With the rise of online ads and technology, some businesses may be thinking twice about the effectiveness of direct mail advertising. Before you cast aside your mailings, you should know that the direct mail customer response rate increased by 43% in 2016, proving that direct mail advertising is alive and well.

But, just like any other type of advertising campaign you’re going to begin, you need to make sure you’re incorporating some key elements. Without them, you could really be sabotaging your campaign.

Let’s take a look at some secrets to a successful direct mail advertising campaign.

Successful Direct Mail Advertising Musts

Have the right mailing list. Your direct mail advertising campaign’s success rate has a lot to do with who receives your cards or letters. In order to have the right mailing list, you need to do your homework. You need to know who your target audience is and where they live. If you’re going to retarget existing customers, some of this work is already done for you. If your business is new or you want new customers, then you need to do some work to build your mailing list. You could spend hours compiling this list, or you could reach out to the professionals at Mailing List Connection. They know how to find the people who are most likely to respond to your direct mail campaign.

Don’t waste people’s time. While you want bring awareness to your business, you also want and need to give people incentive to contact you. Discounts or special offers are usually enough to lure them in. They want to find out more about what you have to offer. With so much competition out there and the hard financial times that many people are facing, a coupon goes a long way. Also, coupons or special offers make people feel as though they didn’t waste time reading your advertisement.

Connect with your audience. Just as you don’t want to waste people’s time, you also want to be able to connect with your audience. Since you’ve already done your homework and know your target audience, you know what they want and what types of issues they may have that you can solve. Appealing to their pain points, builds a connection with them. They’ll feel like you are in tuned to their needs. Once you make that connection, you are already one up on the competition. You just need to make sure you are offering something that will inspire action such as a coupon or special service.

Creating an Effective Direct Mail Advertising Campaign

Be creative and catchy. As we mentioned above, competition is fierce and you need to stand out. That’s why your direct mail campaign needs to be one that people will remember. You want to use bright colors that correspond with your brand, as well high-quality photos. Always make sure text is spelled correctly and your grammar is right as well. You want your direct mail campaign to be easy to read and free of confusion. Make your call to action very direct so people have no doubt about what you want them to do. They should walk away feeling like they understand the offer and feel compelled to take advantage of it.

Express gratitude. Customers like to know they are valued and that you appreciate their business. Always be thankful and express your gratitude when you receive a new customer or when an old customer returns. Doing so will also make you memorable which will help to keep you in business.

Track your campaign. How are you going to know if a campaign is working if you don’t track the results? You need to know how many people responded to what they received in the mail. While some people may come out and tell you, the majority will not which means you need to do the work.

There are a number of ways to track your direct mail advertising such as including a trackable phone number people can use to get more information. This way you know the people who called in from that number were a direct response from your mailing. You can also include special coupon codes. When redeemed they will let you know that someone used it because they received it in the mail. Once you see what types of direct mail advertising was effective and what wasn’t, you can tailor your future efforts to mimic those that were successful.

Getting Started with Efficient and Affordable Direct Mail Advertising

So, if you’re still asking yourself, is direct mail advertising effective? We hope that you realize it most certainly is, when done the right way. When you partner with experts, like the team at Mailing List Connection, we can create mailing lists and a strategy that will get your mailing seen by the people who are most likely to patronize your business. We can also take the time to track what is working and what is not so that your business can continue to thrive. Let us do the work so you can reap the rewards of direct mail advertising.

We can also show you the benefits of using direct mail advertising when it is used in conjunction with online campaigns. The two forms of marketing can work together to improve your direct mail success rate and increase sales.

Call Mailing List Connection today at 469-549-4000 to get started. Let our marketing experts get direct mail marketing to work for you!