Process: If you really, really, really want to make money from a direct mail campaign, you and your salespeople should get on the phone and call the person who just received what you sent them.

Executive Summary: Direct mail is a great way to maintain mind-share and drive sales from your database of customers, past customers and prospects; however, you must take the time to reflect upon the following elements (if not you WILL waste a ton of money):

1. Design Used
2. Copy Used
3. Type Of Campaign, i.e., Postcard, lumpy mail, etc.
4. Database Used
5. Risk-Free Offer Used
6. Consistency Of Mailing Someone