Direct Mail on the Rise

According to a report by the Winterberry Group LLC, direct mail spending rose 3.1% last year and is projected to grow 5.8% this current year.

As the economy improves, advertisers are increasing their direct mail budgets.

There appears to be a shift in focus from online advertising back to direct mail. With the abundance of e-mails flooding a persons in box, prospects are apt to simply clean out their message center and delete these messages without giving them any consideration.

For more information, read the complete article from Northwestern University's Medill School here.

More Tips for Improving Your Direct Mail

It is easy to forget that marketing is your communication with a prospect. You should remember that your direct mail should be treated as a personal conversation with the prospect. As such, it should be engaging, informative and interactive. All communications can be treated likewise and even your invoices can be used to recommend other products/services that may be valuable to your customer.

For more useful tips, see the whole article in Businessweek here.

Direct Mail Still Comes Out On Top

According to a recent study by Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization:
Direct mail accounts for 31% of all direct mail budgets.
Telemarketing comes in second at 29%.

Direct mail is facing competition from online marketing.
The problem with the various online marketing solutions, is results are harder to measure.

Read the full report here.

Prospect's Desire for Direct Mail

According to a recent report by Onepost in the UK, nearly 80% of consumers prefer to continue receiving direct mail.

20% of those surveyed receive over 10 pieces per week.

They believe that messages targeted to them are valued by the prospects.

For more information read the report here.

Integrating Direct Mail and Online Marketing

Direct mail can be effectively used to drive traffic to your website and support online marketing.

Many internet shoppers' purchasing decisions are influenced by direct mail.

The key to making this work for you is to provide an incentive for the reader to visit your website. Use a promotional code to track results and consider offering a special bonus or discount. It is imperative that you provide a compelling reason for the reader to make the effort to go from reading your mail piece to the web.

Make sure the url is clear and easy to both read and understand. A specialized landing page is also a good idea for this integrated campaign.

For more tips, read Mark Haslan's complete article at Overnight Prints.

Tips to Make Your Direct Mail Piece Work

Philip W. Sawyer of Advertising Age recently did an article titled, "Why Print Advertising Isn't Working."

From this article we can take some tips to enhance the performance of your direct mail piece.

- Don't overwhelm the reader with multiple images. Use a single compelling image to grab their attention and put your copy below. Keep it clean and easy to read.

- Don't use multiple fonts and sizes except for your phone number and website, you want these to stand out.

- Use concise and easy to read headlines and copy. Most importantly, Mr. Sawyer states "Making a good, cogent argument for the product or service is what transforms the interested bystander into a committed shopper and advocate."

- As we've stated here many times before, the focus should be on the benefits your product or service provides. The reader needs to know, "What's in it for me?"
Any effective ad will address this question and the reader will know they now have to heed your call to action.

For more tips, read the full article here.

Tips for Effective E-mail Marketing

E-mail can be an effective component of your marketing campaign, however you can't rely on it in and of itself.

There are many factors to consider when using e-mail marketing:
-Only use opt-in addresses.
-Include your address and an opt-out option.
-Hide the other recipients' addresses and don't send to more than 49 addresses at once to avoid spam blocking software.
-Don't abuse the list and send e-mails too often.

For more helpful tips, read the full article from The Courier News here.