Ten Tips for highly effective Direct Mail print campaigns

Have you ever wanted to incorporate direct mail into your marketing but haven’t known where to start?  Have you used direct mail in the past but been unhappy with the results?

Direct mail works and is a great way to engage with your customers.  According to Royal Mail 92% of customers went online after receiving a print mailer – with 87% making a purchase.

Follow our top 10 tips to get great results from your direct mail campaigns:

1.   Set a clear goal

Start by establishing the outcome you want and the investment needed.  Be specific and ensure your goals are achievable and realistic.  Are you looking for new sales, visits to your website, appointments made, or new enquiries?  Will you achieve your goal with one campaign or do you need several?  Does it need integrating with a digital strategy – have you considered partnering the print piece with an e-shot?

 

Be specific when setting your goals

2.   Write a profile for your perfect customer or prospect

Before even thinking about what your direct mailer is going to look like, write a profile of your perfect customer or prospect.  This will inform the look, feel and copy for your print piece and ensure that it resonates with your audience.

Consider their age, gender and income (demographic); their personality type and preferences (psychographic); their likes, dislikes and general interests (behaviour).

3.   Get writing

Start with the key message that relates directly to your goal.  Focus on essential phrases which will immediately catch the reader’s attention.  Make your copy engaging by using clear language, focussing on their needs and, if appropriate, using humour.

4.   Create a memorable design

According to a recent article in The Telegraph, our attention span is shorter than a goldfish’s – eight seconds compared to their nine seconds!

One way to capture people’s attention is by using great design.  Have a look at our blog ‘8 Reasons to Invest in High-Quality Design’, it will help you make the right visual impact with your direct mail print campaign.

 

8 little-known reasons to invest in high-quality design

5.   Keep it simple

Given our nine-second attention span, make sure your print piece clearly conveys your message and call to action.  Keep it short and be explicit about the benefits of your product or service as well as the features.  If you are running an integrated (reaching your audience via more than one marketing channel) make sure it still fits with the goal that you first set.

6.   Personalisation

If you can personalise your message you are more likely to hold your audience’s attention.  Use Printing Plus print technology to help you do this and incorporate text, graphics and photos that are personalised.

7.   Use testimonials

Customer endorsements provide evidence that you are a reliable business.  Incorporate them into your campaign and give prospective clients the confidence to use you.

 

‘Very pleased with the service, I always feel as though Printing Plus is doing all the work for me.

I just give them the job and it’s one less thing for me to think about.’

Keith PryceKeith Pryce Building Ltd

8.  Call to action

Make your call to action clear and write it in a way that is easily understood.  Give a deadline for when the action is needed by and outline the options on how to respond – do you want them to visit your website, call, or email you?

9.  Quality of your database

A successful direct mail campaign is reliant on accurate, up-to-date database.  Check your data has been cleaned recently and if it hasn’t make some time to update contact details.  If you are buying data as well as using your own customer data check for duplications.

10.  Track and evaluate your campaign

Make sure you have a mechanism to track responses to your direct mail campaign and link your success criteria back to your initial goals.  Check you have the capacity to respond to any interest it generates.  Can you manage an increase of telephone calls when your campaign goes out?  Have you gone through the campaign with all your staff, sharing goals and explaining the part they will play in making it a success?

Share your goals and campaign details with your team

Planning, writing and designing an effective direct mail campaign can pay dividends.  Increase your return on your investment by reviewing your results each time – it will help you become expert in communicating with your target audience.

 

Call James for a chat or email him at [email protected] if you would like more information on how to make the most of your direct mail campaign.